Acttra SWD Bait Formulation Against Drosophila Suzukii and its Compatibility with Berry Pollination by the Honey Bee, Apis Mellifera

Crop protection substances are continuously developed to prevent the decimation of non-target insect populations through insecticide use. The bait formulation Acttra SWD was created to attract the adult spotted-wing drosophila, a generalist pest of berries, and when mixed with insecticide would cause a reduction in the volume of insecticide applied, thus avoiding a complete coverage of crops and resulting in economic and ecological benefits to society. However, Acttra SWD has some compounds, including sugars and fruit odors, that might attract non-target fauna, especially insect pollinators. Therefore this study aimed (1) to investigate if Acttra SWD mixed with the recommended pesticide, i.e. spinosad (Entrust), is attractive to the honey bee, which is extensively used for berry pollination and (2) to evaluate the insecticidal activity of Acttra/Entrust in oral and contact tests on the same species. In all replicates, most foragers rejected feeders that offered Acttra/Entrust, and some switched to Acttra/Entrust-free feeders. Accordingly, mortality caused by this mixture in oral tests was low and did not differ from control, since the majority of bees did not consume the Acttra/Entrust treatment. However, mortality caused by this mixture was higher than in control groups in topical tests. Our results indicate that honey bees will not be attracted to and poisoned by crops sprayed with Acttra/Entrust, but contact with the bait would result in lethal or sub-lethal effects.

Application of Ultrasonic or Microwave Radiation to Delay Crystallization and Liquefy Solid Honey

Crystallization of honey is a natural process occurring during honey storage and forces beekeepers to practice the decrystallization process, which mainly concerns honey heating. The aim of this study was to examine the possible use of ultrasounds or microwave radiation to delay the crystallization of honey and to liquefy crystallized honeys while maintaining their biological activity. Lime, acacia and multifloral honeys obtained from a local apiary were used. Fresh honeys were pretreated through ultrasounds (40 kHz, for 5 and 20 min) or microwaves (800 W, 4 x 30s) in order to obtain samples U5, U20 and M, respectively. Experimental and control samples were stored for twelve months at room temperature (20±2°C) without light. Crystallized honey was liquefied through the same methods of ultrasounds (sample U5* and U20*) and microwaves (sample M*). Naturally crystallized honeys were used as the controls. For fixed (U5, U20 and M) and decrystallized (U5*, U20*, M*) honeys, the water content (refractometrically), antioxidant properties (DPPH method), total phenolics content (Folin-Ciocalteu method) and enzymatic activity (diastase, α-glucosidase, β-galactosidase and α-mannosidase) were determined. The analyzed physicochemical parameters for both fixed and liquefied honeys did not differ significantly (P>0.05) in comparison to the control honey. Moreover, the decrystallization process increased the antioxidant activity of all tested honeys. The smallest changes in honey properties to ultrasonic treatments were observed, and this method was recommended to delay the crystallization process and significantly accelerate the liquefaction time of solid honeys without compromising its quality.

Urban Bees Benefit from a Native Forest Species Grown in a City Environment–A Case Study of Geranium Phaeum L.

This two-year study tested whether urban bees benefit from the forest perennial Geranium phaeum L. replanted from natural stands to an urban environment. The flowering abundance and phenology, spectrum of insect visitors, nectar and pollen production, and the energetic value of nectar were investigated in Lublin, SE Poland. The apiarian value of G. phaeum was studied for the first time. The species bloomed abundantly from late April to early June and can be regarded as a valuable spring food resource for urban bees, mainly bumblebees, which accounted for >50% of all visits in both years of study. Bees collected mainly nectar. The highest daily pollen and nectar sugar amount offered by a plant reached 73.7 mg and 36.5 mg, respectively, with the caloric value of nectar of 146 cal. The estimated mean sugar yield, caloric value of nectar and pollen yield · m−2 were 1.7 mg, 6.9 kcal, and 3.4 mg, respectively. The current study confirms the advantage of using native plants in urban landscaping and proves their positive role in strengthening both wild and managed bee populations in cities. The finding that wild plants translocated from the natural habitat can develop a self-sustaining population in the urban environment and establish beneficial relationships with urban bees is of interest in terms of the conservation of both native plants and pollinators.

Genetic Relationships Between Commercially Produced and Natural Populations of Bombus Terrestris Dalmatinus in Terms of Mitochondrial COI and CytB

Bombus terrestris dalmatinus is naturally common in many countries, including Turkey, and is also used commercially for the pollination of greenhouse plants. Intensive commercial production and international trade in many countries are considered as reasons for the disappearance of some natural populations. Hybridization of native bumble bees with those produced commercially, but having escaped from greenhouses and colonization of these commercial bees in natural habitats are cause for concern. In order to assess this concern, B. t. dalmatinus workers were collected from twelve different populations: five commercial producers, three surrounding greenhouse centers, three natural areas at least 30 km away from greenhouses, and one more recent greenhouse zone in Antalya, Turkey. The genetic variations and relationships among the twelve populations were estimated using SNP haplotypes determined in mitochondrial COI and CytB. Twenty and sixteen haplotypes were obtained for COI and CytB, respectively. A single haplotype, H1, was widespread with a high frequency in all individuals for both genes. Individuals collected from around greenhouse centers and commercial companies had more common haplotypes. The genetic variations of intra-populations were higher than the interpopulations in both COI (65.41%>34.59%) and CytB (72.47%>27.53%). The natural and commercial populations were genetically more distant from each other considering Fst values. However, samples from near the greenhouses had a higher similarity with the commercially produced samples, while the natural populations far away from greenhouses still retained their genetic distinctiveness.

Honey Adulterated with Glucose Syrup: Rheological Modeling

Honey's reputation for its various both nutritional and medicinal benefits and pleasant taste ensures a sustained high demand for the product all over the world. However, honey supply is quite limited and seldom meets the demand, and consequently the product commands a relatively high price and is exposed to adulteration and imitation. Honey was adulterated with glucose syrup weight of 10%, 50%, 70% and 90%, and each sample was analysed. Pure honey at ambient temperatures exhibits peculiar non-Newtonian rheological behaviour. Adulteration with glucose syrup (a Newtonian fluid) drags its viscosity towards Newtonian flow behaviour. Malcolm Cross and Ostwald-de Waele Power-Law models were used to fit the rheological data, and the former fitted better than the latter. The behaviour indices in both models increased with increasing adulteration of honey with glucose syrup. Chromatographic characterizations of honey which provides an acceptable measure of honey quality corroborated the conclusions derived from the rheological characterization of this study.

Gene Flow from Wild to Managed Colonies in the Stingless Bee Scaptotrigona Mexicana and an Update on its Mating Frequency

Researchers have hypothesized that wild stingless bee colonies are a repository of genes for managed populations via the mating of managed virgin queens with males from wild colonies. We tested this hypothesis with the stingless bee, Scaptotrigona mexicana, a culturally important species in the study region. Each of ten colonies were split into two colonies and placed in a meliponary, which resulted in ten queen-right mother colonies and ten queenless daughter colonies. We allowed daughter colonies to produce gynes, which then naturally mated with males of unknown origins. Six months later, five third-instar larvae from each colony were genotyped at six microsatellite loci. Four new alleles (12% of 33 alleles) were found in daughter colonies that were not present in any other mother colony. The Fst index showed no overall significant differences between mother and daughter colonies, indicating that they belonged to the same population despite the new alleles. Interestingly, nine queens were estimated to be polyandrous, with an average mating frequency of 1.3, unlike previous reports for this species. These results have implications for the fitness of managed stingless bee colonies and suggest that a better understanding of how gene flow is affected by human management practices would be beneficial.

Impact of Legislation on Antibiotic Use and Awareness of Beekeepers

Legislation plays a key role in regulating beekeeping practices and biosecurity measures, but different countries present conflicting legislative frameworks in terms of allowing antibiotic use. Currently the EU and the UK only permit antibiotics under the cascade principle, but while the UK considers the application in cases of European Foulbrood, the EU strongly discourages antibiotic use. In the US, antibiotics are registered for honeybees and their treatments are regularly authorised. This study relied on an international survey to assess the current use of antibiotics and general awareness among beekeepers, within the three legislative contexts. The results showed a similar use of antibiotics in all three geographical areas, regardless of the legislative context. General use and awareness indicated that the EU and US would likely benefit from national inspectors. Furthermore, even though beekeepers were somewhat aware of the various risks associated with improper antibiotic use, they would likely benefit from targeted training on the matter.

Mapping the Population Density of Managed Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) Colonies in Ontario, Canada: 2018

Host population density as a risk factor for infectious disease transmission is an established concept in both host-parasite ecology and epidemiological disease modeling. A ‘population-at-risk’ value is a necessary denominator in epidemiological analyses to estimate absolute risk. However, local colony density values have been missing from published literature for Ontario, Canada, and crude density measures for the province do not consider the highly heterogeneous concentration of colonies in Southern Ontario. With geostatistical kriging methods, a continuous colony density map was developed from regionally aggregated apiary registration data. This study highlights the potential implications of colony population density on a macro scale and illustrates methodologies available to produce continuous density estimates over a given region with Ontario as an example. The estimation and mapping of continuous colony density values across the population provides future work with a source of data to further investigate potential associations of colony density and disease and helps to inform inspection and surveillance efforts. An interactive regional colony density map was also developed as a knowledge mobilization tool to increase the accessibility of these findings to members of the beekeeping community. The results of this study are an important practical step in advancing epidemiological research on managed honey bees and may lead to further development of strategies to improve the health of honey bees.

New Matrixes to Diagnose Aethina Tumida Presence at Apiary Level

Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae - Small Hive Beetle - SHB), is a parasite of honey bee colonies that causes the notifiable disease called aethinosis. In 2014, SHB was detected in Southern Italy, where it is still present (Calabria region). As part of surveillance activities, official diagnosis of the disease is performed by veterinary services via visual inspection of single hives in the apiaries. New outbreaks can be eradicated and the spread of SHBs limited by early detection of new introductions. We report an alternative protocol for the diagnosis of SHB through swabs and hive debris analysis by PCR. This was tested in three apiaries through the evaluation of different SHB infestation levels with a hive inspection method. This approach for sampling, followed by biomolecular methods, was fast and useful in unfavorable conditions (bad weather, aggressiveness, robbing), could be integrated in the official diagnosis procedures and may act as pre-clinic indicator.

Physicochemical and Microbiological Standards of Honey Produced by Genus Melipona

For thousands of years, honey from stingless bees, mainly from Melipona beecheii, has been recognized as part of traditional Mayan medicine in the Mesoamerican region. Currently Melipona honey is the subject of research due to its nutritional, therapeutic and commercial value. Studies have been conducted to characterize Melipona honey produced on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula in, but the results have been limited. The low production and botanical-geographical origin of the honey increases the variability of the results and also the real number of Melipona beekeepers in the area is unknown so we are unable to conduct a statistically representative sampling and enough information to establish a generalization of the information. Therefore, we reviewed the published articles that describe the physicochemical and microbiological characteristics of the honey of some species of the genus Melipona. The information analyzed indicated that some of these characteristics are out of the specifications established by the standard that applies to Apis mellifera honey, without this meaning that it is of lesser quality and therefore. Because production and commercialization of this product is prospering, physicochemical and microbiological standards must be established to avoid adulteration and complications to public health, since this product is widely used for therapeutic purposes.