Honey Bee Biology Exam 4

Honey Bee Services, Health Issues, Environmental Stressors, Pests, Parasites, Pathogens, (Africanized Honey Bees, Honey Bees and Biodiversity)

BONUS: What was the first country to give women the constitutional right to vote?

New Zealand

BONUS: What animal can jump over 250 times its body length?

Flea

BONUS: How many pints of blood are present in the adult human body on average?

9 pints

Ecosystem

A community of organisms interacting with their physical environment

Agro-ecosystem

A spatial and functional unit of agricultural activity formed as a result of the interactions between organisms and their physical environment

Ecosystem services

The benefits to human welfare provided by organisms interacting in ecosystems

What percent of all flowering plants rely on animal pollination?

75%

How many species of animals act as pollinators?

>200,000

How many animal pollinator species are NOT insects?

~1000

What physical resources do bees provide humans?

Honey, Wax, Propolis

What is the most economically valuable pollinator of crop monocultures worldwide?

Apis mellifera

How much could some fruit, seed, and nut crops decline without pollination from honey bees?

>90%

What is the primary pollinator used for agriculture in the US?

Apis mellifera

What percent of our food is pollinated by honey bees?

33% (1/3)

What is the estimated annual value of honey bee pollination?

$15 billion

What US crops depend on honey bees?

Almonds, Apples, Alfalfa, Clover, Sunflowers, Blueberries, Cranberries, Melons etc.

What crops in Texas are pollinated by honey bees?

Cotton, Watermelon, Grapefruit, Cantaloupe, Peanuts, Sunflowers, Soybean

How has the number of managed honey bee colonies changed since 1985?

Primarilly declined

When was the Varroa mite introduced to the US?

1987

When was the major Colony Collapse Disorder epidemic in the US?

2006

Why are honey bee colonies currently being lost in the US?

Unknown

What factors effect honey bee health?

Nutrition, Parasites, Diseases, Pesticides, Genetic Weakness, Queen Failure, Invasive Species, Weather Patterns, Habitat Loss, Beekeeping Practices

How does a diverse protein diet of pollen from many flowers impact colonies?

Boosts immunity, better social immunity

Why is nutrition a problem in urbanized areas?

Private landowners select visually pleasing flowers, including hybrids that don’t provide valuable pollen for bees

What was the catalyst for recognizing the harm of neonicotinoid pesticides on bee populations?

June 15, 2013, use of pesticide on blooming trees in Oregon

How factual has the campain against neonics in horticulture been?

Factually questionable

What effects does climate change have on honey bee health?

• Changes phenology of plants, causing early flowering and nectar flow

• Changes geographic distribution of flower species

• Causes excess drought or rain reducing food availability and quality, and weakening bee immune system

What pollutants tend to be found of foragers?

Lead, chromium, nickel

How do foragers pick up pollutants?

Inhalation of Ingestion of Air Pollution

How are fruits impacted by complete pollination?

Symmetrical and larger fruit

How are fruits impacted by incomplete pollination?

asymmetric, smaller

Where are accommodations for honey bees being made?

Special genetic engineering, Farming practices, Nectar corridors, Research, Pesticide BMPs

Pathogens

Infective agents that grow within bees (ex. viruses, bacteria, fungi)

Parasites

Infective agents that feed upon bees (ex. mites)

Pests

Agents that attack colonies for resources (ex. moths, beetles, wasps)

What is the beekeeper’s 1st line of defense against bee loss?

Inspect hives and ID problems

What are major brood pathogens?

American Foulbrood (AFB), European Foulbrood (EFB), Sacbrood, Chalkbrood

American Foulbrood (AFB)

• Most damaging brood pathogen

• Spore forming bacterium

• Results in long and brownish larva

• Forms scales

• Results in sunken, perforated caps

• Strong smell of sulfur or dirty sock

• Treated by burning colony and equipment

What is the most damaging brood pathogen?

American Foulbrood

What is the treatment for American Foulbrood?

Burn hive and all equipment

What does antibiotic treatment do to AFB effected colonies?

Masks symptoms

European Foulbrood (EFB)

Bacterial

Does not form spores

Kills larvae before transition to pupa

Infects larvae of all castes

Occurs mostly in spring

Linked to colony-wide stress

Larvae turns yellow then brown

Rotten smell

Treated with antibiotics

How is European Foulbrood treated?

Antibiotics

Sacbrood

Virus

Nurse bees infect larvae

Larvae die before pupating

No treatment

Controlled by queen replacement

Post infection, honey, pollen, and larvae infected for up to 4 weeks

What are the most common brood viruses?

Sacbrood virus, Acute bee paralysis virus, Black queen vell virus, Kashmir bee virus

Chalkbrood

Fungal

Fungus infects larvae with vegetative mycelium, killing them

Dead larvae (mummies) resemble chalk

Common after cold, wet weather

Generally doesn’t kill colony

Treatment, strengthen colony, replace queen

How is Sacbrood treated?

No treatment, managed by queen replacement

How is Chalkbrood treated?

Strengthening hive, Queen replacement

Where are mummies usually found first?

Entrance to hive

What are major adult pests and pathogens?

Varroa mites, Tracheal mites, Nosema

Varroa mites

Newer pest

Number one problem in modern apiculture

US quarantines against entry

Tracheal entered from MX in 1984

Varroa entered in 1987

Lead to closure of US/CA border

Other mites in genus yet to be introduced to US

Varroa destructor

Found on outside of bees

Feeds on pupae and adults

Considered both pest and pathogen host

Made keepers more pro-pesticides

Cause Parasitic Mite Syndrome (PMS)

What is the single biggest problem for colonies in beekeeping?

Varroa destructor

What is the life cycle of Varroa destructor?

• Female enters brood cell from adult body before capping

• Lays eggs on developing pupa (1st egg sone, next daughters)

• Male mates with females causing a new generation to emerge with adult bee

What is Varroa destructor’s native range?

Korea, Japan, Thailand

Where is Varroa destructor present?

Everywhere but part of Africa, some of Hawaii, and Australia

Deformed Wing Virus (DWV)

Emerging bees come out with shriveled wings

Causes premature aging in adults

Omnipresent in environment AND transmitted by Varroa

High levels correlate with high Varroa levels, causing stress and colony death

Vertical transmission through feeding, contact

No direct treatment available, treat stressors and replace queens

What is the treatment for Deformed Wing Virus?

None, managed by treating stressors and queen replacement

“Parasitic Mite Syndrome” (PMS)

NOT A DISEASE

Symptom of unhealthy colony

Snotty brood

Too few adults to cover brood

Over 5% of adults with Varroa

Poor overwintering (heavy losses)

Mimic other conditions

“Colony Collapse Disorder” (CCD)

NOT A DISEASE

Symptom of unhealthy colony

Few or no adults or bodies in colony

Unhealthy brood

Too few adults to cover brood

Over 5% of adults with Varroa

Poor overwintering (heavy losses)

Mimic other conditions

Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Combination of chemical, biological, mechanical, and cultural pest control (balance depends on strategy for prevention or intervention)

Tracheal mite species

Acarapis woodi

Acarapis woodi life cycle

Up to 14 eggs are laid in trachea

Young hatch in trachea (3-4 days)

Male leaves trachea on 11th or 12th day

Female leaves on 14th or 15th day

Mated female attaches to tip of hair in front of 1st thoracic spiracle

Contact between bees allows gravid female to gope into first thoracic spiracle of a bee under 4 days old

How does one diagnose tracheal mites?

Requires dissection of thoracic trachea due to tiny size

What are methods to control tracheal mites

Menthol fumigant

Formic acid gel packs

Cisco grease patties

Essential oils

Miticide

Amitraz

Checkmite

Resistant stock

Nosemosis

Adult microsporidian pathogen

Caused by Nosema apis and Nosema cerenae

Grows in midgut

Common in fall-winter

Causes dysentery

Symptom: fecal streaking on outer walls of hives

Effects glandular development and adult longevity

Treated with Fumagilin B syrup

Nosema apis vector for BQCV

What species is a vector for Black Queen Cell Virus?

Nosema apis

What are economically important pests?

Wax moths

Small Hive Beetle

What species are wax moths?

Galleria mellonella or Achroia grisella

Wax Moths

Problem faced by weak colonies

Causes equipment storage issues

Larvae make tunnels through comb feeding off old wax

Small Hive Beetle species

Aethina tumida

Small Hive Beetle (SHB)

Native to sub-Saharan Africa

Introduced into US in 1996

Adults hide in empty cells or grooves

Larvae feed off bee brood, pollen, and honey

Pupate outside of hive

Where is SHB native?

Sub-Saharan Africa

When was AHB introduced to the US?

1996

Aethina tumida lifecycle

Emerged adult beetles locate host colony by smell and fly to colony

Adults congregate in dark spaces away from honey bees

Female beetles deposit masses of eggs in crevices around hive or on pollen and bread combs

Eggs hatch in 2-4 days and larvae eat basically everything

Larvae exit hive after 7-10 days and burrow into soild to pupate

Pupation takes 3-6 weeks

What are major arthopod pests of bees not otherwise mentioned?

Ants, Wasps, Bee louse, Zombie fly, Termites, Preying mantids, Dragonflies, Spiders

How is Nosemosis treated?

Fumagilin B

What species is American Foulbrood?

Paenibacillus larvae

What species is European Foulbrood?

Melissococcus plutonius

What are the Geographic Races of Apis mellifera?

A, M, C, O

What traits distinguish geographic races?

Differences in color, size, tongue length, defensive behavior, nesting biology, dance language dialect, susceptibility to disease, swarming frequency

A Race

African, tropically adapted

M Race

Northern Europe, winter adapted

C Race

Mediterranean

O Race

Near East

Why did multiple geographic races evolve?

Diverse ecological conditions, selection for economically desirable traits (aka. Seasonal factors, Beekeeping practices)

What differentiates Wintering honey bees?

Brood rearing slows or stops with temp decline

Adult longevity rises with temp decline

Workers and queen form a winter cluster to generate heat from stored honey

What differentiates Tropical honey bees?

Rainfall determines seasonality

Season reflective of flowering, nectar and pollen dearth

Higher predation pressures due to increased biodiversity

What subspecies are in the US?

A. m. ligustica, A. m. carnica, A. m. mellifera, A. m. scutellata

Which subspecies was hybridized and was accidentally introduced to the US?

A. m. scutellata

Which subspecies were deliberately imported into the US?

A. m. ligustica, A. m. carnica, A. m. mellifera

When was the africanized bee first bred?

1956

Why were africanized honey bees produced?

European hybrid did not produce much honey or survive well in Brazilian tropics
Brazilian government hired Dr. Warwick Kerr to breed a better hybrid
35 queens collected from South Africa were introduced into Braziian (European hybrid) colonies

Local beekeeper released 26 queens in São Paulo

Feral population of hybrid of European hybrid and A. scutellata spread

It took about 25 years to migrate to Columbia and Ecuador, spreading about 300-500 km per year with densities of 6-108 colonies per km²

Are most colonies pure subspecies or hybrids?

Hybrids

Where and when was the africanized bee released?

São Paulo, Brazil, 1957

When did africanized honey bees arrive in Mexico?

1985

When was the first africanized honey bee found in the US?

1990

Where in the US are africanized bees now found?

Most Southern US (Records stopped in 2011)

Why are africanized honey bees problematic?

Displaced native bees

Almost eliminated hobbyist beekeeping

Loss of livestock and human stinging deaths

Little initial profit

Absconds and swarms at high rate

Resources collected are kept by bees, little honey to harvest

AHBs exhibit increased:

swarming rate

drone production

direct attack and takeover

environmental depletion

Varroa mite tolerance