scholarly journals Effects of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMF) on honey bee queen development and mating success

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Odemer ◽  
Franziska Odemer
Keyword(s):  
Electromagnetic Radiation ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Adult Development ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Colony Development ◽  
List Type ◽  
Colony Losses ◽  
Honey Bee Queen ◽  
Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation

ABSTRACTMobile phones can be found almost everywhere across the globe, upholding a direct point-to-point connection between the device and the broadcast tower. The emission of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMF) puts the surrounding environment inevitably into contact with this pollutant. We have therefore exposed honey bee queen larvae to the radiation of a common mobile phone device (GSM) during all stages of their pre-adult development including pupation. After 14 days of exposure, hatching of adult queens was assessed and mating success after further 11 days, respectively. Moreover, full colonies were established of five of the untreated and four of the treated queens to contrast population dynamics. We found that mobile phone radiation had significantly reduced the hatching ratio but not the mating success. If treated queens were successfully mated, colony development was not adversely affected. We provide evidence that RF-EMF only acts detrimental within the sensitivity of pupal development, once succeeded this point, no further impairment has manifested in adulthood. Our results are discussed against the background of long-lasting consequences for colony performance and the possible implication on periodic colony losses.HIGHLIGHTSChronic RF-EMF exposure significantly reduced hatching of honey bee queensMortalities occurred during pupation, not at the larval stagesMating success was not adversely affected by the irradiationAfter the exposure, surviving queens were able to establish intact coloniesGRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

scholarly journals Honey Bee Queen Production: Canadian Costing Case Study and Profitability Analysis

2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (4) ◽  
pp. 1618-1627
Author(s):  
Miriam Bixby ◽  
Shelley E Hoover ◽  
Robyn McCallum ◽  
Abdullah Ibrahim ◽  
Lynae Ovinge ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Economic Feasibility ◽  
Rigorous Analysis ◽  
Colony Losses ◽  
Early Season ◽  
Profitability Analysis ◽  
Local Supply ◽  
Honey Bee Queen ◽  
Queen Production

Abstract The decline in managed honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colony health worldwide has had a significant impact on the beekeeping industry. To mitigate colony losses, beekeepers in Canada and around the world introduce queens into replacement colonies; however, Canada’s short queen rearing season has historically limited the production of early season queens. As a result, Canadian beekeepers rely on the importation of foreign bees, particularly queens from warmer climates. Importing a large proportion of (often mal-adapted) queens each year creates a dependency on foreign bee sources, putting beekeeping, and pollination sectors at risk in the event of border closures, transportation issues, and other restrictions as is currently happening due to the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic. Although traditional Canadian queen production is unable to fully meet early season demand, increasing domestic queen production to meet mid- and later season demand would reduce Canada’s dependency. As well, on-going studies exploring the potential for overwintering queens in Canada may offer a strategy to have early season domestic queens available. Increasing the local supply of queens could provide Canadian beekeepers, farmers, and consumers with a greater level of agricultural stability and food security. Our study is the first rigorous analysis of the economic feasibility of queen production. We present the costs of queen production for three Canadian operations over two years. Our results show that it can be profitable for a beekeeping operation in Canada to produce queen cells and mated queens and could be one viable strategy to increase the sustainability of the beekeeping industry.

scholarly journals Introduction of Varroa destructor has not altered honey bee queen mating success in the Hawaiian archipelago

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lauren M. Rusert ◽  
Jeffrey S. Pettis ◽  
David R. Tarpy
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Mating Success ◽  
Varroa Destructor ◽  
Hawaiian Islands ◽  
Mating Frequency ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Varroa Mites ◽  
Queen Bees ◽  
Honey Bee Queen ◽  
Honey Bee Queens

AbstractBeekeepers struggle to minimize the mortality of their colonies as a consequence of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor in order to maintain a sustainable managed pollinator population. However, little is known about how varroa mites might diminish local populations of honey bee males (drones) that might affect the mating success of queens. As one of the world’s last localities invaded by varroa mites, the Hawaiian Islands offer a unique opportunity to examine this question by comparing queens mated on mite-infested and mite-free islands. We raised queen bees on four Hawaiian Islands (Kaua‘i, O‘ahu, Maui, and Hawai‘i) and subsequently collected their offspring to determine queen mating frequency and insemination success. No significant difference for mating success was found between the islands with and without varroa mites, and relatively high levels of polyandry was detected overall. We also found a significant association between the number of sperm stored in the queens’ spermathecae and the number of managed colonies within the localities of the queens mated. Our findings suggest that varroa mites, as they currently occur in Hawai‘i, may not significantly reduce mating success of honey bee queens, which provides insight for both the reproductive biology of honey bees as well as the apiculture industry in Hawai‘i.

Effect of radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation emitted by mobile phone on trace elements levels in fetal rats

2014 ◽  
Vol 31 (10) ◽  
pp. 174-180
Author(s):  
Yi Zhang ◽  
Kang An ◽  
Mei-Shang Yin ◽  
Long-Long Yin ◽  
Dong-Mei Guo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Elements ◽  
Electromagnetic Radiation ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Fetal Rats ◽  
Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation

scholarly journals Planting of neonicotinoid-coated corn raises honey bee mortality and sets back colony development

PeerJ ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. e3670 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Samson-Robert ◽  
Geneviève Labrie ◽  
Madeleine Chagnon ◽  
Valérie Fournier
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Colony Development ◽  
Seed Coating ◽  
Long Term Effects ◽  
Colony Losses ◽  
Population Dynamic Model ◽  
Performance Development ◽  
Planting Season

Worldwide occurrences of honey bee colony losses have raised concerns about bee health and the sustainability of pollination-dependent crops. While multiple causal factors have been identified, seed coating with insecticides of the neonicotinoid family has been the focus of much discussion and research. Nonetheless, few studies have investigated the impacts of these insecticides under field conditions or in commercial beekeeping operations. Given that corn-seed coating constitutes the largest single use of neonicotinoid, our study compared honey bee mortality from commercial apiaries located in two different agricultural settings, i.e. corn-dominated areas and corn-free environments, during the corn planting season. Data was collected in 2012 and 2013 from 26 bee yards. Dead honey bees from five hives in each apiary were counted and collected, and samples were analyzed using a multi-residue LC-MS/MS method. Long-term effects on colony development were simulated based on a honey bee population dynamic model. Mortality survey showed that colonies located in a corn-dominated area had daily mortality counts 3.51 times those of colonies from corn crop-free sites. Chemical analyses revealed that honey bees were exposed to various agricultural pesticides during the corn planting season, but were primarily subjected to neonicotinoid compounds (54% of analysed samples contained clothianidin, and 31% contained both clothianidin and thiamethoxam). Performance development simulations performed on hive populations’ show that increased mortality during the corn planting season sets back colony development and bears contributions to collapse risk but, most of all, reduces the effectiveness and value of colonies for pollination services. Our results also have implications for the numerous large-scale and worldwide-cultivated crops that currently rely on pre-emptive use of neonicotinoid seed treatments.

scholarly journals Acute radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation exposures cause neuronal DNA damage and impair neurogenesis in the young adolescent rat brain

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kumari Vandana Singh ◽  
Chandra Prakash ◽  
Jay Prakash Nirala ◽  
Ranjan Kumar Nanda ◽  
Paulraj Rajamani
Keyword(s):  
Dna Damage ◽  
Electromagnetic Radiation ◽  
Mobile Phone ◽  
Rat Brain ◽  
Neuronal Degeneration ◽  
Young Adolescent ◽  
Acute Exposure ◽  
And Function ◽  
Lipid Radicals ◽  
Radiofrequency Electromagnetic Radiation

AbstractMobile phone is now a commonly used communication device in all age groups. Young adolescents use it for longer duration and effect of its radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation (RF-EMR) on their brain structure and function need detailed investigation. In the present study, we investigated the effect of RF-EMR emitted from mobile phones, on young adolescent rat brain. Wistar rats (5 weeks, male) were exposed to RF-EMR signal (2,115 MHz) from a mobile phone at a whole body averaged specific absorption rate (SAR) of 1.15 W/kg continuously for 8 h. Higher level of lipid peroxidation, carbon centered lipid radicals and DNA damage were observed in the brain of rat exposed to RF-EMR. Number of neural progenitor cells (NPCs) in dentate gyrus (DG) were found to be relatively low in RF-EMR exposed rats that may be due to reduced neurogenesis. Acute exposure to RF-EMR induced neuronal degeneration in DG region with insignificant variation in CA3, CA1 and cerebral cortex sub regions of hippocampus. Findings of this study, indicate that acute exposure of high frequency RF-EMR at relatively higher SAR may adversely impact the neurogenesis and function of adolescent rat brain. Generation of carbon centered lipid radicals, and nuclear DNA damage might be playing critical role in reduced neurogenesis and higher neuronal degeneration in the cortex and hippocampus of brain. Detailed understanding of RF-EMR induced alteration in brain function will be useful to develop appropriate interventions for reducing the impact caused by RF-EMR damage.

Production and transmission of honey bee queen (Apis mellifera L.) mandibular gland pheromone

1991 ◽  
Vol 29 (5) ◽  
pp. 321-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ken Naumann ◽  
Mark L. Winston ◽  
Keith N. Slessor ◽  
Glenn D. Prestwich ◽  
Francis X. Webster
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Mandibular Gland ◽  
Honey Bee Queen
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