Honey Bee Species Research Articles

Distance estimation by Asian honey bees in two visually different landscapes.

Honey bees estimate distances to food sources using image motion experienced on the flight path and they use this measure to tune the waggle phase duration in their dance communication. Most studies on the dance-related odometer are based on experiments with Apis mellifera foragers trained into small tunnels with black and white patterns which allowed quantifiable changes in the optic flow. In this study, we determined the calibration curves of two Asian honey bee species, A. florea and A. cerana, in two different natural environments with clear differences in the vegetation conditions and hence visual contrast. We found that the dense vegetation condition (with higher contrast) elicited a more rapid increase in the waggle phase duration with distance than the sparse vegetation in A. florea but not in A. cerana Our findings suggest that contrast sensitivity of the waggle dance odometer might vary among honey bee species.

Nesting ecology does not explain slow-fast cognitive differences among honeybee species.

Slow-fast behavioral and life history differences have been tied to slow-fast variation in cognition that is part of the general speed-accuracy tradeoff. While there is growing evidence for such cognitive variation and its association with behavior and life history at the intraspecific level, it is unknown if a similar relationship extends to the interspecific level. Since interspecific differences in cognition have been shown to be a function of ecology and life history, such differences should be reflected in multiple traits that comprise the slow-fast cognitive axis. In this study, by measuring multiple cognitive traits in individuals, we tested for differences in the cognitive phenotype among four honeybee species, which differ in their behavior and life history in a manner that is associated with differences in their nesting ecology. Our results indicate that a set of cognitive traits consistently covary within each species, resulting in slow and fast cognitive phenotypes that largely meet the predictions of the speed-accuracy tradeoff. We also find that the four species group into two distinct clusters on a slow-fast cognitive axis, although their positions do not align with the known differences in their life history and nesting ecology. We instead find that cognitive differences among the four species are correlated with their brain size. We discuss the possible implications of these results for the role of ecology on slow-fast cognitive differences and the evolution of cognition.

A case study of insect visitors and pollen vectors in sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica (Linn.)) during summer and rainy seasons in India

Insect crop visitations do not necessarily always translate to transfer or carriage of pollen. To determine the potential of the various insects visiting summer and rainy seasons sponge gourd (Luffa cylindrica (Linn.)) flowers to facilitate the pollen transfer, the present study examines the diversity of visiting insects to sponge gourd seed crops in relation to the time of day and season, diversity and abundance to its flowers, fruits and seed yield. These visiting insects taxonomically belonged to 8 different insect orders viz. Coleoptera, Diptera, Hymenoptera, Hemiptera, Neuroptera, Lepidoptera, Odonata and Orthoptera/Dictyoptera. Rainy season sponge gourd crops had higher numbers of insect visitors and higher diversity (0.80 of Simpson’s Diversity Index and 1.71 of Shannon–Weaver Index of diversity as compared to summer season crop (0.72 and 1.51, respectively). The summer crop had the highest number of visiting insects belonged to the order Coleoptera followed by Hemiptera and Hymenoptera and their reciprocal form of Berger Parker’s dominance indices were 2.21, 5.05 and 6.17, respectively. In summer crop, honeybees were the main pollinators comprising 57.69% of total pollinators in sponge gourds. All the four honeybee species viz., Apis cerana indica, A. dorsata, A. florea and A. mellifera were found to visit in sponge gourd. However, the dominant species was A. florea with 39% of total honeybee share. In rainy season crop, in contrary, honeybees comprised only 16.32% share on total visiting pollinators in sponge gourd. Rice skipper, Pelopidas mathias (46.84% share) was found almost thorough out the day with higher visitation during evening hours. Other pollinators were stingless bees (11.58% share), butterflies and moths. Consequently, we suggest optimizing pollinators’ management including honeybees and thereby improving the attraction of sponge gourd lines to these pollinators to improve pollination rates for sponge gourd seed crops.

A geometric morphometric method and web application for identifying honey bee species (Apis spp.) using only forewings

The genus Apis, the honey bee, is represented by nine species and contains three subgenera: Megapis, Micrapis, and Apis. Apis species within a subgenus can be difficult to distinguish from one another, emphasizing the need for a versatile diagnostic tool that can be used to identify the species efficiently and accurately. We photographed 8756 wings from the members of all nine Apis species. The wings were imaged from samples housed at the Institute for Bee Research in Oberursel, Germany. We used geometric morphometric techniques with wing vein intersection coordinates to develop a computer-based method that correctly identified 99.4% of tested samples to species (A. nigrocincta was the lowest at 94.6%). We also developed a web application that can be used to identify the Apis species using an image of a single wing uploaded by the user at http://wing-app-client.s3-website.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/. Our data and web application are useful for field studies in Apis ecology and conservation or for regulatory activities.

Coexistence of honeybees with distinct mitochondrial haplotypes and hybridised nuclear genomes on the Comoros Islands.

The honeybee, Apis mellifera, is a globally distributed species that has spread both naturally and by humans across the globe resulting in many natural and secondary contact zones. The geographic isolation of honeybees is likely to contribute to genetic differentiation. Secondary contact has resulted in hybridization at the nuclear genome, but replacement of mitochondrial. Here, we used a mitochondrial marker and 19 microsatellite markers to test for the variations in the mitochondrial and nuclear genomes of honeybee populations on the Comoros islands. We used samples of 160 workers for mtDNA analysis and 288 workers from 16 colonies spread across the three islands for microsatellite analyses. Our results showed that the wild honeybee populations of the Comoros Islands consist of coexisting mitochondrial haplotypes. One belongs to the typical African A-lineage, and the other, the newly described L-lineage, is closely related to Apis koschevnikovi, a honeybee species native to Southeast Asia. The nuclear genomes show complete hybridization, high genetic diversity, and strong differentiation according to the island of origin. Based on our results, we hypothesise that the Asian honeybee could have been transported from Southeast Asia to Madagascar and Comoros via the human migrations that occurred 6000years ago, and has hybridised with African honeybees at the nuclear genome, but maternal ancestry still can be traced using the mtDNA markers. We conclude that mtDNA plays a pivotal role in adaptation to the local environment, with both haplotypes of the honeybees of Comoros contributing significantly to the mito-nuclear coadaptation resulting in maintenance at almost equal frequency.

Synergism between local‐ and landscape‐level pesticides reduces wild bee floral visitation in pollinator‐dependent crops

Abstract The hazard pesticides pose to pollinators are well‐understood from laboratory studies. However, the field‐level response of pollinators to pesticide use in agroecosystems is not well‐established, nor is it clear if synergisms between pesticides affect pollinator visitation to crops. Here, we evaluated if fungicide and insecticide use posed a hazard to wild and honeybees at 87 cucurbit—pumpkin, cucumber, watermelon—farms in the Midwestern United States. We also evaluated if synergisms between local‐ (i.e. focal cucurbit field) and landscape‐level (i.e. surrounding crops) pesticide use influence wild and honeybee visitation to crop flowers. We found that bees were exposed to pesticides above regulatory levels of concern and that synergisms between a few local insecticides and landscape‐level fungicides reduced wild bee visitation to cucurbit flowers. Honey and bumblebee visitation to crops was not strongly influenced by synergisms between pesticides used at the local and landscape level. Synthesis and applications. We found pesticides posed hazards to honey and wild bee species. However, pesticides were less likely to affect short‐term visitation rates of honeybees compared with wild bee species. Thus, there is a need for changes in pesticide use at large spatial scales to reduce reliance on honeybees and maximize wild bee visitation to pollinator‐dependent crops. We suggest that a multifaceted approach, involving collaborations between farmers, consumers and policymakers, will be fruitful to promote changes in pesticide use and wild bee pollinators.

Immune Response and Hemolymph Microbiota of Apis mellifera and Apis cerana After the Challenge With Recombinant Varroa Toxic Protein.

The honey bee is a significant crop pollinator and key model insect for understanding social behavior, disease transmission, and development. The ectoparasitic Varroa destructor mite put threats on the honey bee industry. A Varroa toxic protein (VTP) from the saliva of Varroa mites contributes to the toxicity toward Apis cerana and the deformed wing virus elevation in Apis mellifera. However, the immune response and hemolymph microbiota of honey bee species after the injection of recombinant VTP has not yet been reported. In this study, both A. cerana and A. mellifera worker larvae were injected with the recombinant VTP. Then the expressions of the honey bee immune genes abaecin, defensin, and domeless at three time points were determined by qRT-PCR, and hemolymph microbial community were analyzed by culture-dependent method, after recombinant VTP injection. The mortality rates of A. cerana larvae were much higher than those of A. mellifera larvae after VTP challenge. VTP injection induced the upregulation of defensin gene expression in A. mellifera larvae, and higher levels of abaecin and domeless mRNAs response in A. cerana larvae, compared with the control (without any injection). Phosphate buffer saline (PBS) injection also upregulated the expression levels of abaecin, defensin, and domeless in A. mellifera and A. cerana larvae. Three bacterial species (Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus cohnii, and Bacillus cereus) were isolated from the hemolymph of A. cerana larvae after VTP injection and at 48 h after PBS injections. Two bacterial species (Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Staphylococcus aureus) were isolated from A. mellifera larvae after VTP challenge. No bacterial colonies were detected from the larval hemolymph of both honey bee species treated by injection only and the control. The result indicates that abaecin, defensin, and domeless genes and hemolymph microbiota respond to the VTP challenge. VTP injection might induce the dramatic growth of different bacterial species in the hemolymph of the injected larvae of A. mellifera and A. cerana, which provide cues for further studying the interactions among the honey bee, VTP, and hemolymph bacteria.

Differential Viral Distribution Patterns in Reproductive Tissues of Apis mellifera and Apis cerana Drones.

Honeybee drones are male bees that mate with virgin queens during the mating flight, consequently transferring their genes to offspring. Therefore, the health of drones affects the overall fitness of the offspring and ultimately the survivability of the colony. Honeybee viruses are considered to be a major threat to the health of honeybees. In the present study, we demonstrated the pattern of common honeybee viruses in various tissues of drones in the western honeybee, Apis mellifera, and the eastern honeybee, Apis cerana. Drones were collected during the mating flight and analyzed using quantitative real-time (qRT-PCR) to detect the presence of seven honeybee viruses. The qRT-PCR result revealed that three honeybee viruses, namely Black Queen Cell Virus (BQCV), Deformed Wing Virus (DWV), and Chinese Sacbrood Virus (CSBV), were detected in the reproductive tissues of A. mellifera and A. cerana drones. The results from qRT-PCR showed that the Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus (IAPV) was only detected in A. mellifera drone body tissues. Moreover, the prevalence of DWV and BQCV in the drones collected from A. mellifera colonies was significantly higher than that of A. cerana. In addition, virus multiple infections were higher in A. mellifera drones compared to those in A. cerana. CSBV was found predominantly in the reproductive tissues of A. cerana drones. This study is the first report describing the presence of the CSBV in reproductive tissues of A. mellifera drones. Our results may reflect the preference of honeybee viruses in honeybee species and may provide a piece of interesting evidence for understanding the virus transmission in A. cerana.

Proboscis behavioral response of four honey bee Apis species towards different concentrations of sucrose, glucose, and fructose

Honey bees forage for pollen and nectar. Sugar is an important stimulus for foraging and a major source of energy for honey bees. Any differential response of bees to different concentrations of sugary nectar can affect their foraging. The sugar responsiveness of Apis species (Apis dorsata, Apis florea, and Apis cerana) was determined in comparison to that of Apis mellifera by evaluating the proboscis extension response (PER) with eight serial concentrations (0.00001, 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 0.5, 1.0, and 1.5 M) of sucrose, glucose and fructose. Nectar foragers of bee species (A. dorsata, A. florea, A. cerana, and A. mellifera) exhibited an equal response for sucrose, glucose, and fructose, with no significant differences in their PER at all tested concentrations of these sugars within the same species. The inter-species comparison between Apis species revealed the differential responsiveness to the different concentrations of sugars, and the lowest concentration at which a response occurs was considered as the response threshold of these bee species for sugar solutions. A. mellifera presented significantly higher responsiveness than A. dorsata to low concentrations (0.00001, 0.0001, 0.001, 0.01, and 0.1 M) of sucrose, glucose and fructose. A. mellifera displayed a significantly higher response to water than A. dorsata. A. florea and A. mellifera presented no significant difference in their responsiveness to sucrose, glucose, and fructose at all tested concentrations, and their water responsiveness was also significantly at par but relatively higher in A. mellifera than in A. florea. Likewise, the responsiveness of A. cerana and A. mellifera to different concentrations of sucrose, glucose and fructose was significantly at par with no difference in their water responsiveness. This study represents preliminary research comparing the response of different honey bee species to three sugar types at different concentrations. The results imply that the native species are all better adapted than A. mellifera under local climate conditions.

Physicochemical profile, antioxidant activity and mineral contents of honey from stingless bee and honey bee species

This study aims to investigate the physicochemical profile, antioxidant activity, and mineral contents of honey from selected honey bee species namely Kelulut, Tualang, and Acacia honey. The findings show that Kelulut honey is superior due to its high antioxidant and total acidity, low pH, and high colour intensity. The total phenolic content of Kelulut, Tualang and Acacia honey varied between 12.15 and 26.45 µg GAE/kg, and FRAP value for Kelulut, Tualang, and Acacia honey ranged between 49.54 and 139.47 µg Fe (II) per kilogram. The total mineral contents founded in all honey samples ranging from 545.76 to 570.66 mg/kg, with potassium, sodium, and calcium being the most abundant elements.

Gut microbiota associated with two species of domesticated honey bees from Thailand

Honey bees are universally known to play a critical role in mediating pollination. Recently, attention has been drawn to the influence of gut microbiota on bee health. Studies on the honey bee (Apis mellifera) gut community have become widely appreciated due to conserved phylotypes of gut microbiota. Here, we focused on profiling the gut microbiota of two honey bee species native to Thailand, Apis florea (dwarf honey bee; LB) and Apis dorsata (giant honey bee; GB). Despite inhabiting the same landscape, different Apis species might have different gut microbial profiles. Analysis of gut bacterial diversity and community composition of LB and GB honey bees using deep 16S rRNA gene sequencing revealed major differences in bacterial diversity (OTUs) and abundance of core members in the gut of the two species. Lower species evenness was observed in LB than in GB (P < 0.01). Our results also show that gut microbial communities within LB were dominated by Lactobacillus (P < 0.001), while Gilliamella (P < 0.01) and Snodgrassella (P < 0.05) were predominantly associated with GB. Overall, our study has provided a preliminary overview of the gut microbiota of two honey bee species in Thailand. Further study should therefore focus on the association of host ecology and behavior with the bee gut microbiome.

Mining indigenous honeybee gut microbiota for Lactobacillus with probiotic potential.

The present study was done to explore the diversity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) associated with the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of honeybee species endemic to northeastern Pakistan. Healthy worker bees belonging to Apis mellifera, A. dorsata, A. cerana and A. florea were collected from hives and the surroundings of a major apiary in the region. The 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing revealed a microbial community in A. florea that was distinct from the others in having an abundance of Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria. However, this was not reflected in the culturable bacteria obtained from these species. The isolates were characterized for safety parameters, and 20 LAB strains deemed safe were evaluated for resistance to human GIT stresses like acid and bile, adhesion and adhesiveness, and anti-pathogenicity. The five most robust strains, Enterococcus saigonensis NPL780a, Lactobacillus rapi NPL782a, Lactobacillus kunkeei NPL783a, and NPL784, and Lactobacillus paracasei NPL783b, were identified through normalized Pearson (n) principal components analysis (PCA). These strains were checked for inhibition of human pathogens, antibiotic resistance, osmotic tolerance, metabolic and enzymatic functions, and carbohydrate utilization, along with antioxidative and cholesterol-removing potential. The findings suggest at least three strains (NPL 783a, 784 and 782a) as candidates for further in vitro and in vivo investigations of their potential health benefits and application as novel probiotic adjuncts.

Differences between queen piping temporal structures of two honeybee species, Apis cerana and Apis mellifera

In swarming season, honeybee queens emit two kinds of queen piping signals: tooting and quacking. These signals are considered to be important for swarming, and honeybees distinguish between the two signals through differences in their temporal structures. In this study, we revealed that the piping signals of two honeybee species, Apis cerana and Apis mellifera, had different temporal structures. The tooting of A. cerana consisted of almost one long syllable, while that of A. mellifera was constructed from several syllables. The quacking of both species comprised around 50 short syllables, but the duration and period of the syllables of A. cerana were about half those of A. mellifera. The findings provide new insights that reveal the mechanisms of signal discrimination and the functions of the signals.

Composition and diversity of bacteria from giant Asian honeybee Apis dorsata gut

Abstract. Niode NJ, Adji A, Rimbing J, Tulung M, Tallei TE. 2021. Composition and diversity of bacteria from giant Asian honeybee Apis dorsata gut. Biodiversitas 22: 906-912. As a social insect, honeybee possesses a unique gut bacteria community. Therefore, we need to understand the composition and diversity of bacteria in Apis dorsata gut, the largest honeybee species that live in the forest, especially in Southeast Asia. The present study aimed to investigate the gut bacteria of A. dorsata using a metabarcoding approach. The DNA barcode region used in this approach was the V3-V4 region of 16S rRNA. Honeybees were caught in a forest area located in Tareran, South Minahasa, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. There were 11 phyla identified from the gut of A. dorsata. The most abundant phyla were Firmicutes (95.8%), Proteobacteria (3.7%), and Actinobacteria (0.4%). The class Bacilli was responsible for 94.5% of the total bacterial population, the dominant family was Bacillaceae (87.2%), and the dominant genus was Bacillus (87%). Simpson (1-D) 0.24 and Shannon diversity index 0.98 indicated that the diversity of the genera was low. A nonsignificant number of species belong to the lactic acid bacteria was also detected, which may have certain benefits that need to be investigated further.

Temporal and spatial foraging patterns of three Asian honey bee species in Bangalore, India

Honey bees (genus Apis) are important pollinators in Asian tropical agricultural and natural ecosystems, yet the Asian species remain vastly understudied compared to the European honey bee, Apis mellifera. We studied the temporal and spatial foraging patterns of three co-occurring Asian honey bee species in Bangalore, India, to gain a better understanding of how they coexist. We found evidence for temporal resource partitioning, with Apis cerana having activity peaks in the early mornings, Apis florea initiating foraging later in the day, and Apis dorsata having the potential to do much of its foraging activity at night, even when the moon is not yet up. Apart from the established species differences in foraging ranges, we found limited evidence of spatial partitioning of the landscape. Although individual colonies foraging in parallel often focused their foraging effort on different patches, all three species preferred foraging in cultivated garden areas to seminatural or urban areas. These observations add to the growing evidence for a key role of gardens as foraging habitat for bees in cities.

Adaptive tuning of the exploitation-exploration trade-off in four honey bee species

Foraging animals continually face the decision of whether to exploit known resources or explore for new ones, a decision with large implications for their fitness. Though animal foraging decisions have been extensively studied, we currently lack a deep understanding of how the exploitation-exploration trade-off has evolved, including how it is shaped by divergent selection pressures between species. As a first step towards examining how the exploitation-exploration trade-off has been adaptively tuned by natural selection, we compared the exploratory behavior of four honey bee species that differ in traits such as nest architecture, body size, and colony size. In a common behavioral context—exploratory behavior triggered by a decrease in quality of a known food resource—we found species differences in exploratory behavior that are consistent with selection arising from evolved differences in nest architecture, though the behavioral differences were also strongly influenced by the magnitude of the reward decrease. We had expected that species that build their nests in the open, and hence face a higher fitness cost of worker attrition compared with species that inhabit protective cavities, would be less likely to prolong unrewarded search when food declines in quality. The behavioral data were partially consistent with this expectation. However, at times, the environmental context strongly modulated species differences in behavior that would be expected based on nest architecture. Overall, our results suggest that the resolution of the exploitation-exploration trade-off has been adaptively tuned between species by a number of interacting selection pressures. Foraging animals must constantly decide whether to exploit known resources or explore for new, potentially better, ones. How animals resolve this trade-off is likely to have a cumulative effect on their fitness, so natural selection should shape it according to species-specific differences in life history. Using an experimental approach comparing four honey bee species, our results suggest that the tendency to engage in costly search is shaped by multiple interactions among selection pressures differing between honey bee species. We found a correlation between search and how species build their nests, with species nesting in the open generally searching less than those nesting in cavities. However, past experience with a reward can sometimes interact with or overshadow the patterns expected based on nesting behavior. These patterns highlight the complicated effects of life history and ecology on the evolution of behavior.

Morphometric analysis on different species of honeybees in NEH region of India

Morphometric studies were carried out on different species of honeybees in North-East hill region of India and it was found that the longest mean tongue length was found in A. dorsata with a mean length of 4.19±0.07 mm followed by A. mellifera (3.87±0.12 mm) and shortest tongue length was found in A. florea with a mean length of 2.14±0.05mm. The length and breadth of forewing was longest in A. dorsata with a mean length of (12.5±0.00 mm) and (4.32 ±0.12 mm), respectively followed by A. mellifera (8.89±0.14 mm) and (3.15 ±0.06 mm) and the shortest length and breadth of forewing was found in A. florea with a mean length of (6.94±0.28 mm) and (2.40±0.06mm), respectively. The longest cubital index was found in A. dorsata with a mean length of (2.88±0.08 mm) followed by A. mellifera (2.80 ±0.05mm) and the shortest cubital index were found in A. florea (2.87±0.09mm). The number of wing hooks was highest in A. dorsata with a mean number of (27±0.06) followed by A. mellifera (20±1.25) and the minimum number of wing hooks was found in A. florea (11±1.06). The width of 3rd and 4th tergite was found maximum in A. dorsata with a (2.72±0.10mm) and (2.79±0.06mm) and minimum width was found in A. florea with mean width of (1.49±0.10mm) and (1.40±0.06mm), respectively. Morphomatrics of all eighteen morphological characters of different honey bee species was in the order: Apis dorsata (Manipur)˃Apis mellifera (Assam)˃ Apis cerana himalaya (Assam)˃ Apis cerana himalaya (Manipur)˃ Apis florae (Manipur).

A study on evaluation of environmental effect on honey bee species in Western Himalayan region

A study on evaluation of environmental effect on honey bee species in Western Himalayan region

Environmental window for insecticide application on muskmelon to minimize the exposure risk to pollinators

Muskmelon is an important vegetable crop, known for its delicious fruits. This plant bears imperfect fowers due to which it has great dependence upon pollinators for fruit setting. To safeguard the pollinators from the harmful effect of pesticides, the present study was carried out at two different locations in Punjab. Three honey bee species viz. Apis mellifera, Apis cerana and Apis forea, were recorded foraging on muskmelon blooms with their respective mean foraging intensity at two locations being 0.28–1.15, 1.19–0.32 and 0.10–0.53 bees/m2/2min. The peak foraging activity of all the bees was recorded during 0900-1100 h. The bees' activity started at 0700 h and ceased completely at 1700 h. Hence, farmers are advised to spray in the evening only after 1700 h so as to ensure safer environmental window for protecting the useful pollinator fauna.

Honeybees diversity, pollination, entrepreneurship and beekeeping scenario in NEH region of India

The north-eastern region of India with diverse forage resources encompasses great potential in beekeeping. The honeybee species existing in the north-eastern hill region are Apis dorsata, A. florea, A. cerana himalaya, A. mellifera, A. laboriosa and Trigona iridepennis. Modern agriculture has come to depend greatly on the bees to fulfill its pollination needs. Pollen analysis from North-eastern hill region revealed that the dominant sporomorphs were Brassica sp., Solamun sp., Helianthus sp., Wendlandia sp., Clematis sp., Adhatoda sp. and Mussaenda sp. Bee flora was identified as 107 plants from North-eastern region of India. Different types of entrepreneurship can be developed through beekeeping like honey bees rearing, sale of honey bees colonies, consultancy to farmers for honey bee rearing, processing of honey at large scale and marketing of honey products. Available information on honeybee’s diversity, pollination, entrepreneurship and beekeeping scenario for sustainable agriculture of north-eastern hill region are reviewed and discussed.