中华蜜蜂双王群与单王群的中心温度及个体发育期比较

饲养蜜蜂已成为我国农村致富的一条有效途径。目前多数蜂农采取单王群饲养。为了推广经济效益更高的双王群,本试验对蜂群中心温度进行研究后发现,双王群温度比单王群高0.71℃且更平稳,更益于蜂子的繁殖。试验同时还研究得出双王群工蜂的羽化时间(出房时间)比单王群早0.7 d,蜂农管理双王群时应引起重视。     

Incidents of bee poisoning with pesticides in the United Kingdom, 1994-2003

For over 20 years, the UK Agriculture Departments have monitored the direct effects of pesticides on beneficial insects, mainly honeybees (Apis mellifera, L.) and bumblebees (Bombus terrestris, L.), as part of the Wildlife Incident Investigation Scheme (WIIS). The Central Science Laboratory (CSL) has contributed to WIIS by providing the required laboratory skills for the determination of bee diseases and the expert analytical experience necessary to determine low-level pesticide residues and interpret these results. The results from WIIS form part of the pesticide regulatory process coordinated by the Pesticides Safety Directorate (PSD) and are published each year. This paper has reviewed the data from WIIS over the 10 year period from 1994 to 2003. The overall trend is that suspected poisoning incidents, reported by beekeepers and the general public, have declined from 56 incidents per year to 23 incidents per year. The number of these incidents that have been attributed to pesticide poisoning has also declined, from 25 incidents to five incidents per year. The possible reasons for these changes and the circumstances involved in the bee poisoning incidents are discussed. However, the source of the pesticide in bee poisoning incidents is often uncertain and the likely cause of these incidents and any trends over time are also discussed.     

Arable weeds as indicators of agricultural intensity - A case study from Finland

The study aimed at developing an agro-biodiversity indicator based on trophic interactions between 25 common arable weeds and individual groups of farmland birds, pollinators (wild bees), phytophagous insects and insect pests. Each weed species was weighted based on the number of reported linkages with each animal group. Four biodiversity indices based on these weights were constructed and applied to exploring the ecological consequences of long-term changes in weed populations in Finland. Data were used from weed surveys of Finnish spring cereal fields conducted in the 1960s, 1980s and 1990s. The relative importance of weed species varied according to animal groups. Annual weed species able to produce numerous seeds were important for the farmland birds and some perennial weed species were important for the pollinators. The highest number of linkages was established between weed species and phytophagous insects. The number of harmful pest species associated with broad-leaved weeds was low for all species. The general pattern of changes in values of indices over recent decades was similar: there was a marked decline in the values between the 1960s and the 1980s, and a slight increase between the 1980s and the 1990s. These changes were regarded as being a consequence of changes in the intensity of agricultural practices. The slowest recovery of the values was for pollinators. The results suggest that the ecological consequences of changes in the intensity of agriculture can be explored with the aid of a biodiversity indicator based on species interactions. Owing to the differences in the importance of weed species for different animal groups, maintaining weed species richness is necessary to ensure ecosystem services are provided for the higher trophic levels in farmland.     

Synergistic interactions between an exotic honeybee and an exotic weed: pollination of Lantana camara in Australia

Lantana camara, a woody shrub originating in south and central America, is among the most widespread and troublesome exotic weeds of the old‐world tropics. It invades pasture, crops and native ecosystems, causing substantial economic losses and environmental degradation. In Australia alone, L. camara is currently estimated to cover c. 40 000 km² . In glasshouse studies we demonstrate that L. camara requires cross‐pollination to set fruit, and that honeybee visits result in effective pollination. Field studies carried out in Queensland, Australia, suggest that fruit set is limited by pollinator abundance, and that the main pollinator of L. camara throughout a substantial portion of its Australian range appears to be the honeybee, Apis mellifera. Seed set was strongly correlated with honeybee abundance, and at many sites, particularly in southern Queensland, honeybees were the only recorded flower visitors. Of 63 sites that were visited, seed set was highest at five sites where only honeybees were present. Hives are frequently stationed within and adjacent to areas such as National Parks that are threatened by this noxious weed. Management of honeybee populations may provide a powerful tool for cost‐effective control of L. camara that has previously been overlooked. We suggest that there are probably many other weeds, both in Australia and elsewhere, that benefit from honeybee pollination.     

The contribution of non-managed social bees to coffee production: new economic insights based on farm-scale yield data

Fruit set and quality of highland coffee (Coffea arabica) have been experimentally shown to be higher with bee-mediated or manual pollen supplementation than with autonomous self-pollination. Based on extrapolation from these small-scale experiments, very substantial monetary values for the pollination service have recently been suggested. However, previous research has not included direct measurement of coffee yield at a farm level in relation to pollinator activity, testing if pollinators are not only limiting fruit set and quality, but also coffee yield and farm profit. The extrapolations from small-scale experiments may be subject to error, because resource reallocation during fruit development, associated with enhanced pollination, was neglected, and many studies were restricted to a single coffee farm, limiting the validity of extrapolation. Here, we investigate the relationship between coffee yield and the community of coffee flower-visiting bees on 21 farms in Ecuador, where coffee is grown under tree shade. Our data show, for the first time on a farm-scale, that coffee yield was positively related to the density of non-managed, social flower-visiting bees per coffee shrub, but not to the number of inflorescences per shrub. Our data revealed that a fourfold increase in bee density was associated with an 80% increase in yield and an 800% increase in net revenues. Consequently, in our study higher yield associated with increased pollination generated higher revenues per hectare, so that farm profit was higher when bees were abundant.     

蜜蜂授粉枣树杂交试验

通过将枣树(Zizyphus jujube Mill)杂交父母本罩尼龙网中、网内放入蜜蜂授粉的方法,进行了2个枣树杂交组合试验,授粉组合分别是枣树雄性不育品种早脆王(Z.jujube cv.Zaocuiwang)×灵武长枣(Z.jujube cv.Lingwuchangzao)和早脆王×伏脆蜜(Z.jujube cv.Fucuimi),结果获得了杂交果实844个,饱满的种仁295个。其中灵武长枣自花可实不育,伏脆蜜自花可育,但自花结实和育性下降,含仁率不足5%。说明利用蜜蜂限制性授粉杂交是枣树杂交育种切实可行的办法。     

凹唇壁蜂的访花习性及必要放蜂量

凹唇壁蜂雌蜂用腹毛刷采集携带花粉 ,访花植物种类主要为苹果、梨、桃、杏、李、樱桃等北方常见落叶果树 ,也采访早春开花的十字花科及少数杂草。雌蜂访花频率为 8～1 6朵 /min,日访花数约为 5486朵 (苹果花 )。单位面积必要放蜂量为雌蜂 52 5～ 885只 /hm2 。     

Within-Year Effects of Prescribed Fire on Bumble Bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and Floral Resources

Despite the importance of bumble bees (genus Bombus Latreille) for their services to natural and agricultural environments, we know little about the relationship between grassland management practices and bumble bee conservation. Prescribed fire is a common grassland maintenance tool, including in areas where endangered and threatened bumble bees are present. Thus, knowledge of the effects of prescribed fire on bumble bees is essential for designing management schemes that protect and bolster their populations. Using nonlethal surveys to record bumble bee species richness, abundance, and community composition, we evaluated the effects of spring controlled burns on summer bumble bee gynes and workers across five sites in southern Wisconsin. In addition, we explored the effects of fire on floral resources by measuring floral genus richness, abundance, ground cover, and proportion of transects containing blooming flowers in adjacent burned and unburned parcels. Prescribed fire had no measurable effects on bumble bee gyne or worker community composition, species richness, or abundance. However, consistent with previous studies prescribed fire increased floral genus richness and ground cover. The disconnect between bumble bee and floral responses to fire highlights some opportunities for improving our understanding of fire’s effects on bumble bee diapause, nest site choice, and foraging.     

花粉及其代用品对蜂王质量的影响研究初探

分别用花粉、花粉 20%豆粉、豆粉制作的粉脾饲喂蜂群,培育出第一代工蜂后,进行移虫育王,对育王结果进行比较分析.结果表明,饲喂花粉的蜂群,其所育的蜂王初生重和利用花粉 20%豆粉相比差异显著,与利用豆粉相比差异极显著,且育王成功率较高,因此,建议在育王工作中使用纯正花粉饲料饲喂蜂群,以保证蜂王的质量.