Mining bee Andrena (Agandrena) agilissima (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae): A new record from India with morphological and molecular notes

The mining bee Andrena agilissima (Scopoli, 1770), is recorded for the first time in India from the western agro-climatic zone of its Punjab state. This is the first account of morphological and molecular characteristics of A. agilissima. This new record now increases the number of mining bees known in India to 21. Taxonomic commentsand metric values of 40 morphological characters have been presented. The mean values for body length, head width, compound eye length, median ocellus diameter, forewing length and hamuli number were 14.04±0.04 mm, 4.26±0.003 mm, 2.327±0.008 mm, 0.255±0.005 mm, 12.75±0.022 mm and 17.00±0.00, respectively. Using thestandard barcoding protocols, cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 marker (standard DNA barcode region) based 658 bp DNA barcode sequence of the species has been established, as a first step towards the DNA barcode library of solitary bees of Punjab. The barcode sequence generated for the species has been registered by Gen- Bank, National Centre for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) under accession ‘KT960836’ and Barcode of Life Data (BOLD) Systems under Barcode Index Number ‘BOLD:AAY6909’. The floral sources for A. agilissima in Punjab are also provided. The results can be used to further study the races/ecotypes in different parts of country, habitat management studies, plant-pollinator interactions and in conservation programmes for the species. Further, the precise identification of A. agilissima and the inventory of its foraging plants would provide new opportunities for its potential use as pollinator of crops

Comparative evaluation of Doolittle, Cupkit and Karl Jenter techniques for rearing Apis mellifera Linnaeus queen bees during breeding season

Comparative evaluation of Doolittle, Karl Jenter and Cupkit techniques of Apis mellifera Linnaeus queen bee rearing was done during spring (mid February- mid April 2013) breeding season. The highest acceptance of cell cups (66.00 %), queen cells raising (64.00 %), their sealing (60.67 %) and emergence of gynes (54.67 %) was recorded in Cupkit apparatus. Maximum weight of newly emerged gyne was recorded in Doolittle method in plastic cell cups (212.36 mg), while the mean weight was 184.96 mg in case of Cupkit apparatus. Overall, Cupkit proved to be the best option for queen bee rearing because of its better performance in terms of acceptance of larvae (66.00 %) and the number of successfully produced gynes i.e. 16 queens/colony/cycle of 12 days

Validation of hygienic Apis mellifera L. colonies against Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman infestation

Varroa destructor is a major bee parasitic mite causing huge losses to Apis mellifera colonies worldwide. Apart from various chemical based strategies, hygienic behaviour is an important ecological Varroa management strategy. This trait plays an important role in imparting the colony resistance against the V. destructor. Here, we assessed the colony level hygienic behaviour of 100 colonies using pin-killed brood method and from these 100 colonies, ten colonies (7 hygienic and 3 non-hygienic) were validated against V. destructor infestation for two seasons, autumn and spring. The worker larval brood near capping stage was inoculated with Varroa mite. In total, 21 inoculations were made in every test colony and replicated thrice. The observations were recorded at every 2 h interval till complete removal of mite. During the autumn season, in the 7 hygienic colonies, the mean of Varroa mite inoculated brood cells emptied after 2, 4 and 6 h was 1.36±0.11, 3.17±0.10 and 5.66±0.68%, and while in the non-hygienic colonies, it was 0±0.00, 0.52±0.10 and 2.11±0.53%, respectively. After 24 h a mean of 93.43±2.43% of brood cells were emptied in the hygienic colonies, while in the non-hygienic colonies, it was only 61.90±4.59%. During the spring season, in the hygienic colonies, mean mite inoculated brood cells emptied after 2, 4 and 6 h were 3.62±1.24, 6.57±0.73 and 7.25±0.47%, respectively while in the non-hygienic colonies the mean was 0±0.00%, 1.57±0.00 and 2.11±0.53%. After 24 h, it was 96.83±1.86% and 77.25±0.53% in the hygienic and non-hygienic colonies, respectively. In the autumn season, the hygienic colonies on an average took 28 h, whereas non-hygienic colonies took 50.67 h to achieve 100% uncapping and cleaning of cells. On the contrary, the hygienic colonies on an average took 25.71 h, whereas non-hygienic colonies took 47.36 h to achieve the same in the spring season. Hence, the hygienic behaviour can contribute to the colony’s resistance towards V. destructor mite inoculation in capped brood cells and result in reduced use of chemicals into the honey bee colonies

Validation of hygienic Apis mellifera L. colonies against Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman infestation

656-660Varroa destructor is a major bee parasitic mite causing huge losses to Apis mellifera colonies worldwide. Apart from various chemical based strategies, hygienic behaviour is an important ecological Varroa management strategy. This trait plays an important role in imparting the colony resistance against the V. destructor. Here, we assessed the colony level hygienic behaviour of 100 colonies using pin-killed brood method and from these 100 colonies, ten colonies (7 hygienic and 3 non-hygienic) were validated against V. destructor infestation for two seasons, autumn and spring. The worker larval brood near capping stage was inoculated with Varroa mite. In total, 21 inoculations were made in every test colony and replicated thrice. The observations were recorded at every 2 h interval till complete removal of mite. During the autumn season, in the 7 hygienic colonies, the mean of Varroa mite inoculated brood cells emptied after 2, 4 and 6 h was 1.36±0.11, 3.17±0.10 and 5.66±0.68%, and while in the non-hygienic colonies, it was 0±0.00, 0.52±0.10 and 2.11±0.53%, respectively. After 24 h a mean of 93.43±2.43% of brood cells were emptied in the hygienic colonies, while in the non-hygienic colonies, it was only 61.90±4.59%. During the spring season, in the hygienic colonies, mean mite inoculated brood cells emptied after 2, 4 and 6 h were 3.62±1.24, 6.57±0.73 and 7.25±0.47%, respectively while in the non-hygienic colonies the mean was 0±0.00%, 1.57±0.00 and 2.11±0.53%. After 24 h, it was 96.83±1.86% and 77.25±0.53% in the hygienic and non-hygienic colonies, respectively. In the autumn season, the hygienic colonies on an average took 28 h, whereas non-hygienic colonies took 50.67 h to achieve 100% uncapping and cleaning of cells. On the contrary, the hygienic colonies on an average took 25.71 h, whereas non-hygienic colonies took 47.36 h to achieve the same in the spring season. Hence, the hygienic behaviour can contribute to the colony’s resistance towards V. destructor mite inoculation in capped brood cells and result in reduced use of chemicals into the honey bee colonies

Effect of weather factors and nitrogen application on nectar secretion and honey production potential in sunflower

Sunflower is a highly important bee floral crop. The nectar secretion governs this parameter and is greatly influenced by cultivar, environmental factors and fertilizer application. Studies were conducted at Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana on sunflower hybrids (PSH 996 and PSH 1962) sown on different dates (January 31, February 10, February 20 and March 2) with three levels of nitrogen (45, 60 and 75 kg ha-1). Delay in sowing from January 31 to March 2 caused significant reduction in nectar secretion (12.66%) and increase in its concentration (5.38%). The daily mean temperature had significant positive (R2 = 0.52 and 0.54) while mean relative humidity had negative (R2 = 0.55 and 0.37) correlation with nectar total soluble solids (TSS).Nectar secretion and its TSS increased significantly only at nitrogen dose of 60 kg ha-1 as compared to 45 kg ha-1.Weather parameters have more pronounced effects on TSS at 45 kg ha-1.Delay in sowing  by one month resulted in reduction in honey production potential by 1.5- 1.8 kg ha-1. In addition to this, the reduced nectar availability due to delay in sowing may negatively effect in attracting and sustaining pollinators’ populations and crop yield.