This study was part of a large-scale monitoring project to assess the possible effects of Elado® (10 g clothianidin & 2 g β-cyfluthrin/kg seed)-dressed oilseed rape seeds on different pollinators in Northern Germany. Firstly, residues of clothianidin and its active metabolites thiazolylnitroguanidine and thiazolylmethylurea were measured in nectar and pollen from Elado®-dressed (test site, T) a...

A genetic stock certiÞcation assay was developed to distinguish Russian honey bees from other European (Apis mellifera L.) stocks that are commercially produced in the United States. In total, 11 microsatellite and Þve single-nucleotide polymorphism loci were used. Loci were selected for relatively high levels of homogeneity within each group and for differences in allele frequencies between gr...

pollen, honey, larvae, pupa and adult honey bees were collected from apiaries in taleghan, karadj region to assess the fungal infections.  several larvae were found in culture media of digestive system of adult bees and pollen through the experiment.  the larvae then were incubated to grow up and reach to the adult stage. morphological and systematic studies on samples of larvae and adults reve...

Varroa destructor, an ectoparasitic mite of honey bees (Apis mellifera), is the most serious pest threatening the apiculture industry. In our honey bee breeding programme, two honey bee colonies showing extreme phenotypes for varroa tolerance/resistance (S88) and susceptibility (G4) were identified by natural selection from a large gene pool over a 6-year period. To investigate potential defenc...

Eusociality represents a major transition in evolution and is typified by cooperative brood care and reproductive division of labor between generations. In bees, this division of labor allows queens and workers to phenotypically specialize. Worker traits associated with helping are thought to be crucial to the fitness of a eusocial lineage, and recent studies of honey bees (genus Apis) have fou...

Juvenile hormone III (JH) haemolymph titres were quantified in adult worker honey bees under colony conditions conducive to either typical or accelerated behavioural development. JH titres of bees under conditions of accelerated behavioural development were significantly higher than same-aged bees under more typical conditions, even before the onset of foraging. These results are consistent wit...

Highbush blueberry yields are dependent on pollination by bees, and introduction of managed honey bees is the primary strategy used for pollination of this crop. Complementary pollination services are also provided by wild bees, yet highbush blueberry is increasingly grown in regions outside its native range where wild bee communities may be less adapted to the crop and growers may still be tes...

Honey bees face numerous biotic threats from viruses to bacteria, fungi, protists, and mites. Here we describe a thorough analysis of microbes harbored by worker honey bees collected from field colonies in geographically distinct regions of Turkey. Turkey is one of the World's most important centers of apiculture, harboring five subspecies of Apis mellifera L., approximately 20% of the honey be...

Honey bees are essential pollinators of numerous agricultural crops. Since 2006, honey bee populations have suffered considerable annual losses that are partially attributed to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). CCD is an unexplained phenomenon that correlates with elevated incidence of pathogens, including RNA viruses. Honey bees are eusocial insects that live in colonies of genetically related i...

This video demonstrates novel techniques of RNA interference (RNAi) which downregulate two genes simultaneously in honey bees using double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) injections. It also presents a protocol of proboscis extension response (PER) assay for measuring gustatory perception. RNAi-mediated gene knockdown is an effective technique downregulating target gene expression. This technique is usual...