Wild Honey Bees Research Articles

Wild, native bees and managed honey bees benefit from similar agricultural land uses

Although both managed and unmanaged bees are important pollinators of crops and wild plants, efforts to address questions about landscapes that best support pollinators often focus on either wild pollinators or honey bees. This study examined if there was concordance between the success of wild bee communities and managed honey bee colonies at sites varying in floral availability and disturbance level in a predominantly agricultural landscape. We also determined which agricultural land uses best supported wild bee communities. The study area in the state of North Dakota in Northern Great Plains in North America is home to understudied native bee communities as well as over ¼ of U.S. commercial honey bee colonies during the summer months. There is an assumption that honey bees can do well in agricultural areas but that wild bees need natural areas to thrive. We compared wild bee community success with health and survival of managed honey bees (data obtained from a related study) at six apiary locations over three years. We examined wild bee communities and surrounding land uses at 18 locations, three of which were spatially associated with each of six apiary locations. Wild bee abundance and species diversity were positively correlated with honey production, a measure of honey bee success, indicating that locations supporting successful honey bee colonies also supported successful wild bee communities. Grasslands, bee-forage crops, wooded areas, and wetlands were associated with increased abundance, species diversity, or functional diversity of wild bee communities. Crops not providing forage for bees, predominantly soybean, corn, and wheat, were associated with decreased functional diversity, decreased above-ground nesting bees and bees with shorter active season durations, and decreased honey bee survival. Pollinator conservation efforts retaining and enhancing grasslands, wooded areas, wetlands, and crops providing bee forage will likely support the growth, reproduction, and survival of diverse wild bee communities and the success of managed honey bees in areas dominated by intensive agriculture.

Karakteristik Gen Sitokrom C Oksidase Sub Unit I (CO1) Lebah Liar Apis cerena (Hymenoptera: apidae) Asal Pulau Hoga Sulawesi Tenggara

The study was conducted to assess the caracteristic of cytochrome C oxidase subunit I (COI) gene on wild honey bee Apis cerena, and detection of barcode sites from these gene. A total fifteen individual A. cerena were collected from Hoga Island, Southeast Sulawesi. Genomic DNA was extracted from torax, then amplified by PCR method and than sequenced. Sequencing result characterized their nucleotide and amino acid content. The results showed that 595 nucleotides at the 5' end of COI gene of A. cerena very conserved at the most of the sites. Nucleotide dominated by thymine and adenine bases (± 70%). There are 25 barcoding sites for A. cerena. There are two of these sites are diagnostics for A. cerena from of the Hoga Island. From of 595 basepairs nucleotide were prediction encode 198 amino acid, and only eleven percent of the these are varied between species. Amino acid 91th (treonine) and 103th (asparagin) were diagnostics amino acid for A. cerena from Hoga Island, Southeast Sulawesi. Molecular phylogeny reconstructed based on both nucleotide and amino acid sequence placing apis cerena from Hoga Island, Souteast Sulawesi is closely related to Apis cerena from Genbank source.

Field Populations of Wild Apis cerana Honey Bees Exhibit Increased Genetic Diversity Under Pesticide Stress Along an Agricultural Intensification Gradient in Eastern India.

Pesticides have been reported to be one of the major drivers in the global pollinator losses. The large-scale decline in honey bees, an important pollinator group, has resulted in comprehensive studies on honey bee colonies. Lack of information on native wild pollinators has paved the way for this study, which highlights the underlying evolutionary changes occurring in the wild honey bee populations exposed to pesticides along an agricultural intensification landscape. The study reports an increased genetic diversity in native Apis cerana Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Apidae) populations continually exposed to pesticide stress. An increased heterozygosity, evidenced by a higher electrophoretic banding pattern, was observed in the pesticide-exposed populations for two isozymes involved with xenobiotic metabolism—esterase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. Differential banding patterns also revealed a higher percentage of polymorphic loci, number of polymorphic bands, Nei’s genetic distance, etc. observed in these populations in the Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA–Polymerase Chain Reaction (RAPD–PCR) experiments using three random decamer primers. Higher heterozygosity, being indicative of a more resistant population, implies population survival within the threshold pesticide stress. This study reports such changes for the first time in native wild Indian honey bee populations exposed to pesticides and has far-reaching implications on the population adaptability under pesticide stress.

Phenology of Honey Bee Swarm Departure in New Jersey, United States.

Departure of swarms from honey bee (Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae)) nests is an important reproductive event for wild honey bee colonies and economically costly in managed bee colonies. The seasonal timing of swarm departure varies regionally and annually, creating challenges for honey bee management and emphasizing the potential for swarming behavior to be affected by plant-pollinator phenological mismatch. In this study, we first document variability in the timing of swarm departure across the large and heterogeneous geographical area of New Jersey over 4 years using 689 swarm-cluster observations. Second, hypothesizing that honey bee colonies adaptively tune the timing of swarm departure to match floral food-resource availability, we predicted that growing degree-days could be used to account for regional and annual variability. To test this idea, we used local weather records to determine the growing degree-day on which each swarm cluster was observed and tested for differences among climate regions and years. The state-wide mean swarm cluster date was May 15 (± 0.6 d), with moderate but significant differences among the state's five climate regions and between years. Use of degree-day information suggests that local heat accumulation can account for some climate-region differences in swarm-departure timing. Annual variation existed on a scale of only several days and was not accounted for by growing degree-days, suggesting little adaptive tuning of swarm-departure timing with respect to local heat accumulation.

Ecological changes and local knowledge in a giant honey bee (Apis dorsata F.) hunting community in Palawan, Philippines.

One of the traditional livelihood practices of indigenous Tagbanuas in Palawan, Philippines is wild honey hunting and gathering from the giant honey bee (Apis dorsata F.). In order to analyze the linkages of the social and ecological systems involved in this indigenous practice, we conducted spatial, quantitative, and qualitative analyses on field data gathered through mapping of global positioning system coordinates, community surveys, and key informant interviews. We found that only 24% of the 251 local community members surveyed could correctly identify the giant honey bee. Inferential statistics showed that a lower level of formal education strongly correlates with correct identification of the giant honey bee. Spatial analysis revealed that mean NDVI of sampled nesting tree areas has dropped from 0.61 in the year 1988 to 0.41 in 2015. However, those who correctly identified the giant honey bee lived in areas with high vegetation cover. Decreasing vegetation cover limits the presence of wild honey bees and this may also be limiting direct experience of the community with wild honey bees. However, with causality yet to be established, we recommend conducting further studies to concretely model feedbacks between ecological changes and local knowledge.

ETNOBOTANI MASYARAKAT SAMAWA PULAU SUMBAWA

We have conducted an ethnobotany research in Batudulang Village of Batulanteh Subdistrict, Sumbawa Island, West Nusa Tenggara. This study was a direct observation method and data were collected by interview. This study aimed to determine the interaction of local community and its environment and to determine the local knowledge of useful plants. We recorded the people of Samawa utilized 147 plants, 39 were edible plants, 74 were medicinal including cosmetics plants, 12 were sources for building materials and handicrafts, and the rest of 22 were honeybee feed plants, firewood, and ritual plants. This study also revealed that the Samawa community has a local wisdom in the importance of sustainable used of the forest as a habitat for wild honeybees.

A novel protocol for studying bee cognition in the wild

Abstract Understanding how animals perceive, learn and remember stimuli is critical for understanding both how cognition is shaped by natural selection, and how ecological factors impact behaviour. However, the majority of studies on cognition involve captive animals in laboratory settings. While controlled settings are required to accurately measure aspects of cognition, they may not yield realistic estimates of learning performance in natural environments. Wild bees offer a useful system in which to study cognitive ecology and comparative cognition more broadly: they encompass around 20,000 species globally, varying in characteristics such as life‐history strategy, degree of sociality and dietary specialization. Yet, the limited number of protocols currently available for studying insect cognition has restricted research to a few commercially available bee species, in almost exclusively laboratory settings. We present a protocol (Free‐Moving Proboscis Extension Response [FMPER]) to measure wild bees’ colour preferences, learning performance and memory. We first used laboratory‐reared bumblebees Bombus impatiens to establish that FMPER yielded results consistent with learning theory. We then successfully tested wild honeybees Apis mellifera in the laboratory and Bombus vosnesenskii at field sites. Free‐Moving Proboscis Extension Response is straightforward to implement, is low cost, and may be readily adapted to other flower‐visiting insects. We believe it will be useful to a broad range of evolutionary biologists, behavioural ecologists and pollination ecologists interested in measuring cognitive performance in the wild and across a broader range of species.

The Biology and Control of the Greater Wax Moth, Galleria mellonella.

The greater wax moth, Galleria mellonella Linnaeus, is a ubiquitous pest of the honeybee, Apis mellifera Linnaeus, and Apis cerana Fabricius. The greater wax moth larvae burrow into the edge of unsealed cells with pollen, bee brood, and honey through to the midrib of honeybee comb. Burrowing larvae leave behind masses of webs which causes galleriasis and later absconding of colonies. The damage caused by G. mellonella larvae is severe in tropical and sub-tropical regions, and is believed to be one of the contributing factors to the decline in both feral and wild honeybee populations. Previously, the pest was considered a nuisance in honeybee colonies, therefore, most studies have focused on the pest as a model for in vivo studies of toxicology and pathogenicity. It is currently widespread, especially in Africa, and the potential of transmitting honeybee viruses has raised legitimate concern, thus, there is need for more studies to find sustainable integrated management strategies. However, our knowledge of this pest is limited. This review provides an overview of the current knowledge on the biology, distribution, economic damage, and management options. In addition, we provide prospects that need consideration for better understanding and management of the pest.

Life-history traits of wild honey bee colonies living in forests around Ithaca, NY, USA

Wild honey bee colonies—both truly wild (in trees and buildings) and simulated wild (in small hives)—were studied to determine their life-history traits, to see if these traits have changed now that these colonies are infested with Varroa destructor. Most colonies (97%) survive summers, but only 23% of founder (first-year) colonies and 84% of established colonies survive winters. Established colonies have a mean lifespan of 5–6 years and most (87%) have a queen turnover (probably by swarming) each summer. A population model shows that these life-history traits produce a stable population of colonies. Remarkably, the suite of colony life-history traits found in the 2010s (with V. destructor) matches that found in the 1970s (without V. destructor). It seems likely that the wild colonies living near Ithaca, NY, possess defenses against V. destructor that are not costly.

Insecticide Susceptibility in Asian Honey Bees (Apis cerana (Hymenoptera: Apidae)) and Implications for Wild Honey Bees in Asia.

To conserve local biodiversity and ensure the provision of pollination services, it is essential to understand the impact of pesticides on wild honey bees. Most studies that have investigated the effects of pesticides on honey bees have focused on the European honey bee (Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae)), which is commonly domesticated worldwide. However, the Asian honey bee (Apis cerana) is widely distributed throughout Asia, and toxicity data are lacking for this species. This study aimed to fill this important knowledge gap. In this study, we determined the acute contact toxicity in A. cerana to various pesticides, including neonicotinoids, fipronil, organophosphorus, synthetic pyrethroids, carbamate, and anthranilic diamide. Based on the test duration of 48 h of contact LD50 tests, A. cerana was most sensitive to dinotefuran (0.0014 μg/bee), followed by thiamethoxam (0.0024 μg/bee) and fipronil (0.0025 μg/bee). Dinotefuran is used extensively in Asia, thereby potentially creating a substantial hazard. More generally, A. cerana was approximately one order of magnitude more sensitive than was A. mellifera to most of the pesticides evaluated. The results of our study suggest that neonicotinoid pesticides should not be considered as a single group that acts uniformly on all honey bees, and that more careful management strategies are required to conserve A. cerana populations than A. mellifera.

Wild pollinators enhance oilseed rape yield in small-holder farming systems in China

BackgroundInsect pollinators play an important role in crop pollination, but the relative contribution of wild pollinators and honey bees to pollination is currently under debate. There is virtually no information available on the strength of pollination services and the identity of pollination service providers from Asian smallholder farming systems, where fields are small, and variation among fields is high. We established 18 winter oilseed rape (Brassica napus L.) fields along a large geographical gradient in Jiangxi province in China. In each field, oilseed rape plants were grown in closed cages that excluded pollinators and open cages that allowed pollinator access. The pollinator community was sampled by pan traps for the entire oilseed rape blooming period.ResultsOilseed rape plants from which insect pollinators were excluded had on average 38% lower seed set, 17% lower fruit set and 12% lower yield per plant, but the seeds were 17% heavier, and the caged plants had 28% more flowers and 18% higher aboveground vegetative biomass than plants with pollinator access. Oilseed rape plants thus compensate for pollination deficit by producing heavier seeds and more flowers. Regression analysis indicated that local abundance and diversity of wild pollinators were positively associated with seed set and yield/straw ratio, while honey bee abundance was not related to yield parameters.ConclusionsWild pollinator abundance and diversity contribute to oilseed rape yield by enhancing plant resource allocation to seeds rather than to above-ground biomass. This study highlights the importance of the conservation of wild pollinators to support oilseed rape production in small-holder farming systems in China.

Beekeeping from Antiquity Through the Middle Ages.

Beekeeping had its origins in honey hunting-the opportunistic stealing of honey from wild honey bee nests. True beekeeping began when humans started providing artificial cavities within which the bees could build comb for the queen to lay her eggs and the workers could process honey. By 2450 BCE, the Egyptians had developed sophisticated apiculture, and, within two millennia, beekeeping with horizontal hives had spread throughout the Mediterranean. During Europe's Middle Ages, honey and wax became important commodities for trade, and beekeeping in skep, log, box, and tree hives flourished to meet the demand. Other species of honey bees contributed to the development and spread of beekeeping in Asia beginning around 300 BCE. Meanwhile, beekeeping evolved independently in Mesoamerica with the stingless bee Melipona beecheii, as documented by archaeological finds and written accounts that survived Spanish conquest.

Bee visitation rates to cultivated sunflowers increase with the amount and accessibility of nectar sugars

AbstractPollinators make foraging decisions based on numerous floral traits, including nectar and pollen rewards, and associated visual and olfactory cues. For insect‐pollinated crops, identifying and breeding for attractive floral traits may increase yields. In this study, we examined floral trait variation within cultivated sunflowers and its effects on bee foraging behaviours. Over 2 years, we planted different sunflower inbred lines, including male‐fertile and male‐sterile lines, and measured nectar volume, nectar sugar concentration and composition, and corolla length. During bloom, we recorded visits by both managed honey bees and wild bees. We then examined consistency in relative nectar production by comparing field results to those from a greenhouse experiment. Sunflower inbred lines varied significantly in all floral traits, including the amount and composition of nectar sugars, and in corolla length. Both wild bee and honey bee visits significantly increased with nectar sugar amount and decreased with corolla length, but appeared unaffected by nectar sugar composition. While wild bees made more visits to sunflowers providing pollen (male‐fertile), honey bees preferred plants without pollen (male‐sterile). Differences in nectar quantity among greenhouse‐grown sunflower lines were similar to those measured in the field, and bumble bees preferentially visited lines with more nectar in greenhouse observations. Our results show that sunflowers with greater quantities of nectar sugar and shorter corollas receive greater pollination services from both managed and wild bees. Selecting for these traits could thus increase sunflower crop yields and provide greater floral resources for bees.

Genetic Structure and Potential Environmental Determinants of Local Genetic Diversity in Japanese Honeybees (Apis cerana japonica).

Declines in honeybee populations have been a recent concern. Although causes of the declines remain unclear, environmental factors may be responsible. We focused on the potential environmental determinants of local populations of wild honeybees, Apis cerana japonica, in Japan. This subspecies has little genetic variation in terms of its mitochondrial DNA sequences, and genetic variations at nuclear loci are as yet unknown. We estimated the genetic structure and environmental determinants of local genetic diversity in nuclear microsatellite genotypes of fathers and mothers, inferred from workers collected at 139 sites. The genotypes of fathers and mothers showed weak isolation by distance and negligible genetic structure. The local genetic diversity was high in central Japan, decreasing toward the peripheries, and depended on the climate and land use characteristics of the sites. The local genetic diversity decreased as the annual precipitation increased, and increased as the proportion of urban and paddy field areas increased. Positive effects of natural forest area, which have also been observed in terms of forager abundance in farms, were not detected with respect to the local genetic diversity. The findings suggest that A. cerana japonica forms a single population connected by gene flow in its main distributional range, and that climate and landscape properties potentially affect its local genetic diversity.

Genetic diversity of the Dwarf honeybee (Apis florea Fabricius, 1787) populations based on microsatellite markers.

Apis florea is one of two species of small, wild honeybee. The present study was conducted to evaluate the genetic diversity of Apis florea honeybee from 48 nests (colonies) using microsatellite markers in the South of Iran. All honeybee samples were analyzed for six microsatellite loci (A88, A107, A7, B124, A113 and A35). The six loci had different numbers of alleles in the sampled colonies ranging from 7 (loci A107) to 3 (loci A7, A35). Gene diversity in Apis florea ranged from 0.491 to 0.595. This range probably reflects the spreading of nests in a large region with a varied climate. Phylogenetic tree showed two distinct clusters including a) Minab region samples and b) Bandar Abbas, Bandar Khamir and Qeshm Island regions. All of these regions are geographically rich, having varied vegetation and climate conditions. Our findings are an important contribution to the methods of studying distribution and conservation of Apis florea.

Stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios in wild native honeybees: the influence of land use and climate

The eastern hive bee Apis cerana is a major honeybee species in Asia providing numerous ecosystem services. Understanding how much the honeybees depend on natural and human-influenced plants and landscapes in different climates is important could contribute to evaluate how wild honeybees use food resources and to measure the ecosystem services. We investigated the effects of land use and climate changes on stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios in wild populations of A. cerana. In populations from 139 individual sites throughout Japan, we measured nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) stable isotope ratios and analyzed the effects of land use and climate. Our results showed that forested areas and annual precipitation had significant effects on δ15N, and that paddy fields and urban areas had significant effects on δ13C. These results suggest that A. cerana sensibly uses available food resources in the various environments and that stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios clearly reflect the effects of land use and climate changes on the populations of A. cerana. Thus, stable nitrogen and carbon isotope ratios in A. cerana, which widely distributes in Asia, can be used as indicators of the environments, such as land use and climate, of an area within its foraging range.

Natural Varroa mite-surviving Apis mellifera honeybee populations

The Varroa destructor mite is the largest threat to apiculture worldwide and has been responsible for devastating losses of wild honeybee populations in Europe and North America. However, Varroa mite-resistant populations of A. mellifera honeybees have been reported and documented around the world with a variety of explanations for their long-term survival with uncontrolled mite infestation. This review synthesizes the work on naturally occurring survival to Varroa mites and discusses what these honeybee populations can signify for apiculture.

Native wildflower plantings support wild bee abundance and diversity in agricultural landscapes across the United States.

Global trends in pollinator-dependent crops have raised awareness of the need to support managed and wild bee populations to ensure sustainable crop production. Provision of sufficient forage resources is a key element for promoting bee populations within human impacted landscapes, particularly those in agricultural lands where demand for pollination service is high and land use and management practices have reduced available flowering resources. Recent government incentives in North America and Europe support the planting of wildflowers to benefit pollinators; surprisingly, in North America there has been almost no rigorous testing of the performance of wildflower mixes, or their ability to support wild bee abundance and diversity. We tested different wildflower mixes in a spatially replicated, multiyear study in three regions of North America where production of pollinator-dependent crops is high: Florida, Michigan, and California. In each region, we quantified flowering among wildflower mixes composed of annual and perennial species, and with high and low relative diversity. We measured the abundance and species richness of wild bees, honey bees, and syrphid flies at each mix over two seasons. In each region, some but not all wildflower mixes provided significantly greater floral display area than unmanaged weedy control plots. Mixes also attracted greater abundance and richness of wild bees, although the identity of best mixes varied among regions. By partitioning floral display size from mix identity we show the importance of display size for attracting abundant and diverse wild bees. Season-long monitoring also revealed that designing mixes to provide continuous bloom throughout the growing season is critical to supporting the greatest pollinator species richness. Contrary to expectation, perennials bloomed in their first season, and complementarity in attraction of pollinators among annuals and perennials suggests that inclusion of functionally diverse species may provide the greatest benefit. Wildflower mixes may be particularly important for providing resources for some taxa, such as bumble bees, which are known to be in decline in several regions of North America. No mix consistently attained the full diversity that was planted. Further study is needed on how to achieve the desired floral display and diversity from seed mixes.

An overview of Beekeeping Economy and Its Constraints in Nepal

Beekeeping has been in practice from an ancient time in Nepal. It is one of the high valued and income-generating activities for the people in Nepal. Diverse climatic conditions of Nepal harbor five species of honeybee out of which Apis laboriosa, A. dorsata, A. cerena, A. florea are native, whereas Apis mellifera was introduced and is being reared commercially. Three sub-species of A. cerana, viz. A. cerana indica, A. cerana himalaya and A. cerana cerana are distributed in different regions of Nepal. A. cerena is cultivated in traditional log hive as well as in modern bee hive. However, most of the annual honey production comes from wild honeybees. Number of hives recorded during 2012/13 was 169,000 with 1625 metric tons of honey production. Hive productivity is low due to problems associated with apiculture; low quality management of bees, colony migration and absconding, pesticide intoxication, product quality control, inadequate data on bee floral identification and inadequate bee research program, are major concerns for beekeeping in Nepal. Though attempts have been made to address few issues such as pest and disease management, behavioral study of wild honey bees, pollination and floral diversity, but most of the problems are unattended because research on beekeeping is scattered and not well organized. Ample opportunities are available to promote apiculture for pollination and hive product. This paper reviews on honeybee diversity, honey production, problems in apiculture, and areas for future study in Nepal.

Antibacterial Peptide Gene Expression in the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera Feb.) Parasitized by Tropilaelaps Mite

The mite, was originally confined to the wild honey bees in Asia, but now plagues the European honey bee, Apis mellifera. We amplified antimicrobial peptide cDNA genes (Defensin, Abaecin, Royalicin, and Hymenoptaecin) by RT-PCR in order to explore the transcriptional response to mite parasitism in A. mellifera, which differs in susceptibility to T. clareae, by comparing parasitized and non-parasitized full-sister adult bees (worker bees, drone bees) from the same hive. Differential gene expression in worker and drone bees induced by Tropilaelaps infestation was investigated by northern blotting. Tropilaelaps parasitism caused changes in the expression of genes related to sex distinction. Bees tolerant to viruses from Tropilaelaps were mainly characterized by differences in the expression of genes regulating antimicrobial gene expression. This finding provides a first step towards a better understanding of the molecular expression involved in this differential sex distinction host-parasite relationship. Therefore, this result demonstrated that Tropilaelaps were possible route of induction of antibacterial gene expression.