Effect of carbon dioxide and cold anaesthesia on the hoarding behavior of the honeybee.

Hoarding behaviour of groups of newly emerged adult honeybees was measured after they had been exposed to CO2 for 10 min, or exposed to CO2 for long enough to immobilize them, or exposed to cold. Both CO2 and cold affected hoarding behaviour. Bees exposed to CO2 for 10 min initially hoarded less, and later hoarded more, than controls. The hoarding rate of bees exposed to CO2 only long enough to immobilize them, or exposed to cold, was generally depressed throughout the experiment. Due to the complex changes in hoarding that follow CO2 treatment, cold is judged to be the preferred anaesthetic for use in hoarding experiments

Evidence of reproductive isolation confirms that Apis andreniformis (Smith, 1858) is a separate species from sympatric Apis florea (Fabricius, 1787).

The species Apis andreniformis (Smith, 1858), the small dwarf honey bee of South-east Asia, is recognized as a valid biological species. This recognition is based on distinctive endophallus characteristics in comparison with sympatric Apis florea (Fabricius, 1787). Additionally, scanning electron microscope images of drone basitarsi are presented, as are preliminary comparisons of wing venation

Reproductive isolation by different time of drone flight between Apis cerana (Fabricius, 1793) and Apis vechti (Maa, 1953)

In Sri Lanka the three honeybee species Apis florea, Apis cerana and Apis dorsata are found in the same biotope. The daily periods of drone flight were found to be specific O( ENIKGER and AW-YALGUN1ASE K,ERA 1976). According to NT RUETR (1988) this behavioral isolation is a more complete separation than the reproductive barrier between A. mellifera and A. cerana. The three honeybees, A. cerana, A. vechti and A. dorsata are naturally distributed in the same habitat. We compared the time of drone flight between these honeybees in Sabah (North East Borneo)

Honey bee foraging distance depends on month and forage type

To investigate the distances at which honey bee foragers collect nectar and pollen, we analysed 5,484 decoded waggle dances made to natural forage sites to determine monthly foraging distance for each forage type. Firstly, we found significantly fewer overall dances made for pollen (16.8 %) than for non-pollen, presumably nectar (83.2 %; P < 2.2 × 10−23). When we analysed distance against month and forage type, there was a significant interaction between the two factors, which demonstrates that in some months, one forage type is collected at farther distances, but this would reverse in other months. Overall, these data suggest that distance, as a proxy for forage availability, is not significantly and consistently driven by need for one type of forage over the other

Colony Collapse Disorder: A Descriptive Study

BACKGROUND: Over the last two winters, there have been large-scale, unexplained losses of managed honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies in the United States. In the absence of a known cause, this syndrome was named Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) because the main trait was a rapid loss of adult worker bees. We initiated a descriptive epizootiological study in order to better characterize CCD and compare risk factor exposure between populations afflicted by and not afflicted by CCD. METHODS AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Of 61 quantified variables (including adult bee physiology, pathogen loads, and pesticide levels), no single measure emerged as a most-likely cause of CCD. Bees in CCD colonies had higher pathogen loads and were co-infected with a greater number of pathogens than control populations, suggesting either an increased exposure to pathogens or a reduced resistance of bees toward pathogens. Levels of the synthetic acaricide coumaphos (used by beekeepers to control the parasitic mite Varroa destructor) were higher in control colonies than CCD-affected colonies. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first comprehensive survey of CCD-affected bee populations that suggests CCD involves an interaction between pathogens and other stress factors. We present evidence that this condition is contagious or the result of exposure to a common risk factor. Potentially important areas for future hypothesis-driven research, including the possible legacy effect of mite parasitism and the role of honey bee resistance to pesticides, are highlighted

Characterisation of the British honey bee metagenome

Numerous microbial symbionts, both commensal and pathogenic, are associated with honey bees. Here, the authors genomically characterize this ‘metagenome’ of the British honey bee, identifying a diversity of commensal microbes as well as known and putative pathogen

Cold room thermoregulation, store consumption, and survival of Africanized and European honey bees (Apis mellifera L)

The potential of Africanized honey bees to survive winters was evaluated by comparing them in groups (40 g, 1.0 kg, 1.5 kg or whole colonies) to European bees in cold rooms. Africanized workers caged in 40-g groups at 15°C aggregated in different positions and in tighter conformations, removed significantly lower amounts of sucrose syrup from feeders, and had higher mortalities than European workers. Africanized bees in 1.0-kg groups also had lower rates of syrup removal but were similar to European groups in aggregation and core temperatures. Groups of 1.5 kg showed similar temperature profiles inside the hives. Whole colonies of both types exposed to temperatures ≈ 0°C died before 10 wk, and did not differ significantly in amounts of recovered dead workers, or in weight loss. These results suggest that some of the important behavioral components of overwintering are present in Africanized honey bees