A Method for Distinctly Marking Honey Bees, Apis mellifera, Originating from Multiple Apiary Locations

Inexpensive and non-intrusive marking methods are essential to track natural behavior of insects for biological experiments. An inexpensive, easy to construct, and easy to install bee marking device is described in this paper. The device is mounted at the entrance of a standard honey bee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) hive and is fitted with a removable tube that dispenses a powdered marker. Marking devices were installed on 80 honey bee colonies distributed in nine separate apiaries. Each device held a tube containing one of five colored fluorescent powders, or a combination of a fluorescent powder (either green or magenta) plus one of two protein powders, resulting in nine unique marks. The powdered protein markers included egg albumin from dry chicken egg whites and casein from dry powdered milk. The efficacy of the marking procedure for each of the unique markers was assessed on honey bees exiting each apiary. Each bee was examined, first by visual inspection for the presence of colored fluorescent powder and then by egg albumin and milk casein specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Data indicated that all five of the colored fluorescent powders and both of the protein powders were effective honey bee markers. However, the fluorescent powders consistently yielded more reliable marks than the protein powders. In general, there was less than a 1% chance of obtaining a false positive colored or protein-marked bee, but the chance of obtaining a false negative marked bee was higher for “protein-marked” bees

Valuing Insect Pollination Services with Cost of Replacement

Value estimates of ecosystem goods and services are useful to justify the allocation of resources towards conservation, but inconclusive estimates risk unsustainable resource allocations. Here we present replacement costs as a more accurate value estimate of insect pollination as an ecosystem service, although this method could also be applied to other services. The importance of insect pollination to agriculture is unequivocal. However, whether this service is largely provided by wild pollinators (genuine ecosystem service) or managed pollinators (commercial service), and which of these requires immediate action amidst reports of pollinator decline, remains contested. If crop pollination is used to argue for biodiversity conservation, clear distinction should be made between values of managed- and wild pollination services. Current methods either under-estimate or over-estimate the pollination service value, and make use of criticised general insect and managed pollinator dependence factors. We apply the theoretical concept of ascribing a value to a service by calculating the cost to replace it, as a novel way of valuing wild and managed pollination services. Adjusted insect and managed pollinator dependence factors were used to estimate the cost of replacing insect- and managed pollination services for the Western Cape deciduous fruit industry of South Africa. Using pollen dusting and hand pollination as suitable replacements, we value pollination services significantly higher than current market prices for commercial pollination, although lower than traditional proportional estimates. The complexity associated with inclusive value estimation of pollination services required several defendable assumptions, but made estimates more inclusive than previous attempts. Consequently this study provides the basis for continued improvement in context specific pollination service value estimates

Indole-3-acetic acid metabolism and growth in young kiwifruit berry

The patterns of auxin concentration and metabolism were investigated in distinct kiwifruit portions and compared with the rate of fruit growth during early developmental stages. Indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) level was higher in inner fruit tissues, particularly in younger fruit, while the hormone was barely detectable in outer tissues. Modulation of free IAA concentration did not appear to depend tightly on conjugation of the hormone. Despite the lack of a strong correlation between the levels of IAA and enzymes involved in its catabolism, in some portions of the fruit a low hormone level corresponded to a higher IAA degradation activity. An inverse correlation was also observed between hormone levels and the appearance/increase in some bands with high mobility in peroxidase gel activity assay. Phenols, compounds with a potential auxin-protecting activity, appeared to be involved mostly in photoprotection of the fruit than in the regulation of IAA levels. Beyond catabolism and conjugation, other metabolic pathways, particularly those occurring in the developing seeds, may have decisively influenced auxin levels in fruit tissues, as well as the amount of the hormone exported from the fruit. The latter, estimated by analyzing the concentration of IAA in the sap exuded from the pedicel, showed a time course which was similar to that displayed by inner fruit tissues. Furthermore, similarities were found between the pattern of IAA concentration in inner fruit tissues and fruit growth rate. The possible role of IAA in promoting growth during early fruit development is discussed