Beekeeping Genetic Resources and Retrieval of Honey Bee Apis mellifera L. Stock in the Russian Federation: A Review

The loss of honey bees has drawn a large amount of attention in various countries. Therefore, the development of efficient methods for recovering honey bee populations has been a priority for beekeepers. Here we present an extended literature review and report on personal communications relating to the characterization of the local and bred stock of honey bees in the Russian Federation. New types have been bred from local colonies (A. mellifera L., A. m. carpatica Avet., A. m. caucasia Gorb.). The main selection traits consist of a strong ability for overwintering, disease resistance and different aptitudes for nectar collection in low and high blooming seasons. These honey bees were certified by several methods: behavioral, morphometric and genetic analysis. We illustrate the practical experience of scientists, beekeepers and breeders in breeding A. mellifera Far East honey bees with Varroa and tracheal mite resistance, which were the initial reasons for breeding the A. mellifera Far Eastern breed by Russian breeders, Russian honey bee in America, the hybrid honey bee in Canada by American breeders, and in China by Chinese beekeepers. The recent achievements of Russian beekeepers may lead to the recovery of beekeeping areas suffering from crossbreeding and losses of honey bee colonies.

Differential autogrooming response to the tracheal mite Acarapis woodi by the honey bees Apis cerana and Apis mellifera

The infestation of honey bees by the endoparasitic tracheal mite Acarapis woodi was first discovered in Apis mellifera on the Isle of Wight, England, and the mite has since spread to all continents except Australia. Since 2010, this tracheal mite has spread rapidly in the Japanese honey bee, Apis cerana japonica, of mainland Japan, causing considerable colony mortality. In contrast, infestations by the mites in the imported and managed European honey bee, A. mellifera, have rarely been observed in Japan. A previous laboratory experiment revealed a difference in susceptibility by demonstrating that the tracheal mite more frequently enters tracheae of A. cerana than those of A. mellifera. In this study, we compared autogrooming responses of A. cerana and A. mellifera by depositing a mite on each honey bee’s mesoscutum, and we then assessed the efficacy of autogrooming to remove the mite. The bees that received mites more frequently showed an autogrooming response compared to unchallenged bees in both bee species. However, a significantly greater proportion of A. mellifera individuals autogroomed compared to A. cerana. In addition, when bees autogroomed, A. mellifera removed the tracheal mite more effectively than A. cerana. When considering all bees in the mite-deposited group, the proportion of mite removal in A. mellifera was almost twice as high as that in A. cerana. Thus, the difference in susceptibility to the tracheal mite between these two bee species is attributed to the difference in the behavioral response threshold to mites and the effectiveness of mite removal by grooming.

Comparison of qPCR and Morphological Methods For Detection of Acarapis Woodi in Honey Bee Samples

The honey bee tracheal mite Acarapis woodi is an internal obligate parasite of adult honey bees (Apis mellifera). The small size of the mites and location within the bee’s trachea create a challenge for diagnostic identification. Detailed assessment of low-level mite infestation involves microscopic examination of the bee’s tracheae, but this traditional diagnostic method takes a long time. In recent years, new molecular diagnostic techniques have been developed to identify A. woodi with the use of PCRs. The purpose of this study was to compare the diagnostic sensitivity of microscopic examination and qPCR method for the detection of A. woodi in honey bee samples. Thirty-six samples were analyzed with both methods and qPCR was more sensitive than the microscopic method to detect A. woodi. This work demonstrates the practical application of molecular technology as a support tool for surveys and contingency management and to provide robust surveillance data on the presence or absence of A. woodi in honey bee colonies.

Investigation on the relationship between population synthesis of the honeybee stocks reared in Crete and their resistance to the tracheal mite Acarapis woodi, Rennie

The population synthesis of honey bee breeds reared in Crete by crossbreeding among the native race Apis mellifera adami, Ruttner, the Macedonian bee Apis mellifera macedonica, Ruttner, and the Italian bee Apis mellifera ligustica, Spinal, was determinated. The probable relationship between population synthesis and resistance to tracheal mite Acarapis woodi, Rennie, of these breeds was also investigated. Samples of 50 bees were taken from 45 colonies of an apiary, infested with acarine disease, in which the bees showed a great diversity in their morphological characteristics and were examined as regards: a) the morphological and morphometric characteristics of the sampled bees, and b) the number of infested colonies, the prevalence, the unilateral or bilateral infection and the parasite intensity of thoracic tracheas, from every sample infested by Acarapis woodi. After examination the colonies were classified in four groups, according to morphological and morphometric characteristics that hade the majority of the bees in each sample: Group I, hybrids of Apis mellifera macedonica, group II, hybrids of Apis mellifera ligustica, group III, hybrids of "bright yellow" type of Apis mellifera ligustica, and group IV, diversiform hybrids. From the tracheas examinations it was detected that: the population synthesis affects the resistance of bee colonies. Bee colonies of group I showed the highest resistance. On the contrary, those of group III showed the lowest. Bee colonies of the two other groups showed relatively high resistance but less high than that of A. m. macedonica.