The relationship between pollen diversity and foraging effort in honey bees and bumble bees

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danny F Minahan
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bees ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Foraging Effort ◽  
The Relationship

Effect of a colour dimorphism on the flower constancy of honey bees and bumble bees

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (4) ◽  
pp. 587-593 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert J Gegear ◽  
Terence M Laverty
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bees ◽  
Flower Colour ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Flower Constancy ◽  
Flower Colours ◽  
High Degree ◽  
Flower Handling ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Colour Dimorphism

We assessed the flower constancy of Italian honey bees (Apis mellifera ligustica Spinelli, 1808) and bumble bees (Bombus impatiens Cresson, 1863) by presenting individual foragers with a mixed array of equally rewarding yellow and blue flowers after they were trained to visit each colour in succession. All honey bees showed a high degree of flower constancy to one colour and rarely visited the alternate colour, whereas most bumble bees indiscriminately visited both colours. Foraging rates (flowers visited per minute) and flower handling times did not differ between honey bee and bumble bee foragers; however, bumble bees tended to fly farther between consecutive flower visits and make fewer moves to nearest neighbouring flowers than honey bees. When bees were forced to specialize on one of two previously rewarding flower colours by depleting one colour of reward, honey bees required almost twice as many flower visits to specialize on the rewarding flower colour as bumble bees. Together, these results suggest that the relationship between individual flower constancy and colour differences is not a general behavioural phenomenon in honey and bumble bees, perhaps because of differences in the ability of each group to effectively manage multiple colours at the same time and location.

scholarly journals Mass-length Relationships for 3 Bee Species in Northwest Ohio

2018 ◽  
Vol 118 (2) ◽  
pp. 31
Author(s):  
Justin D. Burdine ◽  
Erin Plummer ◽  
Melissa Seidel ◽  
Kevin E. McCluney
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Dry Mass ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Bombus Impatiens ◽  
Positive Correlation ◽  
Sweat Bees ◽  
The Relationship

The ability to accurately estimate bee mass through measurements of intertegular distance (ITD) is an important tool for field biologists. ITD is the distance between the bases of the 2 wing tegulae on the bee’s thorax. However, the relationship between ITD and bee mass can vary based on species and sampling region. A collection of 92 bees—representing 3 species—was examined to assess the accuracy of ITD in estimating dry mass for bees in northwest Ohio.  The focus was on 3 species: silky striped sweat bees (Agapostemon sericeus), honey bees (Apis mellifera), and common eastern bumble bees (Bombus impatiens).  Overall, there was a positive correlation between ITD and dry mass across all individuals sampled (R2 = 0.77), but within species the degree of correlation varied significantly. The results suggest that ITD accurately estimates dry mass in silky striped sweat bees (R2 = 0.93), but the correlation weakens in common eastern bumble bees (R2 = 0.54) and is non-existent in honey bees (R2 = 0.39). Field biologists interested in using ITD to estimate bee mass should take preliminary measurements when investigating bumble bees, and should avoid ITD estimates in honey bees.

scholarly journals Olfactory coding in the antennal lobe of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcel Mertes ◽  
Julie Carcaud ◽  
Jean-Christophe Sandoz
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bees ◽  
Antennal Lobe ◽  
Bombus Terrestris ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Carbon Chain Length ◽  
Olfactory Coding ◽  
Major Transitions

AbstractSociality is classified as one of the major transitions in evolution, with the largest number of eusocial species found in the insect order Hymenoptera, including the Apini (honey bees) and the Bombini (bumble bees). Bumble bees and honey bees not only differ in their social organization and foraging strategies, but comparative analyses of their genomes demonstrated that bumble bees have a slightly less diverse family of olfactory receptors than honey bees, suggesting that their olfactory abilities have adapted to different social and/or ecological conditions. However, unfortunately, no precise comparison of olfactory coding has been performed so far between honey bees and bumble bees, and little is known about the rules underlying olfactory coding in the bumble bee brain. In this study, we used in vivo calcium imaging to study olfactory coding of a panel of floral odorants in the antennal lobe of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris. Our results show that odorants induce reproducible neuronal activity in the bumble bee antennal lobe. Each odorant evokes a different glomerular activity pattern revealing this molecule’s chemical structure, i.e. its carbon chain length and functional group. In addition, pairwise similarity among odor representations are conserved in bumble bees and honey bees. This study thus suggests that bumble bees, like honey bees, are equipped to respond to odorants according to their chemical features.

scholarly journals A note on genetic parameters and accuracy of estimated breeding values in honey bees

2019 ◽  
Vol 51 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Evert W. Brascamp ◽  
Piter Bijma
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bees ◽  
Variance Components ◽  
Genetic Parameters ◽  
Additive Genetic Variance ◽  
Breeding Value ◽  
Phenotypic Variance ◽  
Breeding Values ◽  
Estimated Breeding Values ◽  
Additive Genetic Relationship ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract Background In honey bees, observations are usually made on colonies. The phenotype of a colony is affected by the average breeding value for the worker effect of the thousands of workers in the colony (the worker group) and by the breeding value for the queen effect of the queen of the colony. Because the worker group consists of multiple individuals, interpretation of the variance components and heritabilities of phenotypes observed on the colony and of the accuracy of selection is not straightforward. The additive genetic variance among worker groups depends on the additive genetic relationship between the drone-producing queens (DPQ) that produce the drones that mate with the queen. Results Here, we clarify how the relatedness between DPQ affects phenotypic variance, heritability and accuracy of the estimated breeding values of replacement queens. Second, we use simulation to investigate the effect of assumptions about the relatedness between DPQ in the base population on estimates of genetic parameters. Relatedness between DPQ in the base generation may differ considerably between populations because of their history. Conclusions Our results show that estimates of (co)variance components and derived genetic parameters were seriously biased (25% too high or too low) when assumptions on the relationship between DPQ in the statistical analysis did not agree with reality.

Mirror Image Pattern Matching By Bumble Bees

Behaviour ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 132 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 87-93 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.M.S. Plowright ◽  
Y.G. Korneluk
Keyword(s):  
Pattern Matching ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Mirror Image ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Bombus Impatiens ◽  
Artificial Flower ◽  
Choice Tests ◽  
Image Transformations ◽  
Image Pattern

AbstractBumble bees (Bombus impatiens) were trained to discriminate between a rewarding and non-rewarding artificial flower that differed only in their configuration of four identical petals. On choice tests between 2 empty flowers, the bees chose the flower with the configuration of the rewarding flower over the mirror image, but the mirror image over a novel flower. This behaviour is the same as has been observed with honey bees and functional interpretations are considered. The problem of distinguishing between left-right pattern reversals and true mirror image transformations is discussed.

Metagenomic analysis of bat guano samples revealed the presence of viruses potentially carried by insects, among others by Apis mellifera in Hungary

2018 ◽  
Vol 66 (1) ◽  
pp. 151-161
Author(s):  
Brigitta Zana ◽  
Gábor Kemenesi ◽  
Péter Urbán ◽  
Fanni Földes ◽  
Tamás Görföl ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Metagenomic Analysis ◽  
First Time ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Big Sioux River ◽  
Bee Colonies ◽  
Close Genetic Relationship ◽  
Paralysis Virus ◽  
Bat Guano

The predominance of dietary viruses in bat guano samples had been described recently, suggesting a new opportunity to survey the prevalence and to detect new viruses of arthropods or even plant-infecting viruses circulating locally in the ecosystem. Here we describe the diversity of viruses belonging to the order Picornavirales in Hungarian insectivorous bat guano samples. The metagenomic analysis conducted on our samples has revealed the significant predominance of aphid lethal paralysis virus (ALPV) and Big Sioux River virus (BSRV) in Hungary for the first time. Phylogenetic analysis was used to clarify the relationship to previously identified ALPV strains infecting honey bees, showing that our strain possesses a close genetic relationship with the strains that have already been described as pathogenic to honey bees. Furthermore, studies have previously confirmed the ability of these viruses to replicate in adult honey bees; however, no signs related to these viruses have been revealed yet. With the identification of two recently described possibly honey bee infecting viruses for the first time in Hungary, our results might have importance for the health conditions of Hungarian honey bee colonies in the future.

ALSIKE CLOVER POLLINATION BY HONEY BEES IN THE PEACE RIVER REGION

1959 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 505-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Pankiw ◽  
C. R. Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Climatic Conditions ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Flowering Period ◽  
Peace River ◽  
River Region ◽  
Native Pollinator ◽  
Seed Yields

Pollination studies involving zero, one and three colonies of honey bees per acre, on commercial alsike clover fields ranging in size from 15 to 75 acres, were conducted in 1954, 1955, and 1957 in the Hinton Trail district of the Peace River Region of Alberta. These studies indicated that in large fields one colony of honey bees per acre is sufficient to pollinate alsike clover, consideration being given to competition of other crops and to the climatic conditions. The influence of competing crops was such that 65- to 75-acre fields, with one colony per acre, were similar in honey bee populations and seed production to 15- to 20-acre fields with three colonies per acre. Competing plant species accounted for 15 to 36 per cent of the pollen collected by honey bees. Fields with the higher populations of pollinators matured earlier than fields deficient in pollinators. A population of 3400 honey bees per acre (0.7 bee per sq. yd.) throughout the flowering period resulted in seed sets up to 82 per cent and seed yields to 375 lb. per acre. Check fields, where no honey bees were supplied, ranged in production from 29 lb. per acre, with a low native pollinator count, to 293 lb. where a pollinator equivalent of 1300 bumble bees per acre was observed. Bumble bees worked alsike clover at the rate of 28.6 florets per minute, as compared to 20.0 for leaf-cutter bees and 18.7 for honey bees.

First Complete Genome of Lake Sinai Virus Lineage 3 and Genetic Diversity of Lake Sinai Virus Strains From Honey Bees and Bumble Bees

2020 ◽  
Vol 113 (3) ◽  
pp. 1055-1061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura Šimenc ◽  
Urška Kuhar ◽  
Urška Jamnikar-Ciglenečki ◽  
Ivan Toplak
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Complete Genome ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
Bumble Bee ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Genome Region ◽  
Pcr Method ◽  
Next Generation Sequencing Ngs ◽  
First Time

Abstract The complete genome of Lake Sinai virus 3 (LSV3) was sequenced by the Ion Torrent next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology from an archive sample of honey bees collected in 2010. This strain M92/2010 is the first complete genome sequence of LSV lineage 3. From October 2016 to December 2017, 56 honey bee samples from 32 different locations and 41 bumble bee samples from five different locations were collected. These samples were tested using a specific reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method; 75.92% of honey bee samples and 17.07% of bumble bee samples were LSV-positive with the RT-PCR method. Phylogenetic comparison of 557-base pair-long RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) genome region of selected 23 positive samples of honey bees and three positive bumble bee samples identified three different LSV lineages: LSV1, LSV2, and LSV3. The LSV3 lineage was confirmed for the first time in Slovenia in 2010, and the same strain was later detected in several locations within the country. The LSV strains detected in bumble bees are from 98.6 to 99.4% identical to LSV strains detected among honey bees in the same territory.

scholarly journals Busy Bees: Variation in Insect Flower-Visiting Rates across Multiple Plant Species

2015 ◽  
Vol 2015 ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret J. Couvillon ◽  
Chandra M. Walter ◽  
Eluned M. Blows ◽  
Tomer J. Czaczkes ◽  
Karin L. Alton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Bumble Bees ◽  
The Other ◽  
Insect Diversity ◽  
Visitation Rates ◽  
Insect Visitation ◽  
Flower Visiting

We quantified insect visitation rates by counting how many flowers/inflorescences were probed per unit time for five plant species (four native and one garden: California lilac, bramble, ragwort, wild marjoram, and ivy) growing in Sussex, United Kingdom, by following individual insects (n=2987) from nine functional groups (honey bees (Apis mellifera), bumble bees (Bombusspp.), hoverflies, flies, butterflies, beetles, wasps, non-Apidae bees, and moths). Additionally, we made a census of the insect diversity on the studied plant species. Overall we found that insect groups differed greatly in their rate of flower visits (P<2.2e-16), with bumble bees and honey bees visiting significantly more flowers per time (11.5 and 9.2 flowers/minute, resp.) than the other insect groups. Additionally, we report on a within-group difference in the non-Apidae bees, where the genusOsmia, which is often suggested as an alternative to honey bees as a managed pollinator, was very speedy (13.4 flowers/minute) compared to the other non-Apidae bees (4.3 flowers/minute). Our census showed that the plants attracted a range of insects, with the honey bee as the most abundant visitor (34%). Therefore, rate differences cannot be explained by particular specializations. Lastly, we discuss potential implications of our conclusions for pollination.

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