scholarly journals Prisoners receive food fit for a queen: honeybees feed small hive beetles protein-rich glandular secretions through trophallaxis

2020 ◽  
pp. jeb.234807
Author(s):  
Zoë Langlands ◽  
Esther E. du Rand ◽  
Karl Crailsheim ◽  
Abdullahi A. Yusuf ◽  
Christian W. W. Pirk
Keyword(s):  
Aethina Tumida ◽  
Small Hive Beetle ◽  
Protein Transfer ◽  
Hypopharyngeal Gland ◽  
Hypopharyngeal Glands ◽  
Age Cohort ◽  
Protein Rich ◽  
Queen Larvae ◽  
Small Hive Beetles ◽  
Nest Parasite

The honeybee nest parasite Aethina tumida (small hive beetle), uses behavioural mimicry to induce trophallactic feeding from its honeybee hosts. Small hive beetles are able to induce honeybee workers to share the carbohydrate–rich contents of their crops, but it is not clear whether the beetles are able to induce to workers to feed them the protein-rich hypopharyngeal glandular secretions fed to the queen, larvae and other nest mates. Protein is a limiting macronutrient in an insect's diet, essential for survival, growth and fecundity. Honeybees obtain protein from pollen, which is consumed and digested by nurse bees. They then distribute the protein to the rest of the colony in the form of hypopharyngeal gland secretions. Using 14C-phenylalanine as a qualitative marker for protein transfer, we show that small hive beetles successfully induce worker bees to feed them the protein-rich secretions of their hypopharyngeal glands during trophallaxis, and that females are more successful than males in inducing the transfer of these protein-rich secretions. Furthermore, behavioural observations demonstrated that female beetles do not preferentially interact with a specific age cohort of bees when soliciting food, but males tend to be more discriminate and avoids the more aggressive and active older bees.

scholarly journals Small hive beetle,Aethina tumida, populations II: Dispersal of small hive beetles

Apidologie ◽  
2008 ◽  
Vol 39 (6) ◽  
pp. 683-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastian Spiewok ◽  
Michael Duncan ◽  
Robert Spooner-Hart ◽  
Jeff S. Pettis ◽  
Peter Neumann
Keyword(s):  
Aethina Tumida ◽  
Small Hive Beetle ◽  
Small Hive Beetles

Microsatellite loci for the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida, a nest parasite of honey bees

2008 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 698-700 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. EVANS ◽  
S. SPIEWOK ◽  
E. W. TEIXEIRA ◽  
P. NEUMANN
Keyword(s):  
Microsatellite Loci ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Aethina Tumida ◽  
Small Hive Beetle ◽  
Nest Parasite

scholarly journals Successful Pupation of Small Hive Beetle, Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), in Greenhouse Substrates

2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (6) ◽  
pp. 3032-3034
Author(s):  
Bram Cornelissen ◽  
Peter Neumann ◽  
James D Ellis
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bees ◽  
Development Time ◽  
Plant Root ◽  
Aethina Tumida ◽  
Invasive Pest ◽  
Small Hive Beetle ◽  
Crop Pollination ◽  
Coconut Fiber ◽  
Important Host ◽  
Small Hive Beetles

Abstract The small hive beetle, Aethina tumida Murray, is an invasive pest that has spread globally. Western honey bees, Apis mellifera Linnaeus (Hymenoptera: Apidae), are considered the most important host and infestations can lead to collapse of colonies. Larvae feed on honey, pollen, and brood inside the hive and leave the hive as postfeeding wandering larvae to pupate in the surrounding soil. Other host species include bumble bees, stingless bees, and solitary bees, all of which can facilitate small hive beetle reproduction and are used for greenhouse crop pollination worldwide. Here, we investigated if small hive beetles can complete their life cycle when soil is absent by pupating in plant root-supporting substrates commonly used in greenhouses. Wandering small hive beetle larvae were introduced into containers with coconut fiber, perlite, a mixture of both and stone wool substrates to investigate pupation success and development time. Sand was used as control substrate. In all but one substrate (perlite), small hive beetles developed into adults equally well as they did in the sand. Development time ranged between 23 and 37 d and was not different from that of the control. We showed that small hive beetles can pupate in greenhouse substrates. This could constitute a problem for greenhouse pollination as well as it could facilitate small hive beetle survival in areas which otherwise would be deemed unsuitable or marginal environments for small hive beetles to become established. Our study highlights the opportunistic nature of the small hive beetle as an invasive species.

scholarly journals Insecticidal Toxicities of Three Main Constituents Derived from Trachyspermum ammi (L.) Sprague ex Turrill Fruits against the Small Hive Beetles, Aethina tumida Murray

Molecules ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 25 (5) ◽  
pp. 1100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Bisrat ◽  
Chuleui Jung
Keyword(s):  
Essential Oil ◽  
The Other ◽  
Aethina Tumida ◽  
Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽  
Small Hive Beetle ◽  
Lc50 Value ◽  
Trachyspermum Ammi ◽  
The World ◽  
Ld50 Value ◽  
Small Hive Beetles

Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida Murray), indigenous to Africa, has spread to other parts of the world where has become a threat to the honeybee industry. In the present study, insecticidal properties (contact, fumigant, and repellent toxicities) of three main constituents derived from Trachyspermum ammi (L.) Sprague ex Turrill fruits essential oil were evaluated against adult small hive beetles under laboratory conditions. The Hydrodistillation of T. ammi fruits, grown in Ethiopia, yielded a pale yellow essential oil (3.5% v/w) with a strong aromatic odor. Analyses by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry identified twenty-two compounds that accounted for 98.68% of the total essential oil. The essential oil was dominated by monoterpenoids, comprising γ-terpinene (32.72%), p-cymene (27.92%), and thymol (24.36%). The essential oil showed strong contact and fumigation toxicities against the small hive beetle adults, with a LD50 value of 66.64 µg/adult and a LC50 value of 89.03 mg/L air, respectively. Among the main constituents, thymol was the most toxic component found in both contact (LD50 = 41.79 µg/adult) and fumigation (LC50 = 52.66 mg/L air) toxicities. The other two components, γ-terpinene and p-cymene, were less effective in both contact and fumigant toxicities testing. The results showed that T. ammi essential oil and thymol could serve as potential alternatives to synthetic insecticides for the control of small hive beetle adults.

scholarly journals Detection of Lotmaria passim, Crithidia mellificae and Replicative Forms of Deformed Wing Virus and Kashmir Bee Virus in the Small Hive Beetle (Aethina tumida)

Pathogens ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 372
Author(s):  
Antonio Nanetti ◽  
James D. Ellis ◽  
Ilaria Cardaio ◽  
Giovanni Cilia
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Aethina Tumida ◽  
Small Hive Beetle ◽  
Deformed Wing Virus ◽  
Queen Cell ◽  
Kashmir Bee Virus ◽  
Acute Bee Paralysis Virus ◽  
Bee Virus ◽  
Paralysis Virus ◽  
Lotmaria Passim

Knowledge regarding the honey bee pathogens borne by invasive bee pests remains scarce. This investigation aimed to assess the presence in Aethina tumida (small hive beetle, SHB) adults of honey bee pathogens belonging to the following groups: (i) bacteria (Paenibacillus larvae and Melissococcus plutonius), (ii) trypanosomatids (Lotmaria passim and Crithidia mellificae), and (iii) viruses (black queen cell virus, Kashmir bee virus, deformed wing virus, slow paralysis virus, sacbrood virus, Israeli acute paralysis virus, acute bee paralysis virus, chronic bee paralysis virus). Specimens were collected from free-flying colonies in Gainesville (Florida, U.S.A.) in summer 2017. The results of the molecular analysis show the presence of L. passim, C. mellificae, and replicative forms of deformed wing virus (DWV) and Kashmir bee virus (KBV). Replicative forms of KBV have not previously been reported. These results support the hypothesis of pathogen spillover between managed honey bees and the SHB, and these dynamics require further investigation.

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