scholarly journals Firm Efficiency and Returns-to-Scale in the Honey Bee Pollination Services Industry

2018 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 1014-1022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chian Jones Ritten ◽  
Dannele Peck ◽  
Mariah Ehmke ◽  
M A Buddhika Patalee
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Returns To Scale ◽  
Bee Pollination ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Firm Efficiency ◽  
Services Industry

The Beetube — a new honey bee pollination device in Western Australia

2002 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 643
Author(s):  
R. Manning
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Western Australia ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
High Density ◽  
Flight Activity ◽  
Total Weight ◽  
Bee Pollination ◽  
Pollination Services

The development of a simple, durable, lightweight and disposable beehive for high-density (and netted) orchards and crops distant from beekeeping areas provides a useful product and a further diversification for beekeepers involved in professional pollination services. The total weight of a fully developed Beetube ranged from 2.23 to 3.64 kg, contained about 9101 bees, 3038 cm2 of comb, and had a morning and afternoon flight activity of 19-43 and 11-34 honey bees per minute, respectively.

scholarly journals Impact of Chronic Exposure to Sublethal Doses of Glyphosate on Honey Bee Immunity, Gut Microbiota and Infection by Pathogens

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 845
Author(s):  
Loreley Castelli ◽  
Sofía Balbuena ◽  
Belén Branchiccela ◽  
Pablo Zunino ◽  
Joanito Liberti ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Chronic Exposure ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Deformed Wing Virus ◽  
Immune Genes ◽  
Bee Health ◽  
Honey Bee Health ◽  
Sublethal Doses ◽  
The Impact

Glyphosate is the most used pesticide around the world. Although different studies have evidenced its negative effect on honey bees, including detrimental impacts on behavior, cognitive, sensory and developmental abilities, its use continues to grow. Recent studies have shown that it also alters the composition of the honey bee gut microbiota. In this study we explored the impact of chronic exposure to sublethal doses of glyphosate on the honey bee gut microbiota and its effects on the immune response, infection by Nosema ceranae and Deformed wing virus (DWV) and honey bee survival. Glyphosate combined with N. ceranae infection altered the structure and composition of the honey bee gut microbiota, for example by decreasing the relative abundance of the core members Snodgrassella alvi and Lactobacillus apis. Glyphosate increased the expression of some immune genes, possibly representing a physiological response to mitigate its negative effects. However, this response was not sufficient to maintain honey bee health, as glyphosate promoted the replication of DWV and decreased the expression of vitellogenin, which were accompanied by a reduced life span. Infection by N. ceranae also alters honey bee immunity although no synergistic effect with glyphosate was observed. These results corroborate previous findings suggesting deleterious effects of widespread use of glyphosate on honey bee health, and they contribute to elucidate the physiological mechanisms underlying a global decline of pollination services.

Sequential generations of honey bee (Apis mellifera) queens produced using cryopreserved semen

2012 ◽  
Vol 24 (8) ◽  
pp. 1079 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brandon K. Hopkins ◽  
Charles Herr ◽  
Walter S. Sheppard
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Eastern Asia ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Instrumental Insemination ◽  
Diploid Female ◽  
Frozen Semen

Much of the world’s food production is dependent on honey bees for pollination, and expanding food production will further increase the demand for managed pollination services. Apiculturists outside the native range of the honey bee, in the Americas, Australia and eastern Asia, have used only a few of the 27 described subspecies of honey bees (Apis mellifera) for beekeeping purposes. Within the endemic ranges of a particular subspecies, hybridisation can threaten native subspecies when local beekeepers import and propagate non-native honey bees. For many threatened species, cryopreserved germplasm can provide a resource for the preservation of diversity and recovery of endangered populations. However, although instrumental insemination of queen honey bees is well established, the absence of an effective means to cryopreserve honey bee semen has limited the success of efforts to preserve genetic diversity within the species or to develop repositories of honey bee germplasm for breeding purposes. Herein we report that some queens inseminated with cryopreserved semen were capable of producing a substantial number of fertilised offspring. These diploid female larvae were used to produce two additional sequential generations of new queens, which were then back-crossed to the same stock of frozen semen. Our results demonstrate the ability to produce queens using cryopreserved honey bee spermatozoa and the potential for the establishment of a honey bee genetic repository.

scholarly journals Organic Establishment of Pollination Reservoirs in the Lowbush Blueberry (Ericales: Ericaceae) Agroecosystem

2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 393-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. M. Venturini ◽  
F. A. Drummond ◽  
A. K. Hoshide
Keyword(s):  
Economic Analysis ◽  
Coniferous Forest ◽  
Cropping System ◽  
Bee Pollination ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Wild Bee ◽  
Lowbush Blueberry ◽  
Native Bee ◽  
Wild Blueberries ◽  
Nurse Crops

Abstract Pollination reservoirs are pollen and nectar rich wildflower plantings intended to enhance pollination services in pollinator-dependent crops. Despite government assistance, plantings often fail to establish. Our focal crop, wild blueberries, is a unique cropping-system native to the U.S.A. It is never planted or cultivated, and typically exists in isolated fields within a mostly coniferous forest matrix. Our study takes place in Maine, U.S.A., where growers could economically benefit by switching reliance from rented honey bees to native bee pollination. Lowbush blueberry growers support wild bee enhancement efforts, but the low pH (4.0-5.0) of this agro-ecosystem presents unique challenges to wildflower establishment. We sought to identify methods that Organic certified growers can use to successfully establish pollination reservoirs in this system. We tested the effects of nurse crops and mowing on the success of a custom wildflower mixture over four years. Success was considered in terms of longevity, sown species diversity, above-ground biomass, and the number and weight of inflorescences. The authors present an economic analysis of cost versus projected planting longevity. In the fourth year of establishment, sown plant diversity significantly decreased, Solidago spp. weeds became dominant, and treatments were not a strong determinant of planting success. The economic analysis suggests that the high cost of pollination reservoir establishment may be a barrier to grower adoption. This study provides evidence and economic justification that weeds must be controlled prior to planting and represents one of the first studies to empirically test organic strategies for wildflower establishment in an agricultural context.

Diversity, density, efficiency, and effectiveness of pollinators of cicer milkvetch, Astragalus cicer L.

1987 ◽  
Vol 65 (9) ◽  
pp. 2168-2176 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. W. Richards
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Propagation Rate ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Bee Pollination ◽  
Southern Alberta ◽  
Efficiency And Effectiveness ◽  
Astragalus Cicer

Diversity, density, efficiency, and effectiveness of pollinators of cicer milkvetch, Astragalus cicer L., grown at two locations in southern Alberta were studied from 1978 to 1983. Twenty-seven species of bees were identified as pollinators. At Lethbridge, honey bees (Apis mellifera) comprised 74% of the observations, bumble bees 16%, and leafcutter bees 10%, while at Spring Coulee, the proportions were honey bees 14%, bumble bees 69%, and leafcutter bees 17%. The rate of foraging by pollinator species from flower to flower varied; bumble bee species, especially Bombus nevadensis Cress., foraged consistently more efficiently than honey bees or alfalfa leafcutter bees, Megachile rotundata (F.). A theoretical approach used to predict the bee populations required to pollinate varying flower densities shows that the population of B. nevadensis required is about half those of Bombus huntii Greene and M. rotundata and less than one-quarter that of the honey bee. Pollination by B. nevadensis consistently resulted in more seeds per pod than with any other bumble bee species, the honey bee, or M. rotundata. Of the nine species of bumble bee that established colonies in artificial domiciles near the field, B. nevadensis established the most colonies each year. The number of workers and sexuals produced per colony varied considerably among bumble bee species with only 55% of the colony establishments producing workers and 31% producing sexuals. The propagation rate and quality of alfalfa leafcutter bees produced on cicer milkvetch was excellent.

Honey Bee Pollination Markets and the Internalization of Reciprocal Benefits

2012 ◽  
Vol 94 (4) ◽  
pp. 956-977 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randal R. Rucker ◽  
Walter N. Thurman ◽  
Michael Burgett
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Bee Pollination

scholarly journals Pollination Services from Insects in Homegardens in the Chengdu Plain will be Confronted with Crises

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2169 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qin Liu ◽  
Pei Xu ◽  
Kun Yan ◽  
Yingman Guo
Keyword(s):  
Agricultural Production ◽  
Peak Time ◽  
Bee Pollination ◽  
Insect Pollination ◽  
Peach Fruit ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Chengdu Plain ◽  
Yield And Quality ◽  
Field Investigations ◽  
Flower Visiting

Chengdu Plain is one of China’s most important agricultural production zones and has a large human population. Agricultural crops require insect pollination to increase yield and quality, which is especially important in plains areas where forest area is small. Homegardens are the main habitat of pollinators. The present study identified the importance of insect pollination in homegardens in the Chengdu Plain through field investigations and comparative experiments and revealed the risk to pollination services caused by the decrease in diversity and population of managed and wild pollinators. The results showed that (1) prohibiting all insect pollination (treatment A) and prohibiting managed bee pollination (treatment B) significantly reduced the yield and seed number of rapeseed and significantly reduced the size, weight, and sweetness of peach fruit, but had no significant effects on plums; (2) the dependence on insect pollination and the economic values of insect pollination for rapeseed and peaches are 0.56 and $85.1 million and 0.44 and $31.0 million, respectively; (3) there were 23 flower-visiting pollinator species at the experimental sites including: four species of managed bees and 19 species of wild pollinators. The peak time for pollinators to visit flowers was 11:00 to 15:00, and the managed bees accounted for over 67.55% of these visits; (4) within a radius of 1000 m from the site, 58.06% of the bees were non-locally managed, and the bee population managed locally by farmers decreased; and (5) compared with 2008, the number of homegardens decreased by 17.24%, the managed bees within the homegardens decreased by 62.05%, and the disappearance and destruction of homegardens led to a significant reduction in wild pollinators.

scholarly journals Foraging behavior and honey production of Apismellifera L.

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 359-366
Author(s):  
Md Ektarul Islam ◽  
Md Jamil Hossain Biswas ◽  
Kazi Shahanara Ahmed ◽  
Faruki Shabia Maraj
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Foraging Behavior ◽  
Positive Relationship ◽  
University Campus ◽  
Bee Pollination ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Honey Production ◽  
Queen Cell ◽  
Effect On Yield

Honeybee, Apismellifera L. was reared and maintained in bee box and placed in around Bangladesh Agricultural University campus in Mymensingh to study its life cycle, behaviour, pollen gathering activity, honey production and its effect on yield of mustard. There was no relationship between sunrises, sunset, first out from the box and last entrance into the box. But positive relationship was found with day temperature to first out and last entrance. The highest number of bees collected pollen in the 3rd week of March. Maximum pollen gathering activities were found at 12.00 to 1.00 p.m. The highest amount of honey production was 4.00 kg per box in mustard and there was positive correlation between percent pollen gathering activity and honey production. The highest number of queen cell was found in the month of March. The results showed that honey bee pollination had significant effect on increase in all the plant parameters and yield.Asian J. Med. Biol. Res. June 2015, 1(2): 359-366

scholarly journals Advances and perspectives in selecting resistance traits against the parasitic mite Varroa destructor in honey bees

2020 ◽  
Vol 52 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthieu Guichard ◽  
Vincent Dietemann ◽  
Markus Neuditschko ◽  
Benjamin Dainat
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Environmental Effects ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Selection Strategy ◽  
Pollination Services ◽  
Colony Losses ◽  
New Host ◽  
Parasitic Mite ◽  
Resistance Traits

Abstract Background In spite of the implementation of control strategies in honey bee (Apis mellifera) keeping, the invasive parasitic mite Varroa destructor remains one of the main causes of colony losses in numerous countries. Therefore, this parasite represents a serious threat to beekeeping and agro-ecosystems that benefit from the pollination services provided by honey bees. To maintain their stocks, beekeepers have to treat their colonies with acaricides every year. Selecting lineages that are resistant to infestations is deemed to be a more sustainable approach. Review Over the last three decades, numerous selection programs have been initiated to improve the host–parasite relationship and to support honey bee survival in the presence of the parasite without the need for acaricide treatments. Although resistance traits have been included in the selection strategy of honey bees, it has not been possible to globally solve the V. destructor problem. In this study, we review the literature on the reasons that have potentially limited the success of such selection programs. We compile the available information to assess the relevance of selected traits and the potential environmental effects that distort trait expression and colony survival. Limitations to the implementation of these traits in the field are also discussed. Conclusions Improving our knowledge of the mechanisms underlying resistance to V. destructor to increase trait relevance, optimizing selection programs to reduce environmental effects, and communicating selection outcomes are all crucial to efforts aiming at establishing a balanced relationship between the invasive parasite and its new host.

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