Are there really nocturnal bees? Surprisingly, yes. Most people, if asked about bees, think of those industrious dayactive species, like the common honeybee, that harvest sunny meadows of flowers for pollen and nectar. And such images are not misguided — most bees are indeed day active (diurnal). By sundown most bees are safely back in the nest, their day’s labours complete. But for some bees, ...

Taxonomic identification of pollen has historically been accomplished via light microscopy but requires specialized knowledge and reference collections, particularly when identification to lower taxonomic levels is necessary. Recently, next-generation sequencing technology has been used as a cost-effective alternative for identifying bee-collected pollen; however, this novel approach has not be...

Pheromones are very important in animal communication. To learn more about the molecular basis of pheromone action, we studied the effects of a potent honey bee pheromone on brain gene expression. Brood pheromone (BP) caused changes in the expression of hundreds of genes in the bee brain in a manner consistent with its known effects on behavioral maturation. Brood pheromone exposure in young be...

A study was conducted to investigate honeybee colonies absconding from beehives and its financial implication among beekeepers in Tabora and Katavi regions, Western Tanzania. Four districts were selected on the basis of adoption of improved beehives. A total of 198 beekeepers were randomly selected for interviews. Data collected from beekeepers using a questionnaire were supplemented with data ...

Apis cerana became a common species for beekeeping activities in Indonesia. The sustainability of depended on the availability feeds forests with various plant species, which served as honey bee forage. Therefore, this study aimed to determine forage diversity A. Wanagama Education Forest, Gunungkidul, from November 2018 April 2019. Data collection was done through inventory trees and understor...

Larvae and imagos of bees rely exclusively on floral rewards as a food source but host-plant range can vary greatly among bee species. While oligolectic species forage on pollen from a single family of host plants, polylectic bees, such as bumblebees, collect pollen from many families of plants. These polylectic species contend with interspecific variability in essential nutrients of their host...

There are two main components of social foraging by honey bees. First, there is a continuous adjustment of the number of bees dedicated to exploitation of forage sites and wide-area exploration for new forage options. Second, there is a persistent reallocation of the proportions of the foraging workforce dedicated to exploiting each site in order to match unpredictably changing relative forage ...

Evidence for pollinator declines has led to concern that inadequate pollination services may limit crop yields. The global trade in commercial bumble bee (Bombus spp.) colonies provides pollination services for both glasshouse and open-field crops. For example, in the United Kingdom, commercial colonies of nonnative subspecies of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris L. imported from mainland Europe...

There is growing recognition that the gut microbial community regulates a wide variety of important functions in its animal hosts, including host health. However, the complex interactions between gut microbes and environment are still unclear. Honey bees are ecologically and economically important pollinators that host a core gut microbial community that is thought to be constant across populat...

I n t r o d u c t i o n The adult worker honey bee is a sophisticated learner in a small package. To a certain extent, the same may be said of many insects. But the striking tendency of the social insects-the ants, bees, wasps, and te rmi testo organize social life on the basis of age polyethism (division of labor by worker age) results in a relatively prolonged period of adult behavioral devel...