Effects of the Age of Grafted Larvae and the Effects of Supplemental Feeding on Some Morphological Characteristics of Iranian Queen Honey Bees (Apis mellifera meda Skorikov, 1929)

Effects of the Age of Grafted Larvae and the Effects of Supplemental Feeding on Some Morphological Characteristics of Iranian Queen Honey Bees (Apis mellifera medaSkorikov, 1929)The research was conducted at the apiary of the Faculty of Agriculture, Zanjan University in Zanjan, Iran. Queens were reared in 24Apis mellifera medahoney bee rearing colonies. The colonies were assigned to 4 grafting larvae age groups; 1 day old larvae, 2 day old larvae, and 3 day old larvae, and the last group reared emergency queen cells. The groups were divided into the 2 feeding groups: fed additionally and no fed. The effects of the age of the grafted larvae and the effects of supplemental feeding on 9 morphological characteristics of queens were measured. The results showed that the age of the larvae significantly affected the morphological characteristics of reared queens, and thus, their quality. Queens reared from 1 day old larvae were of the highest quality. These queens were significantly heavier (158.83 mg) and had significantly larger spermatheca (0.99 mm3) than queens reared from larvae 2 and 3 days old. Queens from emergency queen cells were of lower quality than queens reared from 1 day old larvae. However, queens from emergency queen cells were of higher quality than queens reared from 3 day old larvae. The supplemental feeding significantly increased most morphological characteristics of the reared queens. The different ages of the larvae did not significantly affect the wing length nor did supplemental feeding affect the wing length.

Instrumental Insemination of Honey Bee Queens During Flight Activity Predisposition Period 2. Number of Spermatozoa in Spermatheca

Instrumental Insemination of Honey Bee Queens During Flight Activity Predisposition Period 2. Number of Spermatozoa in SpermathecaThe effect of the instrumental insemination of honeybee queens after they performed their orientation flight or attempted to perform the flight, on the number of sperm in the spermatheca was observed. Naturally mated queens and instrumentally inseminated queens were examined. Queens were instrumentally inseminated under one of the following 4 circumstances: the instrumentally inseminated queens were either 7 day olds and had been given either a short or long-CO2treatment, or they were inseminated after the trial flight or after returning from the orientation flight. Queens from the various groups had a similar number of spermatozoa in their spermatheca (on average, from 4.7 to 5.3 million). The number of spermatozoa filling the spermatheca influenced both the color and the texture of spermathecae. Significant differences in the number of spermatozoa were stated. Instrumentally inseminated queens that did not lay eggs had significantly less spermatozoa in their spermathecae (3.9 mln) than egg laying queens (5.5 mln).

A Europe-Wide Experiment for Assessing the Impact of Genotype-Environment Interactions on the Vitality and Performance of Honey Bee Colonies: Experimental Design and Trait Evaluation

A Europe-Wide Experiment for Assessing the Impact of Genotype-Environment Interactions on the Vitality and Performance of Honey Bee Colonies: Experimental Design and Trait EvaluationAn international experiment to estimate the importance of genotype-environment interactions on vitality and performance of honey bees and on colony losses was run between July 2009 and March 2012. Altogether 621 bee colonies, involving 16 different genetic origins of European honey bees, were tested in 21 locations spread in 11 countries. The genetic strains belonged to the subspeciesA. m. carnica, A. m. ligustica, A. m. macedonica, A. m. mellifera, A. m. siciliana.At each location, the local strain of bees was tested together with at least two "foreign" origins, with a minimum starting number of 10 colonies per origin. The common test protocol for all the colonies took into account colony survival, bee population in spring, summer and autumn, honey production, pollen collection, swarming, gentleness, hygienic behaviour,Varroa destructorinfestation,Nosemaspp. infection and viruses. Data collection was performed according to uniform methods. No chemical treatments against Varroa or other diseases were applied during the experiment. This article describes the details of the experiment set-up and the work protocol.

Swarming and Migration of Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa Honey Bees in India, Nepal and Bhutan

Swarming and Migration ofApis dorsataandApis laboriosaHoney Bees in India, Nepal and BhutanThe migratory open air nestingApis dorsataandApis laboriosahoneybees migrate at least twice a year. DNA genotyping showed that the same swarms return to their natal nesting sites. We examined 23 nesting sites in Nepal, India and Bhutan, on which 587 colonies ofA. dorsataandA. laboriosanested. The results showed that the frequency of the periodic mass flights (PMF) performed by the colonies is a good indicator of the status of current colony performance. During the swarming period, both,A. dorsataandA. laboriosaissue several swarms. In some colonies, so many bees swarmed out, that those remaining in the maternal colonies did not cover the combs. After the rest of the brood emerged, all the bees of such colonies abscond during the swarming period. Thus, absconding appeared in results of total out swarming. The swarms do not migrate directly to the seasonal alternative nesting sites, but establish new colonies in the areas around. After environmental conditions deteriorate, all the bees with their queens abscond and migrate to alternate seasonal nesting sites. The next season, the swarms do not return to their original reproductive natal sites, but to those sites they occupied the previous season lately, where from they absconded.

Physicochemical Properties of Honey Produced in the Homesha District of Western Ethiopia

Physicochemical Properties of Honey Produced in the Homesha District of Western Ethiopia This study was conducted to characterize honey produced in the Homesha district in Western Ethiopia. The effects of location and hive type on the quality of honey produced in the area were assessed. A total of 20 honey samples were collected from four locations in the district. The overall mean (±SD) contents of reducing sugars, sucrose, pH, moisture, ash, hydroxymethylfurfural, acidity and water-insoluble solids of the honey samples analyzed were 65 ± 3.02%, 6.1 ± 3.4%, 4.02 ± 0.26, 16.4 ± 1.07%, 0.17 ± 0.07%, 1.8 ± 0.24 mg/kg, 23.9 ± 7.4 meq/kg and 0.09 ± 0.14%, respectively. The sucrose content of honey samples purchased from the market was significantly higher (p<0.05) than the sucrose contents of honey samples collected from other locations. Hive type significantly (p<0.05) influenced the contents of moisture, HMF and water-insoluble solids of honey samples. It can be concluded that honey produced in the Homesha district is of good quality and can meet the national and international market demands.

Changes in the Antioxidative System of the Red Mason Bee (Osmia Rufa) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) Induced by Artificially Elongated Diapause

Changes in the Antioxidative System of the Red Mason Bee (Osmia Rufa) (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae) Induced by Artificially Elongated Diapause Osmia rufa as a polylectic insect is used in the pollination of numerous plants. The usefulness of this insect for plant breeders is considerably limited because of the short flight periods of the insects in the natural environment. In order to break this limitation, the wintering period of the insects in cocoons is elongated. The temperature is maintained at 4°C up to the time of plant blooming. This treatment does shortens the lifetime of the insects which may be the result of oxidative stress. Such results led to the examination of the selected components of antioxidative system. These components are: total antioxidative status, content of glutathione and activity of peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase in O. rufa emerged in spring, according to their biological clock, and emerged in summer - after elongated diapause. It was observed that diapause elongation unprofitably influenced the antioxidative system of a bee. A statistically significant decrease in total antioxidative status, and activity of both antioixidative enzymes - peroxidase and glutathione S-transferase, was noted. The changes in the glutathione level in turn, were insignificant. In our opinion, the lower efficiency of antioxidative systems of the red mason bee emerged in summer, may limit their response ability to endo- and exogenous factors influencing oxidative stress. The results of our study are the first publication concerning an antioxidative system in mason bees.

Phenolic Compounds of Propolis from the Boreal Coniferous Zone

Phenolic Compounds of Propolis from the Boreal Coniferous ZoneThe profile of phenolic compounds in 19 propolis samples from different provinces in Finland were analysed for the first time using HPLC-DAD. Nine individual flavonoids (comprising 26% of the identified phenolics), eleven cinnamic acid derivatives (36%), two caffeic acid derivatives (14%), three chlorogenic acid derivatives (14%), and three other phenolic acids (10%) were found in the propolis samples. The compounds found in the largest quantities were methyl-naringenin and caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE). The phenolic profiles of Finnish propolis show marked differences when compared withP. nigraandP. tremuloidespropolis of Central European and Canadian origins. The phenolic compounds found in propolis samples are commonly found in the tree species growing in Finland. Non-metric multidimensional scaling showed that samples were scattered and they did not form clear groups according to the geographical origin or age of the sample.

Antioxidative Properties of Bee Pollen Extracts Examined by EPR Spectroscopy

Antioxidative Properties of Bee Pollen Extracts Examined by EPR Spectroscopy Bee pollen is a valuable and highly recognized source of exogenous antioxidants. The aim of these studies was to determine the antioxidant capacity of three types of bee pollen extracts: ethanol extracts of bee pollen, pepsin extracts of bee pollen and ethanol extracts of pepsin-digested bee pollen. Their antioxidant properties were determined with the use of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) and their ability to quench DPPH free radicals was estimated. The EPR results showed that ethanol extracts of pepsin-digested bee pollen (EEPP) had the highest antioxidative effect and the highest free radical DPPH scavenging potential. The pepsin extracts of bee pollen (PEP) had the weakest antioxidant capacity. The ability to quench DPPH free radicals was also the weakest one for this extract. An average antioxidative effect was recorded for ethanol extracts of bee pollen (EEP).