Giant Honey Bee Apis Dorsata Research Articles

Giant honeybees (Apis dorsata) trade off defensiveness against periodic mass flight activity.

The giant honeybee Apis dorsata (Fabricius, 1793) is an evolutionarily ancient species that builds its nests in the open. The nest consists of a single honeycomb covered with the bee curtain which are several layers of worker bees that remain almost motionless with their heads up and abdomens down on the nest surface, except for the mouth area, the hub between inner- and outer-nest activities. A colony may change this semi-quiescence several times a day, depending on its reproductive state and ambient temperature, to enter the state of mass flight activity (MFA), in which nest organisation is restructured and defense ability is likely to be suppressed (predicted by the mass-flight-suspend-defensiveness hypothesis). For this study, three episode of MFA (mfa1-3) of a selected experimental nest were analysed in a case study with sequences of >60 000 images at 50 Hz, each comprise a short pre-MFA session, the MFA and the post-MFA phase of further 10 min. To test colony defensiveness under normative conditions, a dummy wasp was cyclically presented with a standardised motion programme (Pd) with intervening sessions without such a presentation (nPd). Motion activity at five selected surveillance zones (sz1-5) on the nest were analysed. In contrast to mfa1,2, in mfa3 the experimental regime started with the cyclic presentation of the dummy wasp only after the MFA had subsided. As a result, the MFA intensity in mfa3 was significantly lower than in mfa1-2, suggesting that a colony is able to perceive external threats during the MFA. Characteristic ripples appear in the motion profiles, which can be interpreted as a start signal for the transition to MFA. Because they are strongest in the mouth zone and shift to higher frequencies on their way to the nest periphery, it can be concluded that MFA starts earlier in the mouth zone than in the peripheral zones, also suggesting that the mouth zone is a control centre for the scheduling of MFA. In Pd phases of pre- and postMFA, the histogram-based motion spectra are biphasic, suggesting two cohorts in the process, one remaining at quiescence and the other involved in shimmering. Under MFA, nPd and Pd spectra were typically Gaussian, suggesting that the nest mates with a uniform workload shifted to higher motion activity. At the end of the MFA, the spectra shift back to the lower motion activities and the Pd spectra form a biphasic again. This happens a few minutes earlier in the peripheral zones than in the mouth zone. Using time profiles of the skewness of the Pd motion spectra, the mass-flight-suspend-defensiveness hypothesis is confirmed, whereby the inhibition of defense ability was found to increase progressively during the MFA. These sawtooth-like time profiles of skewness during MFA show that defense capability is recovered again quite quickly at the end of MFA. Finally, with the help of the Pd motion spectra, clear indications can be obtained that the giant honeybees engage in a decision in the sense of a tradeoff between MFA and collective defensiveness, especially in the regions in the periphery to the mouth zone.

Defensive shimmering responses in Apis dorsata are triggered by dark stimuli moving against a bright background.

Giant honeybees, including the open-nesting Asian giant honeybee Apis dorsata, display a spectacular collective defence behaviour - known as 'shimmering' - against predators, which is characterised by travelling waves generated by individual bees flipping their abdomens in a coordinated and sequential manner across the bee curtain. We examined whether shimmering is visually mediated by presenting moving stimuli of varying sizes and contrasts to the background (dark or light) in bright and dim ambient light conditions. Shimmering was strongest under bright ambient light, and its strength declined under dim light in this facultatively nocturnal bee. Apis dorsata shimmered only when presented with the darkest stimulus against a light background, but not when this condition was reversed (light stimulus against dark background). This response did not attenuate with repeated exposure to the stimuli, suggesting that shimmering behaviour does not undergo habituation. We suggest that this is an effective anti-predator strategy in open-nesting A. dorsata colonies which are exposed to high ambient light, as flying predators are more easily detected when they appear as dark moving objects against a bright sky. Moreover, the stimulus detection threshold (smallest visual angular size) is much smaller in this anti-predatory context (1.6-3.4deg) than in the context of foraging (5.7deg), indicating that ecological context affects the visual detection threshold.

Landmark-Based Geometric Morphometric of Apis dorsata and A. d. binghami Wing Venation in Indonesian Archipelagos

The giant honey bee Apis dorsata has a vast distribution in Asia, including in the Indonesian archipelagos, whereas A. d. binghami is endemic to Sulawesi Island. This research aimed to analyze the variations of landmarks in wing venation of A. dorsata from Sumatra, Belitung, Java, Sumbawa, Moluccas islands, and A. d. binghami in Sulawesi, based on geometric morphometric analysis. Nineteen landmarks from 200 wing venations were analyzed using Thin Plate Spline software. Our study found landmarks 16 and 17, known as Cubital Index in traditional morphometrics, contributed to the wing shape of A. dorsata and A. d. binghami Among all samples, these two landmarks show high displacement in the wing shape of A. d. binghami in Sulawesi and A. dorsata in the Moluccas. On the contrary, we found that the Sumatra, Belitung, and Java Apis dorsata revealed low displacement in the deformation grid; resulting in their shapes being more similar to the reference landmark. The variations of wing shape separate A. d. binghami from Sulawesi and Sumbawa in the Principle Component Analysis and agreement with the Neighbor-joining tree. Therefore, the geometric morphometric based on landmarks of wing venation is a powerful tool to discriminate the subspecies level of A. dorsata.

A hard day's night: Patterns in the diurnal and nocturnal foraging behavior of Apis dorsata across lunar cycles and seasons.

The giant honey bee Apis dorsata is unusual in being able to forage during both the day and the night. To date, the extent of this unique nocturnal foraging behavior and the environmental factors correlating with it have not been deeply investigated. We conducted the first systematic investigation into the nocturnal behavior of A. dorsata in Southern India by tracking the daily and nightly foraging activity of A. dorsata colonies in an urban environment for 8 months, over multiple seasons and lunar cycles. We found strong evidence that A. dorsata can behave in a manner that is “cathemeral” (active over the entire diel cycle) when environmental illumination is sufficient for nocturnal flight. However, workers were not always active even when the environment should have been bright enough for them to forage, suggesting that their nocturnal foraging behavior was also affected by seasonal changes in resource availability. The foraging activity observed during the day versus twilight versus night differed between seasons; notably, nocturnal activity rates were higher than diurnal activity rates during the winter. We found that at our study site A. dorsata routinely exhibits both diurnal and crepuscular activity, foraging just as intensely during the short twilight hours as during the day. The high foraging activity observed during the twilight and nighttime hours shows that A. dorsata colonies can extend their foraging beyond the daylight hours and reveals that foraging during these dimly lit hours is an integral part of their foraging ecology. This evidence of the importance of nocturnal and crepuscular foraging by A. dorsata paves the way for future studies examining the role of this species in nocturnal pollination networks, the contribution of nocturnal foraging to colony-level nutrition and energy budget, and the evolution of this unusual behavior. Future work comparing nocturnal activity in light polluted urban environments versus unpolluted natural environments is particularly encouraged to determine the generalizability of these findings.

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.

Nesting sites of giant honeybees modulated by landscape patterns

Abstract The composition of agro‐ecological landscapes is thought to have important implications for the production of major crops through its effects on pollinator abundance and behaviour. We explored the roles of land cover and land cover heterogeneity on bee nest distribution for the giant honeybee Apis dorsata, a key species for coffee pollination, in a complex agroforest landscape. We emphasized scaling and non‐uniform effects by combining two different approaches of spatial analysis, the point‐pattern analysis and surface‐pattern analysis. We found non‐exclusive, positive effects of agroforests, forest fragments and land‐cover heterogeneity on the presence and number of nests. The distribution of nests responded to habitat heterogeneity at small scale (<100 m), forest fragments at medium scale (<300 m) and to agroforest at larger scales (500 m to 2 km). Our multiple approaches highlight that the landscape effects were neither linear nor uniform within the study zone. Nests were consistently located in areas of medium agroforest density or medium to high forest density, but were absent where forest fragments are the most concentrated. The agroforest matrix was particularly important in shaping the size of nest aggregates. Nests tended to be few when there is low tree cover at broad scale, while nests were numerous when agroforest patches are abundant within the bees’ foraging range. Synthesis and applications. Our study revealed that structurally complex landscapes appear to support bee populations. The spatial arrangement of different land covers affected honeybee nest distributions by providing nesting and foraging resources across multiple scales. The results suggest that continued intensification of small forest fragments and expansion of large monospecies plantations will be deleterious to the populations of giant honeybees A. dorsata. Fragmentation of the agroforestry matrix at small scales (100s m) does not, however, appear detrimental for A. dorsata as long as sufficient diversified resources are available at the landscape scale (kms).

Biological characteristics, threat factors and conservation strategies for the giant honey bee Apis dorsata

Biological characteristics, threat factors and conservation strategies for the giant honey bee Apis dorsata

The behavior of individual swarming bees of the giant honey bee (Apis dorsata) arriving at a nesting site: curtains, garlands and faces

A detailed description of the behavior of eight arriving swarms of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata is presented. The scout bees from swarms select the proper settlement site for arriving swarms. It seems that the scouts examine the solidity (stability) of the support and accept a cleared not rotten area between the traces and remnants of former combs from previous season. Aggression between different scouts appears probably to be due to competition between scouts from different swarms for settlement places. The scouts run on the selected area. Possibly they show their potental properity. The number of scouts increases, but just before arrival of the swarm, the number of scouts decreases considerably. The arriving bees of the swarm do not congreate at once in a cluster, but they compose several curtains. The edges of the curtains are in a form of zigzag, and they appear as a kind of garlands. When the garlands start to unite, a structure similar to human face appears. Sometimes several small faces are visible. After short time the face(s) disappear(s) and only small round depressions of 3.5 cm diameter remain on the surface of the cluster. Next the depressons disappear, and the surface of the cluster becomes smooth. It takes about 1:00 h from the time the first scouts are noticed until the final shape of the cluster is formed. This the first description of curtains, garlands and faces occurring during the settlement process of A. dorsata swarms to nesting places.

Shape indexes of nests of Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa

The giant honey bees Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa construct nests of different shapes and sizes. A method was required to compare the shapes and sizes of these nests. We developed a nest shape index (NSI). It presents the ratio of the dimension of the upper horizontal attachment of the nest base (B), to the vertical dimension of the nest (V); NSI = B/V. We examined the NSI of A. dorsata nests. The results varied; NSI = 0.6–4.7. The shape of nests under a sloped support is characterized by the inclination index (II). This index presents the ratio of the vertical dimension of the nest (V) to the dimension perpendicular to the sloped base (P). The inclination index of the nests observed by us, varied; II = 1.2–3.0. The mean shape of A. laboriosa was NSI = 0.96. The difference between the NSI of A. dorsata and A. laboriosa is due to environmental conditions. These indexes make it possible to compare the shapes of different sized nests when real nests were measured or from measurement of nests in photographs. Knowing the indexes, one may assume in which environmental conditions the nests were constructed, and may draw and imagine the shapes of nests without ever having seen them. A nest in which the NSI = B/V = 2 is a semi-circle, a nest in which the B/V < 2 is a vertical semi-ellipse, and when B/V > 2 the nest is a horizontal semi-ellipse.

Nesting Behaviour of the Giant Honeybees Apis dorsata Occurring in Jhargram, West Bengal, India

The giant honeybees Apis dorsata are habituated to construct combs in trees, houses, caves as well as in overhead water reservoir occurring in their nesting localities. To verify their preference for nesting sites if any, surveys were conducted in recent years (2013–16), during nesting seasons of these bees in Jhargram area of West Bengal, India. It is revealed that A. dorsata construct their combs in big, tall, aged simul (Bombax ceiba), bot (Ficus benghalensis) trees mostly, irrespective of localities. Also they were seen to construct nest at the underside of the overhead water reservoir ignoring nesting potential trees occurring nearby. Of course, nesting in the houses, and on the walls of culvert is not uncommon. As the bees constructed more than 100–200 nests at the same nesting site e.g., a tree or/and an overhead water reservoir, depending upon the availability of space for construction of nest it is concluded that these insects prefer colonial nesting.

Giant Honey Bee (suggested common name) Apis dorsata Fabricius (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Apidae)

This EDIS publication is an alternate version of a page published first on the Featured Creatures website. The Featured Creatures collection provides in-depth profiles of insects, nematodes, arachnids and other organisms relevant to Florida. These profiles are intended for the use of interested laypersons with some knowledge of biology as well as academic audiences. This 5-page fact sheet that discusses the giant honey bee was written by Cameron J. Jack, Andrea Lucky, and James D. Ellis, and published by the UF Entomology and Nematology Department, February 2016.&#x0D; EENY646/IN1119: Giant Honey Bee Apis dorsata Fabricius (Insecta: Hymenoptera: Apidae) (ufl.edu)

The ectoparasitic mite Tropilaelaps mercedesae reduces western honey bee, Apis mellifera, longevity and emergence weight, and promotes Deformed wing virus infections

Historically an ectoparasite of the native Giant honey bee Apis dorsata, the mite Tropilaelaps mercedesae has switched hosts to the introduced western honey bee Apis mellifera throughout much of Asia. Few data regarding lethal and sub-lethal effects of T. mercedesae on A. mellifera exist, despite its similarity to the devastating mite Varroa destructor. Here we artificially infested worker brood of A. mellifera with T. mercedesae to investigate lethal (longevity) and sub-lethal (emergence weight, Deformed wing virus (DWV) levels and clinical symptoms of DWV) effects of the mite on its new host. The data show that T. mercedesae infestation significantly reduced host longevity and emergence weight, and promoted both DWV levels and associated clinical symptoms. Our results suggest that T. mercedesae is a potentially important parasite to the economically important A. mellifera honey bee.

Effects of giant honey bee (Apis dorsata) venom on renal failure in rats (Rattus norvegicus)

In recent decades, massive attacks with several hundred bee stings causing severe injury and inducing acute renal failure have been reported in many countries including Thailand. However, there have been no studies of the effects of giant honey bee Apis dorsata stings on animal tissue. This study thus aimed to investigate the effects of A. dorsata venom on renal failure in male rats (Rattus norvegicus) using three dosages of venom prepared by dissolving the venom in .85% NaCl (normal saline): 30.0 μg/g body weight (high dose, HD); 20.0 μg/g body weight (low dose, LD); and .0 μg/g body weight for the control (CO). The rats were injected with 200 μl of each dose. After 24 h, renal tissues were collected and processed by paraffin technique, stained with periodic acid-Schiff’s reagent and Masson’s trichrome stain for histological structure analyses. The findings showed that Bowman’s space of HD rats was significantly narrower than those of LD and CO (F2 = 3.94, p ≤ .0201). Moreover, the percentage of destructural glomeruli of HD was significantly higher than those of LD and CO, these were 44.14 ± 2.41%, 29.65 ± 1.20%, and 10.76 ± 1.74%, respectively (F2 = 676.02, p ≤ .0001). In addition, the HD rats also showed the highest injury of brush borders of proximal convoluted tubules (F2,4 = 848.09, p ≤ .0001). The impaired tubular cell nuclei were observed in the dosed groups. These results indicate that experimental doses of bee venom can cause signs of renal failure in the rat model.

Extensive population admixture on drone congregation areas of the giant honeybee, Apis dorsata (Fabricius, 1793).

The giant honeybee Apis dorsata often forms dense colony aggregations which can include up to 200 often closely related nests in the same location, setting the stage for inbred matings. Yet, like in all other Apis species, A. dorsata queens mate in mid-air on lek like drone congregation areas (DCAs) where large numbers of males gather in flight. We here report how the drone composition of A. dorsata DCAs facilitates outbreeding, taking into the account both spatial (three DCAs) and temporal (subsequent sampling days) dynamics. We compared the drones’ genotypes at ten microsatellite DNA markers with those of the queen genotypes of six drone-producing colonies located close to the DCAs (Tenom, Sabah, Malaysia). None of 430 sampled drones originated from any of these nearby colonies. Moreover, we estimated that 141 unidentified colonies were contributing to the three DCAs. Most of these colonies were participating multiple times in the different locations and/or during the consecutive days of sampling. The drones sampled in the DCAs could be attributed to six subpopulations. These were all admixed in all DCA samples, increasing the effective population size an order of magnitude and preventing matings between potentially related queens and drones.

Intraspecific Aggression in Giant Honey Bees (Apis dorsata).

We investigated intraspecific aggression in experimental nests (expN1, expN2) of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata in Chitwan (Nepal), focusing on interactions between surface bees and two other groups of bees approaching the nest: (1) homing “nestmate” foragers landing on the bee curtain remained unmolested by guards; and (2) supposed “non-nestmate” bees, which were identified by their erratic flight patterns in front of the nest, such as hovering or sideways scanning and splaying their legs from their body, and were promptly attacked by the surface bees after landing. These supposed non-nestmate bees only occurred immediately before and after migration swarms, which had arrived in close vicinity (and were most likely scouting for a nesting site). In total, 231 of the “nestmate” foragers (fb) and 102 approaches of such purported “non-nestmate” scouts (sc) were analysed (total observation time expN1: 5.43 min) regarding the evocation of shimmering waves (sh). During their landing the “nestmate” foragers provoked less shimmering waves (relnsh[fb] = 23/231 = 0.0996, relnsh[sc] = 75/102 = 0.7353; p <0.001, χ2-test) with shorter duration (Dsh[fb] = 197 ± 17 ms, Dsh[sc] = 488 ± 16 ms; p <0.001; t-test) than “non-nestmates”. Moreover, after having landed on the nest surface, the “non-nestmates” were attacked by the surface bees (expN1, expN2: observation time >18 min) quite similarly to the defensive response against predatory wasps. Hence, the surface members of settled colonies respond differently to individual giant honey bees approaching the nest, depending on whether erratic flight patterns are displayed or not.

No evidence that habitat disturbance affects mating frequency in the giant honey bee Apis dorsata

The giant honey bee (Apis dorsata) is a keystone pollinator within Asian lowland forests. Across its range, A. dorsata populations are impacted by heavy hunting pressure and habitat disturbance. These pressures have the potential to significantly impact the genetic structure of populations, particularly the ability of queens to find a large number of genetically diverse drones for mating. Here, we compare queen mating frequency and allelic diversity between colonies sampled in disturbed and undisturbed areas in Thailand. Microsatellite analysis of 18 colonies in 6 aggregations showed no significant difference in paternity frequency at disturbed and undisturbed habitats. Measures of FST and genetic differentiation between aggregations were not significantly different from zero (P > 0.05); measures of allelic diversity showed no differences between disturbed and undisturbed sites, and there was no evidence of population structuring based on the program STRUCTURE. Our findings suggest, surprisingly, that habitat disturbance has no effect on the mating frequency, genetic diversity, or population connectedness. This suggests that the mating behavior of A. dorsata is robust to anthropogenic changes to the landscape.

Multivariate morphometric analyses of the giant honey bees, Apis dorsata F. and Apis laboriosa F. in China

SummaryMultivariate morphometric analyses were performed on the giant honey bees Apis dorsata F. and Apis laboriosa F. of China. The two giant honey bee species were readily separated by principal components, cluster and discriminant analyses. Apis laboriosa showed higher values for the variables of size and cubital index than A. dorsata (ranging respectively as the width of the wax mirror 2.83~2.99 mm and 2.36~2.56 mm, width of sternum 6 3.61~3.86 mm and 3.03~3.26 mm, cubital index 10.36~14.56 and 6.38~9.61). Most of the wing venation angles were also significantly different in the two giant honey bees (angle J10 were 38.2°~40.7° and 34.7°~37.7° respectively). A. dorsata is distributed widely across China, and cluster and discrimination analyses indicated that they could be subdivided into two morphometric subclusters: one from the Chinese mainland and another from Hainan Island which reflects their relative geographic isolation. Few characters differed in the two A. dorsata morphometric subclusters, however, which suggests that they possibly diverged from each other very recently.

Workers often predominate in dusk ‘drone flights’ of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata

(2005). Workers often predominate in dusk ‘drone flights’ of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata. Journal of Apicultural Research: Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 130-132.

Periodic mass flights of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata in successive days at two nesting sites in different environmental conditions

SUMMARYThe investigations were conducted at Bangalore, India. A total of 627 periodic mass flights (PMFs) were observed during 10 successive days from 26 colonies of Apis dorsata at a polytechnic building site and 82 colonies at a banyan tree site at the Agricultural University 15 km away. PMF activities performed by particular A. dorsata populations were similar in successive days at a particular site. However, at the polytechnic site, where favourable environmental conditions prevailed, 84.3% of colonies performed 2.3 PMFs per colony per day, while at the banyan tree site, with less favourable conditions, only 11.3% of colonies performed 0.11 flights. We suggest that PMF activities depend in part upon the amount of unsealed brood. Individual colonies performed 0–5 PMFs in successive days. Low numbers of 1–2 PMF per day were preceded by high numbers of 4–5 flights the following day. Similarly, PMFs of low intensity were followed by flights of high intensity. However, two- or three-day cycles of similar activities were also observed. Surprisingly, no correlation was found between the sizes of the combs and the number and intensity of PMFs. We explain this by the fact that a similar amount of unsealed brood was present in combs of different sizes.

Lack of worker reproduction in the giant honey bee Apis dorsata Fabricius

Worker policing (any behavior performed by workers that reduces reproduction by other workers) via egg eating has been observed in three species of honey bee (Apis mellifera, A. cerana, and A. florea). The maternity of drones of the giant honey bee A. dorsata (n = 660) was determined using DNA microsatellite analysis. None carried markers from the queen's mates indicating that none was a worker's son. In addition, dissection of 1,902 workers from 8 colonies showed that none had activated ovaries indicating that worker sterility is usual. Worker policing behavior involves costs when police workers make errors: removing eggs laid by a queen or failing to remove worker-laid eggs. We develop a model that examines the effect of these costs on the acceptance threshold of eggs. The model shows that costs may be reduced by any cues that help police workers distinguish worker-laid and queen-laid eggs. Once such cue may be the use of unique cells for rearing drones and workers. Unlike other Apis, A. dorsata rear both workers and drones in the same-size cells with the drone brood scattered among worker brood. Thus, the ability of A. dorsata workers to detect and eliminate (police) worker-laid eggs may be associated with higher costs than in other species. Our model suggests that these higher costs may select for a more permissive egg-acceptance threshold, because of the costs of erroneously removing queen-laid eggs, leading to greater worker reproduction. However our empirical results suggest that worker reproduction is very low in the species, suggesting that worker policing is efficient and that police workers have no difficulty in distinguishing queen-laid and worker-laid eggs.