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The effect of diet types on some quality characteristics of artificially reared Apis mellifera queens

Slobodan Dolasevic, Jevrosima Stevanovic, Nevenka Aleksic, Uros Glavinic, Nebojsa Deletic, Mica Mladenovic & Zoran Stanimirovic The influence of various diets on the quality of Apis mellifera queens was assessed. Colonies intended for queen cell production were assigned to four groups fed on (1) sugar-only, (2) mix of sugar, honey and fresh pollen, (3) sugar and pollen substitute…

The Effect of Diet on the Composition and Stability of Proteins Secreted by Honey Bees in Honey

Honey proteins are essential bee nutrients and antimicrobials that protect honey from microbial spoilage. The majority of the honey proteome includes bee-secreted peptides and proteins, produced in specialised glands; however, bees need to forage actively for nitrogen sources and other basic elements of protein synthesis. Nectar and pollen of dierent origins can vary significantly in…

The rise and fall of major royal jelly proteins during a honeybee (Apis mellifera) workers’ life

The genome of the western honeybee (Apis mellifera) harbors nine transcribed major royal jelly protein genes (mrjp1‐9) which originate from a single‐copy precursor via gene duplication. The first MRJP was identified in royal jelly, a secretion of the bees’ hypopharyngeal glands that is used by young worker bees, called nurses, to feed developing larvae. Thus,…

A computer vision system to monitor the infestation level of Varroa destructor in a honeybee colony

Kim Bjerge, Carsten Eie Frigaard, Peter Høgh Mikkelsen, Thomas Holm Nielsen, Michael Misbih, Per Kryger Highlights: Computer vision system to monitor the infestation level of varroa mites in abeehive. A nondestructive method as alternative to traditional methods. The vision system is based on deep learning to determine the number of infested bees. Measures an infestation level…

Coexistence of genetically different Varroa destructor in Apis mellifera colonies

Gajić B, Muñoz I, De la Rúa P, Stevanović J, Lakić N, Kulišić Z, Stanimirović Z. Abstract The aim of this study was to investigate the genetic diversity of Varroa destructor parasitizing Apis mellifera colonies and to test for possible host-parasite association at the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) level. Six A. mellifera haplotypes (including a novel C2aa) and five haplotypes of V.…

Response of adult honey bees treated in larval stage with prochloraz to infection with Nosema ceranae

Among numerous factors that contribute to honey bee colony losses and problems in beekeeping, pesticides and Nosema ceranae have been often reported. In contrast to insecticides, whose effects on bees have been widely studied, fungicides did not attract considerable attention. Prochloraz, an imidazole fungicide widely used in agriculture, was detected in honey and pollen stored inside hives…

Dyeing but not dying: colourful dyes as a non-lethal method of food labelling for in vitro-reared bee larvae

Several environmental factors (e.g. food source, pesticides, toxins, parasites and pathogens) influence development and maturation of honey bees (Apis mellifera). Therefore, controlled experimental conditions are mandatory when studying the impact of environmental factors: particularly food quality and nutrient consumption. In vitro larval rearing is a standard approach for monitoring food intake of larvae and the…

High-resolution maps of Swiss apiaries and their applicability to study spatial distribution of brood diseases

Honey bees directly affect and are influenced by their local environment, in terms of food sources, pollinator densities, pathogen and toxin exposure and climate. Currently, there is a lack of studies analyzing these data with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to investigate spatial relationships with the environment. Particularly for inter-colonial pathogen transmission, it is known that…

The terpenes of leaves, pollen and nectar of thyme inhibit growth of bee disease-associated microbes

Honey bees are highly prone to infectious diseases, causing colony losses in the worst case. However, they combat diseases through a combination of their innate immune system and social defence behaviours like foraging for health-enhancing plant products (e.g. nectar, pollen and resin). Plant secondary metabolites are not only highly active against bacteria and fungi, they…