Indian Honeybee Apis Cerana Research Articles

Nectar Feeding and Dearth Period Management in Indian Honey Bee <i>Apis cerana</i> (F)

There have been many attempts to reduce the loss of Indian honey bee Apis cerana (F) colonies during the dearth period by supplementing nectar feeding substitutes. An experiment on development and evaluation of nectar feeding substitutes was conducted at an apiary maintained at the Division of Entomology, SKUAST-K, Shalimar from July to September during 2020-21. Syrup containing apple juice, sugar and mixture of both were evaluated as a diet supplement to develop an efficient feeding substitute. These include: T1 - apple juice and sugar in the ratio of 1:1; T2 - apple juice and sugar in the ratio of 1.5:1; T3- apple juice alone and T4 - sugar syrup in the ratio of 1:1 and compared with T5 natural feeding to determine their impact on desirable attributes of colonies. A gradual increase in the colony performance index (CPI), space covered by eggs (sq cm), larvae (sq cm) and pupae (sq cm) was observed, which were maximum with apple juice and sugar in the ratio of 1.5:1 viz; CPI (13.28); space covered by eggs (204.25 sq cm); larvae (296.12 sq cm); pupae (484.41 sq cm). All parameters were found to be least in T5 (natural feeding). Thus, apple juice and sugar in the ratio of 1.5:1 (T2 ) was the best nectar feeding substitute.

Socio-economic analysis of edible insect species collectors and vendors in Nagaland, North-East India

Abstract In Nagaland insects like the Eri silkworm Samia cynthia ricini and the Indian honey bee Apis cerana indica are reared for commercial purposes rather than just household uses. Of the marketed edible insects in India, Hymenoptera contribute 34% followed by Orthoptera (25%), Coleoptera (16%), Hemiptera (12%), and Lepidoptera (9%) while Odonata and Blattodea contribute 2% each. The present study estimates that an insect seller may earn Rs. 600-800 (US $7.51-10.01) per kg from various types of insects such as grasshoppers, crickets, katydid, water and diving beetles, ants, stink bugs and tent caterpillars. For 1 litre of honey an insect seller may earn Rs. 532-1600 (US $6.66-20.02) and for 1 kg of wood larvae (largely beetle larvae), carpenter “worms” (= Cossus spp. moth larvae) and hornets the vendor can demand Rs. 3,300-3,750 (US $41.29-56.31). The contribution of the edible insect sector towards the socio-economy and livelihood improvement of the people in both rural and urban communities is highlighted and discussed. Given the insect bio-resource in the region, the consumption of edible insects, coupled with mass production, processing, and marketing (as successfully implemented in countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and some African countries like Cameroon and Nigeria), can be a boon to Nagaland.

Integrated farming system for sustainable livelihood, family food and nutritional security of Uttarakhand farmers-A case study

In the present investigation, integrated farming system (IFS) adopted by a progressive farmer in 1.0 ha area, in village Chalthi, situated in Champawat district of Uttarakhand was analyzed as a model for its economics, benefit to cost ratio and extent to overcome food and nutritional security. The main components of IFS were fish, dairy, poultry, vegetables, orchard, bee keeping and mushroom production. A total of Rs. 6,94,000.00 was earned with B:C ratio of 3.08 from this IFS model. The composite fish farming of common carp, silver carp and grass carp was undertaken in a fish pond and 40 kg of fish was harvested over a period of 6-8 months realizing net income of Rs.5800.00. The pond dyke and adjacent fields were used for cultivation of aerial vegetables, fruit trees (mango, litchi, lemon, plum, guava and mulberry) and fodder crops (maize and oats). Two cows (breed Gir) and 200 No. poultry birds (breed Kadaknath, RIR, Guinea fowl, Uttra fowl) were included in the IFS. Pink oyster mushroom (Pleurotus djamor) was also promoted as a component of IFS for income generation. The mushroom yield was 2.28 quintals accounting gross income of Rs.1,82,400.00. Bee keeping (Indian honey bee Apis cerana indica) also made contribution of Rs. 2,00,000.00 over a period of 6 months from 80 boxes. Poultry (Rs 1,20,000.00), fruit crops (Rs 1,00,000.00) and vegetables production (Rs 18,000) also contributed significantly to the gross income in present IFS. The farmer reported that he did not buy any food commodity from outside for 8 months in a year except rice and wheat flour. As a result, it can be argued that IFS has been found to be most profitable and suitable enterprise for hill farmers to achieve sustainable livelihood, family food and nutritional security. Key words Integrated farming system; Food security; Nutrition security; Fish; Mushroom; Poultry

Biosafety of insecticides to the indian bee Apis cerana indica (F.)

Contact toxicity study was conducted at the Insectary, Agricultural College and Research Institute, Madurai during 2017–18 to determine the safety of new insecticides/biopesticides to the Indian honey bee Apis cerana indica. The results revealed that at 24 hr after exposure, the order of mortality was: thiodicarb 75% WP @ 750g/ha (100%) > imidacloprid 17.8 SL @ 250 ml/ha (98.67%) > dichlorvos 76 EC @ 400 ml/ha (98.33%) > spinosad 45% SC @ 160 ml/ha (76.67%), spiromesifen 22.9 SC@ 500 ml/ha (73.33%) > chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC @ 150ml/ha (70%) > chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC @ 125 ml/ha (63.33%).

Probiotic potency of Lactobacillus plantarum KX519413 and KX519414 isolated from honey bee gut.

The Indian honey bee Apis cerana indica, which harbors an abundant and diverse range of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in their gut with beneficial effects, was used as the source for the isolation of LAB. In the present study, two LAB isolates from honey bee gut were selected primarily based on their phenotypic and selective biochemical characterization, followed by PCR and identified using 16S rRNA sequencing as Lactobacillus plantarum and were registered in National Centre for Biotechnology Information under accession number KX519413 and KX519414. The probiotic potency of test strains indicated their survivability at acidic pH, bile salts and viability in simulated gastric juice enabling them to withstand gastrointestinal tract conditions. Evaluation of cell surface properties suggested that they possess an important defense mechanism against the pathogen since they are hydrophobic, auto-aggregative and have co-aggregative ability. Further, efficient exopolysaccharide production by them indicates not only their ability to enrich biofilm formation and auto-aggregation, but also enhances bacterial adhesion and colonization on the host intestinal tract. The present study concluded that L. plantarum from the gut of Apis cerana indica possesses probiotic potency, and potential candidates for use as food besides application in nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries.

New evidence of pseudo scorpion Ellingsenius indicus Chamberlin as predator of Indian honey bee Apis cerana F.

Traditional wall hives in the two villages of Kullu district, Himachal Pradesh namely Bhindi and Daula, recorded a heavy mortality of Indian honey bees (Apis cerana) due to the attack of an arachnid predator identified as a pseudo scorpion Ellingsenius indicus. It was observed that the pseudo scorpions did not venture the comb full of bees but attacked only those bees which were either moving in isolation or in groups of 1-3 or those coming and going to the hive entrance for foraging. There was a complete loss of bees in three colonies whereas in other two colonies more than 70% of worker mortality was noticed. The observations recorded from the wall hives as well as from the laboratory experiments, revealed that generally 1-3 pseudo scorpions (E. indicus) caught hold of the single bee preferably from its legs and sometimes from its wings and did not leave the bee from their grip so long it was not dead.

Cuticular hydrocarbons in queens, workers and drones of the Indian honeybee Apis cerana indica (Fab.)

AbstractCuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) have evolved as a communication cues and they play a significant role in the life of social insect. Although the primary function is to prevent desiccation, CHCs are also used in recognition of individuals and insect gregariousness. In this paper we examined the CHCs composition of queens, workers and drones of Apis cerana indica. CHCs analysis by Gas Chromatography – Mass Spectrometry revealed 45 different molecules. In drones, 21–37 carbon chain length hydrocarbons comprising of a complex mixture of alkanes, alkenes, mono-, di-, tri-methyl alkanes and alkadienes were detected. Alkanes of drones resemble those found in workers except pentacosane and triacontane which was not detected in the latter. Workers showed pentacosane, heptacosane, 11-Methyl-heptacosane, 13-Methyl-heptacosane, nonacosane, nonacosene, 13-Methyl-nonacosane and 15-Methyl-nonacosane as major CHCs. Workers had an equal number of straight alkanes and alkenes but differing in their proportions and also containing fewer branched hydrocarbons with chain lengths ranging from 21–37 carbons. Further, workers had significantly higher concentration of nonacosene, pentatriacontene, heptatriacontene as compared to drones. In queens much simpler and straight chain hydrocarbons with carbon chain ranging from 21–37 were detected. Several branched hydrocarbons as compared to drones and workers were absent. Queens had a higher concentration of alkanes than workers and drones.

Variation in the morphological characters of the Indian honey bee Apis cerana indica (Fabr.) from northern to southern India

The Asian honey bee Apis cerana is widely spread in temperate and tropical Asia and recognized as four subspecies including the Indian honey bee Apis cerana indica. This is known to have considerable morphometric variation in various parts of India. In this study, sixty samples were collected from 12 districts of the Tamil Nadu covering different biogeographical regions and 35 morphometric characters were measured, of which 24 were compared with the morphometrics of bees from elsewhere in India. It is found that the morphometric features of the bees of Tamil Nadu show a wide range of variation and found a close relationship between morphology and ecological zone of origin of the bees.

Variations in The CO-I and CO-II Regions of Mtdna of The Indian HoneybeeAPIS Cerana Indica(FARB.) in Tamil Nadu

Mt DNA analyses have been shed light on the biogeography of the Asian cavity nesting honey bee Apis cerana Fabricius, 1793. Variations in the CO-I and CO-II regions of mtDNA of the Indian Honeybee Apis cerana indica (Farb.) in Tamil Nadu is studied by using sequence analysis of intergenic region between CO.I and CO.II of mitochondrial DNA. Samples of A. c. indica were collected from 7 locations covering ecological regions like plains and hills. The mitochondrial DNA fragment containing a non-coding region was amplified and sequenced from 594 to 744bps. The haplotype diversity (0.905) and nucleotide diversity (0.16508). Intergenic region between Cyto. I and Cyto. II was sequenced from seven samples. The length of 649 base pairs sequenced in the sample of Kodikanal; 658 bps of Mudhumalai; 653 bps of Mayiladuthurai; 650 bps of Parambakudi; 594 bps of Pichavaram; 746 bps of Udagai; 744 bps of Perambalur. The percentage of A+T is higher in Mayiladuthurai (86.06%), lower in Udagai (72.39%) and G+C higher in sample of Udagai (27.61%) where as lower in sample of Mayiladuthurai (13.94%) among the mtDNA sequences in this study.

Morphometrics of the indian honey bee from Tamil Nadu

Morphological features of Indian honey bee Apis cerana indica (F.) in Tamil Nadu were studied using multivariate analysis for 35 quantitative characters. These characters statistically dispersed significantly (p<0.05) in the localities explore. High inter colonial variances at three regions were found associated with major geographical features. A cluster analysis using six characters grouped the bees of 60 colonies from 29 locations into 4 morphoclusters, first Principal Component explained 26.63% of the total variance in morphometrics. Higher factor loadings were found with proboscis length and 6th sternite length. The second Principal Component explained 48.81% and had higher factor loadings with body length and hind wing length followed by basitarsus width and wing angle 420 and 69.18% in discriminating various populations. The results showed a high degree of variations, which got correlated with geographical parameters. Bees from the high altitude areas were clearly larger and darker compared to those from lowaltitude.

Biometric studies of the Indian honey bee Apis cerana indica (Fabr.) in the Nagapattinam District, Tamil Nadu, Southern India

SummaryBiometric studies were carried out on Apis cerana indica (Fabr.) in the Nagapattinam district, Tamil Nadu, Southern India. A total of 24 colonies of A. c. indica from 13 different areas of the Nagapattinam district were sampled. Thirty two morphometric characters were statistically analysed by means of Principal Compound Analysis (PCA), Factor Analysis, Discriminant Analysis (DA) and Cluster Analysis. The morphometric features of the bees differed significantly (p < 0.05) in different areas of the district. Further the bee samples from the coastal regions of the Nagapattinam District were distinct morphologically when compared to other regions.