AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF HONEYBEE POLLINATION MARKETS

Pollination by honeybees plays an important role in modern agriculture. Some crops are greatly dependent on honeybees (almonds, apples, avocados, blueberries, and cherries are examples) while the yields and quality of other crops are significantly enhanced by honeybee pollination. The importance of understanding pollination markets has increased recently due to changes brought on by the twin scourges of Varroa and tracheal mites. Both are infestations of feral and domestic bees that imply greater future reliance on domesticated bees at higher cost. In the United States a complex market has evolved that connects itinerant beekeepers and their bee colonies with farmers who demand their services. While the fields of entomology and crop science have developed a large literature on general principles of beekeeping and its application to particular crops, there has been little economic analysis of pollination markets. In this paper, we begin to remedy this lack of attention by analyzing an extensive panel data set of individual pollination transactions for Oregon beekeepers. The Oregon panel constitutes a considerably larger and richer data set on pollination markets than the data set examined by Cheung (1973), which is our only empirical precedent. Using cross-sectional time series regression models, we find results that are consistent with Cheungs earlier findings on the consistency of pollination market outcomes with economic theory. Fees charged for placing colonies on crops that yield marketable honey are found to be less than for crops that yield no honey income to the beekeeper: the pollination fee for crops that produce honey is about $17 per colony less than for crops that produce no honey. Pollination fees also vary over time in response to changes in both crop prices and honey prices. Because bees are paid according to their value of marginal product in the production of crops, pollination fees should vary positively with crop prices. We find that a ten percent increase in crop prices causes pollination fees to increase by about$.40 per colony. With respect to honey prices, we find that a ten percent increase is estimated to decrease pollination fees by about $2.50 per colony. This estimated effect is a previously unexplored link between the now-defunct honey program and its longstanding public policy rationale, the encouragement of honeybee pollination. Insofar as the honey program successfully maintained the price of honey above levels that would otherwise have been observed, our analysis suggests that elimination of the program has resulted in a reduction in pollination services and an increase in pollination fees.Marketing,

Drone Production by the Giant Honey Bee Apis dorsata F. (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

This study investigates male (drone) production by the giant honey bee (Apis dorsata F.). The entire brood populations from 10 colonies were counted to determine the immature population of drones relative to workers. As the condition of each cell was determined the cell’s position and content were noted using the Microsoft Excel platform. The contents of the brood comb, including eggs, larvae, prepupae, capped worker pupae, capped drone pupae, pollen storage cells and finally empty brood cells were recorded. Results reveal the percent of pupal drones averaged 5.9 ± 6.2% of the total pupal cohort with a range of 0.1 to 17.3%. The size of the drone pupal population relative to the worker pupae was highly variable and displayed no correlation (r2 = 0.076).  Pupal drone distribution was scattered throughout the brood comb in a random manner when drone populations were low; in instances of higher drone production, the drones appeared in banded patterns concomitant with the worker pupal distribution

Glucose Oxidase: A Food Protective Mechanism in Social Hymenoptera

The previously suggested protection from microbial attack of ripening nectar by the addition of glucose oxidase by the common honey bee, Apis mellifera L., has been found to occur in 9 other eusocial Hymenoptera from 3 superfamilies. The antibacterial effect results from the accumulation of hydrogen peroxide produced by the enzyme during ripening of the stores

Concurrence of the Acarapis Species Complex (Acari: Tarsonemidae) in a Commercial HoneyBee Apiary in the Pacific Northwest

An examination of a commercial honey-bee apiary for the Acarcapis species complex revealed the following: queens were essentially free from Acarapis parasitism: colonies were more frequently infested with A. dorsaiis and A. woodi than A. externus: individual worker-bee hosts were rarely parasitized by more than one Acarapis species. Observed sex ratios for all three mite species. under the conditions of the relatively low infestation rate observed in this study, favored females over males.Keywords: Honey Bees, Acarapis Species Comple

Drone Engorgement in Honey Bee Swarms

Male Apis mellifera L. (drones) accompanying reproductive swarms were analyzed for honey stomach contents to determine if they engorge honey prior to or during swarming. No evidence for engorgement was found. A diurnal feeding rhythm in drones was observed in non swarming colonies.Keywords: Honey bees, Drone Engorgement, Swarm

Number of Adult Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Occupying a Comb: A Standard for Estimating Colony Populations

A quantification of the number of adult worker Apis meltifera L. found on combs of standard sizes at full holding capacity is reported. Estimating the holding capacity of combs can assist in evaluating honey-bee colonies for pollination capabilities and also for honey-production potentialsThis article is the copyright property of the Entomological Society of America and may not be used for any commercial or other private purpose without specific written permission of the Entomological Society of America.Keywords: Colony Population, Hymenoptera: Apidae, Honey Bee

Cesium-134 and Cesium-137 in Honey Bees and Cheese Samples Collected in the U.S. After the Chernobyl Accident

As a result of the Chernobyl accident on April 25, 1986. possible radioactive contamination of honey bees and cheese sampled in several areas of the United States were measured. Of bees collected in May and June of 1986 in both Oregon and New York, only those from Oregon showed detectable levels of cesium-134 (T1/2 2.05 years), a radionuclide which would have originated from the Chernobyl incident. Cheese produced in Oregon and New York before the accident showed only cesium-137 (Tip 30.23 years) but cheese produced afterwards (May and September, 1986) in Oregon contained cesium-134. Cheese produced in Ohio and California at the time of the accident and thereafter contained only cesium-137. In general, the levels of radioactivity were higher in the West coast samples as compared to those taken in the East. The levels of radioactivity detected were considered to be toxicologically of no consequence.Keywords: Radioactive Contamination, Cheese, Honey Bee

Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids: Their Occurrence in Honey from Tansy Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea L.)

The hepatotoxic alkaloids known to occur in tansy ragwort (Senecio jacobaea L.) are also present in honey produced from the nectar of this species. These alkaloids, which include senecionine, seneciphvlline, jacoline, jaconine, jacobine, and jacozine, are potentially carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic and may pose health hazards to the human consumer

Controlled Release Fumigation of the Greater Wax Moth

Polyethylene film controlled release packets utilizing ethylene dibromide (EDB) and pdichlorobenzene (PDB) were designed and tested against late instar larvae of Galleria mellonella (L.). EDB controlled release packets gave 100% control of larvae in 48 h under experimental conditions at 26.6° and 32.3°C. PDB controlled release packets gave 13.3 and 17.2% control of larvae in 96 h under similar temperature regimes. Permeation constants for the EDB and PDB controlled release systems were derived from experimental rates observed in 4 and 6 mil polyethylene dispenser packets at temperatures of l0.0°-35.0°C.Keywords: Fumigation, Greater Wax Mot