A morphometry map and a new method for honey bee morphometric analysis by using the ArcGIS

The morphometric analysis of honey bees has a substantial importance for honey bee subspecies characterization and discrimination while the ArcGIS is a geographical program for data analysis. In the present research, the combination between the morphometric data and the spatial analysis options of the ArcGIS was done and subsequently tested in creating a morphometry map for honey bees from some regions in Egypt as well as for the discrimination between two honey bee subspecies. Therefore, I present a model for creating the morphometry maps and a new method for the morphometric analysis by the transformation of the morphometric data to raster data layers. The obtained results showed that the created morphometry map classified the regions successfully according to the morphological character means. The morphometric analysis was successfully performed by using trend analysis and raster difference range. The analysis of the morphometric data as raster layers showed high sensitivity for the differences between subspecies and regions. The presented model and the method are effective and can be applied for the discrimination between subspecies, regions and colonies as well as can be used with other insects

Suitability of Current and Future Conditions to Apiculture in Egypt using Geographical Information System

Apiculture is currently considered as an important economic activity in Egypt. Most agricultural areas in Egypt are located close to Nile river as well as apicultural activities. Recently, various desert areas have been widely reclaimed and inhabited. In this study, the land suitability to apiculture in Egypt, either cultivated or desert areas, was investigated using geographical information system (GIS), under current and future conditions (2070). Two maps were extracted from the spatial analysis; one map for current conditions and the second one for future conditions. The study shows that most Egypt is suitable for apiculture but the more suitable areas are restricted to specific locations. In the future, land suitability was found to be impacted by future conditions, mainly thermal stress. Upper Egypt will be greatly impacted than the middle or north Egypt. Apiaries relocation is advisable especially at upper Egypt when necessary during 2070. It could be expected that apiculture could be practiced widely throughout Egypt currently and in the future as well, and in reclaimed lands. The spatial analysis was done using the major factors that could impact beekeeping; namely, maximum and minimum temperatures, precipitation, slope, land type, and distance from plants.</jats:p

Bal arılarında (Apis mellifera) arı sütü toplama sonrası larvalardan geliştirilen ana arıların kalitesi üzerine karşılaştırmalı bir çalışma

Rearing bee queens is almost done utilizing grafting young larvae while the effects of grafting using old larvae after the collection of royal jelly on the quality of queens are not known. In fact, the production of royal jelly depends on grafting, then discarding the larvae to collect the royal jelly. This study aimed to investigate this point by grafting old larvae after removing them from their original cells without food. Larvae at age about 2 days were grafted into plastic queen cell cups (selection and grafting method or S&G method) leaving royal jelly behind and then resultant queens were compared with naturally reared ones (or NQ). The study showed the absence of significant variations between the queens reared from the two methods in characteristics of queens and cells. Meanwhile, no significant differences were found in regard to the performance of colonies. The colonies with queens from S&G method had slightly higher performance than those with NQ. The study concluded that grafting using old larvae without their original food does not impair the quality of queens. During the production of royal jelly, larvae may be grafted into new cells to continue their normal development instead of discarding them.Ana arıların yetiştirilmesi genç larvaların aşılanmasıyla neredeyse tamamlanırken, arı sütünün toplanmasından sonra eski larvaların aşılanmasının kraliçe arıların kalitesine etkisi bilinmemektedir. Aslında, arı sütü üretimi aşılamaya ve ardından arı sütünü toplamak için larvaları atmaya bağlıdır. Bu çalışma, eski larvaları yemeksiz olarak orijinal hücrelerinden çıkardıktan sonra aşılayarak bu noktayı araştırmayı amaçlamıştır. Yaklaşık 2 günlük olan larvalar, geride arı sütü bırakarak plastik kraliçe hücre kaplarına (seçme ve aşılama yöntemi veya S&G yöntemi) aşılandı ve ardından ortaya çıkan kraliçeler, doğal olarak yetiştirilenlerle (veya NQ) karşılaştırıldı. Çalışma, iki yöntemden yetiştirilen ana arılar arasında ana arı ve hücre özelliklerinde önemli farklılıkların olmadığını gösterdi. Bu arada, kolonilerin performansı açısından önemli bir fark bulunamadı. S&G yönteminden kraliçeleri olan koloniler, NQ'ya sahip olanlardan biraz daha yüksek performans gösterdi. Çalışma, orijinal besinleri olmadan eski larvaları kullanarak aşılamanın kraliçelerin kalitesini bozmadığı sonucuna varmıştır. Arı sütünün üretimi sırasında larvalar, onları atmak yerine normal gelişimlerini sürdürmek için yeni hücrelere aşılanabilir

Effects of Altosid XR briquets as sustained-release formulations on Culex pipiens and honey bees

Mosquitos are dangerous disease vectors to humans. There are many methods to control mosquitos, and one of these methods depends on adding insect growth regulators (IGRs) in pond water to impair the development of immature stages. On the other side, honey bees may collect contaminated water with IGRs to dilute stored honey inside hives for feeding. The interaction between IGRs used to control mosquito and honey bees, as a non-target organism, has gained little attention. In this study, the efficacy period of a single application of Altosid XR (methoprene as an active ingredient) on mosquito, Culex pipiens, reared in pond water from two different sources, and its effects on honey bee, Apis mellifera, larvae and adults were studied. The results showed that the Altosid as sustained-release formulations had continuous effectiveness with 90-100% inhibition of adult formation for 43 and 45 days post-treatment for mosquito reared in pond water from the two sources. The source of pond water showed no high impact on the efficacy period of Altosid, especially the period with the highest effectiveness. Significantly higher numbers of treated honey bee larvae with Altosid were removed by worker bees than the control group. The survival of adult bees fed on syrup prepared using water collected after two and three weeks post-treatment with Altosid impacted negatively than the control group. Single application with Altosid can be considered as a suitable treatment for mosquitos up to 45 days, meanwhile as a potential hazard to bee colonies for immature and mature stages

Wintering Map for Honey Bee Colonies in El-Behera Governorate, Egypt by using Geographical Information System (GIS)

The geographical information system (GIS) has been used successfully in many studies to solve apicultural problems. The winter season is considered as a challenge for honey bee colonies due to the cold weather which cause the forfeiture of many colonies. The good wintering of honey bee colonies depends mainly on the wintering regions and beekeeping practices. To identify the suitable regions for colonies wintering at El-Behera governorate, different datasets were prepared and spatially analyzed by using ArcGIS. The input datasets were temperature, distance from roads, distance from plants, land cover, slope and precipitation. Two wintering maps were created; all the datasets were combined at the same weight in one map and at different weights in the other map. The two maps showed similarities in their spatial outputs. The suitable areas for colonies wintering were successfully identified. The spatial statistical analysis showed significant differences between the suitable regions and the unsuitable regions. The described model in the present research can be applied elsewhere for the successful identification of suitable wintering regions

Geographical Information System for Beekeeping Development

Geographical Information System (GIS) is a computer-based system that can perform analysis for various datasets in relation to specific geographical locations and has been widely applied in agriculture. So far, GIS has been used in relatively few studies related to honey bees and beekeeping, but this article aims to review those previously performed and to present trends to apply GIS in beekeeping and then to help and guide researchers to perform more studies utilizing it. GIS can clearly be utilized to select suitable locations for apiaries, to map bee plants, to study bee behavior, diseases and pests, and to predict the effects of climate change on honey bees beside other benefits for beekeeping. Many obstacles and problems facing beekeeping can be mapped and analyzed using GIS, and other techniques can be used with it to perform the required tasks as presented in this review

Using safe materials to control Varroa mites with studying grooming behavior of honey bees and morphology of Varroa over winter

Extracts of drone larvae and propolis as safe materials are anticipated to boost the grooming behavior of honey bees against Varroa mites. It is also expected that grooming behavior of bees and morphology of Varroa are stable during the least active period of the year to bee colonies (i.e winter). Sugar syrup alone or mixed with drone larvae extract or propolis extract were examined as potential Varroa control materials to test these hypothesizes. Moreover, percentages of groomed mites along with body lengths and widths of Varroa were studied on weekly basis during winter. The results showed that propolis extract was able to increase the number of fallen mites under field conditions but with lethal impacts on bee workers in the laboratory than extract of drone larvae or sugar syrup. All the treatments were not able to boost the grooming behavior of bees. The results proved that grooming behavior was stable during winter. Therefore, it is better to select colonies with grooming potential against Varroa during winter in selection programs. December was significantly the minimal month in percentage of groomed mites based on the overall means. Means of measured characteristics of Varroa declined significantly over the study period. For beekeepers, using sugar syrup as spray on bees during regularly colony inspection can help managing Varroa populations without harming the bees

Wintering Map for Honey Bee Colonies in El-Behera Governorate, Egypt by using Geographical Information System (GIS)

The geographical information system (GIS) has been used successfully in many studies to solve apicultural problems. The winter season is considered as a challenge for honey bee colonies due to the cold weather which cause the forfeiture of many colonies. The good wintering of honey bee colonies depends mainly on the wintering regions and beekeeping practices. To identify the suitable regions for colonies wintering at El-Behera governorate, different datasets were prepared and spatially analyzed by using ArcGIS. The input datasets were temperature, distance from roads, distance from plants, land cover, slope and precipitation. Two wintering maps were created; all the datasets were combined at the same weight in one map and at different weights in the other map. The two maps showed similarities in their spatial outputs. The suitable areas for colonies wintering were successfully identified. The spatial statistical analysis showed significant differences between the suitable regions and the unsuitable regions. The described model in the present research can be applied elsewhere for the successful identification of suitable wintering regions

How can Sequence Alignment Method Affect the Phylogenetic Relationship Results?

Sequence alignment is a fundamental step before analysing the phylogenetic relationships between organisms. The effect of the alignment method on the phylogenetic relationship results has not been well studied. Three methods for sequence alignment are available in Geneious software: (1) Geneious alignment, (2) ClustalW, and (3) MUSCLE. The study aimed to investigate the impacts of these three alignment methods on the phylogenetic relationships between test organisms. Therefore, the phylogenetic tree was established for the same organisms (honey bee species and subspecies) after using the three alignment methods, and then the results were compared. The constructed tree after using ClustalW differed than Geneious alignment and MUSCLE without a clear effect on relationship between the closely related organisms. Based on this study, it is better for researchers to test different alignment methods before constructing the final phylogenetic tree to select the most suitable one

Present and future perspectives of using biological control agents against pests of honey bees

Abstract Honey bee, Apis mellifera L., is considered as an essential organism to the agricultural sector due to its role in pollination and alleviation of poverty in rural areas. Many pests attack honey bee colonies causing severe damages and economic losses. These pests include Varroa mites, Vespa hornets, wax moths, small hive beetles, and parasitic flies. Using chemical methods to control these pests causes some negative effects on honey bees and contaminates their products, while using biological control agents is promising and has no serious hazards. This article aimed to review available studies on the role of biological control agents mainly predators, parasitoids, and pathogens in controlling bee’s pests and to present new perspectives. Also, obstacles of using biocontrol agents inside and outside the hives were presented. This article is essential for planning integrated management programs for honey bee pests