Chalkbrood in honeybees (Apis mellifera L. Himenoptera: Apidae) is a fungal disease caused by Ascosphaera apis (Maassen ex Claussen) Olive and Spiltoir. This disease requires the presence of fungal spores and a predisposing condition in the susceptible brood for the disease to develop. In this study we examined the role of pollen in the development of chalkbrood disease under two experimental c...

Specialized relationships with bacteria often allow animals to exploit a new diet by providing a novel set of metabolic capabilities. Bees are a monophyletic group of Hymenoptera that transitioned to a completely herbivorous diet from the carnivorous diet of their wasp ancestors. Recent culture-independent studies suggest that a set of distinctive bacterial species inhabits the gut of the honey...

Chalkbrood disease in honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) is caused by an infection with Ascosphaera apis. Disease expression requires the consumption of fungal spores and a predisposing condition in the susceptible brood. A. apis spores within sheets of wax foundation could be a source of inoculum leading to chalkbrood, but it is also possible that these spores remain confined in the wax and do not ...

Pollination services of pumpkin, Cucurbita pepo L., provided by the European honey bee, Apis mellifera L., were compared with two native bee species, the common eastern bumble bee, Bombus impatiens (Cresson), and Peponapis pruinosa Say, in New York from 2008 to 2010. Performance of each species was determined by comparing single-visit pollen deposition, percentage of visits that contacted the s...

Varroa destructor (Vd) is a honeybee ectoparasite. Its original host is the Asian honeybee, Apis cerana, but it has also become a severe, global threat to the European honeybee, Apis mellifera. Previous studies have shown that Varroa can mimic a host's cuticular hydrocarbons (HC), enabling the parasite to escape the hygienic behaviour of the host honeybees. By transferring mites between the two...

Intracellular endosymbiotic bacteria are common and can play a crucial role for insect pathology. Therefore, such bacteria could be a potential key to our understanding of major losses of Western honey bees (Apis mellifera) colonies. However, the transmission and potential effects of endosymbiotic bacteria in A. mellifera and other Apis spp. are poorly understood. Here, we explore the prevalenc...

polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism (pcr-rflp) and phylogenetic analysis were used for molecular identification of lactic acid bacteria (labs) isolated from apis mellifera. eighteen honeybee workers were collected from three different apiaries in west azerbaijan. labs from the gut of honeybees were isolated and cultured using routine biochemical procedures. ge...