Time management and nectar flow: flower handling and suction feeding in long-proboscid flies (Nemestrinidae: Prosoeca)

A well-developed suction pump in the head represents an important adaptation for nectar-feeding insects, such as Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera and Diptera. This pumping organ creates a pressure gradient along the proboscis, which is responsible for nectar uptake. The extremely elongated proboscis of the genus Prosoeca (Nemestrinidae) evolved as an adaptation to feeding from long, tubular flowers. According to the functional constraint hypothesis, nectar uptake through a disproportionately elongated, straw-like proboscis increases flower handling time and consequently lowers the energy intake rate. Due to the conspicuous length variation of the proboscis of Prosoeca, individuals with longer proboscides are hypothesised to have longer handling times. To test this hypothesis, we used field video analyses of flower-visiting behaviour, detailed examinations of the suction pump morphology and correlations of proboscis length with body length and suction pump dimensions. Using a biomechanical framework described for nectar-feeding Lepidoptera in relation to proboscis length and suction pump musculature, we describe and contrast the system in long-proboscid flies. Flies with longer proboscides spent significantly more time drinking from flowers. In addition, proboscis length and body length showed a positive allometric relationship. Furthermore, adaptations of the suction pump included an allometric relationship between proboscis length and suction pump muscle volume and a combination of two pumping organs. Overall, the study gives detailed insight into the adaptations required for long-proboscid nectar feeding, and comparisons with other nectar-sucking insects allow further considerations of the evolution of the suction pump in insects with sucking mouthparts. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00114-013-1114-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

COLOSS B-RAP expert evaluation of beekeeping advice from ChatGPT, part 1

The advanced language model ChatGPT is capable of understanding and generating human-like text. It can be integrated into various services, ranging from customer support to educational platforms, providing personalized assistance, information and guidance. For straightforward, low-complexity medical quest­ions, ChatGPT has been shown to have potential as an AI-assisted decision support tool in medicine (Harskamp & De Clercq, Citation2024). In apiculture, hive management is an important factor in maintaining healthy and productive honey bee colonies (Sperandio et al., Citation2019; Steinhauer et al., Citation2021). Artificial intelligence-based linguistic models could provide an easy-to-access advisory service in countries where no advisory services are available or to relieve advisors. At a workshop of the COLOSS core project B-RAP (Fabricius Kristiansen et al., Citation2022) held in Olomouc, Czechia, in February 2024, we, therefore, tested the ability of ChatGPT3.5 to deal with some common questions in beekeeping. The question formulation always included rough information on location and date and formulated the beekeeping-related problem as a question allowing an open answer. The panel of 13 experts present (researchers, beekeeping advisors, veterinarians), many of them beekeepers themselves, evaluated the answers

Citizen Science Network Austria Working Group on Open Biodiversity Databases in Citizen Science Projects: Catalogue of Questions for Project Managers

As part of the Citizen Science Network Austria (https://www.citizen-science.at/netzwerk), the working group Open Biodiversity Databases in Citizen Science Projects was established in February 2018. The objectives of this working group are (I) to formulate a catalogue of questions to help deciding about open publishing of research data collected in a citizen science biodiversity project, (II) to accompany and document the process of open publishing of research data from a concrete project and (III) to write and publish a so-called data paper in addition to publishing research results. This document is the product of point (I) of the objectives, the questionnaire

Citizen Science Network Austria Arbeitsgruppe für Offene Biodiversitätsdatenbanken in Citizen Science Projekten: Fragenkatalog für Projektleiter*innen

Im Rahmen des Citizen Science Network Austria (https://www.citizen-science.at/netzwerk) wurde im Februar 2018 die Arbeitsgruppe Offene Biodiversitätsdatenbanken in Citizen Science-Projekten ins Leben gerufen. Die Ziele dieser AG sind (I) die Formulierung eines Fragenkatalogs, der bei der Entscheidung, die Forschungsdaten eines Citizen Science-Biodiversitätsprojektes zu öffnen, helfen soll, (II) den Prozess der Forschungsdatenöffnung an einem konkreten Projekt zu begleiten und zu dokumentieren und (III) neben den Forschungsdaten auch ein sogenanntes Datenpaper zu verfassen und zu publizieren. Das vorliegende Dokument ist das Produkt aus Punkt (I) der Ziele, der Fragenkatalog

New datasets for strategies of Apis mellifera during visual search for vertical targets

<p>Dataset 1: The dataset contains the decisions of each bee at a distance of 5 cm to the search screen (correct: number of correct decisions; false: number of false decisions) during pre-training phase. Data are divided in treatment groups (dorsal, ventral, mixed) and learning blocks of five foraging bouts (B1: bout number 1 to5; B2: bout number 6 to 10, etc.). The total number of decisions is given (_all) as well as the separation into bouts with the target placed in the top row (_T_dorsal) and in the bottom row (_T_ventral).</p> <p>Dataset 2: The dataset contains the decision time (seconds) and error rate (correct: number of correct decisions; false: number of false decisions) of each bee during the training phase. Data are divided in treatment groups (dorsal, ventral, mixed) and learning blocks of six foraging bouts (B1: bout number 1 to 6; B2: bout number 7 to 12, etc.). For both error rate at 5 cm distance to the search screen and decision time the total values are given (_all_5) as well as the separation into trials with the target placed in the top row (_T_dorsal_5) and in the bottom row (_T_dorsal_5). Additionally, the error rate of the first and last learning block is given for distances of 10 cm (_10), 7.5cm (_7.5) and 0 cm (_0) to the search screen. NA = missing value.</p> <p>Dataset 3: The dataset contains the decision time (seconds) and error rate at 5 cm distance to the search screen (correct: number of correct decisions; false: number of false decisions) of each bee during the training phase. Data are divided in treatment groups (dorsal, ventral, mixed) and learning blocks of three foraging bouts (B1: bout number 1 to 3; B2: bout number 4 to 6, etc.). For both error rate and decision time only the total values are given (_all).</p> <p>Dataset 4: The dataset contains the flight angles of the first (F1), third (F3) and fifth (F5) foraging bout of all filmed bees (N=7 per treatment group). For the mixed group these bouts are presented for both possible target positions (dorsal, ventral) – therefore in this group 10 bouts per bee are shown. The distance between entrance hole and decision line (25cm) was divided into 5 segments of 5 cm length (_5: 0 to 5 cm distance from the entrance, _10: from 5 to 10 cm distance, etc. ). NA = missing value).</p> <p>Dataset 5: The dataset contains the percentage of erroneous decisions for each bee and each position of the search screen (three rows by three columns). The particular position is described by the row (topR, middleR, bottomR) and the arrangement in the particular row (left, middle, right). For example, the topmost left position is named 'topR_left' and the middle position in the middle row is named 'middleR_middle'.</p

Health status of honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera) and disease-related risk factors for colony losses in Austria.

Austrian beekeepers frequently suffered severe colony losses during the last decade similar to trends all over Europe. This first surveillance study aimed to describe the health status of Austrian bee colonies and to analyze the reasons for losses for both the summer and winter season in Austria. In this study 189 apiaries all over Austria were selected using a stratified random sampling approach and inspected three times between July 2015 and spring 2016 by trained bee inspectors. The inspectors made interviews with the beekeepers about their beekeeping practice and the history of the involved colonies. They inspected a total of 1596 colonies for symptoms of nine bee pests and diseases (four of them notifiable diseases) and took bee samples for varroa mite infestation analysis. The most frequently detected diseases were three brood diseases: Varroosis, Chalkbrood and Sacbrood. The notifiable bee pests Aethina tumida and Tropilaelaps spp. were not detected. During the study period 10.8% of the 1596 observed colonies died. Winter proved to be the most critical season, in which 75% of the reported colony losses happened. Risks for suffering summer losses increased significantly, when colonies were weak in July, had queen problems or a high varroa mite infestation level on bees in July. Risks for suffering winter losses increased significantly, when the colonies had a high varroa mite infestation level on bees in September, were weak in September, had a queen older than one year or the beekeeper had few years of beekeeping experience. However, the effect of a high varroa mite infestation level in September had by far the greatest potential to raise the winter losses compared to the other significant factors

Pheromone paths attached to the substrate in meliponine bees: helpful but not obligatory for recruitment success

In contrast to marking of the location of resources or sexual partners using single-spot pheromone sources, pheromone paths attached to the substrate and assisting orientation are rarely found among flying organisms. However, they do exist in meliponine bees (Apidae, Apinae, Meliponini), commonly known as stingless bees, which represent a group of important pollinators in tropical forests. Worker bees of several Neotropical meliponine species, especially in the genus Scaptotrigona Moure 1942, deposit pheromone paths on substrates between highly profitable resources and their nest. In contrast to past results and claims, we find that these pheromone paths are not an indispensable condition for successful recruitment but rather a means to increase the success of recruiters in persuading their nestmates to forage food at a particular location. Our results are relevant to a speciation theory in scent path-laying meliponine bees, such as Scaptotrigona. In addition, the finding that pheromone path-laying bees are able to recruit to food locations even across barriers such as large bodies of water affects tropical pollination ecology and theories on the evolution of resource communication in insect societies with a flying worker caste.Austrian Science Fund FWF[P17530