JournalTOCs

Apidologie
Journal Prestige (SJR): 1.22

Citation Impact (citeScore): 3
Number of Followers: 4

Hybrid journal (It can contain Open Access articles)
ISSN (Print) 0044-8435 - ISSN (Online) 1297-9678
Published by Springer-Verlag

[2468 journals]

Restoration of bee communities (Hymenoptera: Apoidea: Anthophila) in
landscape scale: a review
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  Abstract: Abstract Anthropogenic disturbances have changed the landscape structure and functioning of many ecosystems worldwide. Ecological restoration at the landscape level is important to recover degraded and destroyed ecosystems, as well as increase habitat amount and spatial connectivity, thus reestablishing biodiversity and essential ecological processes. Different local and landscape factors affect the recovery of animal communities in general, particularly bees. These insects are essential for restoration success through pollination. Considering the importance of ecological restoration at the landscape level for pollinator conservation, we systematically reviewed the influence of landscape structure on the restoration of bee communities. Our review encompassed the analysis of 18 articles based on specific criteria including the number of bee sampling units within restored areas and landscape analyses. These studies showed that habitat amount and proximity influence in different ways the bee richness, abundance, diversity, and species composition in the restored environments. We also observed that attributes linked to habitat complexity such as the availability of floral and nesting resources drive the bee species’ colonization and persistence. Our findings emphasize the necessity of designing restoration strategies considering the spatial and temporal distribution of bee species requirements on a landscape scale.
  PubDate: 2024-08-06
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01095-3
Correction to: Resistance to Varroa destructor is a trait mainly
transmitted by the queen and not via worker learning
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  PubDate: 2024-07-22
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01100-9
Mitochondrial genome heteroplasmy and phylogenomics of the stingless
bee Tetragonula laeviceps (Apidae, Apinae, Meliponini)
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  Abstract: Abstract The heteroplasmic mitogenome of the stingless bee Tetragonula laeviceps from Peninsular Malaysia consists of two variants (TL1-1 and TL1-2), both with 29,084 bp consisting of two segments: the “canonical” segment contains 36 genes—13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 2 rRNA, and 21 tRNA genes; and the inverted repeat segment consists of 31 genes (11 PCGs, 2 rRNAs, and 18 tRNAs). In the TL1-2 variant, the (nad4-nad4L-trnP-trnS1) gene segment in the “canonical” genome of the TL1-1 variant was inverted to (trnS1-trnP-nad4-nad4L). Phylogenetic analyses based on 13 PCGs and 15 mt-genes reveal that T. laeviceps from Peninsular Malaysia and China form a lineage in the subclade consisting also of the Tetragonula lineage of T. mellipes, T. davenporti, T. carbonaria, and T. hockingsi. The genetic distances of 13 PCGs and 15 mt-genes between T. laeviceps of Peninsular Malaysia and China (p = over 10%) and between the taxa of China (p = about or over 10%) indicate that these three taxa are genetically distinct, reflecting the presence of a species complex. The large genetic distances, based on COX1 sequences, of p = over 10% among the taxa of T. laeviceps of China, Peninsular Malaysia, Sabah, Indonesia, and India indicate beyond reasonable doubt that they are not conspecific. Assuming that the Peninsular Malaysian taxon is T. laeviceps s.str., the taxa of China, Sabah, Indonesia, and India (as well as Thailand based on the 16S rRNA gene) warrant to be accorded as distinct cryptic species. Likewise, the taxonomic status of some taxa (e.g., Tetragonula fuscobalteata of Sabah and Sulawesi) needs clarification.
  PubDate: 2024-07-22
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01096-2
Feeding with plant powders increases longevity and body weight of Western
honeybee workers (Apis mellifera)
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  Abstract: Abstract Beekeepers routinely substitute honey from managed Western honeybee, Apis mellifera, colonies with sugar water post-harvest, potentially leading to malnutrition. Although nutritional supplements have been created, a general consensus on proper colony nutrition for beekeeping has yet to be reached. Thus, finding easily obtainable fortified A. mellifera food alternatives is still of interest. Here, we test plant powder–enriched food supplements since evidence suggests plant extracts can enhance dry body weight and longevity of workers. Freshly emerged workers were kept in hoarding cages (N = 69 days) and fed either with 50% (w/v) sucrose solution alone or additionally with one of 12 powders: Laurus nobilis, Quercus spp., Curcuma longa, Hypericum spp., Spirulina platensis, Calendula officinalis, Chlorella vulgaris, Melissa officinalis, Moringa oleifera, Rosa canina, Trigonella foenum-graecum, and Urtica dioica (N = 2028 workers total). The dry body weight was significantly increased in Quercus spp., Hypericum spp., Spirulina platensis, M. officinalis, M. oleifera, and T. foenum-graecum treatments. Further, the longevity was significantly increased in Quercus spp., C. longa, C. officinalis, C. vulgaris, M. officinalis, R. canina, T. foenum-graecum, and U. dioica treatments. Given that plant extracts can enhance A. mellifera health (i.e., phenolics, flavonoids), plant powders possibly provide additional macro- (i.e., proteins, lipids, peptides) and micronutrients (minerals and vitamins) thereby enhancing nutrient availability. Further investigations into the mechanisms underlying these effects and field studies are recommended to validate these findings in real-hive scenarios.
  PubDate: 2024-07-16
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01094-4
Influence of nutrition on honeybee queen egg-laying
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  Abstract: Abstract The honeybee queen is the engine of the colony, laying thousands of eggs that develop into larvae, nurse bees, and foragers. In turn, pollen and nectar from the environment, matured into bee bread and honey in the hive, transformed by digestion to royal jelly by the worker community, fuel queen egg-laying. The queen relies on this food supply chain to produce large numbers of eggs during the high season when pollen and nectar are in abundance. Despite the importance of egg-laying for the productivity of a colony, few studies have evaluated the influence of nutrition on the quantity and quality of eggs. This review aims to describe food processing from the queen’s mouth to egg provisioning, by exploring the nutritional cues that trigger queen egg-laying, the subsequent pathways involved, and the factors that influence them.
  PubDate: 2024-07-16
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01097-1
Gene flow among populations of Xylocopa frontalis (Hymenoptera: Apidae:
Xylocopini) of islands and continent: is the sea a geographical barrier'
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  Abstract: Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate whether the sea acts as a geographical barrier to gene flow in Xylocopa frontalis. To achieve this, 90 female individuals from three geographic populations were analyzed. These populations were collected from the north coast of the state of São Paulo (Brazil) in mainland and insular areas. The genetic variability was assessed by sequencing two regions of the mitochondrial genome (COI and Cytb) and by genotyping 12 microsatellite loci. The results showed that there was no population genetic structure for both mitochondrial and nuclear markers, indicating a low rate of inbreeding. The analyses suggest that gene flow occurs between mainland and island populations mediated by both females and males.
  PubDate: 2024-07-16
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01093-5
Heritability and correlations for honey yield, handling ease, brood
quantity, and traits related to resilience in a French honeybee population
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  Abstract: Abstract There is growing interest in selective breeding of the honeybee, resulting in the emergence of new breeding projects, often with an emphasis on improving resilience traits, in particular toward brood diseases. Lately, feed autonomy is also gaining importance. Here, we use data from a small breeding nucleus in France to estimate genetic parameters for common bee breeding traits and a novel trait reflecting honey reserves in the brood chamber. Open-mated queens were produced each year from inseminated dams between 2019 and 2021, and ~330 colonies were phenotyped each following year at three periods during the entire beekeeping season. Genetic parameters were estimated using ReML with an animal model. Narrow-sense heritability estimates ranged from low (around 0.15) for calmness and total capped brood surface both measured in early summer, to moderate (0.30 to 0.40) for hygienic behavior in spring, honey yield, and phoretic V. destructor load in early summer. Honey reserves in the brood chamber showed an intermediate heritability throughout the season (around 0.25). Gentleness had a null heritability. Most correlations between phenotypes adjusted for environmental fixed effects were close to zero. Among exceptions, there were honey reserves in the brood chamber in early summer with honey yield (around −0.2) and with the total capped brood surface in early summer (around −0.3). These estimates, although uncertain due to the dataset size, suggest that selection for production and resilience will be effective, even though simultaneous selection for honey yield and feed reserves might be difficult due to a possible genetic antagonism between both traits.
  PubDate: 2024-07-15
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01088-2
Nesting biology of Tetrapedia amplitarsis (Hymenoptera: Apidae:
Tetrapediini)
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  Abstract: Abstract Tetrapedia amplitarsis is an oil-collecting solitary bee that nests in pre-existing cavities and differs from the other species of the genus in several biological aspects, as nest architecture and phenology. The aim of this study is to present detailed information on its nesting biology. Monthly field sampling was conducted from December 2011 to November 2013 using trap-nests in the Serra do Japi, Jundiaí, São Paulo, Brazil. Thirty nests were sampled, in which 168 brood cells were built. The nests consisted of molded cells in urn shape, made with a mixture of sandy material and floral oil, in linear series with horizontal orientation. Completed nests had one to 14 brood cells. Most nesting activities occurred in the hot/wet season, and the offspring emerged in the cold/dry season. The offspring time development ranged from 24 to 316 days, suggesting a univoltine life cycle but with the possibility of the occurrence of a second generation. The sex ratio was significantly female-biased (2.62♀:1♂). Unknown causes and fratricide were the main factors of mortality. Dermestes sp, microlepidoptera, and Anthrax oedipus were the natural enemies associated with the nests. Our results highlight a different Tetrapedia bee, for which many biological aspects are yet to be studied.
  PubDate: 2024-07-11
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01098-0
Behaviour of honeybees integrated into bumblebee nests and the responses
of their hosts
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  Abstract: Abstract Social interactions with heterospecifics can yield important insights into the flexibility of behaviour and the role of learning in communication. Recently, the honeybee dance, a unique symbolic communication system to communicate positions in space, has been shown to involve learning. We asked if this communication system could potentially be learned by members of a species not normally using this communication system, the bumblebee(Bombus terrestris)—indicating that learning might have been at the origins of dance communication. We used mixed-species colonies of bumblebees and honeybees (Apis millefera) to investigate how the readiness to first establish contact with dancers might develop in uninformed bumblebee foragers. Over a month of observations, we recorded and classified a series of behavioural patterns in newly emerged honeybees introduced into queenright bumblebee colonies. A small subset of the introduced honeybees was able to establish in the nests and displayed their typical behavioural patterns, including homing, dance communication, trophallaxis, and social grooming. Remarkably, grooming and trophallaxis were also displayed to heterospecifics, and bumblebees accepted both, including food offered through trophallaxis, even though this behaviour is not normally used by bumblebees. However, bumblebees never attended honeybees’ waggle dances. Our results contribute to insights about bee social behaviour and cognition by providing a fascinating example of the adaptive use and modification of innate behaviour.
  PubDate: 2024-07-09
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01086-4
Honey bee (Apis cerana) queen rearing methods influence queen
morphological characteristics and reproductive related gene expression
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  Abstract: Abstract The quality of the queen is crucial for the survival and growth of honey bee colonies. There have been studies related to raising queens with excellent performance since the invention of artificial queen rearing technologies. However, relatively few studies have been undertaken that evaluate the relationship between queen quality and queen morphology and the expression level of reproduction-related genes using different-aged brood in artificial queen rearing practices of Eastern honey bees (Apis cerana). Therefore, we transferred eggs, 1-day-old larvae, 2-day-old larvae, and 3-day-old larvae to queen cells to rear queens until the queen emerged. We measured 12 indicators (the acceptance rate, birth weight, length, caliber and maximum diameter of queen cells, thorax length, width and weight, head width, wing length and width, and number of ovarian tubes). Moreover, the relative expression levels of Hexamerin, Vitellogenin, and Transferrin were measured using fat bodies and ovaries dissected from the newly emerged virgin queens. The results showed that queens reared from eggs exhibited the best morphological indexes and occupied the most abundant reproductive related gene expression level. Parameter values for queen from 1-day-old larvae were significantly higher than those for queens from 2-day-old larvae and 3-day-old larvae, and there was no significant difference between values for queens from 2-day-old larvae and 3-day-old larvae in most data, except for the relative gene expression. In conclusion, as the age of the brood increased, the quality of the queen bees declined. Rearing queens from fertilized eggs are far more likely to yield a better outcome for queen performance and colony function. This study provides data support for raising high-quality queens of Apis cerana, which would be benefit for the protection and better utilization of our native honey bee species.
  PubDate: 2024-07-05
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01083-7
When size matters: effectiveness of three endemic African stingless bees
as watermelon pollinators
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  Abstract: Abstract Despite the significant contribution of stingless bees to pollination and conservation of the environment, information on their effectiveness as pollinators is insufficient. Therefore, we tested their effectiveness using watermelon, which is one of the most economically significant global food crops in terms of production volume and production value. Our study aimed at determining how bee body size, visitation rate, and bee-flower size matching ratio affect pollen deposition. We measured pollen deposition in combination with the morphometrics of 30 bees each and measurements of 30 corresponding flowers they visited. We calculated the bee-flower size matching ratio, the relationship between the bee size, and the flower measurement to gauge the effectiveness of each bee species on pollen deposition and distribution among the three watermelon stigmatic lobes. Our findings elaborate on how the different sizes of various bee parts majorly impacted the amount of pollen deposited. Besides, the number of visits, probing time, and bee behavior when handling the flower also played a role. Bees with a size matching ratio approaching 1 deposited more pollen on a single visit. However, pollen distribution highly depended on the number of visits. Among the stingless bee species, Meliponula ferruginea was the best performer. Though the honey bee species Apis mellifera was the best pollen depositor, its performance was almost similar to that of M. ferruginea. In fact, upon a single flower visit, M. ferruginea performed better than A. mellifera. Based on our findings, it can be concluded that stingless bees, particularly M. ferruginea, are effective pollinators of watermelon flowers. Furthermore, traits like probing time, multiple visits, or frequent visitation are not enough to gauge pollinator effectiveness, but there is also a need to include other traits like the size matching ratio between the bee body and flower head.
  PubDate: 2024-07-04
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01092-6
Pesticides put our food security at risk by reducing bee survival almost
five times
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  Abstract: Abstract In the coming decades, the human population will grow and demand more food. Therefore, agricultural practices are expected to be intensified. Among these practices is pesticide application. However, pesticides threaten bees and, thus, crop pollination, ultimately jeopardizing our own food security. This dilemma makes precisely quantifying the magnitude of these threats urgent, so we can improve our agricultural management practices. By conducting a systematic review followed by a meta-analysis, we estimated the effect sizes of pesticide application on bees and their crop pollination service. Our results show that pesticides reduce bee survival almost five times. Even when bees survive, sublethal effects can impair crop pollination. The consequences for bee communities and their crop pollination service might not be immediately evident but can be magnified in the long-term. Finally, we conclude that conserving the vegetation surrounding crops and minimizing pesticide use are key to protecting bees and ensuring crop pollination. Moreover, the adoption of integrated pest management (IPM) protocols can ultimately contribute to solving this problem and achieving UN’s sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger).
  PubDate: 2024-07-02
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01087-3
New patterns of polymorphism in the karyotypic analysis of the genus
Plebeia (Hymenoptera, Apidae)
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  Abstract: Abstract Plebeia is a taxonomically complex genus of stingless bees characterized by remarkable interspecific morphological similarity. On the other hand, cytogenetic data have been useful to resolve taxonomic uncertainties and to infer the diversification processes. Therefore, the goal of this study was to provide a karyotypic analyses in five nominal taxa of Plebeia from northeastern Brazil: P. droryana Friese (Természetrajzi Füzetek kiadja a Magyar nemzeti Muzeum 23:381–394, 1900), P. cf. mosquito Smith 1863, Plebeia aff. droryana 1, Plebeia aff. droryana 2, and Plebeia aff. fravocincta based on traditional and molecular cytogenetic methods to test their applicability in cytotaxonomy and to understand the karyoevolutionary processes in these bees. All species shared a chromosomal number of 2n = 34, except for some individuals of Plebeia aff. flavocincta that presented up to two small and heterochromatic B chromosomes. Species-specific karyotype formulae were observed while the heterochromatin segments were mainly distributed on short arms and pericentromeric regions of most chromosomes, including subtle C-banding differences in each species. The 18S rDNA sites were terminally located on pair 3 of P. droryana, P. cf. mosquito, Plebeia aff. droryana 2, and Plebeia aff. droryana 1, and on the first metacentric pair in Plebeia aff. flavocincta. These data reinforced the efficiency of cytogenetics as an informative tool to discriminate Plebeia species. The present data suggest that structural rearrangements such as inversions and duplications/deletions of heterochromatin and ribosomal clusters are the main drivers of karyotypic evolution in Plebeia.
  PubDate: 2024-07-02
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01090-8
Proline and β-alanine influence bumblebee nectar consumption without
affecting survival
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  Abstract: Abstract Nectar composition is an important driver of insect attractiveness. Although bumblebees prefer sucrose-rich nectar, they were found to be the main pollinators of Gentiana lutea, whose nectar is low on sucrose. Therefore, we tested the hypothesis that bumblebees are attracted to the amino acids proline and β-alanine, which are both naturally occurring at high concentrations in the nectar of G. lutea. We analysed the solution consumption and survival of Bombus terrestris L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) workers fed with artificial nectars enriched with proline, β-alanine or both, at natural and twice the natural concentrations. We found that consumption of nectar enriched with proline at twice the natural concentration was strongly positively correlated with bumblebee weight. However, when adjusting for individual weight, we found that this solution was the least consumed, suggesting the presence of a regulatory mechanism of proline intake to reduce negative effects on survival. We did not find any direct effect of β-alanine on consumption, although our findings suggest a potential interplay between proline and β-alanine in the regulation of proline intake. Bumblebee survival was not affected by any nectar composition. These results suggest that the high visitation rate to flowers of G. lutea by bumblebees observed in natural populations can be partially related to its nectar amino acidic composition, and that protein and non-protein amino acids can affect pollinator preference and foraging behaviour.
  PubDate: 2024-07-02
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01089-1
Sex and caste effects on the vibrational sensitivity in honey bees (Apis
mellifera)
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  Abstract: Abstract In the darkness of their nests, most social insect species communicate relying on chemical, tactile, electrical and mechanical signals. In honeybees, vibrational signals play a role not only in worker communication but also in communication among virgin queens in the process of swarming. Whereas the sensitivity to vibrations has been well studied in worker bees, vibrational sensitivity of queens and drones has never been investigated. We therefore studied the sensitivity to vibrations comparatively in workers, virgin and laying queens and in drones, focusing on the frequency range mainly used by virgin queens (350–500 Hz). Bees were tested behaviorally for responses to pulses of substrate borne vibrations in arenas placed on vibrational exciters. Vibrational amplitudes were measured using (LDV-calibrated) accelerometers. Real stimuli and sham stimuli were presented in a pseudorandom order. The threshold was defined as the lowest tested amplitude at which significantly more behavioral reactions were shown to real stimuli than to sham stimuli. Workers and virgin queens respond to amplitudes down to 0.25 m/s2. The thresholds of laying queens are substantially higher and they respond to minimum amplitudes of 0.55 m/s2. Drones show responses to amplitudes down to 0.6 m/s2. We conclude that sex and caste have effects on vibrational sensitivity in honeybees: virgin queens are significantly more sensitive than laying queens, indicating that a high sensitivity is crucial for survival during the process of swarming; workers are likewise highly sensitive to execute efficient everyday work; drones are significantly the least sensitive.
  PubDate: 2024-06-28
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01091-7
Eggs of the bee Osmia lignaria endure weeks of prolonged cold weather
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  Abstract: Abstract Our insights into the responses of immature stages of vernal solitary bees to the thermal challenges of spring weather mostly come from studies of cavity-nesting megachilid bees in constant temperature incubators. Most of these studies reported either the average timing of adult emergence or the general pace of immature development. In this study, we tracked the longevity and developmental fates of eggs laid by nearly 200 female Osmia lignaria (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) occupying observation nests set outdoors in a nature preserve. In the spring of 2022, the nesting population was challenged by a prolonged period of unseasonably chilly wet weather. As a consequence, fewer nest cells were provisioned, and hatching among the 2416 eggs was delayed for as much as a month. Surprisingly, these delays incurred no ill-effects on either egg survival or subsequent larval development, both of which were comparable to the much warmer spring of 2021 (3630 eggs). The population’s 33% reproductive shortfall in 2022 was instead attributable to limited hours warm enough for flight and foraging, in part evidenced by the paucity of multi-cell days. Eggs and larvae of this bee, and probably other vernal solitary bees, readily tolerate prolonged episodes of cold springtime weather.
  PubDate: 2024-06-26
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01085-5
Higher early than late-season residue load of pesticides in honey bee
bread in Slovakia
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  Abstract: Abstract Bees are often exposed to pesticide residues during their foraging trips in agricultural landscapes. The analysis of in-hive stored pollen reflects the spectrum of visited plants and can be almost used to link the exposure to pesticides.In the current study, bee bread samples were collected in May and July from 17 sites located in southern Slovakia. Samples were analysed using a multi-residue pesticide analysis method for a broad spectrum of active substances and microscopic for pollen identification.Our results revealed a bee bread contamination with 19 different active substances, with fungicides being predominant. Sixteen of them are authorized in the EU, but chlorpyrifos, chlorpyrifos-methyl, and chloridazon are not. The highest concentrations for pendimethalin (1400 µg/kg), fluazifop-butyl (640 µg/kg), fenpropidin (520 µg/kg), fluopyram (130 µg/kg), and difenoconazole (95 µg/kg) were detected. The total residue load in bee bread sampled in the early season (May) was significantly higher than in the late season (July). The mean residue load of insecticides analysed in July comprised 46% of May’s load, which is alarming due to the importance of bee bread in the diet for winter-rearing bees. Moreover, results from both sampling periods showed that fungicides were positively associated with plant families Apiaceae and Papaveraceae and herbicides with Aceraceae, Salicaceae, and Brassica-type/Brassicaceae.Hence, bee bread can be considered a suitable matrix and a good bio-indicator reflecting honey bee exposure to pesticides over the season.
  PubDate: 2024-06-24
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01079-3
Resistance to Varroa destructor is a trait mainly transmitted by the queen
and not via worker learning
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  Abstract: Abstract How beekeepers can propagate the Varroa-resistant traits they have in their colonies depends on how varroa resistance, i.e. the key hygienic behavioural traits, is passed onto the next generation. This study investigates if the key hygienic traits are passed between workers via learning as is known to happen in bumble bees, or are the resistant traits encoded into the queens and thus her offspring. To test this, we re-queened known mite-resistant colonies with mite-naïve (susceptible) queens in both Hawaii and the UK. We also placed resistant queens in susceptible colonies in the UK. After 5 months in Hawaii and 12 months in the UK, mite levels in adults and brood were measured. In Hawaii, mite removal and cell recapping levels were also assessed. In both locations, the mite levels in colonies headed by suspectable (mite-naïve) queens or their daughters significantly exceeded that found in colonies headed by resistant queens or their daughters. The initial presence of resistant or suspectable workers did not affect the result. Therefore, to propagate mite-resistant traits, beekeepers only need to re-queen a colony with a locally mated queen from an established resistant population, as some UK and Hawaiian beekeepers are already doing.
  PubDate: 2024-06-20
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01084-6
The stingless bee Trigona fulviventris prefers sweet and salty over savory
nectar
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  Abstract: Abstract Nectar, an important reward in plant-pollinator interactions, mainly provides sugars, but also other nutrients. Nectar sugar content is known to affect pollinator preferences, while the effect of other nectar nutrients on flower visitor choices is less well understood. To explore whether nectar nutrients affect the foraging preferences of the stingless bee Trigona fulviventris, we conducted feeding choice experiments with sucrose solution enriched with either an amino acid mixture (in high and low concentrations), sodium chloride (table salt), a fatty acid mixture, or quinine (a bitter tasting substance used as negative control) against pure sucrose solution in a lowland rainforest in Costa Rica. Bees were first trained to feeders presenting either a yellow (only sucrose solution) or a blue (sucrose solution plus tested substance) visual cue that the bees could use to associate with the solution content. They were subsequently offered a choice between the blue and yellow feeders in an unrewarded test. The bees preferred pure sucrose solutions over sucrose solutions with quinine, amino acids, or fatty acids, but not over solutions with salt. Our findings indicate that T. fulviventris is able to differentiate various nutrients in nectar and prefers pure sucrose solution or sucrose solutions with salt. Sugar and salt may therefore represent important nutrients in nectar and are likely key cues to assess nectar quality in tropical stingless bees. In contrast, other nutrients appear to compromise the bees’ taste for nectar and are likely obtained from other sources.
  PubDate: 2024-06-17
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01081-9
The development of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay
to detect American foulbrood in managed honey bee populations
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  Abstract: Abstract Paenibacillus larvae (American foulbrood) is a lethal and arguably the most destructive and economically important notifiable bacterial disease that severely impacts brood and colonies of the Apis mellifera (Western honey bee) worldwide. Detection in apiaries requires visual inspection of clinically symptomatic hives, which is unreliable, with laboratory confirmation required for definitive diagnosis. These methods can be costly, time-consuming, and require access to specialised equipment operated by experienced personnel. Disease confirmation is essential for notifiable diseases to mitigate spread and economic damages; therefore, rapid, sensitive, and specific point of care diagnostics are critical to prevent misdiagnosis and further outbreaks. To improve diagnostic turnaround, we developed a highly sensitive and specific novel loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the detection of P. larvae (AFB-LAMP), designed to amplify a small region of the DNA gyrase subunit B gene (GyrB) with 100% specificity demonstrated against non-target bacterial species of the honey bee gut microbiome and analytical sensitivity of 5 × 10−7 ng P. larvae with detection times within 20 min. To further reduce diagnostic resources and times, a bead-beating DNA extraction method suitable for field use was optimised which resulted in an AFB-LAMP diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 97 and 98%, respectively. Thus, this AFB-LAMP is applicable for use in the field allowing for improved disease management of an agriculturally important species.
  PubDate: 2024-06-11
  DOI: 10.1007/s13592-024-01080-w

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