Activity Of Honeybee Colonies Research Articles

Studying the Effect of Using Super Protein as a Food Substitute on Honey Bee Colony Activity

The research was conducted in a private apiary in Al-Buaitha region - Baghdad governorate to evaluate the effect of adding super protein to the diet of honey bee colonies, and to note its effect on the colonies’ activity, growth, development, productivity and some characteristics of the honey produced. It is clear from the results that the best acceptance rates were achieved by the super protein treatment, and according to the results of the statistical analysis, it was significantly superior to all other treatments in terms of measuring the honey area 2.631 cm2, the brood area 1.622 cm2, and the pollen area 0.378 cm2 It was also noted that there was a positive effect in terms of honey area, where the treated cults produced more honey than the comparison treatment, with an average of (2.631 cm, 1.997 cm), respectively. The results showed that feeding with super protein encouraged the worker honey bees to raise more brood and thus increase the area of the brood, as it outperformed the comparison treatment with an average of (1.622 cm2 1.024 cm2), respectively.

Effects of hive entrance orientation on honey bee colony activity

In an effort to determine the effects of the orientation of hive entrance on honey bee colony activity and temperature, hives were placed facing different cardinal directions (3–5 hives per direction). Hive weight was recorded every 5 minutes and temperature every 30 minutes from April 2019 to June 2020. Daily weight data were analyzed using piecewise regression. In southern Arizona from December to March, hives facing east started daily flight activity 50 minutes earlier than hives facing west and ended flight activity 57 minutes earlier than hives facing south. During that period east-facing hives had the lowest daily hive weight loss, 62 g per d compared to 100 g per d for north-facing hives. East-facing hives were also about 7 °C cooler on average than west-facing hives, suggesting that lower hive weight loss was due to lower food consumption which was directly related to lower colony cluster temperatures. From December to March hives facing east also had significantly lower morning weight loss due to departing foragers than hives facing north (indicating more foragers) but higher weight loss from April to June 2020. Most effects were observed from December to March, probably due to restricted daylight hours and lower ambient temperatures. No significant effects were observed with respect to visually-estimated adult bee numbers (frames of bees) or the surface areas of the sealed brood. We recommend hive orientation be taken into account in the design of field experiments that involve monitoring colony activity.

IMPACT OF USING POLLEN SUBSTITUTES ON PERFORMANCE OF HONEY BEE (Apis mellifera L.) COLONIES UNDER HARSH ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

Pollen grains are the main source of protein for honey bees. In Central region of Saudi Arabia, the lack of this natural diet during dry seasons in summer is a primary concern for beekeeping industry. Effect of using alternative protein feeding on performance, feed consumption, brood rearing activity and storing bee bread of honey bee colonies was tested during late summer under Riyadh region condition. Soybean flour, mesquite pods flour, date paste, corn gluten and Feedbee® diets were the main tested material in the present study. Preference was determined by using multiple choice tests (MCT). The obtained results revealed that honey bees preferred firstly the commercial product Feedbee®, followed by date paste and mesquite diets. Also, the highest consumption was recorded in honey bee colonies fed Feedbee® and was equal to approximately 1.2, 1.3 and 1.8 fold of amounts consumed from date paste, mesquite and corn gluten diets, respectively. Effect of tested diets on brood rearing activity of honey bee colonies during two successive years was studied. Results showed that the superior response had been obtained using Feedbee® followed by mesquite and date paste diets. Due to the fact that Feedbee® is expensive and not available in the local markets of Saudi Arabia, beekeepers are advised to use mesquite pods flour and date paste as pollen substitute in the dearth periods to enhanced brood rearing of honey bee colonies during late summer.

Chronic exposure to a field-realistic concentration of Closer® SC (24% sulfoxaflor) insecticide impacted the growth and foraging activity of honey bee colonies

Chronic exposure to a field-realistic concentration of Closer® SC (24% sulfoxaflor) insecticide impacted the growth and foraging activity of honey bee colonies

A real-time imaging system for multiple honey bee tracking and activity monitoring

This study presents a real-time imaging system for monitoring honey bee activity by counting the honey bees entering and exiting the beehive. Images are continuously acquired at the beehive entrance, and the honey bees in the images are segmented and detected using the background subtraction method. Tracking of honey bees is achieved using an integrated Kalman Filter and Hungarian algorithm tracking method. The tracking algorithm was used to determine the incoming and outgoing activity of individual honey bees with an automatic counting accuracy of 93.9 ± 1.1% in comparison with manual counting. The in-and-out activity and environmental information from sensors were transmitted to a remote server via a 4G LTE router for later analyses. To evaluate and demonstrate the performance of the system, the imaging systems were installed in multiple beehives, and designed experiments were carried out. The experiments involved long-term monitoring to assess the pesticide effects on honey bee behaviors by treating the beehives with different concentrations of imidacloprid pesticides. Using the in-and-out activities information collected, indices were further derived and analyzed. The information obtained from the experiments was used to assess the health conditions of the honey bee colonies monitored. Different measurement results such as hourly and daily frequencies of honey bees’ in-and-out activity under different conditions were presented. The developed imaging system is cost effective and can be used as a useful tool for long-term monitoring of the health and activity of honey bee colonies and to further analyze behavior traits of honey bees.

THE ACTIVITY OF HONEYBEE COLONIES IN GATHERING POLLEN GRAINS AT FAYOUYM GOVERNORATE

The activity of honey bee colonies in gathering pollen grains had been extensively investigated in the last few decades. However, the variations of climatic conditions, the sharp decrease of the cultivated area, the changes of farmers' behaviors and attitudes, among other things, have led us to reinvestigate this behavior under Fayoum conditions. Data revealed that, the average weight of trapped pollen pellets collected throughout the year was 1786.11 gm/colony. There were 24 sources from which honey bee workers collected pollen grains all-over the year. The sources of trapped pollen pellets were as follows; Maize, Zea maize L., 17.17%; Egyptian clover, Trifolium alexandrinum L., 12.92%; Coriander, Coriandrum sativum L., 11.19%; Pick tooth, Ammi majust L.,11.09%; Citrus, Citrus spp, 8.84%; Elephant grass, Pennisetum purpuremum Schumach, 8.49%; Wild mustard, Brassica kaber Koch,7.43%; Date palms, Phoenix dactylifera L., 6.16%; Rocket, Eruca sativa Miller, 3.68%; Crown daisy, Chrysanthemum carinatum L.,3.19%; Sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, 0.93%; Castor oil, Ricinus communis L., 0.68%; Marjoram, Origanum majorana L.,0.50%; Eucalyptus, Eucalyptus obliqua L.'Her,0.42%; Casuarina, Casuarina glauca Sieber, 0.22%; Sesame, Sesamum indicum L., 0.22%; Vegetable marrow, Cucurbita pepo L., 0.21% and Jute mallow, Corchorus olitorius L.,0.04%. The 6 unidentified sources represented 6.59% of the quantity of collected pollen pellets all- over the year. The average weight of trapped pollen pellets during spring was 820.09gm./colony representing 45.91% of the total quantity of trapped pollen all-over the year. There were 9 sources from which honey bee workers collected pollen grains during spring. Clover was the most important, representing 28.14%; followed by Pick tooth 19.24% and Coriander 18.19%. The average weight of trapped pollen pellets in summer was 317.51 gm. /colony representing 17.87 %. There were 6 sources of pollen grains. Maize was the most important (69.53%). The average weight of trapped pollen pellets during autumn was 84.67gm./colony, representing 4.74 %. There were 9 sources of pollen grains. Maize was the most important (67.71%). The average weight of trapped pollen pellets during winter was 563.75gm., representing 31.56%. There were 13 sources of pollen grains. Citrus was the most important (26.03%), followed by Date palms (18.95%) and Elephant grass (16.35%).

The Role of Magnetized Water in Improving Dietary Supplements and Their Effect on the Life Performance of Honey Bee Colonies Apis mellifera L.

This study is conducted by using strain of hybrid local honeybees Apis mellifera L. from 20th of April to 20th of July 2016 in Wassit Provence / Al-kut city. This study aims at discovering the effect of magnetic food on the activity of honey bee colonies and improve their production in the spring and summer seasons . Three magnetic power are treated in this study (1000, 2000, 3000) Gauss. The results show that honeybee colonies fed with magnetized food are significantly higher in both open and closed incubation brood, and are higher in density compared to natural feeding. For the open brood area, the magnetic food treatments G 2000 and G3000 exceed 3024.57 and 3382.67 cm2 respectively. The lowest comparative treatment is 2772.81 cm2 / hive, the treatment G 3000 exceed the treatments G 1000 and 2000 G and the treated G 1000 as an average brood area open is 2908.75 cm2 / hive, Similarly, closed brood area for workers the magnetic food treatments 2000 G and G3000 are 2792.12 and 3205.91 cm2 / hive respectively, while the comparison treatment is 2533.14 cm2 / hive, and the treatment G 3000 exceed the treatments G 1000 and G 2000 Where treatment 1000 G give the average closed brood area of 2652.78 cm2 / hive. Density is the highest for G 2000 and G 3000 are 13.17 and 14.12 frame / hive respectively, while the lowest comparison treatment is 10.59 frame / hive..

Studies on the Activities of Honey Bee Colonies under Environmental Circumstances in BeniSweif Governorate-Egypt.

Environmental Circumstances is playing an important role in honey bee activities. This study at apiary of the Agriculture Research Sids Station, BeniSweif Governorate middle Egypt, during the 2016seasons. Which that the from broad bean(Vicia faba), citrus (Citrus spp.), clover (Trifolium alexandrinum)and maize (Zea mays) pollen trapped grain were collected from the hives by using traps put on the entrance of honeybee colonies. The average values of the recorded temperatures ranged from 8.9 to 28.1°C and the averages of the recorded relative humidity values ranged from 48.9 to 79.70 % all over the years of study. There was a significant correlation between temperature or relative humidity and collecting pollen amount. Correlation coefficients were - 0.16 & -0.18 in broad bean pollen, - 0.07 & 0.07 in citrus pollen, 0.36 & -0.25 in clover pollen and -0.76 & -0.07 in maize pollen. On other hand the amount of pollen gathering fluctuating from plant source and date of collecting, and it's obvious that study conditions. On the other hand obvious that there is a significant effect of pollen trapping on the brood rearing activity which recorded 67.08 % reduction of brood activity in colony in Broad bean pollen season , 45.03 % in citrus pollen season, 43.30 % in clover pollen season and 17.68 % in maize pollen season. In the end we can conclusion the environmental ecology is important playing in different activity of honeybee colonies.

Pollinisation de l'artichaut (Cynara scolymus L.) par l'abeille domestique (Apis mellifera L.) en production de semences hybrides sous abris grillag�s

Pollination of globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus L.) by honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) to produce hybrid seed under enclosure. Globe artichoke is currently multiplied mainly by vegetative means, but the planting of seeds could lead to easier cropping practices and improved yields. This is especially true with hybrid seeds which could be produced using the two genetic male-sterility systems available. For two years, we studied the effectiveness of honey bees as pollinators to produce hybrid seeds of globe artichoke under insect-proof enclosures. We used two adjacent $10 \times 6$ m tunnels covered with 1-mm mesh screen and planted with 2 male-fertile (MF) and 7 male-sterile (MS) lines (tab. I). Each tunnel was provided with a colony of 3,500 bees at the onset of MF flowering. Flowering of MS and MF lines was well synchronized (fig. 1), and the number of flower heads per plant was similar for all lines. Yet, there were over 10-fold differences in both years in the density of foragers that visited the various lines with extremes of 0.04 to 1.18 honey bees per head (fig. 2). Some foragers collected pollen, but these were rarely seen on MS heads. The ranking of MS lines in terms of forager density was similar over both seasons, which suggests that the differences in attractiveness among these lines were of genetic origin and probably resulted from differences in nectar availability or composition. Yield of achenes per plant also varied significantly among lines (fig. 3). The proportion of heads that were empty ranged from 23% to 100% among MS lines, and for each season was negatively correlated with the average forager density on each line (fig. 4). The number of achenes per head in the flower heads which were not empty did not vary significantly among MS lines (tab. II), which suggests that the pollination effectiveness of honey bee visits was similar among these different lines. This achene content was greater in MF heads, which is consistent with a greater pollination effectiveness of honey bees in this inflorescence due to the presence of pollen and some self-fertility in MF lines. The overall forager density was similar between the two seasons as was the proportion of empty MS heads, but the achene content of non-empty MS heads was significantly greater in the second year than in the first one (tab. II). This suggests that the pollination effectiveness of individual visits was greater in the second year. Pollen availability was similar in both seasons, but there were 5 times fewer foragers collecting pollen in the second year compared to the first one. The pool of pollen is limited when producing hybrid seed, especially in confined environments, and our results suggest that in these situations the level of pollen collection may negatively affect the pollination activity of honey bee colonies.

Circadian rhythms in honeybees: entrainment by feeding cycles

ABSTRACT. Colonies of the South African honeybee race Apis mellifera capensis (Escholtz) were maintained under constant conditions of illumination (200 lux), temperature (25±ld̀C) and relative humidity (65±3%). Activity was measured at the hive entrance. After ad libitum feeding for at least 5 days, food was presented for only 2 h/day either for 1 week (series 1) or for 2 weeks (series 2). In the last part of each experiment, food was again available all the time. Colonies which showed free‐running circadian activity rhythms (with periods ranging from 22.6 to 24.8 h) during ad libitum feeding were submitted to feeding cycles with inter‐feeding intervals (T) of 22, 23, 24 and 25 h. In most of these experiments the rhythms were synchronized by the feeding schedule, resulting in a stable phase‐angle difference between onset of activity and onset of food availability. The duration of this anticipatory activity was positively correlated with T. When ad libitum feeding was resumed, the period of the rhythm induced by the feeding schedule persisted for a few days. Thereafter, the rhythm was free‐running again with a period close to that observed in the first part of the experiment. The conclusion is drawn that, under the influence of periodic feeding, the activity of honeybee colonies has the characteristics of an entrained circadian system.

Flight Activity of Honey Bee Colonies After Confinement Under High-Temperature Conditions

Outgoing flight from hives was used to evaluate the effects of confining colonies of honey bees, Apis mellifera L., with wet burlap up to 48 hours under high temperatures (daily maxima mean, 114°F) and low humidities (daily minima mean, 13% RH). On the 1st day after release, 3 groups of 4 colonies confined 24 hours had 102 103, and 149%, respectively, of the calculated expected daily flight. A decline to 78. 89, and 117% was noted on the 2nd day. Similar groups confined 48 hours had 118, 87, and 154% of the expected flight on the 1st day, but were not observed on the 2nd day. Colonies apparently can be confined safely for 48 hours.