Bees have rules

Honey bees frequently dance with some view of the sky, orienting themselves to the sun or natural patterns of polarized skylight. Three new conventions have been discovered in the dance language which are used in these circumstances to eliminate potential ambiguity in the dance message.     

Sun compensation by bees

In both their navigation and dance communication, bees are able to compensate for the sun's movement. When foragers are prevented from seeing the sun for 2 hours, they compensate by extrapolation, using the sun's rate of movement when last observed. These and other data suggest a time-averaging processing strategy in honey bee orientation.     

王浆高产蜜蜂与意大利蜜蜂卵期蛋白质组比较

 【目的】比较王浆高产蜜蜂（Apis mellifera L.浆蜂）与原种意大利蜜蜂（Apis mellifera L.原种意大利蜜蜂）工蜂卵期3 d发育阶段蛋白质组。【方法】采用双向电泳的方法比较两个蜂种卵期发育蛋白质组。【结果】结果显示，两个蜂种卵期3 d所得6张胶图检测到的蛋白点均具有相同的分子量与等电点范围，分子量范围为11.00～94.00 kD，等电点范围为3.40～8.60。在工蜂卵3 d的发育过程中，浆蜂分别检测到502、523和516个蛋白点，而原种意大利蜜蜂分别检测到349、361和354个蛋白点。同时，卵期3天发育过程中，两个蜂种分别检测到180、151和197个共有的表达蛋白。此外，浆蜂还检测到322、372和319个特有蛋白，而原种意大利蜜蜂也分别检测到169、210、157个特有蛋白，这些蛋白90%以上都是低表达量蛋白。【结论】在工蜂胚胎发育过程中，浆蜂有更多的基因参与表达调控，特有蛋白可能与调节王浆产量相关的基因相关。     

Pollution monitoring of puget sound with honey bees

To show that honey bees are effective biological monitors of environmental contaminants over large geographic areas, beekeepers of Puget Sound, Washington, collected pollen and bees for chemical analysis. From these data, kriging maps of arsenic, cadmium, and fluoride were generated. Results, based on actual concentrations of contaminants in bee tissues, show that the greatest concentrations of contaminants occur close to Commencement Bay and that honey bees are effective as large-scale monitors.     

Comparative Analyses of Proteome Complement Between Worker Bee Larvae of High Royal Jelly Producing Bees （A. m. ligustica） and Carniolian Bees （A. m. camica）

This study is to compare the protein composition of the high royal jelly producing bee （A. m. ligustica） with that of Carniolian bee （A. m. carnica） during their worker larval developmental stage. The experiment was carried out by two- dimensional gel electrophoresis. The results showed that significant higher numbers of total proteins （283） were detected in larvae of high royal jelly producing bees （Jelly bee） than those of Carniolian bees （152） on 2-d-old larvae. Among them, 110 proteins were presented on both strains of bee larvae, whereas 173 proteins were specific to larvae of Jelly bees, and 42 proteins were exclusive to Carniolian larvae. However, on the 4th d, a significant higher number of total proteins （290） were detected in larvae of Jelly bees than those of Carniolian bees （240）, 163 proteins resolved to both bee larvae, and 127 proteins were specific to Jelly bees and 77 proteins to Camiolian bees. Until the 6th d, also a significant higher number of total proteins （236） were detected in larvae of Jelly bees than those of Carniolian bees （180）, 132 proteins were constantly expressed in two bee larvae, whereas 104 and 48 proteins are unique to Jelly bee and Carniolian bee larvae, respectively. We tentatively concluded that the metabolic rate and gene expression of Jelly bees larvae is higher than those of Carniolian bees based proteins detected as total proteins and proteins specific to each stage of two strains of bee larvae. Proteins constantly expressed on 3 stages of larval development with some significant differences between two bee strains, and proteins unique to each stage expressed differences in term of quality and quantity, indicating that larval development needed house keeping and specific proteins to regulate its growth at different development phage, but the expression mold is different between two strains of larval development.     

Comparative Analyses of Proteome Complement Between Worker Bee Larvae of High Royal Jelly Producing Bees (A. m. ligustica) and Carniolian Bees (A. m. carnica)

This study is to compare the protein composition of the high royal jelly producing bee (A. m. ligustica) with that of Carniolian bee (A. m. carnica) during their worker larval developmental stage. The experiment was carried out by two-dimensional gel electrophoresis. The results showed that significant higher numbers of total proteins (283) were detected in larvae of high royal jelly producing bees (Jelly bee) than those of Camiolian bees (152) on 2-d-old larvae. Among them, 110 proteins were presented on both strains of bee larvae, whereas 173 proteins were specific to larvae of Jelly bees, and 42 proteins were exclusive to Carniolian larvae. However, on the 4th d, a significant higher number of total proteins (290) were detected in larvae of Jelly bees than those of Camiolian bees (240), 163 proteins resolved to both bee larvae, and 127 proteins were specific to Jelly bees and 77 proteins to Camiolian bees. Until the 6th d, also a significant higher number of total proteins (236) were detected in larvae of Jelly bees than those of Carniolian bees (180), 132 proteins were constantly expressed in two bee larvae, whereas 104 and 48 proteins are unique to Jelly bee and Camiolian bee larvae, respectively. We tentatively concluded that the metabolic rate and gene expression of Jelly bees larvae is higher than those of Carniolian bees based proteins detected as total proteins and proteins specific to each stage of two strains of bee larvae. Proteins constantly expressed on 3 stages of larval development with some significant differences between two bee strains, and proteins unique to each stage expressed differences in term of quality and quantity, indicating that larval development needed house keeping and specific proteins to regulate its growth at different development phage, but the expression mold is different between two strains of larval development.     

Competitive interactions between neotropical pollinators and africanized honey bees

The Africanized honey bee, a hybrid of European and African honey bees, is thought to displace native pollinators. After experimental introduction of Africanized honey bee hives near flowers, stingless bees became less abundant or harvested-less resource as visitation by Africanized honey bees increased. Shifts in resource use caused by colonizing Africanized honey bees may lead to population decline of Neotropical pollinators.     

不同蜂种授粉对洋葱种子产量与质量的影响

[目的]为提高洋葱种子质量与产量。[方法]测定上午、下午洋葱花的泌蜜量、糖浓度,以及上午与下午采集花粉的中蜂、意蜂的数量;测定中蜂采集花粉、意蜂采集花粉、中蜂与意蜂协同采集花粉、对照组（无蜂种采集花粉）的洋葱种子产量。[结果]洋葱花上午泌蜜量多,下午很少甚至不泌蜜;上午采集花粉的蜂种多于下午的。采集花粉的中蜂明显多于意蜂,协同采集的中蜂与意蜂最多。中蜂与意蜂协同授粉,能够提高洋葱种子产量,达1.4891g,意蜂与中蜂单独授粉时,洋葱种子的产量相当。[结论]中蜂与意蜂协同授粉有助于提高洋葱种子质量与产量。     

王浆高产蜜蜂和原种意大利蜜蜂咽下腺发育蛋白质组分析

 【目的】对王浆高产蜜蜂（浆蜂）（A. m. ligustica）和原种意大利蜜蜂（原意）（A. m. ligustica）1、3、6日龄工蜂咽下腺进行蛋白质组研究,揭示咽下腺在此阶段的发育特征。【方法】采用双向电泳方法对浆蜂和原意咽下腺进行蛋白质组研究,通过与已鉴定蛋白功能的咽下腺和蜂王浆蛋白质组图谱比较,推断部分蛋白的功能。【结果】浆蜂咽下腺在3个日龄表达的蛋白数（210、192、230）分别显著的高于原意（169、188、212）,两蜂种均在6日龄表达蛋白最多（P＜0.05）。浆蜂咽下腺3个日龄表达的共有蛋白数为119个,其中21个蛋白表达量随咽下腺的发育显著上调,14个蛋白显著下调;原意咽下腺3个日龄表达的共有蛋白数为107个,其中15个蛋白表达量随咽下腺的发育显著上调,19个蛋白显著下调（P＜0.05）。1日龄浆蜂和原意咽下腺共有蛋白为145个,其中28个蛋白点浆蜂表达量显著高于原意,14个蛋白点原意表达量显著高于浆蜂,浆蜂特有蛋白为65个,原意为24个;3日龄浆蜂和原意咽下腺共有蛋白为138个,其中31个蛋白点浆蜂表达量显著高于原意,19个蛋白点原意表达量显著高于浆蜂,浆蜂特有蛋白为54个,原意为50个;6日龄浆蜂和原意咽下腺共有蛋白为175个,其中44个蛋白点浆蜂表达量显著高于原意,25个蛋白点原意表达量显著高于浆蜂,浆蜂特有蛋白为55个,原意为37个（P＜0.05）。与原意相比,浆蜂咽下腺发育3个日龄特有蛋白点总数为72个。从3日龄开始在浆蜂和原意咽下腺的蛋白表达谱中出现大量的王浆主蛋白点。【结论】从工蜂羽化到6日龄这一阶段内,浆蜂咽下腺蛋白表达明显比原意活跃,6日龄是2蜂种表达最为活跃的阶段。咽下腺发育过程中的共有蛋白为咽下腺发育所必需的管家蛋白,但它们的表达模式存在较大差异。不同日龄的特异蛋白表明咽下腺在不同的发育阶段需要不同的蛋白来调控。两蜂种工蜂咽下腺都从3日龄就开始分泌蜂王浆。     

Animal choice behavior and the evolution of cognitive architecture

Animals process sensory information according to specific computational rules and, subsequently, form representations of their environments that form the basis for decisions and choices. The specific computational rules used by organisms will often be evolutionarily adaptive by generating higher probabilities of survival, reproduction, and resource acquisition. Experiments with enclosed colonies of bumblebees constrained to foraging on artificial flowers suggest that the bumblebee's cognitive architecture is designed to efficiently exploit floral resources from spatially structured environments given limits on memory and the neuronal processing of information. A non-linear relationship between the biomechanics of nectar extraction and rates of net energetic gain by individual bees may account for sensitivities to both the arithmetic mean and variance in reward distributions in flowers. Heuristic rules that lead to efficient resource exploitation may also lead to subjective misperception of likelihoods. Subjective probability formation may then be viewed as a problem in pattern recognition subject to specific sampling schemes and memory constraints.     

中国的养蜂自然条件和蜜蜂品种

<正> 我国具有有三千多年的养蜂历史。十四世纪就已经出现饲养中蜂的专业户。解放后,我国养蜂生产蓬勃发展。现蜂群数量达到600万群,其中意蜂约占2/3,中蜂约占1/3,此外尚有少量卡尼鄂拉蜜蜂和高加索蜜蜂。现年产蜂蜜10万吨;王浆300余吨。就我们这样一个有10亿人口的国家,以年产蜜10万吨行,全国每人平均只有100克,这远不能满足医药、食品、轻工以及外贸出口的需要。我国虽是养蜂古国,但今天在养蜂科学技术某些领域还是落后的,迫切需要向先进国家学习。     

西方蜜蜂工蜂不同虫态发育的转录组学分析

【目的】基于转录组学对西方蜜蜂工蜂不同虫态间的差异表达基因（DEGs）进行筛选和功能注释分析,揭示与工蜂生长发育相关的信号通路,为深入解析工蜂生长发育的分子调控机理提供基础数据。【方法】以西方蜜蜂工蜂的3日龄幼虫、1日龄蛹和1日龄羽化工蜂3个虫态为研究对象,利用llumina NovaSeq 6000平台进行转录组测序,采用DESeq2筛选不同虫态样品间的表达差异基因,然后分别进行GO功能注释分析及KEGG信号通路富集分析,并通过实时荧光定量PCR进行验证。【结果】经转录组测序,在西方蜜蜂工蜂3日龄幼虫与1日龄蛹间筛选出4823个差异表达基因（51.86%上调,48.14%下调）,在1日龄蛹与1日龄羽化工蜂间筛选出3295个差异表达基因（57.51%上调,42.49%下调）,在3日龄幼虫与1日龄羽化工蜂间筛选出5267个差异表达基因（52.95%上调,47.05%下调）。GO功能注释分析结果显示,3日龄幼虫与1日龄蛹间的差异表达基因注释到43个GO功能条目,1日龄蛹与1日龄羽化工蜂间的差异表达基因注释到45个GO功能条目,3日龄幼虫与1日龄羽化工蜂间的差异表达基因注释到44个GO功能条目,主要涉及细胞过程、细胞部分及结合等。KEGG信号通路富集分析发现,3日龄幼虫与1日龄蛹间有2905个差异表达基因富集到332条KEGG信号通路上,其中17条KEGG信号通路呈显著富集,涉及核糖体、氧化磷酸化和昆虫激素生物合成等;1日龄蛹与1日龄羽化工蜂间有1644个差异表达基因富集到331条KEGG信号通路上,其中45条KEGG信号通路呈显著富集,涉及氧化磷酸化、生热作用和胰岛素分泌等;3日龄幼虫与1日龄羽化工蜂间有2958个差异表达基因富集到337条KEGG信号通路上,其中14条KEGG信号通路呈显著富集,涉及核糖体、蛋白酶体和胰岛素分泌等。6个随机挑选差异表达基因的实时荧光定量PCR检测结果与转录组测序结果相符,即转录组测序结果可靠。【结论】昆虫激素生物合成通路相关差异表达基因调控与西方蜜蜂工蜂各虫态JH滴度变化规律一致,氧化磷酸化信号通路则与各虫态的营养摄入和活动行为相关,而胰岛素分泌通路涉及各虫态的营养调控、脂肪体合成及细胞凋亡。可见,昆虫激素生物合成、胰岛素分泌和氧化磷酸化3种信号通路在西方蜜蜂工蜂幼虫、蛹和成虫的发育调控中发挥着重要作用。     

Hybridization between European and africanized honey bees in the neotropical yucatan peninsula

A population genetic analysis of honey bees of the Mexican neotropical Yucatan peninsula shows that the range expansion of Africanized bees there has involved extensive introgressive hybridization with European bees. Yucatan honey bee populations now include many colonies with intermediate morphologies. Genotypes of mitochondria have disassociated from historically correlated Africanized or European morphology, producing diverse phenotypic associations. This suggests that the size of resident European populations may be important in explaining previously reported asymmetrical hybridization. Evidence of natural hybridization is encouraging for the use of genetic management to mitigate the effects of Africanized bees in the United States.     

西方蜜蜂群势变化与蜜源植物泌蜜的关系研究(英文)

[目的]研究西方蜜蜂群势变化与蜜源植物泌蜜的关系。[方法]结合当地每年主要蜜源植物和辅助蜜源植物的泌蜜特点从2012年1月~12月选出6群西方蜜蜂进行周年卵虫量、封盖子量、成蜂量和总的群势量的测定,并据此分别绘出不同的周年变化曲线图和总的蜂群群势变化曲线图。[结果]全年蜂群繁殖达3个高峰。5月15日蜂群群势达到全年第1个高峰,正是采集石榴蜜源的理想蜂群。7月15日达全年第2个高峰,10月15日达全年第3个高峰,正是为采集野藿香蜜源发展的强群。[结论]防治大蜂螨应在两个主要蜜源流蜜后期处于断子时用两种以上杀螨剂杀灭,防治小蜂螨应适时用升华硫配合杀螨剂施治。这为蜜蜂优质高产和产品质量安全提供了理论依据。     

9种含阿维菌素或甲氨基阿维菌素的农药对蜜蜂安全性评价

参照《化学农药环境安全评价试验准则》,测定了9种含阿维菌素或甲氨基阿维菌素苯甲酸盐的农药对蜜蜂的急性接触毒性和摄入毒性。结果表明:所有含阿维菌素或甲氨基阿维菌素苯甲酸盐的农药对蜜蜂的急性接触和摄入毒性均为高毒。     

花卉害虫——拟蔷薇切叶蜂的研究

拟蔷薇切叶蜂 Megachile subtranquilla Yasumatsu 在北京地区一年发生一代,以茧内老熟幼虫在旱井、菜窖等的砖缝及土洞内越冬。翌年6月底至8月中旬成虫羽化。切叶蜂是独居蜂,但又具群集习性。本文叙述了该虫的形态特征、生活史、为害情况、天敌以及防治方法等。     

How bees remember flower shapes

Bees are able to learn to distinguish between flowers with different shapes or patterns. Some studies have suggested that bees remember only isolated features such as spatial frequency and line angles, rather than the photographic search images that are characteristic of vertebrates. New data indicate that this presumptive vertebrate-invertebrate dichotomy is false; bees can store flower patterns as a low-resolution eidetic image or photograph.     

化学农药对蜜蜂的急性毒性测定方法与危害评价

蜜蜂独特的生物学特性决定了它对化学农药的危害十分敏感,因此,精确地测定化学农药对蜜蜂的毒性和评价化学农药对蜜蜂的危害,对保护蜜蜂等非靶标生物和新农药的开发与推广都具有重要作用.在众多测定化学农药对蜜蜂的毒性方法中,急性毒性的测定是最主要的手段,是评价化学农药对蜜蜂危害的基础.从急性经口毒性和急性触杀毒性两方面综述了化学农药对蜜蜂的急性毒性测定方法和危害评价体系.     

葵花粉与黄豆粉不同配比饲料对蜜蜂初生重的影响

利用不同配比的葵花粉和黄豆粉饲料饲喂蜂群,测定后代工蜂的初生重。结果显示,饲喂100%葵花粉和饲喂＂75%葵花粉＋25%黄豆粉＂的蜂群,所育工蜂的初生重差异不显著;与饲喂＂70%葵花粉＋30%黄豆粉＂、＂65%葵花粉＋35%黄豆粉＂和饲喂100%黄豆粉的蜂群相比差异显著;本试验结果表明,不同比例花粉蛋白质营养水平对工蜂初生重具有显著的影响。     

南疆日光温室桃树熊蜂授粉试验初报

以新疆南疆日光温室桃和油桃为研究对象,进行熊蜂授粉技术试验.结果表明,熊蜂具有适合为设施作物授粉的形态结构和独特的生物学特性,在南疆日光温室中,出巢活动温度9～12℃,比蜜蜂低5～6℃,日工作时间比蜜蜂长2～3 h;熊蜂授粉的座果率比蜜蜂和人工授粉分别提高9.5;和47.3;;单位面积产量比蜜蜂授粉提高15.3;,单果重提高14.7;,果实可溶性固形物含量提高9.9;,从而提高果实品质和商品性.由此可见,熊蜂更适合在南疆设施环境中为桃树授粉.