Bee Families Research Articles

Phylogeny, biogeography and diversification of the mining bee family Andrenidae

AbstractThe mining bees (Andrenidae) are a major bee family of over 3000 described species with a nearly global distribution. They are a particularly significant component of northern temperate ecosystems and are critical pollinators in natural and agricultural settings. Despite their ecological and evolutionary significance, our knowledge of the evolutionary history of Andrenidae is sparse and insufficient to characterize their spatiotemporal origin and phylogenetic relationships. This limits our ability to understand the diversification dynamics that led to the second most species‐rich genus of all bees, Andrena Fabricius, and the most species‐rich North American genus, Perdita Smith. Here, we develop a comprehensive genomic dataset of 195 species of Andrenidae, including all major lineages, to illuminate the evolutionary history of the family. Using fossil‐informed divergence time estimates, we characterize macroevolutionary dynamics, incorporate paleoclimatic information, and present our findings in the context of diversification rate estimates for all other bee tribes. We found that diversification rates of Andrenidae steeply increased over the past 15 million years, particularly in the genera Andrena and Perdita. This suggests that these two groups and the brood parasites of the genus Nomada Scopoli (Apidae), which are the primary cleptoparasitic counterparts of Andrena, are similar in age and represent the fastest diversifying lineages of all bees. Using our newly developed time frame of andrenid evolution, we estimate a late Cretaceous origin in South America for the family and reconstruct the past dispersal events that led to its present‐day distribution.

Decreased bee emergence along an elevation gradient: Implications for climate change revealed by a transplant experiment.

Bees experience differences in thermal tolerance based on their geographical range; however, there are virtually no studies that examine how overwintering temperatures may influence immature survival rates. Here, we conducted a transplant experiment along an elevation gradient to test for climate-change effects on immature overwinter survival using movement along elevational gradient for a community of 26 cavity-nesting bee species in the family Megachilidae along the San Francisco Peaks, Arizona elevational gradient. In each of three years, we placed nest blocks at three elevations, to be colonized by native Megachilidae. Colonized blocks were then (1) moved to lower (warmer) elevations; (2) moved to higher (cooler) elevations; or (3) left in their natal habitat (no change in temperature). Because Megachilidae occupy high elevations with colder temperatures more than any other family of bees, we predicted that emergence would decrease in nest blocks moved to lower elevations, but that we would find no differences in emergence when nest blocks were moved to higher elevations. We found three major results: (1) Bee species moved to lower (warmer) habitats exhibited a 30% decrease in emergence compared with species moved within their natal habitat. (2) Habitat generalists were more likely than habitat specialists to emerge when moved up or down in elevation regardless of their natal life zones. (3) At our highest elevation treatment, emergence increased when blocks were moved to higher elevations, indicating that at least some Megachilidae species can survive at colder temperatures. Our results suggest that direct effects of warming temperatures will have negative impacts on the overall survival of Megachilidae. Additionally, above the tree line, low availability of wood-nesting resources is a probable limiting factor on bees moving up in elevation.

Influence of conditions of keeping bee families in wintering on their productivity

Creating favorable conditions for the development of bee colonies, adherence to technological techniques and processes are of great importance in increasing productivity. The article highlights the results of research on the impact of increased subframe space during the wintering of bee colonies on their further development and productivity. In the course of the research, bee colonies were evaluated on the basis of a set of economically useful traits. For research, 2 groups of bee colonies were identified, 10 in each, equivalent in strength and food security, with young fertile queens bred in the same year. The formation of experimental groups took into account the strength of bee colonies, the number of closed brood, the age of the queens, the availability of feed (honey and perga), and the quality of nest cells. These indicators in the experimental groups were almost the same. When preparing bee colonies for winter, the frames in the families of the control group were in the center of the hive, removed the top insulation and unscrewed the sheets by 5–7 sm in the experimental group performed the same actions as in the control winters substituted empty store extensions, thus increasing the subframe space. During the research, honey and wax productivity, strength of families in different periods of the active season and winter hardiness were determined. It was found that bees kept in the hives with increased subframe space, in which 76.1 % less plague was detected, compared with the control group, tolerate wintering well. These families are developing more intensively in the spring and summer period – the advantage in strength was 25.8 % in April, 31.4 % in May, and 31.6 % in June. And further they show higher honey and wax productivity by 24.9 and 32.1 %, respectively.

Influence of early spring feeding on the development of bee families in the natural lands of Polissya

To ensure intensive early spring development of bee colonies in the natural lands of Polissya Zhytomyr region in the winter-spring period it is necessary to feed stimulating food. Therefore, the aim of the work is to study the influence of spring feeding with sugar-honey dough on the development and honey productivity of bee families of Ukrainian breed in conditions of clean and radioactively contaminated natural lands of Zhytomyr Polissya. The influence of feeding bee colonies with sugar-honey dough (powdered sugar, centrifuged honey, water) using pure and radioactively contaminated honey on the intensity of development and honey productivity was studied. To do this, two groups were created with experimental families of Ukrainian bee breeds, selected on the principle of analogs, one of which was in a radioactively clean area, and the other in radioactively contaminated soils 137 Cs within 15 Ki/km² and above. A comparative assessment of the early spring development of families was made: from March 16 to May 20, with an interval of 21 days, the number of open and sealed brood, egg production of queens during the honey harvest season was determined. Honey productivity at the honey harvest from natural lands was determined by the amount of honey obtained in spring and summer. Early spring feeding with sugar-honey dough promotes intensive development of families, and the content of radioactively contaminated honey does not have a negative impact on their development. After the end of the season of honey collection from natural lands, bee families of Ukrainian breed, both in the radioactively contaminated and clean zone, had a medium strength and could successfully overwinter.

The Birth-and-Death Evolution of Cytochrome P450 Genes in Bees.

The birth-and-death model of multigene family evolution describes how gene families evolve and diversify through duplication and deletion. The cytochrome P450s are one of the most diverse and well-studied multigene families, involved in both physiological and xenobiotic functions. Extensive studies of insect P450 genes have demonstrated their role in insecticide resistance. Bees are thought to experience toxin exposure through their diet of nectar and pollen, as well as the resin-collecting behavior exhibited by some species. Here, we describe the repertoire of P450 genes in the orchid bee Euglossa dilemma. Male orchid bees form perfume bouquets used in courtship displays by collecting volatile compounds, resulting in exposure to compounds known to be toxic. In addition, we conducted phylogenetic and selection analyses across ten bee species encompassing three bee families. We find that social behavior and resin collection are not correlated with the repertoire of P450 present in a bee species. However, our analyses revealed that P450 clades can be classified as stable and unstable, and that genes involved in xenobiotic metabolism are more likely to belong to unstable clades. Furthermore, we find that unstable clades are under more dynamic evolutionary pressures and exhibit signals of adaptive evolution. This work highlights the complexity of multigene family evolution, revealing that multiple factors contribute to the diversification, stability, and dynamics of this gene family. Furthermore, we provide a resource for future detailed studies investigating the function of different P450s in economically important bee species.

PROPOZYCJA MONITORINGU GATUNKU XYLOCOPA VIOLACEA W POLSCE

The main purpose of this scientific publication is to present the suggested methods of monitoring the species violet carpenter bee Xylocopa violacea, which belongs to Hymenoptera of the bee family Apidae. Despite the fact that this insect is only partially protected under Polish national law, there are very few identified localities of these animals in Poland. The main problem related to the uncertainty of the number of the violet carpenter bee Xylocopa violacea is the lack of monitoring within national borders. The proposed method of population status assessment is based on the field research. These studies include the observations of many elements of the population and the environment and on predicting what are the prospects for protecting the violet carpenter bee Xylocopa violacea in Poland. The proposed method of population status assessment is based on the analysis of species presence and abundance and the proposed method of habitat status assessment is based on the analysis of area, food base, type of environment, elements of the habitat, the nature of the surroundings and habitat stability. The proposed methods can be also applied for Xylocopa valga, which can be easily confused with the violet carpenter bee Xylocopa violacea. What is the most important – regular monitoring may contribute to the recognition of other places of occurrence and will enable effective protection of the violet carpenter bee Xylocopa violacea in Poland.

Quality of queen bees in different ways of their production

Timely replacement of queens is one of the main zootechnical methods for maintaining the vital activity of bee families, and searching for ways to improve their quality is an urgent problem. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the method of obtaining queen bees of Apis mellifera sossimai and Apis mellifera carpatica breeds on their reproductive functions and bee family productivity. To conduct research in the conditions of the apiary of honey-pollination area, three groups were established - control and two experimental, with nine bee colonies in each. In the first (control) group, uteruses were artificially removed from the nursery, in the second group - fistula uteri and the third – swarm uteri. The apiary was located at a point of 50×50 meters, bee families were kept in hives. According to the results of the study, it was established that the queen bee Apis mellifera carpatica was heavier than the queen bee Apis mellifera sossimai. The queen bees from the nursery are the smallest, and the swarm queen bees are slightly heavier than in other groups, although the difference was not statistically significant. Fistula queen bees produce the most eggs and provide the best brood quality. Fistula queen bees have better weight uniformity than swarm bees, which affects the productivity of families. Colonies with swarm queen bees are characterised by different levels of development, which complicates the maintenance of these families. The quality of queens is affected by the breeding method and the location of the queen cell in the honeycomb. The more queens the colony grows, the worse their quality. As it is complicated to establish optimal conditions in the nursery and the number of queen cells is large, this is the reason for the worst quality of queens. The results obtained are of practical importance for choosing a method of rearing queen bees of high quality to establish well-developed bee colonies

Biological indicators of bee families against the background of stimulating additives

Modeling of hive buildings with the architectonics of cells close to the natural sample against the background of stimulating additives can become an effective biological and technological lever not only in increasing the productivity of bee families, but also in rearing complete offspring in bee generations. This is especially relevant in association to the reproduction of the spring generation of honey bees. A characteristic feature of this period is that bee colonies should show high nesting activity and increase their strength. At the same time, the amino acids of honey bees play an important role in the detoxification of poisons, which is especially characteristic of histidine. The importance of tyrosine in the metabolism of honey bees as a class of insects is difficult to overestimate, because its derivatives play the important role not only in the formation of the exoskeleton of insects, but also in the creation of body color, they are also part of protective secretions and probably serve as chemical mediators of the nervous system. It has been proved that the spring-summer development of bee families was most active after wintering against the background of stimulating additives with inverted sugar syrup with the addition of cobalt chloride or drug Apinik, or in combination with 10 % bee bread and the construction of new-generation wax honeycombs, which compared with the control group, ensured the achievement of the maximum parameters of the growth indices of strength and construction activity for the construction of honeycombs – in 3,0, 4,26, 4,52 and in 0,86, 1,0 and 1,0 (in the control group – 2,61 and 0,57) and increased the live weight of bee individuals of the summer generation by 4,18, 4,6 and 4,7 %. It has been found that minerals, essential amino acids of the drug Apinik, associated with str. Fasium microorganisms, and 10 % bee bread as part of stimulating additives top dressing against the background of the renewal of new-generation wax combs before the main honey collection, increase the volume of hemolymph in inactive worker bees by 6,76–7,63 %, the degree of development of the fat body by 10,0 %, and in nectar-collecting bees by 6,75–8,16 % and 5,56–7,88 %, respectively. At the same time, the increase in the level of the amino acids histidine and tyrosine was recorded in inactive worker bees by 0,76–1,56 % and by 16,56–17,72 %, in nectar-collecting bees by 2,53–3,19 % and 28,68–30,08 %, respectively. This indicates the receipt of the complete generation of working bees of the summer generation, which will actively work on the main honey collection, providing economically useful traits of bee families.

Controlling varroa mites infesting honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) Using some essential oils and amitraz under colony conditions

The biggest difficulty for beekeepers in the globe is the Varroa mite. So, the honey production and the mortality of adult honeybees are damaged by this pest. Therefore, this study tested some essential oils and chemicals (amitraz), for the control integrated on Varroa destructor and affected of (Apis mellifera L.). Five essential oils (garlic oil, Peppermint oil, Cinnamon oil, thyme oil, Lavender oil) of plant natural products and chemical pesticide (amitraz), the Varroa mites infected in the honeybee colonies were examined and the falling mites were monitored by a sticky card on the base of the hive. Data was recorded after 1,3, 7, 15, 22 days of treatment, under colony conditions. The natural approaches employed in the control and spread of bee illnesses have been demonstrated to be effective. Garlic oil and thyme oil were found to be particularly efficient against Varroa Mites and honeybees (Apis mellifera L.), Garlic oil has surpassed all other treatments to reduce the amount of Varroa with a substantial change following treatment of(Mean± Std. Error) (9.330± 2.392) throughout the study, with increased Varroa mortality in all treatments compared to during the pretreatment phase. Also, the daily dead bees were counted during the study period, there were insignificant differences between honeybee colonies with different treatments in the daily dead worker bees treated with certain oils and chemicals. In addition, all the treatments were safe for worker bees at the applied dose. The natural approaches employed in the control and spread of bee illnesses have been demonstrated to be effective, and that essential oils can improve the health of bee families.

QUALITY OF HELIANTHUS ANNUUS HONEY OBTAINED IN THE CONDITIONS OF RADIOACTIVE CONTAMINATION

Natural honey is a source of vital amino acids, easily digestible carbohydrates, macro, microelements, biologically active substances that determine nutritional, antibacterial and antioxidant properties. In the conditions of man-caused pollution of Polissya of Ukraine due to the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, systematic control of the quality and safety of beekeeping products is important. To conduct such research, we created a group of twelve bee families - analogs of the Ukrainian breed, medium strength. Families were kept in unified multifunctional hives. At the beginning of the honey harvest, the bee families were transported to the sunflower fields, where they stayed during the blossoming of the plants. The density of radioactive contamination of 137Cs soils where sunflower was grown was 47.0 kBq / m2. We used organoleptic, physicochemical, microscopic, microbiological, and radiological methods in the study. According to standard methods, we studied the species composition of pollen grains, physicochemical parameters of centrifugal, honeycomb, and «zabrus» sunflower honey.(zabrus honey was obtained from wax caps, which we cut with an apiary knife from honeycombs filled with nectar and sealed by bees). The content of lead (Pb) in honey from sunflower obtained in the conditions of Polissya is 1.8 - 2.1 times higher than the State sanitary norms. The largest amount of it is in the centrifugal honey. In acceptable amounts, the heavy metals cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and 137Cs were present in honey. Pesticides, dichlorodiphenyltrichloromethylmethane, and hexachlorane were not detected in the samples. We investigated the bactericidal action against bacterial growth of typical cultures of Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Salmonella Typhimurium, and Staphylococcus aureus. Zubrus sunflower honey showed the highest antimicrobial and antioxidant properties. We found that the value of antioxidant activity (AOA) of sunflower honey depends on the method of its production, duration of storage, and solutions of extracts (alcohol, aqueous) used in research. Laboratory control of transgenic organisms in flowers and sunflower pollen did not reveal the target sequences of the cauliflower mosaic virus (CaMV) 35S promoter and the NOS terminator (nopaline synthase) of the plasmid Agrobacterium tumefaciens.

Beewatching: A Project for Monitoring Bees through Photos.

Simple SummaryCitizen science is the involvement of the public in scientific research, through the collection of data by volunteer members (“citizen scientists”), usually as part of a collaborative project with professional scientists. Beewatching is a citizen science project started in spring 2018. The project target is to acquire information on wild bee species in Italy and to promote knowledge among citizens on the diversity of bees and their importance as pollinators. Moreover, an attempt was made to follow the distribution of two alien bee species present in Italy. During the first two years of the project, 269 users contributed with 1086 reports. Overall, 38 Apoidea genera and 190 plant genera were reported. Furthermore, we received 22 reports of the alien species Megachile sculpturalis. The increasing number of reports and the higher percentage of correct ones throughout the first period of project implementation, but also the ecological data acquired, undoubtfully represent positive outputs, demonstrating the success of Beewatching project.Bees play a key role in natural and agro-ecosystems and their diversity is worldwide threatened by anthropogenic causes. Despite this, there is little awareness of the existence of the numerous species of wild bees, and the common name “bee” is very often exclusively associated with Apis mellifera. Our aim was to create a citizen science project in Italy with the following objectives: (a) raising awareness of the importance and diversity of bees, (b) obtaining data on the biology, ecology and distribution of Italian species, and (c) launching the monitoring of alien bees. The first step of the project was to create a website platform with a section containing informative datasheets of the wild bee families and of the most common bee genera present in Italy, a form to send reports of observed bees and an interactive map with all citizen’s reports. During the 2 years of the project 1086 reports were sent by 269 users, with 38 Apoidea genera reported on 190 plant genera; furthermore, 22 reports regarding the alien species Megachile sculpturalis arrived. The majority of bees (34 genera) were observed on spontaneous plants, including 115 genera native to Italy. Considering the increasing number of reports and data obtained in these first two years of the project, our objectives seem to be achieved. Future steps will be to outline the profile of beewatchers, to plan activities in a more targeted way, and also to start some sub-projects for conservation purposes.

Characterization and identification of lactic acid bacteria from Mexican stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini)

Stingless bees (family Apidae; tribe Meliponini), native from Mexico, are essential in tropical ecosystems. They are responsible for the pollination of many crops, native flora, and honey production. Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) are a regular host of the bee microbiota. LAB provide beneficial effects such as decreasing bacterial and parasitic pathogens infections and enhancing beehive honey production. Four different stingless bee species were sampled in the southeast of Mexico (Veracruz State) and identified as Melipona beecheii, Scaptotrigona pectoralis, Plebeia llorentei and Plebeia jatiformis. Twelve LAB strains were isolated from the bee gastrointestinal tract and characterised by microbiologic features, carbohydrates fermentation profile, antibiogram and phylogenetic reconstructions through distance and Bayesian inference methods, selecting two genes with hypervariable regions (16S rRNA and pheS). The species were characterised as gram-positive and catalase-negative as rods and cocci. Moreover, most of the species identified were able to use diverse polysaccharides as the only carbon source. Lactobacillaceae resulted in resistance to ciprofloxacin and Leuconstaceae to cotrimoxazole. Finally, ten strains could be identified by both phylogenetic reconstructions as Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (2), Weissella paramesenteroides (3), Leuconostoc citreum (2), and Apilactobacillus spp. (3). This is the first report of LAB isolated from Mexican stingless bees to the best of our knowledge.

Poisoning of Apis mellifera bees with neonicotinoids and glyphosate

In the summer of 2019, in many regions of the Russian Federation, there was a high death rate of honey bee families in apiaries after treating rapeseed and other fields with pesticides during flowering. The purpose of our research: to study the effect of neonicotinoids and glyphosate contained in pesticides and herbicides on Apis mellifera honey bees in laboratory conditions, to study the clinical picture of poisoning. As a result of the study, it was revealed that imidacloprid and thiacloprid have a fumigant effect from the treated surfaces for 7 days. In addition, the accumulation and death of bees from small doses can be observed on the 9th day and later. The effect of glyphosate-containing preparations on bees in laboratory conditions revealed 100% death of bees when consumed with feed. The death of bees after consuming sugar syrup with the drug, even from small doses, occurred after 15 minutes, and in the fumigation test, no death was found with prolonged exposure of the drug near bees.

Impact of the design and material of the hives on honey production of bees

The influence of the hive’s design and material on the development and productivity of bee colonies have been studied. Reducing the size of honey cases has positively impacted the bee family’s development. In this case, it is simpler for bees to develop without honey in the nest and regular expansion of the beehive with honey cases. Based on a detailed 3-year analysis of changes in the structure of beehives, we have found the hive’s optimal structure, which makes it possible to maximize the possibilities of bee colonies in the conditions of the Lipetsk region.

Comparative biology of four Rhodanthidium species (Hymenoptera, Megachilidae) that nest in snail shells

Some species of two tribes (Anthidiini and Osmiini) of the bee family Megachilidae utilize empty gastropod shells as nesting cavities. While snail-nesting Osmiini have been more frequently studied and the nesting biology of several species is well-known, much less is known about the habits of snail-nesting Anthidiini. We collected nests of four species of the genusRhodanthidium(R. septemdentatum,R. sticticum,R. siculumandR. infuscatum) in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Catalonia (Spain) and Sicily (Italy). We dissected these nests in the laboratory and documented their structure, pollen sources and nest associates. The four species usually choose large snail shells. All four species close their nests with a plug made of resin, sand and fragments of snail shells. However, nests of the four species can be distinguished based on the presence (R. septemdentatum,R. sticticum) or absence (R. siculum,R. infuscatum) of mineral and plant debris in the vestibular space, and the presence (R. septemdentatum,R. infuscatum) or absence (R. sticticum,R. siculum) of a resin partition between the vestibular space and the brood cell.Rhodanthidium septemdentatum,R. sticticumandR. siculumusually build a single brood cell per nest, but allR. infuscatumnests studied contained two or more cells. For three of the species (R. siculum,R. septemdentatumandR. sticticum) we confirmed overwintering in the adult stage. Contrary toR. siculum,R. septemdentatumandR. sticticumdo not hide their nest shells and usually use shells under the stones or hidden in crevices within stone walls. Nest associates were very infrequent. We only found twoR. sticticumnests parasitized by the chrysidid waspChrysura refulgensand seven nests infested with pollen mites Chaetodactylus cf. anthidii. Our pollen analyses confirm thatRhodanthidiumare polylectic but show a preference for Fabaceae byR. sticticum.

Contribution to the knowledge of the bee fauna (Hymenoptera, Apoidea, Anthophila) in Serbia.

The current work represents summarised data on the bee fauna in Serbia from previous publications, collections, and field data in the period from 1890 to 2020. A total of 706 species from all six of the globally widespread bee families is recorded; of the total number of recorded species, 314 have been confirmed by determination, while 392 species are from published data. Fourteen species, collected in the last three years, are the first published records of these taxa from Serbia: Andrenabarbareae (Panzer, 1805), A.clarkella (Kirby, 1802), A.fulvicornis (Schenck, 1853), A.intermedia (Thomson, 1870), A.lapponica (Zetterstedt, 1838), A.pandellei (Pérez, 1895), A.paucisquama (Noskiewicz, 1924), A.simillima (Smith, 1851), Panurginusherzi (Morawitz, 1892), Epeoloidescoecutiens (Fabricius, 1775), Nomadaleucophthalma (Kirby, 1802), Chelostomanasutum (Pérez, 1895), Hoplitisclaviventris (Thomson, 1872), and Dasypodapyrotrichia (Förster, 1855). Almost all the species recorded so far in Serbia belong to the West-Palaearctic biogeographical region, except Megachilesculpturalis (Smith, 1853), which is an alien invasive species native to East Asia. According to the European Red List of bees, 221 species listed in this paper were assessed as Data Deficient; threatened species mostly belong to the families Apidae with 13 species, Colletidae with eight species, and Halictidae with five species. This study contributes to the knowledge of the distribution of bee species in Europe. The present work provides a baseline for future research of wild bee diversity in Serbia and neighbouring regions at the local and regional levels, and a basis for their conservation.

Treatment of bee families without drugs, or a zootechnical method of combating diseases of bees

Todayall the monographs, recommendations, instructions, and technologies after the successful experiments on the treatment of bees against European spot disease with penicillin, there are instructions from the NIP (Research Institute of Prevention) to use antibiotics to the treatment of all bee diseases, but especially in the form of prophylactic supplementation. Many antibiotics (chloramphenicol) and nitrofuran-based medicines are now being produced. In addition, all new medications are intensively recommended in all issues of Beekeeping magazine. These drugs are often newly invented, untested remedies that are advertised as a panacea for all diseases. Antibiotics are introduced into honey and bee-bees in the treatment and prevention of bee diseases. When such products are consumed, people develop various diseases with severe and even incurable consequences. With this in mind, the European Union and the United States do not buy and even strictly prohibit honey from China, Brazil, Argentina and Turkey across borders. The Department of Biology, Bioresources and Aquaculture at Novosibirsk State Agrarian University has for the first time developed a technology for keeping bees without the use of drugs. The long-term use of this technology in the apiaries of Western Siberia has made it possible to achieve good preservation of bee families and high honey yields. In addition, the cost of beekeeping products has fallen dramatically, as farms have stopped spending huge sums on purchasing medicines. Scientists have improved and successfully applied heat treatment of bee colonies to combat varroaatosis, nosematosis and viral diseases.

The application of formic acid to treat varroaatosis in bees in organic animal husbandry

The research aims to evaluate the effectiveness of formic acid as an antiparasitic agent against the varroa mite. The research seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of the antiparasitic agent against the varroa mite and to determine the possibility of using formic acid in organic apiculture. The study was carried out in the nomadic apiaries of Volgograd (apiary 1), Olkhovsky (apiary 2) and Dubovsky (apiary 3) districts of the Volgograd region. The nests were formed by the pairing method with 5 experimental and control families in each apiary after the central beehive (end of July, beginning of August) before the preparation of the bee families for wintering by shrinkage. The authors carried out antiparasitic measures using a gel containing 85% formic acid in the experimental groups twice with an interval of two weeks. The gel is contained in sachets of 30 grams each. The authors placed formic acid over the frames under the canvas (at the rate of 1 sachet per bee colony). The experimental results showed that the treatment measures in the experimental groups had a positive effect on all apiaries. In those groups where formic acid was used, the number of mites decreased by 14.3-28.2% and did not exceed 3.8%. At the same time, in the control groups, the number of mites increased. The treatment measures had a positive effect on the overwintering of the bees. Bee mortality in the autumn-winter-spring period in the experimental groups did not exceed 8.3%. In contrast, in the control families, the wastage was no lower than 18.8%. Also, in two apiaries, one family each died in the control groups. Honey productivity, in the end, was also higher in the experimental groups. The experimental groups produced at least 27.42 kg of honey. The control groups had 17.9 kg of honey per family. Profitability in the experimental groups ranged from 40.87 in Apiary 2 to 60.62% in Apiary 3. This was less than 24.47 per cent in the control apiaries.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of insect pollinator communities in sagebrush steppe associated with weather and vegetation

The conservation of native insect pollinators is hampered by a lack of information about environmental factors influencing pollinator communities. We investigated how insect pollinator communities, composed of bees (Hymenoptera), butterflies and moths (Lepidoptera), and flies (Diptera), are influenced by spatial and temporal aspects of the environment in sagebrush steppe shrublands. We assessed hypotheses regarding spatial autocorrelation of communities, inter-annual variability in communities, influence of elevation on timing of emergence, and influence of weather on seasonal changes in relative abundance of different pollinator taxa. We captured 27,310 insects from 6 bee families, 27 butterfly and moth families, and 3 fly families. The occurrence of insect pollinators among sampling plots was not spatially autocorrelated, indicating that insect communities may be structured by habitat variation and microclimates over relatively fine spatial scales. Pollinator familial richness, diversity, abundance, and timing of emergence were most strongly positively associated with spatiotemporal variation in minimum daily temperatures at the ground surface during the active season. Emergence timing was positively correlated with growing degree days and percent humidity, regardless of elevation. All pollinator groups varied in abundance throughout their active season, peaking in early July (bees), late July (flies), or early August (butterflies and moths). Our findings suggest that changes in nighttime temperatures, which have been steadily increasing over the last several decades as a result of climate change, may have strong effects on sagebrush steppe pollinator communities. Also, non-bee pollinators may provide particularly important pollination in this vast ecosystem during the warmest time of the year.

Тhe influence of the removal bee pollen with the pollen catcher on the flight activity and behaviour of the bees-polen collectors

The possibility of demonstration of the productivity potential of the bee families depends directly on the level of provision of protein feed. In this regard, the study of the bees behavior that is connected to harvesting and processing of protein food is important for both biology and practical beekeeping. The presented work provides some data of experimental studies of the influence of the removal of the bee pollen on the flight activity of bees. The study of the ethological features that enhance the increase of collection, harvesting and processing of the protein feed was conducted. With this purpose the studies were conducted to elucidate the factors that induce collection of the protein feed -bee pollen by bees and its harvesting in the nest of the bee family in the form of the bee bread. The factors that influence the increase of the collection of the protein feed by bees were researched on experimental and control bee families- analogues. Throughout the studies it was identified that the bees with medium strength were the most active in collecting the pollen. The removal of the bee pollen with pollen catchers decreases the raising of brood by bee families, but doesn’t result in their significant weakening. With the enlargement of the area of the open brood the collection of the pollen by bees increases. In order to obtain the saleable bee pollen the strong bee families should be kept on the apiary. The bees-collectors of the protein feed have the individual features of collecting the bee pollen. With the removal of thbrood from the nest the activity the bees that flew out decreased. When adding the open brood the activity increased. On the contrary, with supply of the bee pollen to the nest, the pollen collecting activity decreases and adding the carbohydrates has no effect. The removal of the bee pollen with the pollen catcher from the bee families increases the flight activity which in turn leads to obtaining more bee pollen on the apiaries and pollination of additional quantity of entomophilous plants. In order to obtain the saleable bee pollen the strong families should be kept on the apiary and the removal should be conducted in the morning and day hours. Key words: bee family, Ukrainian steppe breed, pollen, bee pollen, bee bread, pollen catcher, flight activity of bees.