Automatic monitoring system of Apis cerana based on image processing

The flight behavior of honey bee Apis cerana is influenced by environmental conditions. The observation of the number of bees flying in and out from the hives is needed to detect the Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) phenomena. In this research, we build a prototype of an automatic monitoring system based on image processing. This instrument is intended to automatically monitor and count the number of in and out activities of A. cerana forager bees. This monitoring system detects the red, green, blue, and yellow marked bees by using a camera module of Raspbery Pi mini-computer which is programmed in Python language (and assisted by OpenCV library). The monitoring system is also equipped with temperature, humidity, and light intensity sensors to accurately describe the environmental condition during the measurement. The results show that the highest number of flight activities occurred around 8:00.-09:00 am, then decrease to noon and increased again at 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm.

Effects of Insecticides and Microbiological Contaminants on Apis mellifera Health

Over the past two decades, there has been an alarming decline in the number of honey bee colonies. This phenomenon is called Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Bee products play a significant role in human life and have a huge impact on agriculture, therefore bees are an economically important species. Honey has found its healing application in various sectors of human life, as well as other bee products such as royal jelly, propolis, and bee pollen. There are many putative factors of CCD, such as air pollution, GMO, viruses, or predators (such as wasps and hornets). It is, however, believed that pesticides and microorganisms play a huge role in the mass extinction of bee colonies. Insecticides are chemicals that are dangerous to both humans and the environment. They can cause enormous damage to bees’ nervous system and permanently weaken their immune system, making them vulnerable to other factors. Some of the insecticides that negatively affect bees are, for example, neonicotinoids, coumaphos, and chlorpyrifos. Microorganisms can cause various diseases in bees, weakening the health of the colony and often resulting in its extinction. Infection with microorganisms may result in the need to dispose of the entire hive to prevent the spread of pathogens to other hives. Many aspects of the impact of pesticides and microorganisms on bees are still unclear. The need to deepen knowledge in this matter is crucial, bearing in mind how important these animals are for human life.

Detecção de Anomalias em Padrões Acústicos, de Temperatura e Umidade Sazonais para Abelhas Melíferas (Apis mellifera L.)

O Distúrbio do Colapso das Colônias (Colony Collapse Disorder, CCD) é um fenômeno associado ao desaparecimento repentino de abelhas melíferas em colônias manejadas. Registrado nos EUA desde 2006, o CCD tem como possíveis causas desde as variações climáticas, uso incorreto de defensivos químicos até pragas e doenças. Neste sentido, soluções computacionais criativas podem contribuir para um melhor entendimento da sanidade e do bem-estar das abelhas. Neste artigo, aplicamos modelos de aprendizagem de máquina para detectar anomalias em padrões acústicos de abelhas melíferas africanizadas (Apis mellifera L.) e em padrões de temperatura e de umidade sazonais internas em colmeias com abelhas de raça europeia. Três modelos preditivos foram implementados: Modelo de Mistura de Gaussianas (GMM), Máquina de Aprendizado Extremo (ELM) e Máquina de Vetor de Suporte para uma classe (OC-SVM). Utilizamos datasets com dados de temperatura e umidade internas de duas colmeias de abelhas melíferas localizadas nas cidades de Bournemouth (Inglaterra) e Würtzburg (Alemanha) e um dataset com áudio de uma colônia melífera em Fortaleza-CE (Brasil). Para temperatura e umidade, os melhores resultados ocorreram para anomalias sazonais, nas quais o algoritmo ELM alcançou uma acurácia média de 92,6%. Para os áudios, destacamos o algoritmo GMM (acurácia média de 84,9%) na detecção de ausência da rainha.

Virion structure and in vitro genome release mechanism of dicistrovirus Kashmir bee virus

Infections of Kashmir bee virus (KBV) are lethal for honeybees and have been associated with colony collapse disorder. KBV and closely related viruses contribute to the ongoing decline in the number of honeybee colonies in North America, Europe, Australia, and other parts of the world. Despite the economic and ecological impact of KBV, its structure and infection process remain unknown. Here we present the structure of the virion of KBV determined to a resolution of 2.8 Å. We show that the exposure of KBV to acidic pH induces a reduction in inter-pentamer contacts within capsids and the reorganization of its RNA genome from a uniform distribution to regions of high and low density. Capsids of KBV crack into pieces at acidic pH, resulting in the formation of open particles lacking pentamers of capsid proteins. The large openings of capsids enable the rapid release of genomes and thus limit the probability of their degradation by RNases. The opening of capsids may be a shared mechanism for the genome release of viruses from the family Dicistroviridae. Importance The western honeybee (Apis mellifera) is indispensable for maintaining agricultural productivity as well as the abundance and diversity of wild flowering plants. However, bees suffer from environmental pollution, parasites, and pathogens, including viruses. Outbreaks of virus infections cause the deaths of individual honeybees as well as collapses of whole colonies. Kashmir bee virus has been associated with colony collapse disorder in the US, and no cure of the disease is currently available. Here we report the structure of an infectious particle of Kashmir bee virus and show how its protein capsid opens to release the genome. Our structural characterization of the infection process determined that therapeutic compounds stabilizing contacts between pentamers of capsid proteins could prevent the genome release of the virus.

Simple approaches for environmental and mechanical management of the Varroa mite, Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman (Parasitiformes: Varroidae), on the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Egypt

Background Varroa mite, Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman (Parasitiformes: Varroidae), is an ectoparasitic mite of the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), with a great economic importance. It is the major deadlock of apiculture development all over the world. Results This work aimed to assess the effect of bee house and dark bee house on numbers of Varroa mite on white card board sheets, worker broods, and alive bees during spring and autumn of 2018 and 2019. Two types of card board for sticking the fallen Varroa mite were evaluated through winter of 2019. Keeping honey bee hives in a dark room during March and September of 2018 and 2019 for a successive 3 days resulted in a great reduction in the number of Varroa inner bee hive, i.e., on the white card board sheets, area of broods, and alive honey bee. Highest number of fallen Varroa mite on the white card board sheets was obtained in the case of using the dark bee house during March and September in 2018 and 2019, followed by keeping in a normal bee house then those fallen in the case of the open apiary. Conclusion The dark bee house grooming behaviour increased through 3 days of dark. Environmental management of bee house and dark bee house can be promising in colony collapse disorder. Modified adhesive sheets were more efficient in this regard than the normal ones.