摘要:

SUMMARYA series of releases of virgin European honey bee (Apis mellifera) queens was made in a 4-km2area dominated by African honey bees (AHB) near Ciudad Hidalgo, Chiapas, Mexico, in November-December, 1989. Queens were allowed to mate before and after experimental manipulations of the local drone population. After the first series of queen matings, aerial drone traps were used to capture and eliminate 6 398 drones. Then, approximately 6 400 drones of known colour (yellow) from managed European colonies were introduced into the area via drone source colonies, and a second series of queen matings was done. The drones caught in aerial traps were colour sorted. Essentially, 80% of the drones during the first mating period were black (MDH allelic frequencies typical of feral Africanized bees). During the second mating period, the percentage of black drones was much lower, averaging 53%. The drone population manipulations resulted in a significant increase (from 47.4% before to 93.6% after) in the proportion of worker progeny having more than one-and-a-half yellow abdominal bands. Thus, drone elimination followed by drone flooding can greatly increase the rate of desirable matings in an AHB-dominated area.

ISSN:0021-8839    

DOI:10.1080/00218839.1991.11101245

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

SUMMARYThe behaviour of bees surrounding a dancing honey bee (Apis mellifera) was studied, using two colonies in observation hives in a shaded part of an apiary. Video recordings and macrophotography were used to view an area of the dance field. Two distinct behaviours were recognized: that of followers and that of attendants. The attendants stood around the dance field with their antennae stretched towards the dancer, and only occasionally moved with the dancer. Followers continuously ran with the dancer, keeping their heads within the border of the dancer's figure-eight path at all times. The angle between the body of the follower and that of the dancer was 90°during most of the dance, except at the exit of the waggle run. At that time the follower had to cross over to the opposite side of the dancer. The distance between the head of the follower and the dancer's body was nearly always smaller (1 758 cases out of a total of 1 882) than the length of an extended antenna. During the return run the follower touched the dancer with antennae most of the time, whereas during the waggle run the followers intermittently touched the dancer. Either one bee (81% of cases) or two bees (18%) followed the dance simultaneously. The second follower and all other bees were usually pushed out of the follower's position because of a lack of space at the inner side of the dancer. These observations are discussed in relation to current hypotheses on how bees perceive the dance.

ISSN:0021-8839    

DOI:10.1080/00218839.1991.11101246

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

SUMMARYInserting rows of soft bristles into the entrances of hives facilitated the transfer of pollen between incoming and outgoing foraging honey bees (Apis mellifera.) Outgoing foragers carried more pollen grains (significant differences in two of five trials) and more species (significant differences in four of five trials) of pollen than outgoing foragers in hives not fitted with bristles, and so were likely to be more efficient cross-pollinators. Hive entrance bristles are easy to use and have the potential to increase the pollinating efficiency of honey bee colonies at little cost; their design and use deserves further study.

ISSN:0021-8839    

DOI:10.1080/00218839.1991.11101247

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

SUMMARYThe foraging response to varying sucrose concentrations of a colony of honey bees comprised of two identifiable subfamilies was determined. Bees of one subfamily never danced after foraging on a 2 mol/litre sucrose solution, while bees of the other subfamily often did so. Bees of both subfamilies responded to lowered sucrose concentration by reducing the number of foraging trips per hour, although one subfamily altered its rate of foraging more dramatically. When offered a 1 mol/litre sucrose solution at one feeding station and a 3 mol/litre solution at another after training with a 2 mol/litre solution, most bees did not switch to the more profitable feeding station. Rather, they remained faithful to their initial station, but reduced rates of foraging when sucrose concentration was reduced.The mean duration of dances was longer for one subfamily than the other, which increased the number of bees that followed dances performed by bees of that subfamily. Under one set of experimental conditions, dances indicating a 3 mol/litre solution attracted more followers than dances for a 2 mol/litre solution. We speculate that faithfulness to a particular foraging location is adaptive, since the time needed to learn a new location has a cost. We further speculate that genetic variance for rates, duration and attractiveness of dances may be adaptive, since these differences have the effect of spreading subfamilies among locales. Thus honey bee polyandry increases fitness by increasing eclectic foraging.

ISSN:0021-8839    

DOI:10.1080/00218839.1991.11101248

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

SUMMARYParkinsonia aculeataandPongamia pinnataare important summer food plants for a variety of wild solitary and social bees (Apoidea) in northern India. Studies were thus carried out on these two species in Hisar, India, in order to assess the relative importance of various physical and biochemical characteristics of the flowers in regulating nectar foraging by bees. The nectar ofP. pinnatais accessible directly through the corolla tube either at a place between the keel and the standard petal or at the sides of the standard petal.P. aculeatahas a conspicuous flag petal marked with red spots which guide foraging insects to the nectary. Colorimetrie analysis showed thatP. aculeataflowers contained higher quantities of UV-reflective carotenoids than those ofP. pinnata. P. pinnataflowers secreted 1.05±0.06μl nectar containing 34.8% sugars, with almost equal amounts of sucrose and glucose, within 2–3 h of anthesis. In the same period,P. aculeataflowers secreted 0.24±0.08μl nectar containing 30.2% sugars, predominantly glucose and fructose. Analysis of pollen, carried out using anthers on the verge of dehiscence, showed thatP. aculeatapollen was richer in soluble sugars and free amino acids than the pollen ofP. pinnata, but lower in protein. It is concluded thatP. pinnatacould be used to combat the summer dearth period in semi-arid areas.

ISSN:0021-8839    

DOI:10.1080/00218839.1991.11101249

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

SUMMARYSemen and eggs fromApis mellifera monticolacolonies, collected at 3 500 m above sea level on Mount Elgon in Kenya, were brought to Sweden. Queens were raised from the imported eggs and inseminated with the imported semen. From the inseminated queens, pure Am. monticoladaughters were raised and inseminated with semen fromA. m. ligustica.Daughters of these F1hybrids were again inseminated with pure A m. monticolacent by 0.75 to theA. m. monticolastock. The development of inducedVarroa jacobsoniinfestations (282.0±20.9 mites,±s.e.,n= 5) was investigated in hybrid colonies and compared to the development inA. m. ligusticacolonies (controls). The percentage of infertileVarroafemales in infested cells was higher (P0.05,t-test). The length of the post-capping period was not investigated separately, but in combs frommonticolacolonies bees began to emerge from cells 19 days after egg-laying, as opposed to 20 days in theligusticacombs. At the end of the experiment, 101 days after mite introduction, the hybrid colonies contained 390.8±98.5, and the control colonies 1354.5±91.0, mites (±s.e.). The negative characteristics reported forA. m. scutellatax EuropeanA. melliferahybrids, such as agressiveness and absconding, were not seen in themonticolahybrids, and the potential ofA. m. monticolain selection work forVarroamite resistance should be evaluated.

ISSN:0021-8839    

DOI:10.1080/00218839.1991.11101250

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

SUMMARYSound responses by caged 1-, 2- and 3-week-old worker honey bees (Apis mellifera) to two bee alarm substances (isoamyl acetate and 2- heptanone), two components of the Nasonov gland pheromone (citral and geraniol), and two odoriferous compounds (methyl benzoate andtrans-cinnamaldehyde), were recorded and analysed. The mean frequency of worker bee sound responses to the alarm substances was easily differentiated statistically from all the others.The adaptive significance of the differential sound response to alarm substances remains unclear. As one-week-old bees did not respond to isoamyl acetate and 2-heptanone as quickly as the older bees, it is suggested that for the first week of life, with respect to acoustic responses, these compounds do not function as alarm substances.

ISSN:0021-8839    

DOI:10.1080/00218839.1991.11101251

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

SUMMARYThe maxminf, direct and Wilks' lambda methods of discriminant analysis from the SPSS-X statistical package were applied to the 61 pollen taxa found in 115 honeys from three provinces (Vizcaya, Guipúzcoa and Alava) in the Basque Country of northern Spain.The direct method, using 58 taxa, gave the highest discrimination, correctly assigning 93% of the honeys to their province of origin.With seven taxa—Compositae typeCarduussp., Ericaceaetype Arbutus unedo, Castanea sativa, Leguminosae typeGenistasp.,Eucalyptussp.,Rubussp. and fruit-bearing Rosaceae (Prunussp.)—the discrimination was 81 % for the maxminf method with an F-to-enter of 4.0. Hence, these are the taxa that most characterize the origin of the honeys.

ISSN:0021-8839    

DOI:10.1080/00218839.1991.11101252

出版商:Taylor&Francis    

年代:1991

数据来源: Taylor