Apiculture Flashcards
Honeybee biology - why are bees important?
1/3 of what we ea is pollinated by bees
Base of the food chain
Neonicotinoids
Compared to organophosphates less toxic in birds and mammals but lethal for insects in minute quantities
What neonicotinoids is the UK set to ban?
Clothianidin, Imidacloprid, Thiamethoxam
Describe Basic Honeybee biology
- Colony comprised of 80,000 individuals
- Over 90% of all species solitary bees
- Up to 25,000 known species
- Bees evolved from wasps that fed on pollen insects and began to prefer pollen
What social system do bees have?
Eusociality: strict division between non-breeding workers and a breeding queen (accepted also due to sibling relatedness)
Mating & genes
MAle offspring only has mum genes
Female offspring have 2x as many chromosomes (Hapldiploidy) -> share most genes - very susceptible to spread of pathogens
Describe larval and pupal stages
- Cells continually used (queen lays 1 egg per cell)
- ‘Nurse’ bees feed the larvae (D1- 3 get Royal jelly , D4-6 workers get beebread instead )
- Cell capped with wax on d7 (queen hatch in 16d, workers 20d, drones 24d)
What first task of a bee?
- Cell cleaning (day 1-2)
- Nurse bee (day 3-11)
- Wax production (day 12-17)
What INDOOR tasks?
Honey seeling
Honeycomb building (propolizing)
Pollen packing and Drone feeding
Queen attendants
Undertaker bees: removal of individuals that die
Fanning bees: thermoregulation
What OUTDOOR Tasks (expert bees) ?
Water carriers
Foraging bees (day 22-42)
What ways can pathogens be transmitted?
Horizontal -> Direct or Indirect
Vertical : from queen to larvae
Detail Direct spread
- contact (grooming, feeding food and water)
- Injection (e.G. Varroa)
Detail Indirect spread
- Equipment / beekeeper
- Infected hives
- Honey used for winter feeding
- Foraging, water
- drifting / robbing
- Sexual
What Macroparasites damage combs and honey?
- Small hive beetle: Aethina tumida
- Wax moth: Galleria mellonella
Describe small hive beetle
- Endemic to sub-saharan africa
- Honey becomes discoloured and over-fermented
- Heavy infestation can lead to bees abandoning a hive
Describe the Wax Moth Macroparasite
- Caterpillar feed on honeycomb
- COmmercially available food for insectivore animals
- Used as a model organism in toxicology/ pathogenesis studies
How do we control these macroparasites that damage combs and honey ?
Coumaphos traps
Sulphur-
Acetic acid-based solutions
HEalthy bees attack insects, so if found can indicate weak colony and other dx
What MAcro parasites damage the health of colony?
- Trachela mites (Acarapis woodi)
- Varroa mites (Varroa destructor)
describe Tracheal Mites
- Infect trachea of bees, live & reproduce by feeding on hemolymph
- Infection by direct contact with young adults
- No symptoms -< crawl around unable to fly due to air duct obstruction & loss fo hemolymph
Prognosis for tracheal mite infestation?
Colony winter survival unlikely if >30% infection
Describe Varroa mites
- Greenish white, males ; red/ brown females
- Penetrating mouth-parts that feed on both adult & brood
- Weakening effect & inc spread of viruses