scholarly journals Honey Bee Queen Replacement: An Analysis of Changes in the Preferences of Polish Beekeepers through Decades

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 544 ◽  
Author(s):  
Małgorzata Bieńkowska ◽  
Aleksandra Łoś ◽  
Paweł Węgrzynowicz
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Geographical Location ◽  
Upward Trend ◽  
Colony Management ◽  
Queen Replacement ◽  
Honey Bee Queen ◽  
Research And Education ◽  
Over Time

We conducted a survey on honey bee (Apis mellifera) queen management. Data were collected every year from 1980 to 2018. In total, 2964 questionnaires were collected from all over Poland. We examined the trends by decade timeslot, apiary size, and geographical location. Regardless of the decade and the size of the apiary, on average, above 90% of Polish beekeepers replace old queens with new ones in their colonies. In general, during the observed period, beekeepers replaced almost 52% of their queens, 21% of which were purchased. In the last decade, there was an upward trend in the percentage of beekeepers replacing queens throughout the country. The involvement of purchased queens in colony management is associated with the size of the apiary, and it significantly grows with the number of colonies in the apiary. The percentage of purchased queens went up in all the voivodeships over time. Research and education in this area are needed in order to track the trends and further improve Polish beekeepers’ practices.

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

scholarly journals Effect of shipping boxes, attendant bees, and temperature on honey bee queen sperm quality (Apis mellifera)

Apidologie ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 724-735
Author(s):  
Andrée Rousseau ◽  
Émile Houle ◽  
Pierre Giovenazzo
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Sperm Quality ◽  
Honey Bee Queen

scholarly journals Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) drone sperm quality in relation to age, genetic line, and time of breeding

2015 ◽  
Vol 147 (6) ◽  
pp. 702-711 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrée Rousseau ◽  
Valérie Fournier ◽  
Pierre Giovenazzo
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Sperm Quality ◽  
Research Centre ◽  
Sperm Viability ◽  
Sperm Number ◽  
Genetic Line ◽  
Semen Volume ◽  
Time Of Breeding ◽  
Honey Bee Queen

AbstractA honey bee (Apis mellifera Linnaeus; Hymenoptera: Apidae) queen’s life expectancy is strongly dependent on the number of sperm she obtains by mating with drones during nuptial flights. Unexplained replacement of queens by the colony and young queens showing sperm depletions have been reported in North America, and reduced drone fertility has been a suspected cause. The aim of this study was to evaluate drone reproductive qualities during the queen-rearing season, from May to August. Drones from two different genetic lines were reared six times during the 2012 beekeeping season at our research centre in Québec (Canada). Semen volume as well as sperm number and viability were assessed at the ages of 14, 21, and 35 days. Results showed (1) a greater proportion of older drones with semen at the tip of the genitalia after eversion; (2) an influence of rearing date on semen production; and (3) no influence of drone genetic line, age or time of breeding on sperm viability. These results highlight the necessity of better understanding drone rearing and how it can be improved to ensure optimum honey-bee queen mating.

Levels of selection shaping caste interactions during queen replacement in the honey bee, Apis mellifera

2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (2) ◽  
pp. 227-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
K. Long ◽  
T. T. Cao ◽  
J. J. Keller ◽  
D. R. Tarpy ◽  
M. Shin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Levels Of Selection ◽  
Queen Replacement

scholarly journals Pathological effects of the microsporidium Nosema ceranae on honey bee queen physiology (Apis mellifera)

2011 ◽  
Vol 106 (3) ◽  
pp. 380-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cédric Alaux ◽  
Morgane Folschweiller ◽  
Cynthia McDonnell ◽  
Dominique Beslay ◽  
Marianne Cousin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Nosema Ceranae ◽  
Honey Bee Queen

scholarly journals Winter weight loss of different subspecies of honey bee Apis mellifera colonies (Linnaeus, 1758) in southwestern Sweden

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. e0258398
Author(s):  
Niclas Norrström ◽  
Mats Niklasson ◽  
Sonja Leidenberger
Keyword(s):  
Weight Loss ◽  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Light Intensity ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Weight Change ◽  
Honey Bees ◽  
Resource Consumption ◽  
Change Over Time ◽  
Weight Losses ◽  
Over Time

Honey bees are currently facing mounting pressures that have resulted in population declines in many parts of the world. In northern climates winter is a bottleneck for honey bees and a thorough understanding of the colonies’ ability to withstand the winter is needed in order to protect the bees from further decline. In this study the influence of weather variables on colony weight loss was studied over one winter (2019–2020) in two apiaries (32 colonies in total) in southwestern Sweden with weather stations recording wind and temperature at 5-min intervals. Three subspecies of honey bees and one hybrid were studied: the native Apis mellifera mellifera, the Italian A. m. ligustica, the Carniolan A. m. carnica and the hybrid Buckfast. Additionally, we recorded Varroa mite infestation. To analyze factors involved in resource consumption, three modelling approaches using weather and weight data were developed: the first links daily consumption rates with environmental variables, the second modelled the cumulative weight change over time, and the third estimated weight change over time taking light intensity and temperature into account. Weight losses were in general low (0.039 ± 0.013kg/day and colony) and comparable to southern locations, likely due to an exceptionally warm winter (average temperature 3.5°C). Weight losses differed only marginally between subspecies with indications that A. m. mellifera was having a more conservative resource consumption, but more studies are needed to confirm this. We did not find any effect of Varroa mite numbers on weight loss. Increased light intensity and temperature both triggered the resource consumption in honey bees. The temperature effect on resource consumption is in accordance with the metabolic theory of ecology. The consequences of these findings on honey bee survival under predicted climate changes, is still an open question that needs further analysis.

scholarly journals Regulation of oogenesis in the queen honey bee (Apis mellifera)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah E Aamidor ◽  
Carlos Júnior Cardoso ◽  
Januar Harianto ◽  
Cameron J Nowell ◽  
Louise Cole ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Honey Bee ◽  
Regulatory Pathways ◽  
Cell Death Pathways ◽  
Summary Statement ◽  
Honey Bee Queen ◽  
Honey Bee Queens ◽  
Worker Castes ◽  
Honey Bee Workers ◽  
Solitary Species

AbstractIn the honey bee (Apis mellifera), queen and worker castes originate from identical genetic templates but develop into different phenotypes. Queens lay up to 2,000 eggs daily whereas workers are sterile in the queen’s presence. Periodically queens stop laying; during swarming, when resources are scarce in winter and when they are confined to a cage by beekeepers. We used confocal microscopy and gene expression assays to investigate the control of oogenesis in honey bee queen ovaries. We show that queens use different combination of ‘checkpoints’ to regulate oogenesis compared to honey bee workers and other insect species. However, both queen and worker castes use the same programmed cell death pathways to terminate oocyte development at their caste-specific checkpoints. Our results also suggest that the termination of oogenesis in queens is driven by nutritional stress. Thus, queens may regulate oogenesis via the same regulatory pathways that were utilised by ancestral solitary species but have adjusted physiological checkpoints to suit their highly-derived life history.Summary statementHoney bee queens regulate oogenesis using a different combination of ‘checkpoints’ to workers, but both castes use the same molecular pathways.

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