IMPLIKASI BIOLOGI REPRODUKSI TERHADAP KONSERVASI GENETIK JENIS Santalum album

The Asian honey bee Apis cerana and the European honey bee Apis mellifera are closely related and morphologically very similar. Where these species coexist, they appear to compete, but the outcomes of competition vary enormously between locations. Here, we report comparative behavioural data for A. cerana and A. mellifera in China gathered by tracking bees using radio frequency identification. Both species organise their division of labour by temporal polyethism and have remarkably similar demographic structure. Analyses of the homing capacities of both species following large-scale displacement suggest that A. mellifera colonies have a larger range than A. cerana. We observed that relocation of A. mellifera to a new environment disrupted colony function for 3 weeks. Our data show that A. mellifera and. A cerana occupy extremely similar behavioural niches, and therefore, the potential for competition between these species is very high.

Ever since the seminal papers of Hamilton (1964), a common focus of sociobiology has been the genetic relationships among individuals of insect societies. At issue are agents that reduce the average relatedness among colony members since they are difficult to interpret in light of the evolution of sociality by kin selection. One such factor is polyandry or female multiple mating. Low levels of polyandry are common among the social Hymenoptera, occurring across a broad range of taxa and social systems (Page and Metcalf 1982; Page 1986; Crozier and Pamilo 1996). In spite of that, high mating frequencies (‚2 mates/ female) are relatively rare among the highly eusocial Hymenoptera, limited to only one or a few genera in each of the ants, bees, and wasps (Boomsma and Ratnieks 1996). These extraordinary levels of polyandry have been of particular interest among students of social insect research since their adaptive significance is still in question and highly debated (Kraus and Page 1998; Sherman et al. 1998). The genus Apis has been studied in depth for both queen reproductive behavior and mating frequency, facts that allow insight into the evolution of extreme polyandry in these species. The reproductive behavior of honey bee queens (Apis mellifera) occurs early in their lifetimes. Virgin queens initiate mating behavior when they are about 1 wk old by briefly exiting the colony and orienting to local landmarks (Ruttner 1956). After such orientation * To whom correspondence should be addressed; e-mail: drtarpy@

SummaryBiological, historical and archaeological evidence proves that honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) have been present in the British Isles for at least 4000 years, and suggests that they probably entered from southern Europe after the retreat of the last Ice Age. Recent studies show that rather than having been destroyed by disease in the early 20th century, or obliterated by imports of other strains of honey bee, the dark European honey bee Apis mellifera mellifera still exists as genetically distinct populations in various parts of Britain. There is little information available to indicate the extent of any competition between honey bees and other species of bee in Britain, or to quantify the contribution of honey bees to major ecosystems in Britain. There is a need for strategies for conserving rare or endangered bee species to recognise that local strains of honey bee may be equally endangered, and may be equally deserving of conservation effort. All species of bee are worthy of conservation, and man...

SummaryBiological, historical and archaeological evidence proves that honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) have been present in the British Isles for at least 4000 years, and suggests that they probably entered from southern Europe after the retreat of the last Ice Age. Recent studies show that rather than having been destroyed by disease in the early 20th century, or obliterated by imports of other strains of honey bee, the dark European honey bee Apis mellifera mellifera still exists as genetically distinct populations in various parts of Britain. There is little information available to indicate the extent of any competition between honey bees and other species of bee in Britain, or to quantify the contribution of honey bees to major ecosystems in Britain. There is a need for strategies for conserving rare or endangered bee species to recognise that local strains of honey bee may be equally endangered, and may be equally deserving of conservation effort. All species of bee are worthy of conservation, and management decisions need to be made on a case by case basis, and must be based on a sound understanding of the underlying biology of the ecosystems involved.

Worker honeybees (Apis mellifera) usually only lay eggs when their colony is queenless. However, an extremely rare 'anarchistic' phenotype occurs, in which workers develop functional ovaries and lay large numbers of haploid eggs which develop into adult drones despite the presence of the queen. Studies of such colonies can give important insights into the mechanisms by which worker sterility is maintained in normal colonies. Here we report on the results of a breeding programme which enhanced the frequency of the anarchistic phenotype. Colonies derived from queens inseminated only by worker-laid males showed up to 9% of workers with highly developed ovaries. In these colonies a large proportion of males arose from worker-laid eggs. Colonies headed by queens inseminated with 50% worker-laid drones and 50% queen-laid drones showed variable phenotypes. In most such colonies there was no worker reproduction. In some, many workers had highly developed ovaries, but no worker-laid eggs were reared. In one colony, many worker-laid eggs were reared to maturity. The results suggest that the anarchy phenotype results from a complex interaction of queen genotype, the worker genotype of subfamilies that successfully reproduce and of those that do not, and the external environment.

This study investigated whether muskmelon (Cucumis melo L. var. reticulates), a high-value, warm-season vegetable, would be a suitable crop for tunnel production in southern New England, and if consumers would value local production of muskmelon. In New England, muskmelon (marketed as cantaloupe) is more commonly available to consumers at the supermarket than at farmers' markets. Direct-to-consumer sales are a common and important marketing tool used by growers in this region. The New England climate does not always provide the optimal growing conditions for muskmelon production. Tunnel production is becoming increasingly popular in New England because tunnels allow growers to extend and diversify crop production, and respond to consumer demand for increased production of local produce. The objectives of this study were to evaluate muskmelon tunnel production systems, test pollinator effectiveness within the high tunnels, and explore consumer preference for local muskmelon.

IntroductionIn Australia, as well as many other regions of the world, European honey bees Apis mellifera are an introduced species and may harm native bee fauna by competing with them for food resources. Field studies have revealed negative associations between honey bee and native bee abundance, but whether this translates to fitness costs for native bees is unclear.MethodsUsing drilled wooden-block trap nests, we evaluated whether honey bee abundance is associated with fitness parameters (number of nests, provisioned cells per nest, offspring number, mortality rate, sex ratio, and body size) of cavity-nesting native bees over 2 years. We also conducted palynological analyses to measure pollen resource overlap and evaluate whether this impacts native bee fitness.Results and discussionGreater honey bee abundance was associated with a male-biased sex ratio in the native bee progeny across years and an increased mortality rate of native bee progeny in the first year. Most non-significant associations were also in the directions predicted from honey bees adversely impacting native bee fitness. In the first year, greater pollen morphospecies overlap was associated with fewer provisioned cells. In conclusion, we demonstrated that honey bees have the potential to have harmful consequences for native bee fitness.

Traditional honey bee hunting and beekeeping are crucial to the economic and spiritual lives of Thais. Bee products such as honey, brood, and royal jelly are regarded as healthy foods and frequently used as traditional medicine. In this chapter, honey bee diversity in Thailand, traditional hunting, and beekeeping are described. The giant and dwarf honey bees are harvested by hunting, only the Asian cavity nesting honey bee (Apis cerana) is domesticated and maintained in the traditional hives for harvesting honey and other bee products. The introduced species, the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) are kept in the modern box hives. By sharing food sources and habitat, the honey bees have also shared parasites and diseases. The ectoparasitic mites (both Varroa destructor and Tropilaelaps mercedesae) were jumped from A. cerana and A. dorsata respectively to the A. mellifera. The parasitic mites have become widespread and serious cause of colony loss in Thailand. In addition, microbial diseases (e.g., bee viruses, and N. ceranae) also can be detected in both native and introduced honey bee species. Other factors contributing to honey bee declines are also described.

The bacterial communities in the guts of the adults and larvae of the Asian honey bee Apis cerana and the European honey bee Apis mellifera were surveyed by pyrosequencing the 16S rRNA genes. Most of the gut bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences were highly similar to the known honey bee-specific ones and affiliated with Pasteurellaceae or lactic acid bacteria (LAB). The numbers of operational taxonomic units (OTUs, defined at 97% similarity) were lower in the larval guts (6 or 9) than in the adult guts (18 or 20), and the frequencies of Pasteurellaceae-related OTUs were higher in the larval guts while those of LAB-related OTUs in the adult guts. The frequencies of Lactococcus, Bartonella, Spiroplasma, Enterobacteriaceae, and Flavobacteriaceae-related OTUs were much higher in A. cerana guts while Bifidobacterium and Lachnospiraceae-related OTUs were more abundant in A. mellfera guts. The bacterial community structures in the midguts and hindguts of the adult honey bees were not different for A. cerana, but significantly different for A. mellifera. The above results substantiated the previous observation that honey bee guts are dominated by several specific bacterial groups, and also showed that the relative abundances of OTUs could be markedly changed depending on the developmental stage, the location within the gut, and the honey bee species. The possibility of using the gut bacterial community as an indicator of honey bee health was discussed.

Aluminum is increasingly globally bioavailable with acidification from industrial emissions and poor mining practices. This bioavailability increases uptake by flora, contaminating products such as fruit, pollen, and nectar. Concentrations of aluminum in fruit and pollen have been reported between 0.05 and 670mg/L in North America. This is particularly concerning for pollinators that ingest pollen and nectar. Honey bees represent a globally present species experiencing decline in Europe and North America. Region specific decline may be a result of differential toxicity of exposure between subspecies. We find that European honey bees (Apis mellifera mellifera) may have differential toxicity as compared to two allopatric Mediterranean subspecies (Apis mellifera carnica and Apis mellifera caucasica) which showed no within subspecies exposure differences. European honey bees were then used in a laboratory experiment and exposed to aluminum in their daily water supply to mimic nectar contamination at several concentrations. After approximately 3 weeks of aluminum ingestion these bees showed significantly shorter captive longevity than controls at concentrations as low as 10.4mg/L and showed a possible hormetic response in motility. We also compared European honey bees to Africanized/European hybrid bees (Apis mellifera mellifera/scutellata hybrid) in short-term free-flight experiments. Neither the European honey bee nor the hybrid showed immediate foraging deficits in flight time, color choice, or floral manipulation after aluminum exposure. We conclude that European honey bees are at the greatest risk of aluminum related decline from chronic ingestion as compared to other subspecies and offer new methods for future use in honey bee toxicology.

Differential responses of Africanized and European honey bees (Apis mellifera) to viral replication following mechanical transmission or Varroa destructor parasitism

We report on aerobic “environmental” bacteria isolated from European honey bees (Apis mellifera). We determined the number of culturable aerobic bacteria in the gut of nurse bees sampled from locations around Australia. Bees from healthy colonies had 107–108 aerobic bacteria per g of bee gut, while bees from colonies with chalkbrood consistently had significantly fewer bacteria (104–105 bacteria per g). When colonies recovered from chalkbrood, bacterial numbers returned to normal levels, suggesting that counting aerobic bacteria in the gut could be used to predict an outbreak of the disease. Furthermore, Western Australian bees from the “Better Bees” program (bred to promote hygienic behaviour) had significantly higher numbers of aerobic gut bacteria compared to regular bees from healthy colonies. Bacteria with the ability to inhibit the chalkbrood pathogen were found in most bees from regular colonies (> 60%) but only in a few “Better Bees” (10%). Phylogenetic analysis of aerobic bacterial isolates that inhibited the chalkbrood pathogen revealed a close relationship (>97% sequence identity) to the genera Bacillus, Klebsiella, Pantoea, Hafnia, and Enterobacter (bacteria that have previously been isolated from honey bees), but we also isolated Maccrococcus and Frigoribacterium species (bacteria that were not previously identified in bees). Finally, we investigated the ability of bacteria to inhibit the chalkbrood fungus Ascosphaera apis. Mass spectroscopy analysis revealed that the bee gut isolates Frigoribacterium sp. and Bacillus senegalensis produce gluconic acid. We further found that this simple sugar is involved in chalkbrood fungal hyphal lysis and cytoplasmic leakage. Our findings suggest that “environmental” gut bacteria may help bees to control the chalkbrood pathogen.

The European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is both a crucial pollinator for agricultural and natural ecosystems, and an agricultural commodity in its own right. However, honey bees are experiencing heavy mortality in North America and Europe due to a complex suite of factors. Weather affects both the bees themselves and the plants that support them. Surrounding land use, particularly proportion of agricultural and urban areas, determines forage resource abundance and pesticide exposure risk. Finally, management decisions, including treatment to control parasitic Varroa destructor mites, contribute to colony success and failure. We used three years of data from a survey of Pennsylvania beekeepers to assess the importance of weather, topography, land use, and management factors on overwintering mortality of managed honey bee colonies at both apiary and colony levels. A Random Forest model for mite-treated apiaries predicted overwintering survival with 73.3% accuracy for colonies and 65.7% for apiaries, as determined by cross-validation. Growing degree days was the most important predictor at both levels. Neither topographic nor management variables were important predictors. A weather-only model was used to predict colony survival probability across Pennsylvania for the three years of the study, and to create a composite map of survival probability for 1981-2019 (long-term probability mean value of 59.5%). Although three years of data were not enough to adequately capture the range of possible climatic conditions, the model nonetheless performed well within its constraints. The Random Forest approach is suited to understanding complex nonlinear drivers of survival, and to predicting outcomes given current conditions or projected climate changes.

European honey bee (Apis mellifera L.,) was introduced in Kashmir during late 19th century and since, then its domestication is continued in diverse conditions of Kashmir region. It appears well adapted to unique climatic conditions of the valley. In order to analyse diversification in its characters during ecological adaptations to different altitudes and climatic conditions, morphological characterization of Apis mellifera was employed at different altitudes of Kashmir region. Samples of honey bees were obtained from nine locations representing three different altitudes viz., high, medium and low of Kashmir. Total of 17 characters were measured at three different altitudes. Highly significant difference (p≤0.01) in 15 characters were observed was observed among three altitudes. The three main characters viz., proboscis length, fore wing length and cubital index were compared with earlier data as reported by Ruttner (1988). The proboscis length (6.35±0.06 mm) at high altitude, forewing length (9.21±0.01 mm) at mid altitude, cubital index at low altitude (2.55±0.08 mm) were found same or close to A. mellifera ligustica. However, other parameters did not support presence of this sub-species, therefore, it can be conclude that A. mellifera might have undergone degradations in its certain characters after its introduction in Kashmir region due to diverse climate conditions.

Little information exists on the history and ecology of free-living colonies of European honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in Europe, including its dark north-western subspecies (Apis mellifera mellifera). Our aim was to investigate the presence of colonies of free-living, native honey bees (A. m. mellifera) during the last two centuries in Sweden. For this we examined systematic interviews of beekeepers (176 answers from 158 questionnaires) performed in the years 1928–1981, with information dating back to the early 1800s. An overwhelming majority of answers (96%) confirmed the past presence of free-living colonies of honey bees in Sweden. While some stated that free-living colonies were simply absconded swarms from managed hives, the majority of interviewees (69%) believed that free-living colonies were of a truly wild origin. A decreasing trend in first-hand accounts of free-living colonies suggests that free-living populations underwent a dramatic decline at the end of the 19th century. This was also expressed in words by many interviewees, who in 14 cases stated that the loss of old forests and tree-cavity nest sites at the end of the 1800s was the primary cause of the decline. Direct accounts of perennial, free-living colonies, combined with detailed descriptions of the collection of large free-living colonies and/or wild honey, is strong evidence of free-living honey bees being well adapted to winter survival. These accounts contradict the officially supported view that the honey bee is a recently imported, domesticated, non-native species in Sweden. The results give a scientific underpinning and provide inspiration for the restoration of native forests which could facilitate populations of free-living colonies of A. m. mellifera exposed to natural selection. This could potentially lead to its return as a fully wild species. In an uncertain future, allowing for a natural lifestyle could increase resilience and reinstate characteristics that are otherwise lost in honey bees due to the increasing effects of artificial trait selection.Implications for insect conservationOur results present strong evidence for populations of free-living colonies of A. m. mellifera in the recent past, which calls for a revised look at its conservation status and management. Allowing and supporting free-living colonies of this subspecies should be evaluated as a method for conservation.