Nesting in the City: Urban Environment That Invites Wildlife

This study explores how important it is to keep the ecosystem in balance, maintaining healthy biodiversity in urban areas. It also seeks ways in which a growing metropolitan like Dhaka can be friendly for wildlife. Modern cities are becoming more and more hostile to fauna which eventually affects humans also. The damage done over decades cannot be rectified overnight. The approach will be in different phases that address ecological succession. The paper suggests ways urban design can aid biodiversity. A minor consideration as the introduction of nectar-producing plants may increase the honeybee population. The urban landscape should be such that it favors insects or birds. To achieve this, complementary plants should be selected that can nurture an ecosystem.This research looks for options that can be applied in Dhaka’s context. The symbiosis between native wildlife and humans is studied. Exemplary design solutions for urban built areas as flyovers, bus stops or road medians are proposed.

Comparative profitability analysis and resource use efficiency of beekeeping using wooden and poly hive in some selected areas of Bangladesh

Apiarist traditionally adopt wooden hive in beekeeping. Modern poly hive provides a superior environment to raise and keep the honeybee population more vigorous due to its high-tech internal facilities and sanitary system. This study was conducted to examine the comparative profitability and resource use efficiency of beekeeping using traditional wooden hive and modern poly hive in Bangladesh during 2017-18. A total of 60 beekeepers, all have traditional wooden hive and 15 have modern poly hive, were randomly selected from Sirajganj, Gazipur and Satkhira districts to conduct farm level survey with pre-tested questionnaire. Findings of the study reveal that per hive gross and net return were Tk. 11019.26 and 4082.45 for wooden hive and Tk. 27373.34 and 19838.42 for poly hive, respectively. Total cost of beekeeping was Tk. 6936.81 and 7534.92 per hive for wooden and poly hive, respectively. Besides, benefit-cost ratios (BCR) were 1.59 and 3.63 for wooden and poly hive, respectively. Cobb-Douglas production function analysis reveals that labour, transportation, insecticide, equipment, hive and rental costs had significant influence on the returns of beekeeping. More than two times higher BCR and significant positive dummy variable “modern poly hive” indicate the greater profitability of beekeeping in modern poly hives. Resource use efficiency analysis indicates that labour, insecticide, equipment, and honey extraction inputs were under-utilized while feed, transportation, marketing, hive, colony and rental inputs were over-utilized. Beekeeping is also affected by some constraints including high costs of modern poly hive accessories, lack of skilled labour and initial capital, inadequate transportation and marketing facilities. Government and other related organizations should take necessary measures to mitigate those problems. Based on the findings, it is recommended to adopt modern poly hive in beekeeping. Int. J. Agril. Res. Innov. Tech. 11(1): 84-91, June 2021

Adaptive, caste-specific changes to recombination rates in a thelytokous honeybee population

The ability to clone oneself has clear benefits—no need for mate hunting or dilution of one's genome in offspring. It is therefore unsurprising that some populations of haplo-diploid social insects have evolved thelytokous parthenogenesis—the virgin birth of a female. But thelytokous parthenogenesis has a downside: the loss of heterozygosity (LoH) as a consequence of genetic recombination. LoH in haplo-diploid insects can be highly deleterious because female sex determination often relies on heterozygosity at sex-determining loci. The two female castes of the Cape honeybee, Apis mellifera capensis , differ in their mode of reproduction. While workers always reproduce thelytokously, queens always mate and reproduce sexually. For workers, it is important to reduce the frequency of recombination so as to not produce offspring that are homozygous. Here, we ask whether recombination rates differ between Cape workers and Cape queens that we experimentally manipulated to reproduce thelytokously. We tested our hypothesis that Cape workers have evolved mechanisms that restrain genetic recombination, whereas queens have no need for such mechanisms because they reproduce sexually. Using a combination of microsatellite genotyping and whole-genome sequencing we find that a reduction in recombination is confined to workers only.

Review on mathematical modeling of honeybee population dynamics

<abstract><p>Honeybees have an irreplaceable position in agricultural production and the stabilization of natural ecosystems. Unfortunately, honeybee populations have been declining globally. Parasites, diseases, poor nutrition, pesticides, and climate changes contribute greatly to the global crisis of honeybee colony losses. Mathematical models have been used to provide useful insights on potential factors and important processes for improving the survival rate of colonies. In this review, we present various mathematical tractable models from different aspects: 1) simple bee-only models with features such as age segmentation, food collection, and nutrient absorption; 2) models of bees with other species such as parasites and/or pathogens; and 3) models of bees affected by pesticide exposure. We aim to review those mathematical models to emphasize the power of mathematical modeling in helping us understand honeybee population dynamics and its related ecological communities. We also provide a review of computational models such as VARROAPOP and BEEHAVE that describe the bee population dynamics in environments that include factors such as temperature, rainfall, light, distance and quality of food, and their effects on colony growth and survival. In addition, we propose a future outlook on important directions regarding mathematical modeling of honeybees. We particularly encourage collaborations between mathematicians and biologists so that mathematical models could be more useful through validation with experimental data.</p></abstract>

Virus infections in Varroa destructor-resistant honeybees

Populations of European honeybee subspecies, Apis mellifera, have the ability to adapt naturally to the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor. It is possible that a tolerance to mite-vectored viruses may contribute to colony survival. If this is the case, surviving populations should show lower virus titers and prevalence compared to susceptible populations. Here, we investigated the prevalence and titers of 10 viruses, some known to be associated with V. destructor, in adult workers and pupae as well as mites. Samples were collected from both a mite-surviving and mite-susceptible honeybee population in Norway. Surviving colonies had a lower prevalence of a key virus (DWV-A) associated with V. destructor in individual adult bees sampled, and generally lower titers of this virus in mite infested pupae and mites within the colonies when compared to sympatric, susceptible controls. However, these surviving colonies also displayed higher prevalence and titers of two viruses not associated with V. destructor (BQCV & LSV1). The results of this study therefore suggest that general tolerance to virus infections is unlikely to be a key mechanism for natural colony survival in Norway, but evidence may point to mite control as a predominant mechanism.

Varroa destructor (Acari: Parasitiformes:Varroidae) a dangerous parasite of honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

The honeybee is an essential element of environmental balance in the world, particularly for its role in the pollination of many plant species. It also has other interests such as the production of honey, propolis, royal jelly and wax. Among several diseases on honey bees, the most dangerous is varroosis and threaten different species of honeybee population. Varroosis is caused by an external parasitic mite, Varroa destructor which parasites both bees and brood. It causes enormous damage to the colony and is a gateway to other viral and bacterial diseases. Information on the influence of this disease on colonies, symptoms and pathogenic actions, reproduction, development cycle and treatment methods viz chemical, natural, biological and biotechnical against Varroa are discussed.

Short communication: Molecular detection of honeybee viruses in Ecuador

Aim of study: The honeybee, Apis mellifera, is one of the most important pollinators in the world. Apicultural activity and pollination services have been affected by the decline in the honeybee population, which may be due to the interaction of multiple risk factors, such as changes in agricultural production, use of pesticides and presence of pathogens. Viruses, in particular, are suspected to be drivers of colony mortality. In this scenario, the aim of this study was to determine the presence of honeybee viruses (IAPV, DWV, SBV, ABPV, BQCV, CBPV) in A. mellifera populations using a RT-mPCR assay.Area of study: Apiaries were situated in Pichincha, Ecuador.Material and methods: Samples were collected from seventeen apiaries that exhibited mortality but without specific clinical signs. Each sample comprised 15 individuals. After RNA extraction, a multiplex PCR analysis was performed for presence of six viruses (IAPV, DWV, SBV, ABPV, BQCV, CBPV).Main results: Four of the viruses (ABPV, DWV, BQCV and SBV) were found in co-infections in these colonies, with ABPV and SBV also being found in simple infections.Research highlights: To our knowledge, this is the first molecular detection of BQCV and SBV in Ecuador. These findings suggest that some of the above viruses could be involved in weakening these colonies.