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Depiction:
A very recent American study challenges the dogma of queen rearing that has existed since the late 1890s.
From their initiation into queen rearing, beekeepers have been taught that the factor determining the caste of larvae originating from fertilized eggs is the duration of feeding with royal jelly.
If a larva is fed exclusively with royal jelly during the six days preceding cell capping, the adult insect that emerges on day 16 will be a (virgin) queen. By contrast, if the same larva is fed with a mixture of honey and pollen during the last three days before capping, a sterile worker will emerge on day 21. A very recent American study published in 2020 by the Royal Society challenges this long-established dogma.
by SEAN BAILLY
Aurore Avarguès-Weber from the University of Toulouse and colleagues from Melbourne, Australia, under the direction of Adrian Dyer, have continued to explore the mathematical abilities of bees. They have now shown that bees are capable of addition
and subtraction.
Left or right? Like humans, bees also show a preference. Australian researchers have recently discovered that bees can have a left- or right-side preference—affecting their flight decisions in order to avoid obstacles.
The human brain consists of two hemispheres that are roughly symmetrical in terms of morphology. Functionally, however, there is marked asymmetry: most of us are right-handed, and everyday objects are designed for right-handed users—the pair of scissors, the tape measure, the computer mouse, the guitar, the graduated jug, the fold-down writing tablet attached to an auditorium chair, the stock of a hunting rifle, the boomerang… not to mention the convention of the handshake.
A recent study reveals that while 50% of bees are not lateralised, 25% are right-biased and 25% are left-biased. One hypothesis proposed to explain this phenomenon is that swarm flight strategies are optimised, thereby avoiding a proportion of collisions.
The different bee races are determined using biometric traits (coloration, indices, etc.) as well as molecular markers (mitochondrial and nuclear). Defining races allows us to understand the biogeography of the honey bee.
Buddleia (scientific name: Buddleja davidii) is a shrub also known as the “butterfly bush”. Despite its appealing name, it is an invasive plant whose spread should be strictly limited.
Although substantial research has been conducted on the causes of colony collapse disorder in the European honey bee Apis mellifera, there has been increasing evidence over the past two decades that another pandemic affecting both domesticated and native bees is emerging. This pandemic is the result of the spread of fungal pathogens of the genus Nosema.
Forming a summer nucleus from bees in the supers may seem straightforward at harvest time. The method can work, but late in the season its success depends mainly on how quickly the colony gets established, on the resources available, and on the nucleus's capacity to build a viable autumn population in time.
For honey bees, willow is one of the first food sources at the end of winter. Beekeepers time their spring inspection according to the flowering of the catkins of the male plant.
Perennial herbaceous plants with toothed leaves arranged in a basal rosette. The robust stems bear large inflorescences composed of numerous bisexual flowers, which may be yellow, orange or blue. The spherical infructescence consists of seeds that are dispersed by the wind thanks to their umbrella-shaped pappus.
In Switzerland, for example, the common dandelion (Taraxacum officinale), chicory (Cichorium intybus), as well as various species of hawk’s-beard (Crepis sp.) and hawkweed (Hieracium sp.) belong to the so-called “dandelion forms” (whose pollen is difficult to distinguish).
For millions of years, honey bees have ensured the persistence of the species through swarming. Swarming is a process in which a colony divides into two populations. The resident queen leaves the hive, accompanied by a large proportion of workers of all ages, to form a swarm that quickly clusters into a tight ball. The swarm leaves behind in the original hive the nest with emerging brood, about one third of the workers, and queen cells ready to hatch. A young queen will replace the old one, and the re-formed colony will begin its development…
This contagious disease of the honey bee is caused by SBV, the abbreviation of its English name Sacbrood Bee Virus. It is present worldwide and generally affects capped brood, leading to more or less significant mortality of prepupae, which may result in colony weakening.
This disease is characterised by the typical sac-like appearance of the prepupae killed by the virus. Infected adult bees show no symptoms (they are asymptomatic carriers) but constitute reservoirs of the virus.
The Asian hornet has continued its expansion since its arrival in France 20 years ago.
In 2024, it has reached the borders of Valais, and the Saint-Maurice gorge will most likely not constitute an insurmountable barrier for this highly well-adapted invader.
The colour of pollen varies depending on the plant species: it ranges from white to black, but most often pollen is yellow or orange, as well as light brown or greenish. Based on colour, certain typical pollens can be recognised (for example, poppy pollen is black and phacelia pollen is blue), but only microscopic analysis allows precise identification of the pollen type.
For millions of years, bees have ensured the survival of their species through swarming. Swarming is a natural process whose main objective is to create new, healthy and genetically diverse colonies (the males that will mate with the virgin queen in a new territory have a different genetic background). Beekeepers, however, want colonies that develop well and become strong without swarming. A colony with swarming intent (swarming fever) no longer builds comb and collects little nectar. The summer harvest is often lost. How can this swarming fever be suppressed? A new method developed by the Sion Beekeeping Association (www.ApiSion.ch) appears promising.
Herbaceous annual or biennial plant bearing racemose inflorescences with yellow flowers and long siliques (fruits). Oilseed rape is an important agricultural crop, cultivated as fodder or for its oil-rich seeds used in industry and food production.
A honey bee colony cannot exist without a queen. She is the only fertile female individual in the colony. Normally, there is only one mated adult queen per hive. She is usually the mother of most, if not all, of the bees in the hive. Through the pheromones she secretes, the queen is able to influence the bees of her colony. In addition, characteristics such as vitality, gentleness, swarming behaviour, disease resistance, and performance are largely determined by the queen.
Horizontal or creeping cotoneaster (Cotoneaster horizontalis) is a shrub native to China that was introduced to Europe at the end of the 19th century. For a long time, it remained confined to parks and gardens, where it is appreciated for forming a dense ground cover that blankets rock gardens and stabilises slopes.
During foraging, honey bees exhibit remarkable cognitive abilities. However, pesticides and heavy metals disrupt neuronal communication, impair foraging behaviour, and ultimately place the entire colony at risk.
Invasive plants are non-native plant species that have been introduced intentionally or accidentally by humans outside their area of origin and that reproduce and spread extensively, to the detriment of native species. Most often originating from other continents, they profoundly disrupt ecosystems and reduce local biological diversity.
One might assume that asexual reproduction leads to an evolutionary dead end, with the accumulation of deleterious mutations ultimately resulting in species extinction. Recent studies show that this is not the case, and the drone provides a well-studied example. The particular case of reproduction in Varroa destructor is illuminating: these mites exhibit fewer deleterious mutations than other sexually reproducing insects …
Examples of asexual reproduction in certain animals include: the hammerhead shark, the leopard shark, the sawfish, the sea anemone, the Komodo dragon, the gecko, the aphid, the scale insect …
The implementation of a sentinel bee project, through its epidemiological dimension, constitutes the only approach capable of shedding light on the causes of the significant losses that have been affecting bee populations for nearly twenty years. Moreover, such a project makes it possible to assess the state of the environment in which colonies live—an environment that is also our own—in which the bee, owing to its sensitivity to toxic contaminants, plays an early warning role.