Feral Honey Bee Research Articles

Mitochondrial DNA evidence for the 19th century introduction of African honey bees into the United States

Since the introduction of an African subspecies into Brazil in the mid-1950's1, descendent ‘Africanized’ honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) have spread throughout the Neotropics and into temperate North America. Restriction enzyme analysis of 422 feral honey bee colonies collected from non-Africanized areas in the southern United States revealed that over 21% of them had mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) derived from a European race established in North America by the 17th century, 77% of them had mtDNA common in honey bees maintained by beekeepers and about 1% exhibited African mtDNA. Further analysis revealed that the African mtDNA was derived from a north African subspecies imported to the US in the 19th century.

Field tests of an acephate baiting system designed for eradicating undesirable honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

Field evaluations were made of a baiting system designed for use by regulatory agencies in suppressing populations of undesirable feral honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (e.g., bees posing hazards [especially Africanized bees] and colonies infested with parasitic mites). Bees from feral or simulated feral (hived) colonies were lured with honey and Nasonov pheromone components to feeders dispensing sucrose-honey syrup. After 1-3 wk of passive training to feeders, colonies were treated during active foraging by replacing untreated syrup with syrup containing 500 ppm (mg/liter) acephate (Orthene 75 S). In four trials using hived colonies on Grant Terre Island, LA., 21 of 29 colonies foraged actively enough at baits to be treated, and 20 of the 22 treated were destroyed. In the lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas (two trials at each of two trials), treatments killed 11 of 16 colonies (6 of 10 hived; 50 of 6 feral). Overall results showed that all 11 colonies that collected greater than 25 mg acephate died, whereas 3 of 10 colonies receiving less than 25 mg survived. Delivering adequate doses required a minimum of approximately 100 bees per target colony simultaneously collecting treated syrup. The system destroyed target colonies located up to nearly 700 m away from baits. Major factors limiting efficacy were conditions inhibiting foraging at baits (e.g., competing natural nectar sources and temperatures and winds that restricted bee flight).

Effect of introduced social wasps on the standing crop of honeydew in New Zealand beech forests

Honeydew drops produced by beech scale insects (Ultracoelostoma assimile) on beech trees (Nothofagus) were measured on three areas of trunk: an unprotected control area, an area screened to allow insects but not birds to feed on the honeydew, and an area screened to exclude all insects and birds. The experiments showed honeyeater birds (tui, bellbirds, and silvereyes) had little effect on the honeydew, but that cropping by German wasps (Vespula germanica), and particularly by common wasps (V. vulgaris), in the summer and autumn months markedly reduced the number, size, and sugar concentration of the honeydew drops. The energy in drops per unit area of tree trunk was reduced by at least 99.1%, 98.4%, and 91.3% in January, March, and May, respectively. Wasps reduced the standing crop (number, size, and sugar concentration) of the honeydew drops by cropping them before they could be fully recharged and before evaporation could concentrate the sugars. Cropping by feral honey bees (Apis mellifera) may have reduced the standing crop of honeydew slightly. Removal of the honeydew by the introduced social wasps threatens the existence of some New Zealand native animals. The wasps reduce honeydew abundance and quality to the extent that honey bees do not feed on it for 3–4 months of the year.

Clinal geographic variation in feral honey bees in California, USA

variables had low but significant correlations with environmental factors and clinal patterns of spatial autocorrelation with distance. Some measurements of body size exhibited Bergmann’s Rule, but the hind legs did not exhibit Allen’s Rule. The geographic variation is presumably adaptive and has developed within 138 years in the presence of a large, mobile beekeeping industry. Colonies of small worker bees in the warmer and drier regions of the state may represent an ecotype adapted to desert conditions.

The Population Density of Feral Colonies of Honey Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in a City in Upstate New York

In Oswego, a city in upstate New York, a search for all honey bee, Apis mellifera L., colonies in an area of 4.2 km2 (1.6 square miles) revealed 12 colonies. All but one of the colonies were feral, living in tree cavities and the walls of buildings. The observed density was 2.7 colonies per km2 (7.0 feral colonies per square mile). Oswego may be considered typical of the smaller cities in the northeastern United States, with many older wooden houses and streets lined with large trees. The high frequency of feral honey bee colonies in cities, many in inaccessible areas, adds considerably to the difficulty of controlling nuisance bees, as well as noxious bee mites and other honey bee disease agents for which feral colonies constitute reservoirs of infection. Our data make clear that ordinances against beekeeping would not significantly reduce the number of colonies living in an urban area.

Nest sites of feral honey bees in California, USA

Nest sites of feral honey bees in California, USA

Beech honeydew: Seasonal variation and use by wasps, honey bees, and other insects

Abstract Variation in the production of beech honeydew by the scale insect (Ultracoelostoma assimile), and in the density and abundance of insects feeding on it, was studied in a mixed beech (Nothofagus) forest near Nelson, New Zealand. Nearly all anal tubes were connected to a feeding instar of the scale insect and so were able to deliver drops of honeydew to feeding insects and birds. The number of anal tubes and drops was high in winter and spring and declined to a trough in late summer and autumn. Drop quality (size and sugar concentration) also reached a low in the late summer and autumn. It is suggested that consumption of drops by wasps (mainly common wasps, Vespula vulgaris, but also German wasps, V. germanica) caused the paucity of honeydew in late summer and autumn. Wasps probably also prevented feral honey bees (Apis mellifera) from gathering honeydew then. Wasps were by far the most abundant insect feeding on honeydew, peaking at an average of 58 wasps per m2 of trunk of honeydew-infested tree in March. Wasp numbers declined markedly in April. Concern is expressed about the impact of introduced wasps on endemic insects, honeydew and insectfeeding birds inhabiting the honeydew beech forests.

Microbes from apiarian sources: Bacillus spp. in frass of the greater wax moth

Frass from the greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella, obtained from feral colonies of honey bees, Apis mellifera; from managed honey bee colonies; and from a laboratory culture of the wax moth was sampled for aerobic Gram-positive spore-forming rods. One hundred eighty-five strains belonging to the genus Bacillus were isolated, and most were identified. One hundred and three of the isolates were from frass from the wax moth culture, 61 were from frass from managed honey bee colonies, and 21 were from frass from feral honey bee colonies. The species most frequently isolated varied with the source. Fifty-eight isolates from frass from managed honey bee colonies were B. cereus which was isolated from this source only, but B. sphaericus was the most frequent isolate from frass from the wax moth culture. Bacillus megaterium and organisms belonging to the B. alvei-B. thiaminolyticus spectrum were the most frequent isolates from frass from feral honey bee colonies. Most strains isolated produced caprylate esterase-lipase, leucine aminopeptidase, and phosphoamidase. The numbers of isolates, the species, and the enzymatic activity of the strains varied with the source of the frass. In fact, the complete microbial complement varied with the source. These results are discussed in relation to possible roles of Bacillus spp. in the nutrition of the wax moth as well as the microbial ecology of the honey bee colony.

Competition for Nectar between Introduced Honey Bees and Native North American Bees and Ants

Previous studies (Schaffer et al. 1979) of introduced honey bees foraging at Agave schottii Engelm. flowers suggest that Apis preferentially exploits the most productive patches of flowers and thereby reduces the standing crop of available nectar and the utilization of these sites by native bees. In the present paper, we report the results of experiments undertaken to evaluate this hypothesis. A single 1-ha site was studied. Visitation rates by Apis and native bees were determined, as were rates of nectar secretion and amounts of nectar available to the bees. Nectar available to bees was increased by excluding ants, which foraged on the stalks both during the day and at night. A. schottii flowers secrete 90% of their nectar at night. Prior to this exclusion, ants consumed =85% of the nightly accumulation. At first, the ants were excluded from only 10 flower stalks out of 130. These stalks were visited by greater numbers of both honey bees and bumble bees than were the controls. The experimental stalks also had higher standing crops of available nectar. Next, ants were excluded from all of the stalks on and surrounding the study site by treating them with Tree Tangle- foot. Following this manipulation the number of honey bees again increased, but the numbers of Bombus remained at the level of the controls of the first experiment. A significant increase in the numbers of small solitary bees on the stalks was also observed. These species generally foraged later in the day than Apis and Bombus, which were both active primarily early in the morning and before dusk. During these manipulations, two hives of Cordovan honey bees, a light-colored strain of Apis mellifera, were present on the site. The subsequent introduction of two additional hives had no discernible effect on the number of honey bees visiting the flowers. The final experiment consisted of removing the Cordovan hives. Thereafter the number of darker feral honey bees observed on the flowers increased until it approached the previous combined total of Cordovans (:75% of the total) and ferals. Concomitantly, the numbers of Bombus and small solitary bees first increased and then declined.

Size of Nest Cavities Selected by Swarms of Africanized Honeybees in Venezuela

SummaryMost feral swarms of Africanized honeybees (Apis mellifera, South American ecotype) in Venezuela selected cavities with a volume of 80 litres as nest sites when presented with a choice of 10, 20, 40 and 80 litres. Agonistic behaviour between scout bees inspecting nest boxes was common, indicating that nest cavities were a limited resource for this population of feral honeybees.

Pollination of the Rain-Forest Tree Syzygium Tierneyanum (Myrtaceae) at Kuranda, Northern Queensland

The identity, abundance and foraging behaviour of pollinators of the self-compatible, mass-flowering Syzygium tierneyanum were investigated. Forty-five species of nectarivorous animals were recorded. Diurnal visitors included seven bird; nine butterfly. four moth (including two hawkmoth), two bee, two ant, one wasp, three blowfly, one fruit fly, two beetle and one weevil species. while nocturnal visitors included one bat and 12 moth (including three hawkmoth) species. Floral dimensions were such that only the vertebrate and larger insect species regularly contacted anthers and stigmas while foraging. Of these groups the feral honey bee (Apis mellifera) was the most common flowet visitor. Honeyeaters and hawkmoths appeared to be the most important native pollinators; they were abundant in the study area and visited numerous flowers (50-250) in quick succession (1-3 s per flower) on each foraging bout. The only major differences in foraging times observed in the pollinator array were between diurnal, diurnal and crepuscular, and nocturnal floral visitors. Spatial partitioning of the nectar resource was limited to one instance of territoriality involving a Macleay's honeyeater (Meliphaga rnacleayana) on a densely flowering branch prior to peak blooming time, occasional aggressive chases by honeyeaters, and a division of foraging modes into rapid, erratic flights of 0.5– 4 m between flowers (hawkmoths) as against nearest-flower movements (all other groups). This lack of major spatial partitioning may have been due to the mass flowering of S. tierneyanum and the resultant superabundance of nectar. The vast majority (c. 99.95%) of interflower movements observed in foraging bouts of birds (and of hawkmoths) were within the same plant. This suggests that most seeds of S. tierneyanum may be derived from self-pollination.

Life history strategy of the honey bee, Apis mellifera.

The feral honey bee queens (colonies) of central New York State (USA) show a K-type life history strategy. Their demographic characteristics include low early life mortality, low reproductive rate, long lifespan, high population stability and repeated reproductions. Identifying the life history strategy of these bees reveals the general pattern of selection for competitive ability, rather than productivity, which has shaped their societies. Selection for competitive power explains the adaptiveness (compared with alternatives found in many other insect societies) of the large perennial colonies, infrequent but expensive offspring, and efficient foraging which characterize the social organization of these bees.

Natural Nest Sites of Honeybee Colonies in Trees in Connecticut, USA

SummaryCharacteristics of 108 natural nests of feral honeybee colonies in trees are reported. Sixteen genera of trees were inhabited. Entrances were knot holes (75 nests), cracks (32), and root openings (1); 71 were more than 3 m from the ground, and 68 had an area over 40 cm2. All 106 trees measured had a diameter above 30 cm at 1·3 m from the ground, and 63 trees had diameters above 20 cm at the entrance height. Twice as many entrances faced SW as any other (quadrant) direction.