scholarly journals Pteridine levels and head weights are correlated with age and colony task in the honey bee, Apis mellifera

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank D Rinkevich ◽  
Joseph W Margotta ◽  
Jean M Pittman ◽  
James A Ottea ◽  
Kristen B Healy
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Temporal Polyethism ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Colony Demography ◽  
Head Weight ◽  
Internal And External Factors ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Background. The age of an insect strongly influences many aspects of behavior and reproduction. This interaction is epitomized in the temporal polyethism of honey bees in which young adult bees perform nurse and maintenance duties within the colony, while older bees forage for nectar and pollen. Task transition is dynamic and is driven by colony needs. However, an abundance of precocious foragers or overage nurses may have detrimental effects on the colony. Additionally, honey bee age affects insecticide sensitivity. Therefore, determining the age of an individual honey bee would be important to provide a measurement of colony health. Pteridines are purine-based pigment molecules found in many insect body parts. Pteridine levels correlate well with age, and wild caught insects may be accurately aged by measuring pteridine levels. The relationship between pteridines and age varies with a number of internal and external factors among many species. Thus far, no studies have investigated the relationship of pteridines with age in honey bees. Methods. We established single-cohort colonies to obtain age-matched nurse and forager bees. Nurses and foragers were collected every 3-5 days for up to 42 days. Heads were removed and weighed before pteridines were purified and analyzed using previously established fluorometric methods. Results. Our analysis showed that pteridine levels were higher in foragers than nurses of the same age, and pteridine levels significantly increased with age in a linear manner. Head weight significantly varied with age increasing until approximately 28 days of age, then declining thereafter for both nurse and forager bees. Discussion. Although the relationship between pteridine levels and age was significant, a large amount of variation in the data yielded an 8-day window in age estimation. This allows an unambiguous method to determine whether a bee may be a young nurse or old forager. Pteridine levels in bees do not correlate with age as well as in other insects. However, most studies used insects reared under tightly controlled laboratory conditions, while we used free-living bees. The dynamics of head weight change with age is likely to be due to growth and atrophy of the hypopharyngeal glands. Taken together, these methods represent a useful tool for assessing colony demography after a colony experiences a stress event. Future studies utilizing these methods will provide a more holistic view of colony health.

scholarly journals Pteridine levels and head weights are correlated with age and colony task in the honey bee, Apis mellifera

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank D Rinkevich ◽  
Joseph W Margotta ◽  
Jean M Pittman ◽  
James A Ottea ◽  
Kristen B Healy
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Temporal Polyethism ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Colony Demography ◽  
Head Weight ◽  
Internal And External Factors ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Background. The age of an insect strongly influences many aspects of behavior and reproduction. This interaction is epitomized in the temporal polyethism of honey bees in which young adult bees perform nurse and maintenance duties within the colony, while older bees forage for nectar and pollen. Task transition is dynamic and is driven by colony needs. However, an abundance of precocious foragers or overage nurses may have detrimental effects on the colony. Additionally, honey bee age affects insecticide sensitivity. Therefore, determining the age of an individual honey bee would be important to provide a measurement of colony health. Pteridines are purine-based pigment molecules found in many insect body parts. Pteridine levels correlate well with age, and wild caught insects may be accurately aged by measuring pteridine levels. The relationship between pteridines and age varies with a number of internal and external factors among many species. Thus far, no studies have investigated the relationship of pteridines with age in honey bees. Methods. We established single-cohort colonies to obtain age-matched nurse and forager bees. Nurses and foragers were collected every 3-5 days for up to 42 days. Heads were removed and weighed before pteridines were purified and analyzed using previously established fluorometric methods. Results. Our analysis showed that pteridine levels were higher in foragers than nurses of the same age, and pteridine levels significantly increased with age in a linear manner. Head weight significantly varied with age increasing until approximately 28 days of age, then declining thereafter for both nurse and forager bees. Discussion. Although the relationship between pteridine levels and age was significant, a large amount of variation in the data yielded an 8-day window in age estimation. This allows an unambiguous method to determine whether a bee may be a young nurse or old forager. Pteridine levels in bees do not correlate with age as well as in other insects. However, most studies used insects reared under tightly controlled laboratory conditions, while we used free-living bees. The dynamics of head weight change with age is likely to be due to growth and atrophy of the hypopharyngeal glands. Taken together, these methods represent a useful tool for assessing colony demography after a colony experiences a stress event. Future studies utilizing these methods will provide a more holistic view of colony health.

scholarly journals Pteridine levels and head weights are correlated with age and colony task in the honey bee,Apis mellifera

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e2155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frank D. Rinkevich ◽  
Joseph W. Margotta ◽  
Jean M. Pittman ◽  
James A. Ottea ◽  
Kristen B. Healy
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Temporal Polyethism ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Day Range ◽  
Head Weight ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Single Cohort

Background.The age of an insect strongly influences many aspects of behavior and reproduction. The interaction of age and behavior is epitomized in the temporal polyethism of honey bees in which young adult bees perform nurse and maintenance duties within the colony, while older bees forage for nectar and pollen. Task transition is dynamic and driven by colony needs. However, an abundance of precocious foragers or overage nurses may have detrimental effects on the colony. Additionally, honey bee age affects insecticide sensitivity. Therefore, determining the age of a set of individual honey bees would be an important measurement of colony health. Pteridines are purine-based pigment molecules found in many insect body parts. Pteridine levels correlate well with age, and wild caught insects may be accurately aged by measuring pteridine levels. The relationship between pteridines and age varies with a number of internal and external factors among many species. Thus far, no studies have investigated the relationship of pteridines with age in honey bees.Methods.We established single-cohort colonies to obtain age-matched nurse and forager bees. Bees of known ages were also sampled from colonies with normal demographics. Nurses and foragers were collected every 3–5 days for up to 42 days. Heads were removed and weighed before pteridines were purified and analyzed using previously established fluorometric methods.Results.Our analysis showed that pteridine levels significantly increased with age in a linear manner in both single cohort colonies and colonies with normal demography. Pteridine levels were higher in foragers than nurses of the same age in bees from single cohort colonies. Head weight significantly increased with age until approximately 28-days of age and then declined for both nurse and forager bees in single cohort colonies. A similar pattern of head weight in bees from colonies with normal demography was observed but head weight was highest in 8-day old nurse bees and there was no relationship of head weight with age of foragers.Discussion.Although the relationship between pteridine levels and age was significant, variation in the data yielded a +4-day range in age estimation. This allows an unambiguous method to determine whether a bee may be a young nurse or old forager in colonies with altered demographics as in the case of single cohort colonies. Pteridine levels in bees do not correlate with age as well as in other insects. However, most studies used insects reared under tightly controlled laboratory conditions, while we used free-living bees. The dynamics of head weight change with age is likely to be due to growth and atrophy of the hypopharyngeal glands. Taken together, these methods represent a useful tool for assessing the age of an insect. Future studies utilizing these methods will provide a more holistic view of colony health.

Metagenomic analysis of bat guano samples revealed the presence of viruses potentially carried by insects, among others by Apis mellifera in Hungary

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-161
Author(s):  
Brigitta Zana ◽  
Gábor Kemenesi ◽  
Péter Urbán ◽  
Fanni Földes ◽  
Tamás Görföl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Metagenomic Analysis ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Big Sioux River ◽  
Bee Colonies ◽  
Close Genetic Relationship ◽  
Paralysis Virus ◽  
Bat Guano

The predominance of dietary viruses in bat guano samples had been described recently, suggesting a new opportunity to survey the prevalence and to detect new viruses of arthropods or even plant-infecting viruses circulating locally in the ecosystem. Here we describe the diversity of viruses belonging to the order Picornavirales in Hungarian insectivorous bat guano samples. The metagenomic analysis conducted on our samples has revealed the significant predominance of aphid lethal paralysis virus (ALPV) and Big Sioux River virus (BSRV) in Hungary for the first time. Phylogenetic analysis was used to clarify the relationship to previously identified ALPV strains infecting honey bees, showing that our strain possesses a close genetic relationship with the strains that have already been described as pathogenic to honey bees. Furthermore, studies have previously confirmed the ability of these viruses to replicate in adult honey bees; however, no signs related to these viruses have been revealed yet. With the identification of two recently described possibly honey bee infecting viruses for the first time in Hungary, our results might have importance for the health conditions of Hungarian honey bee colonies in the future.

The influence of wax deprivation on temporal polyethism in honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (9) ◽  
pp. 1997-2001 ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda A. Fergusson ◽  
Mark L. Winston
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Division Of Labour ◽  
Hypopharyngeal Gland ◽  
Temporal Polyethism ◽  
Study Support ◽  
Comb Building ◽  
Bee Colonies

Various levels of wax deprivation in honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies induced shifts in the temporal pattern of division of labour in worker honey bees. The most extreme wax stress induced an earlier onset of foraging, and an increase in comb building and the production of wax scales. Moderate wax stress induced only an increase in comb building and production of wax scales. No significant differences in development of hypopharyngeal gland acinal diameter were found, suggesting that production of wax and brood food and associated behaviour patterns develop and decline independently. The graded changes in behavioural response to various levels of stress found in this study support the concept of a reserve labour force in honey bee colonies, which can respond to stress through shifts in caste ontogeny.

scholarly journals Towards Precision Nutrition: A Novel Concept Linking Phytochemicals, Immune Response and Honey Bee Health

Insects ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pedro Negri ◽  
Ethel Villalobos ◽  
Nicolás Szawarski ◽  
Natalia Damiani ◽  
Liesel Gende ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Immune Responses ◽  
Cold Stress ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Health ◽  
Pesticides Exposure ◽  
Novel Concept ◽  
The Relationship

The high annual losses of managed honey bees (Apis mellifera) has attracted intensive attention, and scientists have dedicated much effort trying to identify the stresses affecting bees. There are, however, no simple answers; rather, research suggests multifactorial effects. Several works have been reported highlighting the relationship between bees’ immunosuppression and the effects of malnutrition, parasites, pathogens, agrochemical and beekeeping pesticides exposure, forage dearth and cold stress. Here we analyze a possible connection between immunity-related signaling pathways that could be involved in the response to the stress resulted from Varroa-virus association and cold stress during winter. The analysis was made understanding the honey bee as a superorganism, where individuals are integrated and interacting within the colony, going from social to individual immune responses. We propose the term “Precision Nutrition” as a way to think and study bees’ nutrition in the search for key molecules which would be able to strengthen colonies’ responses to any or all of those stresses combined.

scholarly journals Perspectives on hygienic behavior in Apis mellifera and other social insects

Apidologie ◽  
2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marla Spivak ◽  
Robert G. Danka
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Social Insects ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Hygienic Behavior ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Health ◽  
Behavioral Mechanisms ◽  
The Relationship

AbstractHygienic behavior in honey bees, Apis mellifera, has been studied for over 80 years with the aim of understanding mechanisms of pathogen and parasite resistance and colony health. This review emphasizes the underlying behavioral mechanisms of hygienic behavior in honey bees and when known, in other social insects. We explore the relationship between honey bee hygienic behavior toward diseased brood and Varroa-parasitized brood (Varroa-sensitive hygiene, VSH); the timing of hygienic removal of diseased, Varroa-infested, and virus-infected brood relative to risk of transmission that can affect colony fitness; and the methods, utility, and odorants associated with different assays used to select colonies for resistance to diseases and Varroa. We also provide avenues for future research that would benefit honey bee health and survivorship.

Friend or foe? A qualitative study exploring the relationship of people with obesity and food consumption

2021 ◽  
pp. 026010602110014
Author(s):  
Valérie JV Broers ◽  
Jan De Mol ◽  
Stephan Van den Broucke ◽  
Olivier Luminet
Keyword(s):  
Food Consumption ◽  
Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis ◽  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Psychological Treatment ◽  
Healthy Food ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Holistic View ◽  
Major Health Problem ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Background: Obesity is a major health problem worldwide, and one of its causes is unhealthy eating. A healthy diet should ensure that energy intake (calories) is in balance with energy expenditure, but in this paper a subjective experience of healthy eating will be discussed. Research has revealed many determinants of food consumption, but a more holistic view of food consumption is often overlooked. Aim: The aim was to go beyond identifying determinants of eating by exploring the experience of (healthy) food for people with obesity. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with eight patients with obesity. Results: Interpretative phenomenological analysis identified four superordinate themes: ambivalence in the emotional relationship with food, an obesogenic environment where it is less acceptable to society to be obese, an experience of unfairness in the relationship to eating in comparison with other people, and the parental role as an existential motivation to eat healthier. Conclusion: The relationship of people with obesity and food is highly complex and personal, and is influenced by the uncontrollability of the social and physical environment. These personal experiences of people with obesity should be taken into account in the psychological treatment of obesity. The current research adds to the mostly motivational determinants discovered with social cognition models, by showing the subjective experience of (healthy) food consumption for people with obesity.

scholarly journals The relationship of some physical variables and performance angles to the strength of the straight serve for junior tennis

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (4) ◽  
pp. 0061
Author(s):  
Zainab Shakir ◽  
Dr. Widad Kadhum
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Tennis Ball ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Correlation Relationship ◽  
Tennis Players ◽  
Junior Tennis ◽  
Physical Variables ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The problem of the research in determining the appropriate angles in the strength of serve for tennis age (14-16) year according to the specific biomechanical conditions, and the extent of the relationship of each variable of the physical variables in the successful performance of the skill of serve, and achieving the strength of transmission for tennis age (14-16) year, and it is one of the biomechanical principles that can be used in evaluating the angles of body parts. age (14-16) year tennis players. The aim of the research is to identify the percentage of the contribution of some physical variables of the straight serve for tennis juniors, and the percentage of the contribution of some corners of the body to the strength of serve for the tennis age (14-16) year (18) players. The two researchers reached a number of results, the most important of which are: There is a statistically significant correlation between some physical abilities and body angles with the straight serve for tennis players. The lower the angles (elbow, shoulder, knee for the front leg) at the moment of hitting the tennis ball, the stronger the serve will be. Correlation relationship with some biomechanical variables, because the skill of serve requires the strength of the striking arm during the performance of the straight serve

scholarly journals Can environmental regulation solve China's employment dilemma: Empirical analysis based on scale and structure effects

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mengjie Li ◽  
Weijian Du
Keyword(s):  
Environmental Regulation ◽  
Institutional Environment ◽  
Environmental Regulations ◽  
Employment Structure ◽  
Theoretical Support ◽  
Regulation Policy ◽  
Enterprise Innovation ◽  
Internal And External Factors ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Whether the environmental regulation policy can achieve the double dividend of pollution control and employment promotion is a problem worthy of further discussion. This paper studies the effect of environmental regulation on employment scale and employment structure. Based on the matching data, the empirical results show that environmental regulations enhance the employment scale of enterprise. From the perspective of employment structure, labor redistribution, which is caused by environmental regulation, is mainly reflected in the employment creation and employment destruction effects, which lead to the optimization of the employment structure. Further research shows that environmental regulations expand employment scale but have different impacts on the employment structure in the developed and undeveloped regions of China. In addition, internal and external factors, such as enterprise innovation and institutional environment, may affect the relationship of environmental regulation and employment of enterprise. This paper provides theoretical support for the promotion of the construction of ecological civilizations and the solving of the employment dilemma.

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