Bee Apis Florea Research Articles

Seasonal Occurrence of Honey Bees in Coriander

A multi-location trail was carried out at the Beekeeping Unit, TCA, Dholi (Muzaffarpur District, India) and University Apiary, RPCAU, Pusa (Samastipur District, India) during Rabi 2021-22 on Rajendra Dhania-2 variety of coriander. Spatial distribution of bee species in Pusa and Dholi showed that occurance of Italian bee Apis mellifera (F) was comparatively higher at Pusa (19.03± 6.29/ m2 / 10 min) as compared to Dholi (16.56± 5.47/ m2 / 10 min). Other species of honey bees viz. Indian hive bee, Apis cerana (F), rock bee Apis dorsata (F) and little bee Apis florea (F) were more abundant in Dholi as compared to Pusa. Maximum (number of bee/ m2 / 10 min) of Apis mellifera (24.02, 27.60), Apis dorsata (16.88, 14.89), Apis cerana (14.55, 11.64) and Apis florea (10.47, 8.63) were observed at 13:00, 15:00, 11:00 and 09:00 at Dholi and Pusa, respectively. The underlying factors of this distribution were identified as body size and dietary overlap. This study highlights the complexity of interactions between Apis spp. genus and shows how factors like body size and diet influence their distribution patterns.

Apis florea in Europe: first report of the dwarf honey bee in Malta

ABSTRACTS The Red dwarf honey bee (Apis florea), is a single-comb open-nesting member of the genus Apis with a natural distribution area stretching from the Indomalayan realm on the east to the Persian Gulf on the west. However, it is reportedly colonising new territories mainly due to anthropogenic activities. Nowadays it can be found from Taiwan on the east, to Jordan, the Arabian Peninsula and North-eastern Africa on the west. Here we present the first scientific record of a fully established colony of A. florea in Europe. The colony was found on Malta, a crossway of naval routes in the Mediterranean Sea. We documented the incident with photos, collected samples of workers and drones and sequenced the mtDNA COI gene to confirm assignment to A. florea. Also, we alert the competent authorities and the beekeeping community to be vigilant and ready to undertake effective eradication measures. In the paper, we discuss the risks and the potential consequences associated with the invasion of A. florea in Europe.

Molecular Identification of Dwarf Honey Bees (Apis florea Fabricius) Distributed in the Eastern Region of Iraq

Molecular Identification of Dwarf Honey Bees (Apis florea Fabricius) Distributed in the Eastern Region of Iraq

Current scenario of insect pests and mite on drumstick (Moringa oleifera) in south India and their management

Dynamics of insect pests play a crucial role in understanding their occurrence on a crop. Many insect pests infest on drumstick at various phenophase of the crop and limit the productivity. In the present study, the current scenario of insect pest as well as beneficial arthropods associated with drumstick was assessed and developed appropriate management strategies for major pests. The arthropods found on drumstick was leaf eating caterpillar (Noorda blitealis), aphids (Aphis craccivora), tea mosquito bug (Helopeltis antonii), bihary hairy caterpillar (Spilosoma obliqua), stem borer (Batocera rubus Batocera) and pod fly (Gitona distigma).The beneficial insects include coccinellid beetles, Cocinella septmpunctata Linnaeus, spiders: Oxyopes shweta Tikader (Oxyopidae), Thomisus spp (Thomisidae), Nescona sp and braconid wasp, Disophrys sp.; pollinators such aslittle bee-Apis florea Fab. and bumble bee, Bombus sp were recorded on drumstick. The information generated in the study would help in initiating the appropriate pest management strategies at right time to minimize  pesticide residue on the crop.Â

History of Spread of the Dwarf Bees Apis florea in Yemen

History of Spread of the Dwarf Bees Apis florea in Yemen

Foraging Behavior of Apis florea F. on Wax Apple, Syzygium samarangense and their Role in Pollination of West Bengal, India

Foraging behavior of Apis florea F. on wax apple (Syzygium samarangense) was studied in arid zones of west Bengal during March 2021 to May 2022. Dwarf honey bee Apis florea F. is an important hymenopteran insect for their pollination services. Foraging behavior of Apis florea on the blooms of wax apple were assessed in different day time and in different weather conditions. Peak foraging activity of dwarf honey bee was mainly observed at 1100 hrs. and minimum foraging activity was noticed at 0600 hrs. & 1800 hrs. The present study also reported that foraging activity of Apis florea was maximum in sunny day and least in cloudy day.

Molecular identification of Dwarf Bees Apis florea species discovered on the Golden Triangle area, Red Sea, Egypt

Molecular identification of Dwarf Bees Apis florea species discovered on the Golden Triangle area, Red Sea, Egypt

Physico-Chemical Characteristics and Correlation Analysis of Honey of Wild Honeybees

Honey of wild honey bees Apis dorsata and Apis florea was sampled from northern states of India during the year 2018-20 and analyzed for physico-chemical parameters and microbial load using standard procedures and correlation analysis. A. dorsata honey had high moisture content (17.20%), pH (6.25) and F: G ratio (1.98), whereas A. florea honey exhibited higher bacterial loads (3.82) than A. dorsata (3.70). No fungal spores were recorded in any of the honeys analyzed. Significant positive correlation was recorded between colour and pollen density; amino acid content and acidity; Vitamin C and acidity in honey of A. dorsata. Whereas Electrical Conductivity (EC) and pH; amino acid and acidity content in honey of A. florea had significant positive correlation. Bacterial load had significant positive correlation with pH and moisture. The quality parameters were well within the acceptable limit defined by the Food Safety Standards Authority of India.

First Record and Morphology Study of Red Dwarf Honey Bees Apis Florea Fabricius (1787) in Basra Province

In this study, 25 Morphometric characters of dwarf honey bees Apis florea: 15 were for the body characters and 10 for wing venation, in four geographical areas in the province of Basra. a total Samples of 360 workers, Computer program ImageJ was used to measure Morphometric characters. The results of the statistical analysis of the averages showed a clear difference in the Basra area, as the least of them were in the characters of the Head length and width, femur length, width of the end of tibia, and 1st Wax mirror Length, followed by the Al-Siba area in the characters, tibia length, 3rd tergite length, and 3rd sternite length. As for the wing venation, which are forewing width, No. hamuli, A4 angle, B4 angle, G18 angle, and K19 angle. While the cluster analysis showed the hierarchical grouping method of Basra bees with some regional countries, the Basra bees group aligned with the Iranian bee group with a degree of lineage and genetic distance more than the rest of the groups, this study is considered a preliminary registration and diagnosis of Apes florea in Basra province.

Spread of the Invasive Dwarf Honey Bee Apis florea Facilitates Winter Presence of Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus in Eilat, Israel

The seasonal presence of the Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhynchus in Israel has changed during the last two decades. Up until the late 1990s, it occurred in Israel as a rare spring migrant, but has since been more frequently observed. In the last decade, it has established itself as a regular over-winterer in Eilat, as well as a rare summer visitor. The reasons for this change are unclear; however, this process is concurrent with the invasion of the Dwarf Honey Bee Apis florea to the southern part of Arava, the region extending from the Gulf of Aqaba to the southern tip of the Dead Sea. Similar invasions of this social honey bee, native to East Asia, have been reported from East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Using standardized line transects to count Oriental Honey Buzzard, and by creating a Honeybee Invasion Index (HII) for Dwarf Honey Bee, based on data collected by the Israel Nature and Parks Authority to estimate its distribution, we show that the abundance of overwintering Oriental Honey Buzzard in Eilat is significantly related to the distribution of DHB in southern Arava. We suggest that the invasion of Dwarf Honey Bee in the area facilitates the presence of Oriental Honey Buzzard outside the migration season.

The red dwarf honey bee (Apis florea F.) faces the threat of extirpation in Northwest India

Pollination is one of the essential ecosystem services. In recent years, a severe global pollinator decline has been the prime concern of pollination scientists and agriculturalists. The red dwarf honey bee (Apis florea F.) is an important pollinator of the semi-arid to tropical environments of several parts of Asia and Africa. The actual status of the colony numbers and foraging populations of this honey bee are not known. In this article, I examined the status of these parameters of this honey bee in Northwest India. I conducted monthly surveys and counted the total number of colonies of the red dwarf honey bee present at the main campus of CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar (India) (in about 9 km2) from 1984 to 2011 at an interval of three years. I also counted the number of foraging honey bees on two crops, viz. a winter-flowering crop, Raya (Brassica juncea Czern and Coss), and a summer-flowering crop, Carrot (Daucus carota L). In 27 years, the number of colonies of this honey bee in the study area declined from 221.5�14.1 in 1984 to 53.4�6.6 in 2011. The foraging populations of this honey bee too declined from 31.2�0.3 bees/m2 to 9.2�0.2 bees/m2 on Carrot and from 25�0.3 bees/m2 to 3.3�0.2 bees/ m2 on Raya. This honey bee exhibited a significant decline in its colony number every 6 years. Foraging bees declined significantly every three years. The colony and forager surveys revealed that the red dwarf honey bee (Apis florea F.) seemed to face the threat of extirpation (local extinction) in Northwest India. This decline in the colony numbers and the foraging populations seemed to have caused a pollination crisis in this region. The decline in the colony numbers and the foraging populations seemed to be caused by the poisoning of foraging bees due to the excessive and indiscriminate use of insecticides on the Cotton and/or Rice crops that come in blooms during the floral dearth period of this region. Considered the importance of this honey bee in the pollination of crops, we suggested that this honey bee must be vigorously protected and conserved.

Similarities in dance follower behaviour across honey bee species suggest a conserved mechanism of dance communication

Social communication systems are predominantly multimodal and can combine modulatory and information-bearing signals. The honey bee waggle dance, one of the most elaborate forms of social communication in animals, activates nestmates to search for food and communicates symbolic information about the location of the food source. Previous studies on the dance behaviour in diverse honey bee species demonstrated distinct differences in the concurrence of visual, auditory, olfactory and tactile signals produced by the dancer. We studied the behaviour of dance signal receivers, the dance followers, to explore the potential significance of different signals in the communication process. In particular, we asked whether the behaviour of dance followers differs between the three major Asian honey bee species, Apis florea, Apis dorsata and Apis cerana, and whether this might correlate with the differences in the signals produced by the dancing foragers. Our comparison demonstrated that the behaviour of the dance followers is highly similar across all three species. The mean body orientation of the dance followers with respect to the waggle dancer was close to 90° throughout the run, with the majority positioning themselves lateral to the dancer. These findings suggest that the communication of spatial information might be more conserved than implied by the differences in the signals produced by the dancer. Along with studies in Apis mellifera, our results suggest that all honey bee species rely on tactile contacts between the dancer and follower to communicate spatial information. The cues and signals that differ between the species may be involved in attracting the followers towards the dancer or increasing their motivation to start foraging in the different nest environments.

Distribution modeling of Apis florea Fabricius (Hymenoptera, Apidae) in different climates of Iran

The dwarf honey bee (Apis florea Fabricius) is one of the most important pollinator species of tropical and arid regions of Iran and other countries. Considering the importance of dwarf honey bee as an important pollinator in Iran, the current study was carried out to the model spatial distribution of dwarf honey bee and to assess the effect of environmental factors on this species. A potential distribution map was created using the maximum entropy (Maxent) model based on recorded data, vegetation, and eight different climate variables as well as the topography of the regions. According to the obtained results, southern regions of Iran i.e. arid regions with mild winters and hot summers were found to be the most desirable regions for dwarf honey bee distribution. Afterwards, arid regions with cold winters and warm and hot summers provide the most favorable conditions for dwarf honey bee distribution. The obtained results from Jackknife test indicated that under current climate conditions, vegetation and annual mean temperature are the most important factors affecting dwarf honey bee distribution in Iran. In this study, the effect of future climate change on A. florea distribution pattern was investigated. The results indicated that under the climate change scenario (CCCMA, CSIRO), suitable habitats for A. florea will increase towards the central part of the country during 2030 and 2050.

Diversity and Foraging Behaviour of Insect Pollinators on Murraya koenigii (L. ) (Rutaceae)

The present studies on diversity and foraging behaviour of insect pollinators on Murraya koenigii (L. )was carried out during March - April 2019 at Akot town situated in Akola district of Maharashtra. Ten insect species visited Murraya koenigii flowers viz. Five hymenopterans and five lepidopterons. This study revealed that hymenopterans were found to be the most dominant (97. 5%) flower visitors, followed by lepidopteron insects (2. 5%). Among these Apis florea, Apis cerana indica, and Apis dorsata were found to be the most frequent pollinators. The result on foraging behaviour of bees Apis florea started visiting Murrya koenigii flowers in early morning at 06. 00 hrs, Apis cerana indica at 6. 30 hrs and ceased their activity later in the evening. Apis mellifera and Apis dorsata , they started visiting the flowers from 7. 00hrs. Maximum foraging was by Apis florea (12 flowers /minute)followed by Apis cerana indica (10 flowers/minute )and Apis dorsata (9-10 flowers /minute). Time spent per flower was the maximum with lepidopteron (25 sec. /flower) followed by Moth (15 sec. /flower)

Apis florea and Apis cerana workers do not discriminate between queen-laid and worker-laid Apis mellifera eggs

While honey bee workers have functional ovaries, worker reproduction is rare in colonies with a laying queen. An important mechanism by which functional worker sterility is enforced is worker policing—any behaviour of workers that prevents other workers from reproducing. In honey bees, policing workers identify worker-laid eggs and eat them. Policing workers apparently distinguish queen-laid eggs from eggs laid by workers using as yet unidentified chemical signals placed on eggs. These signals are conserved across evolutionary time because the Western hive bee Apis mellifera can distinguish queen- and worker-laid eggs of the phylogenetically distant dwarf honey bee Apis florea. However A. mellifera cannot distinguish queen- and worker-laid eggs of the more closely related species Apis cerana. Here we show that A. cerana and A. florea workers do not distinguish queen-laid from worker-laid eggs of A. mellifera, even though A. cerana (but not A. florea) tolerate A. mellifera eggs for extended periods.

Crop Hosts and Pollination Potential of the Red Dwarf Honey Bee (Apis florea F.) in the Semi-arid Environment of North West India

Crop Hosts and Pollination Potential of the Red Dwarf Honey Bee (Apis florea F.) in the Semi-arid Environment of North West India

How Serious Is the Threat of Diseases and Pests to the Red Dwarf Honey Bee (Apis florea F.)?

How Serious Is the Threat of Diseases and Pests to the Red Dwarf Honey Bee (Apis florea F.)?

Floral diversity and foraging behaviour of little/dwarf honey bee Apis florea f. in horticultural ecosystem, Madurai District, Tamil Nadu

Among the honey bee species, little/dwarf bee Apis florea F. plays a major role in pollination of various annual and perennial crops and the successful beekeeping depends on the availability of bee foraging plants in any particular area. This study deals with the flora availability of A. florea in the study area and the results revealed that 122 plants belonging to 47 families were identified as bee foraging plants and the major bee floral families are Fabaceae (15 species/12.29%) followed by Asteraceae (13 species/10.66%), Cucurbitaceae and Euphorbiaceae (7 species/5.74% each) and Amaranthaceae (6 species/4.92%). These pasturage plants are further grouped into nectar yielders (11), pollen yielders (15) and both nectar and pollen yielders (96).

Marked interspecific differences in the neuroanatomy of the male olfactory system of honey bees (genus Apis).

All honey bee species (genus Apis) display a striking mating behavior with the formation of male (drone) congregations, in which virgin queens mate with many drones. Bees' mating behavior relies on olfactory communication involving queen-but also drone pheromones. To explore the evolution of olfactory communication in Apis, we analyzed the neuroanatomical organization of the antennal lobe (primary olfactory center) in the drones of five species from the three main lineages (open-air nesting species: dwarf honey bees Apis florea and giant honey bees Apis dorsata; cavity-nesting species: Apis mellifera, Apis kochevnikovi, and Apis cerana) and from three populations of A. cerana (Borneo, Thailand, and Japan). In addition to differences in the overall number of morphological units, the glomeruli, our data reveal marked differences in the number and position of macroglomeruli, enlarged units putatively dedicated to sex pheromone processing. Dwarf and giant honey bee species possess two macroglomeruli while cavity-nesting bees present three or four macroglomeruli, suggesting an increase in the complexity of sex communication during evolution in the genus Apis. The three A. cerana populations showed differing absolute numbers of glomeruli but the same three macroglomeruli. Overall, we identified six different macroglomeruli in the genus Apis. One of these (called MGb), which is dedicated to the detection of the major queen compound 9-ODA in A. mellifera, was conserved in all species. We discuss the implications of these results for our understanding of sex communication in honey bees and propose a putative scenario of antennal lobe evolution in the Apis genus.

Isolation and identification of Lactobacillus bacteria found in the gastrointestinal tract of the dwarf honey bee, Apis florea Fabricius, 1973 (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Recent research in bacteria-insect symbiosis has shown that lactic acid bacteria (LAB) establish symbiotic relationships with several Apis species. The current study was carried out to isolate and identify Lactobacillus bacteria housed in the gastrointestinal tract of the Asian dwarf honey bee (Apis florea), which is distributed in different regions of Iran. The current study was performed using 100 Gram-stained isolates, which were tested for catalase activity. Bacterial universal primers were used to amplify 16S rDNA genes isolated from bacterial colonies. Sequencing was done for 16S rDNA genes isolated from 43 bacteria. The phylogenetic analyses demonstrated that Lactobacillus flora found in the gastrointestinal tract of A. florea encompassed eight different phenotypes classified as three different species: L. kunkeei, L. plantarum, and L. apis. According to the specific association between bacteria and A. florea, we classified the Apis populations into three zones. Furthermore, the association of L. plantarum with insects foraging in citrus orchards might be explained by differences in nectar and pollen components resulting in the growth of different species of bacteria.