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Depiction:
This study entitled “Safeguarding pollinators and their values to human well-being” estimates that “75%
of major crops – cereals, fruits – depend on pollination by animal species”. Their disappearance would lead to a loss of 5 to 8% of global agricultural production, which would trigger an increase in potential resurgences of diseases linked to our dietary balance (heart disease) and would increase “by 1.4 million per year, the number of additional deaths”.
Canadian fleabane (Conyza canadensis or Erigeron canadensis) and annual fleabane (Erigeron annuus or Stenactis annua) are annual herbaceous plants belonging to the Asteraceae family and originating from North America. They exhibit all the characteristics of invasive nectar-producing plants: exotic origin; rapid growth; production of a large number of wind-dispersed seeds that can be transported over several kilometres; ability to germinate in the smallest crevices; and strong attractiveness to pollinating insects, including honey bees.
Matthieu Guichard (Agroscope, Swiss Bee Research Centre, Bern) conducted a long-term study between 2010 and 2018 on approximately 1000 Carnica honey bee colonies and approximately 1000 Mellifera honey bee colonies, aiming to determine the heritability of various traits: honey yield, gentleness, comb adherence, swarming tendency, hygienic behaviour, and Varroa infestation.
The organs of the digestive system of the honey bee enable the assimilation of food. Certain glands are associated with the digestive system while also fulfilling peripheral functions, such as the production of nutritive substances or supporting food assimilation.
Apple and pear trees are among the main pome fruit trees in Switzerland. They are of great economic importance, and numerous varieties are cultivated. They are deciduous trees or shrubs. The flowers are hermaphroditic and are white to slightly pink with yellow anthers in the cultivated apple (M. domestica, originally M. sylvestris), whereas they are white (rarely pink) with dark red anthers in the cultivated pear (P. communis, originally P. pyraster).
The structure used to house bees has evolved considerably over time. Early beekeepers used pottery vessels, hollow walls, sections of tree trunks, or woven baskets, sometimes covered with dried earth. A few examples of these systems are still in use, but the framed hive system has gradually become the standard.
Beekeepers use many methods to unite bee colonies, and some very violent ones demonstrate a clear lack of respect for the bees. The only advantage of such methods is their speed, but they pay little attention to what happens to the queens, the foragers, and the bees in general. The gentlest and most commonly used method is very probably the “superposition” method. This procedure is relatively simple, accessible to both beginner and experienced beekeepers, and if the few rules discussed in this article are respected, the uniting of colonies should proceed without any problems.
Would it not be interesting to preserve the alleles of the most productive or most important queens after their death? It is therefore not surprising that the cryopreservation of drone semen has been the subject of research since the 1970s. The risk of losing natural biodiversity is another motivation for this research.
The honey bee is the fifth insect and the first hymenopteran whose genome has been fully sequenced. The DNA analysis was based on males originating from a single queen obtained from the Bee Weaver apiaries in Texas. Since the project began, approximately 14 million individual reads were required to reconstruct the 236 million base pairs that constitute the nearly complete honey bee genome.
The winter months can be used to clean all beekeeping equipment. This may not only help to prevent certain diseases, but it is also a pleasure to find tools in good condition in spring, and above all tools that are not sticky.
by Sophie Bécherel
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter involved in the cerebral reward system and the sensation of pleasure in mammals. While in humans dopamine is a key element in the mechanism of drug addiction, in bees this neurotransmitter is responsible for the departure of foragers from the hive, not only to satisfy their individual desire to feed, but also to search for food in order to meet a social need and provide the colony with the nutritional inputs it requires.
Since antiquity, honey has been consumed for its sweetening properties and used for its therapeutic effects. Today, it has largely been supplanted in the diet by beet sugar. In medicine, however, its bactericidal and wound-healing effects on chronic wounds are being rediscovered. Beeswax is favoured by cosmetic manufacturers, while royal jelly and propolis are recognised in dietetics. The history of the use of honey and products of the beehive is fascinating.
Good apicultural practice: The advantage of spring nucleus colonies over summer nuclei is that they allow a first assessment of queen quality prior to overwintering, owing to an additional month of egg-laying activity.
Within the colony, the role of the drone is often poorly understood or even regarded as secondary. Yet males play a fundamental role in the transmission of genetic diversity. Gathered in so-called drone congregation areas comprising 1,000–15,000 individuals, they originate from many different colonies, sometimes located 10–15 km away. During the so-called drone flight, they mate with queens in succession (often up to 20 consecutive matings), thereby ensuring genetic mixing and preventing inbreeding.
Professor Martin Giufra works at the Center for Research on Animal Cognition in Toulouse, France. He is a specialist in neurobiology, with a particular focus on neurocognition in invertebrates. The research team he leads has investigated the remarkable learning abilities of the honey bee’s small brain.
The drone is the male of the honey bee and the largest insect in the colony. It has a stocky build, with a thorax covered in hair. It is recognisable by its head topped with two large, globular eyes and a pair of antennae; its abdomen is rounded, and its flight is relatively loud and ungainly. Its primary role is to transmit its mother’s genetic heritage during mating.
by R. Prasad
The defense of a society often requires certain specialized members to coordinate in order to repel a threat at the risk of their lives. This is particularly true for honey bees, which defend the hive and may sacrifice their lives when stinging. At the core of this cooperative defensive response lies the sting alarm pheromone, whose main component is isoamyl acetate (IAA).
Winter is undoubtedly the most demanding period for bees. However, nature has provided so-called “winter bees” with characteristics that enable them to withstand the rigours of the cold season. Winter bees have larger fat reserves than summer bees, they possess a more developed hair covering that provides natural insulation, and the contraction of the thoracic muscles generates a significantly greater release of heat than in summer bees. Their constitution, together with their behaviour, allows them to live longer and to cope with the harsh conditions of winter.
The behavioural regulation of thirst, water collection and water storage in honey bee colonies.
This study examined how a honey bee colony detects and quenches its collective thirst when brood hyperthermia (>36°) is observed.
Phacelia, Phacelia tanacetifolia, is an annual herbaceous plant reaching a height of between 50 and 120 cm. It originates from California and Mexico and was introduced into Europe in the 19th century. It occurs near dwellings and on wasteland, where it can even become invasive; however, it is mainly cultivated as a green manure, as a forage crop, or as an intermediate crop.
Like any living organism, the bee is prey to various parasites and pathogenic germs: every colony contains a broad and diverse range of microbes. Yet not every colony becomes ill as a result! This is because, like all living beings, bees have developed various means over the course of evolution to resist them: this is what is known as immunity. Bees, like humans, possess an immune defence system, but with some differences.