Beekeeping and Managed Bee Diversity in Indonesia: Perspective and Preference of Beekeepers

There is a high diversity of bees in the tropics, including honey bees and stingless bees, which are the main sources for honey and other ecosystem services. In Indonesia, beekeeping practices have been developed for centuries, and they have been part of many cultural practices in many traditional communities. The objective of this research was to study the beekeeping status and managed bee diversity in Indonesia and to investigate beekeepers’ perspectives on the factors and obstacles related to beekeeping. Direct interview and online interview were conducted to gain data on bees and beekeepers. In total, 272 beekeepers were interviewed across 25 provinces. Samplings of honey bees and stingless bees were also done during direct interviews for further identification and, when possible, pollen identification. All data and specimens were then sent to IPB Bogor for compilation and identification. We recorded 22 species of bees, including 3 species of honey bees and 19 species of stingless bees, that are reared by Indonesian beekeepers, with Apis cerana and Tetragonula laeviceps as the most common species. Our research also found that the majority of beekeepers fall into the category of the younger generation (30–39 years old) with educational background mostly from senior high school. Based on the beekeepers’ perspectives, there are several obstacles to beekeeping, especially the occurrence of death of bee foragers attributed to climate, food source, and pesticides. In conclusion, there is a need to develop a strategy for beekeeping and bee conservation in Indonesia, especially for adaptation and mitigation from environmental changes with a particular focus on climate and land-use change.

Phytochemical compound and non-cytotoxicity effect of sting bee and stingless bee honey against normal human gingival cell lines

Objective: Both honeybees (Apis spp.) and stingless bees (Trigona spp.) produce honeys which normally taken orally, have high nutritional and therapeutics value. Until recently, phytochemical comparison of both honey is still scarce and elucidating cytotoxicity effects on human gingival fibroblast cells (HGF) in oral cavity is of interest. Materials and Methods: Kelulut honey (KH), acquired from the stingless bees and acacia honey (AH) from the sting bees honey samples were underwent GC-MS analysis to ascertain their composition. HGF were exposed to various concentrations of KH and AH from the lowest 0.015% to the highest 5% by MTT assay for 24h, 48h and 72h. Results: GC-MS analysis determined various beneficial compounds such as flavonoids, furans, pyrans, levoglucosan and hydroxymethylfurfural from both of honey samples. MTT assay showed that the HGF cells demonstrated good viability up to percentages (v/v) as high as almost 2% in both honeys. The IC50 values for both honey for all time frames fall at above 2%. Conclusion: Both honey showed good survivability of HGF cells up to 2% of concentration. Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol. 21(1) 2022 Page : 158-164

Bioactive compounds and antiradical activity of propolis from scaptotrigona bipunctata e scaptotrigona depilis / Compostos bioativos e atividade antiradical da própolis de scaptotrigona bipunctata e scaptotrigona depilis

Propolis is a viscous substance produced and collected from plant shoots or exudates by worker bees. This study aimed to identify phenolic compounds, carotenoids, volatile compounds, and antiradical activity of propolis obtained from two stingless bees (SB), Scaptotrigona bipunctata (Tubuna) and Scaptotrigona depilis (Canudo), all native from Rio Grande do Sul. The two propolis showed a similar qualitative composition, but with quantitative differences. Catechin was the major phenolic compound found in propolis from S. bipuncata and S. depilis. The propolis from S. depilis showed a higher concentration of carotenoids, mainly lutein. The α-pinene was the volatile compound found in greater concentration in the two propolis.

Coconut shell traps: easiest and economic way to attract stingless bees (Tetragonula iridipennis) Smith

The trap occupancy rate and colony development parameters of swarms of stingless bee, Tetragonula iridipennis in coconut shell traps was studied in the research farm of ICAR-National Bureau of Agricultural Insect Resources (NBAIR) Bengaluru, Yelahanka campus Karnataka, India. The trap occupancy rate by the stingless bees was 44.87% in a time period of 13.40 ± 4.38 days. New cells were constructed by the bees in 12.10 ± 2.13 days. The number of honey and pollen pots filled was 15.60 ± 3.92 and 6.61 ± 2.95, respectively. The brood cells were constructed 89.50 ± 6.07 days after acceptance of the shell traps with an average of 67.70 ± 20.83 brood cells per trap. The foragers preferred foraging for nectar, resin and pollen during the 15, 30 and 45 days after acceptance of the coconut shells for nesting. Coconut shell traps are easiest and economic way of trapping the swarming population of stingless bees.

Padrões morfológicos na venação alar de espécies de Tetragona Lepeletier & Serville, 1828 do grupo clavipes (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

Tetragona Lepeletier & Serville, 1828 (Hymenoptera: Apidae) is a genus of stingless bees widely distributed in Brazil. It has 15 species distributed in the Neotropics, from Mexico to Uruguay, nine of which are found in Brazil. However, Tetragona elongata (Lepeletier & Serville, 1828), a species known only from the Southeast region and which had been synonymized with Tetragona clavipes (Fabricius, 1804), was revalidated without any justification. The aim of this study was to test whether the morphometrics analysis of the wings is efficient in the diagnosis of the species of this genus, in addition to testing the validity of the revalidation mentioned above. This technique was applied by accessing the right forewings of 660 workers of T. clavipes, T. elongata e T. quadrangula (Lepeletier, 1836), from five Brazilian collections. For the geometric morphometric analysis, 12 landmarks were selected. The software MorphoJ version 1.6 was used to do Discriminant Function analysis (1000 replications) and Canonical Variation Analysis (CVA). Between T. clavipes and T. elongata, there was a 100% variance between species (canonical variation analysis), suggesting that it may be an indication of speciation. Even though T. elongata has been revalidated, it still has overlapped with T. clavipes, which indicates to be the same species. Taxonomic studies are needed to synonymize them.

A scientific note of pest-insects associated with stingless bee hive Melipona eburnea in the Ecuadorian Amazon Region

Bees are the primary pollinators in nature. However, climate change, excessive use of fertilizers and invasive species have caused the decline of bee colonies. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the presence of pests in colonies of Melipona eburnea. For this, the colonies of M. eburnea were examined during the honey extraction process. We found 4 different pests associated with the physical conditions of colonies and the fragile defense of the bees against the invaders. In conclusion, this report of the presence of pests is to alert researchers and meliponicultures to prevent the decline of stingless bees.

Occurrence and Phylogenetic Analysis of DWV in Stingless Bee (Apidae sp.) in China: A Case Report

Honey bees play a vital role in providing pollination services for agricultural crops and wild flowering plants. However, the spillover risk of their pathogens to other pollinators or wild insects is becoming a cause for concern. There is some evidence that stingless bees can carry honey bee viruses, but little is known about the presence of honey bee viruses in stingless bees in China. Here, we investigate the occurrence of major honey bee pathogens including bacteria, fungi, and viruses in stingless bees (Apidae: sp.). Our results show that the stingless bees (Apidae: sp.) were mainly infected with DWV-A, but no DWV-B and DWV-C. Phylogenetic analysis on fragments of lp, RdRp, and VP3 of DWV-A indicated that genetic variation in VP3 might an important indicator for host-specific viruses, but it requires further study. Our results indicated that DWV-A is not only the major strain of virus currently circulating in managed bee colonies in China and globally, but in stingless bee species as a whole.