Apidologie最新文献

Variations in vegetation types in a given location, including the availability of floral resources, can directly influence the composition of orchid bee (Euglossini) communities. A diverse range of vegetation types are found along the coast of the Brazilian Amazon, with Mangrove (MANG) and Estuarine Floodplain (FE) forests being the predominant types. With the exception of dryland forests, taxonomic information and distribution of Euglossini in MANG and EF in the coastal Amazon are still incipient. Based on this, we investigated the role of these vegetation types in maintaining Euglossini bee communities on the coast of the Brazilian Amazon. We sampled bees using aromatic baits in 48 locations, 23 in EF and 25 in MANG, comparing the abundance, richness, diversity, and composition of bees. We collected a total of 1017 specimens from four genera and 22 species of Euglossini bees. Abundance and richness were, on average, greater in EF. Species composition differed statistically but was weakly explained by vegetation type. We also identified three indicator bee species for EF and one for MANG. Apparently, floristic diversity in EF is the main predictor for greater abundance and richness of Euglossini bees in the studied region. Our findings reinforce the importance of conserving native vegetation along the Amazon coast, considered one of the most threatened on the planet, to maintain the biodiversity of its pollinators.

Paenibacillus larvae (American foulbrood) is a lethal and arguably the most destructive and economically important notifiable bacterial disease that severely impacts brood and colonies of the Apis mellifera (Western honey bee) worldwide. Detection in apiaries requires visual inspection of clinically symptomatic hives, which is unreliable, with laboratory confirmation required for definitive diagnosis. These methods can be costly, time-consuming, and require access to specialised equipment operated by experienced personnel. Disease confirmation is essential for notifiable diseases to mitigate spread and economic damages; therefore, rapid, sensitive, and specific point of care diagnostics are critical to prevent misdiagnosis and further outbreaks. To improve diagnostic turnaround, we developed a highly sensitive and specific novel loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for the detection of P. larvae (AFB-LAMP), designed to amplify a small region of the DNA gyrase subunit B gene (GyrB) with 100% specificity demonstrated against non-target bacterial species of the honey bee gut microbiome and analytical sensitivity of 5 × 10⁻⁷ ng P. larvae with detection times within 20 min. To further reduce diagnostic resources and times, a bead-beating DNA extraction method suitable for field use was optimised which resulted in an AFB-LAMP diagnostic sensitivity and specificity of 97 and 98%, respectively. Thus, this AFB-LAMP is applicable for use in the field allowing for improved disease management of an agriculturally important species.

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) breeding has intensified as populations experience increasing stress and pollination demand increases. Breeding programmes risk genetic diversity losses as mating is focused on a small group of individuals. Loss of diversity at the complementary sex determiner (csd) locus results in decreased viability and reduced honey production. Bees that are homozygous at csd become inviable males rather than workers. We examined csd diversity in four Australian breeding populations: a queen bee breeder from New South Wales, another from Queensland, a Western Australian breeding programme involving 11 bee breeders, and a research population at the NSW Department of Primary Industries. We found 82 unique csd alleles across the four populations, 16 of which have not been previously reported. This study provides a snapshot of csd diversity in Australia which will be useful for the national honey bee genetic improvement programme (Plan Bee).

Climate change and/or land use change were repeatedly reported as important for both range expansion of alien bee species and range shrinking for native bee species. However, environmental changes may also positively affect native species that may expand across contiguous areas to their native ones. Here, we focused on Halictus scabiosae (Rossi, 1790) (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), a ground-nesting, primitively eusocial wild bee that has its primary distribution in Western-Southern Europe but that was recently recorded in Eastern-Central Europe. In particular, we studied the range expansion patterns of H. scabiosae, and we hypothesized that previously unsuitable areas may be currently colonized because of environmental changes. In the last 5 years, H. scabiosae moved its densest record areas to North-Eastern Europe, but its ecological niche remained almost unchanged from 1970 to date, suggesting that this bee species is following its preferred conditions (high temperature, high temperature seasonality, and low precipitation seasonality). Potential distribution models revealed high suitability in still unoccupied North-Eastern areas, with urbanization increasingly important as potential stepping stones towards the expansion. The relevant role of urbanization is confirmed by the increase in the number of urban records through time and by the fact that cities with greater population density and greater fragmentation are more likely associated with this species’ occurrence. Halictus scabiosae is thus expanding its range because climate change is producing—and urban environment is offering—suitable conditions in areas previously inadequate for its establishment.

Stingless bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini) are key pollinators of both cultivated and wild plants in tropical and subtropical areas of the world. While most species are found in lowland to mid-elevations, a few have adapted to high elevations, and their biology remains poorly understood. We assess the foraging pattern of Parapartamona zonata (Smith) in the central Andes of Colombia (2583 m.a.s.l.) and apply computer tomography to visualize and characterize its internal nest architecture. Bees foraged for pollen and nesting materials (resin and/or mud) from sunrise (5:40 h) to sunset (17:45), even at ambient temperatures as low as 11 °C. Foraging varied significantly throughout the day and temperature and sky condition explained 47% of its variance. Differences in the nest architecture, when compared with previous records, suggest that nesting behavior might be variable. These results are discussed in the context of behavioral adaptations in this unique environmental niche.

Beetles of the genus Antherophagus are phoretic organisms that inhabit the nests of Bombus species. They migrate and colonize new nests using the same bumblebees as carriers. Although Antherophagus beetles from temperate Europe and North America are known to use some plant species to move between bumblebees, it is unknown which plants are used as transfer stations by neotropical Antherophagus. Here, we report for the first time how phoretic Antherophagus beetles of an undescribed species use the inflorescences of Chuquiraga jussieui to transfer between individuals of Bombus funebris in the páramos of Central Ecuador. Our observations are the highest records (at 4200 m asl) of a phoretic interaction performed so far.

We located nesting Himalayan giant honey bees, Apis laboriosa, in Thailand for the first time, at the summit of Doi Pha Hom Pok, Chiang Mai Province. Preliminary identification of the bees based on the color of thoracic hairs and the abdomen was confirmed by morphological, morphometric, and genetic analyses. Additionally, those analyses confirmed two recent community science observations posted to iNaturalist. We review morphological characters that enable identification of A. laboriosa. Our discovery extends the range of the species southward ca. 240 km from previously documented locations in southern Yunnan Province, China. This discovery suggests that A. laboriosa is likely to occur in other highland regions of northern Thailand, western Laos, and the Shan Hills of eastern Myanmar.

Wild bees are facing many environmental challenges that are reshaping their distributions and even causing extinctions. One of the common threats is climate change leading to a higher frequency of extreme climatic events such as heat waves. We focused on the bee fauna of the eastern Mediterranean country of Lebanon and assessed intra- and interspecific variability of the heat stress resistance in correlation with dry body weight, altitude, and collection date. We used the time before heat stupor (THS) at 40 °C in semi-controlled conditions as a proxy for heat resistance. We found significant interspecific differences in heat resistance, and a positive correlation with dry weight in some taxa. At the intraspecific level, there was a significant difference in heat resistance between sexes for some species. Also, dry/fresh weights, altitude, and collection date were correlated to a higher heat resistance in some taxa. In the context of global changes, we argue that we need heat tolerance metrics for a better understanding of bee decline and to enhance conservation measures at regional scale.

Many viruses first isolated in honey bees can also infect and circulate in wild bee species. While most common bee viruses are generally less prevalent in wild bees than honey bees, they are occasionally locally common. However, most studies have not assessed prevalence of viruses in honey bees and wild bees at the same sites, making it difficult to determine how viruses may spread across species. We addressed this by surveying the prevalence of six viruses in honey bees and bumble bees at sites across the Pacific Northwest, USA. These data were used to assess covariance in virus prevalence between bee groups across multiple ecotypes and to assess how virus prevalence in bumble bees correlated with prevalence in honey bees. We show deformed wing virus (DWV) and black queen cell virus (BQCV) were more common in honey bees than bumble bees, while Israeli acute paralysis virus (IAPV) was found at similar levels. Prevalence of DWV and IAPV were correlated with landscape context, with both most common at urban sites. However, BQCV prevalence in bumble bees was best predicted by BQCV prevalence in honey bees and by apiary density. Our study provides evidence that several viruses are found in both honey bees and wild bumble bees at the same sites, although prevalence was not necessarily correlated among the two groups. Understanding the prevalence and impacts of bee viruses on both managed and wild bees is key for disease mitigation and pollinator conservation.