NEPOTISM IN HONEY BEES, COMPUTER PROGRAMS AND SCIENTIFIC HYPOTHESES

Page et al. (1989) attempted to show that bees on queen cells preferentially reared their super sisters as replacement queens rather than half sisters. In support of their contention, they used computer simulation to model the biological system. We argue that the simulation did not accurately reflect the biological system in several important respects. We show that random data will produce the same kinds of statistical significance as the actual data

Disappearing disease: III. A comparison of seven different stocks of the honey bee (Apis mellifera)

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Rediscovery of Apis vechti Maa, 1953: The Saban Honey Bee

The species Apis Vechti (MAA, 1953) the Sabah honey bee is organized as a valid species. Additional to the description of MAA (1953) species-specific characters associated with the endophallus, hind leg tibial hair of the drone and worker bee fore-wing venation are described

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

Responses to \u3ci\u3eVarroa destructor\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3eNosema ceranae\u3c/i\u3e by several commercial strains of Australian and North American honeybees (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

The potential impact of varroa (Varroa destructor, Anderson & Trueman) on Australian beekeeping and agriculture depends in part on the levels of resistance to this parasite expressed by Australian commercial honeybees (Apis mellifera). The responses of seven lines of Australian honeybees to V. destructor were compared with the responses of a stock of Italian honeybees from the United States known for its susceptibility to V. destructor and two stocks known for their resistance to V. destructor, Russian honeybees (RHB) and a stock expressing the varroa sensitive hygiene trait (VSH). The experiment began in May with uniform colonies having uniform infestation of V. destructor. V. destructor infestations measured as the percentage of adult bees infested in the Australian lines and the Italian stock rose from less than 10% in August to over 25% in October. From August to November, 44% of both the Australian and Italian colonies died while strongly exhibiting symptoms of parasitic mite syndrome. In contrast, RHB and VSH colonies displayed comparative resistance to V. destructor. Their infestation rates rose from about 5% in August to 10% (RHB) and 14% (VSH) in October. Likely, some of this increase resulted from invasion pressure by mites from the dying Australian and Italian colonies. During the August to November period, 4.4% of the RHB and 14.3% of the VSH colonies died. In comparisons of the seven Australian lines, only non-significant and trivial differences were found for infestation and mortality rates. All Australian lines were highly susceptible to V. destructor. Additionally, evaluations of rates of Nosema ceranae infections were made throughout the course of the experiment. Although high levels of infection were found across all stocks and lines, no stock or line exhibited an adverse effect from N. ceranae infection

Behavioral responses underpinning resistance and susceptibility of honeybees to Tropilaelaps mercedesae

Behavioral responses of Apis cerana, Apis dorsata, and Apis mellifera to the ectoparasitic mite, Tropilaelaps mercedesae, were compared using two laboratory bioassays: cohorts of 50 caged worker bees and individual-caged worker bees, all of unknown ages. For the group bioassays, ten T. mercedesae were placed on the bodies of bees in each cohort. After 6 h, nearly 2/3 of the mites placed on A. cerana had fallen from the bees onto sticky traps that were placed under the cages, compared to only about 1/3 for A. dorsata and A. mellifera. The majority of fallen mites fell within 24 h from A. cerana (93.3 ± 2.3%), 36 h from A. dorsata (92.2 ± 1.9%), and 48 h from A. mellifera (91.3 ± 1.4%). Higher proportions of injured mites were observed among the mites that fell from A. cerana (38.3 ± 12.9%) and A. dorsata (33.9 ± 17.4%) than among those that fell from A. mellifera (19.5 ± 7.2%). The rapid fall of mites from the bodies of A. cerana may be due to a combination of auto-grooming and rapid body shaking of the bees. In individual bee assays, where individual bees were challenged with one female T. mercedesae, A. cerana and A. dorsata exhibited faster behavioral responses to the presence of mites than did A. mellifera (39.4 ± 13.2, 44.9 ± 19.2, and 188.4 ± 63.9 s, respectively). Phoretic T. mercedesae were mostly observed attaching to the propodeum/petiole region of all three bee species, although some mites also occupied the wing base area of A. dorsata and A. mellifera.Keywords: Apis mellifera, Apis cerana, grooming behavior, Tropilaelaps mercedesae, Apis dorsataKeywords: Apis mellifera, Apis cerana, grooming behavior, Tropilaelaps mercedesae, Apis dorsat

Genetic origins of honey bees (Apis mellifera) on Kangaroo Island and Norfolk Island (Australia) and the Kingdom of Tonga

International audienceAbstractWe examine the origin of honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations in Kangaroo Island (Australia), Norfolk Island (Australia) and the Kingdom of Tonga using a highly polymorphic mitochondrial DNA region and a panel of 37 single nucleotide polymorphisms that assigns ancestry to three evolutionary lineages: Eastern Europe, Western Europe and Africa. We also examine inbreeding coefficients and genetic variation using microsatellites and mitochondrial sequencing. The honey bees of Kangaroo Island have a high proportion of Eastern European ancestry (90.2%), consistent with claims that they are of the subspecies A. m. ligustica. The honey bees of Norfolk Island also had a majority of ancestry from Eastern Europe (73.1%) with some contribution from Western Europe (21.2%). The honey bees of Tonga are mainly of Western European (70.3%) origin with some Eastern European ancestry (27.4%). Despite the suspected severe bottlenecks experienced by these island population, inbreeding coefficients were low

REGULATION OF HONEY BEE HOARDING EFFICIENCY

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