Aggregations of unrelated Apis florea

International audienc

Morphometric studies of Apis cerana in Thailand and the Malaysian peninsula

Samples of Apis cerana were collected from 44 locations in 12 regions of Thailand and peninsular Malaysia. Morphometric measurements were made on 58 characters. Statistical analysis showed that these samples could be separated into four groups: northern to central Thailand, southern Thailand to the end of the Malaysian peninsula, Samui Island and, less distinctly, Phuket Island. These differences support the interpretation that A. cerana has spread its range into south-east Asia in recent geological times

Aggregations of unrelated Apis florea colonies

Intensive surveys of an area of woodland in Phitsanulok province, Thailand, revealed 15 colonies of Apis florea. The colonies had a highly aggregated spatial distribution (Standardized Morisita's Index of Dispersion = 0.59). Microsatellite analysis based on 5 loci showed that no colonies were related as mother-daughter, suggesting that unrelated colonies tend to nest near existing colonies

Instrumental insemination of Apis mellifera queens with hetero- and conspecific spermatozoa results in different sperm survival

Sixty three queens of Apis mellifera were inseminated each with about 8 million spermatozoa from either 1 A. mellifera drone, 8 A. cerana, 5 A. dorsata or 20 A. florea drones. Spermatozoa were collected from vesiculae seminales, diluted in buffer and re-concentrated at 1,000 g for 10 minutes. Between 1.4% and 2.8% of the spermatozoa reached the spermatheca. Motility of spermatozoa of A. mellifera and A. cerana did not change within 4 weeks, it was nearly 100%. The motility of A. florea spermatozoa decreased to 83.4% after 3 days and to 33.9% after 4 weeks and motility of A. dorsata spermatozoa decreased to 61.2% after 3 days and to 26% after 4 weeks. Fertilization of A. mellifera eggs was 57% by A. mellifera spermatozoa. Calculation based on non-hatching eggs showed that about 40% were fertilized by A. cerana and A. florea and less than 20% by A. dorsata spermatozoa. The composition of spermathecal fluid seems to be different within the species and its significance for long term sperm storage is discussed

Matrilineal origins of Apis mellifera in Thailand

Apis mellifera was imported to Thailand approximately 60 years ago, but the subspecies that contributed to honey bee populations in this country are unknown. We collected 476 colonies from North, Central, Northeast and South Thailand and used PCR-RFLP and direct DNA sequencing to identify mitochondrial lineages and subspecies present. Three common and five rare composite haplotypes were found. Haplotype group ThaiA1 (22% of colonies) and group ThaiA2 (60%) match C or east European lineage A. m. ligustica and A. m. carnica. Haplotype group ThaiB (18%) belongs to the O or Middle Eastern lineage. Non-coding mitochondrial sequences of ThaiB are similar to those of A. m. syriaca and A. m. lamarckii, although no published sequence is an exact match. Analysis of Molecular Variation (AMOVA) showed most of the observed genetic variation occurred within individual apiaries, but significant differentiation between North + Central and Northeast + South regions was observed

Future rice is discounted less steeply than future money in Thailand

publisherThere is evidence that people discount food more steeply than money, suggestingthat primary or consumable reinforcers lose value quickly, whereas conditionedor nonconsumable reinforcers lose value slowly. In the present study,discounting rates of baht (unstable currency) and rice (preservable food) werecompared during a period of unstable economic conditions in Thailand. Delaydiscounting of 2 amounts of hypothetical money and 2 matched amounts ofhypothetical rice were examined. For smaller amounts of rewards, there was no difference in rates of discounting between money and a matched amount of rice. For larger amounts of rewards, however, money was discounted more steeply than a matched amount of rice. It was suggested that the unstable currency might be discounted more severely than a durable good of comparable monetary value in some circumstances

Reinforcing a barrier – a specific social defense of the dwarf honeybee (Apis florea) released by the weaver ant (Oecophylla smaragdina)

In the arboreal habitat of Apis florea one of the dominant insectivorous predators is the weaver ant, Oecophylla smaragdina. The main mechanism of A. florea to protect its nest against ants and other crawling arthropods are “barriers” of sticky material (sticky bands) which the bees build around the branches and all structures which connect the comb to the outside. We studied whether the presentation of an O. smaragdina ant on the comb releases a specific behavioral response of the bees. After the exposure of a living O. smaragdina worker, held by a forceps on the top of the A. florea comb, the number of bees at the sticky band zone increased and remained on higher level for 2 hours compared to control experiments (presentation of an empty forceps, Tenebrio molitor larva or another arboreal ant species, Crematogaster rogenhoferi). Further, more sticky material was deposited by the bees after exposure of a weaver ant. This behavior seems to be a specific reaction of A. florea to its most important predator O. smaragdina

A scientific note on the mating frequency of Apis dorsata

(without abstract