Part1 Flashcards
what is superorganism
group of related, social individuals working together to effectively cooperate as one large organism
3 forms of communication
acoustic, chemical, visual
what is social immunity
social behaviors to reduce disease spread/parasites
examples of social immunity
grooming mites, remove brood with diseases, rise temp of hive to kill chalkbrood
correct name of western honey bees (species)
apis mellifera
what are the 6 classifications
- kingdom
- phylum
- class
- order
- family
- genus
- species
5 types of kingdoms and what are honey bees
animals** plants, fungi, bacteria, archea
what phylum are honey bees
arthopods/arthopoda
what makes honey bees arthopods
invertabrates/exoskeletons, segmented bodies
What class are honey bees
insecta
what other classes are in the arthopoda phyulum
insecta, arachnida, crustacea
what qualities make you insecta class
6 legs across 3 body parts, compound eyes, antennae
What order do honey bees belong to
hymenoptera
what family do honey bees belong to
apidae
what genus do honey bees belong in
Apis
what species are honey bees
apis mellifera
melli-fera stands for
melli = honey, fera = bearer
characteristics of yellow jackets
nests underground, no honey, bright yellow and black, adults eat nectar, babies are carnivores
characteristics of paper wasps
open papery hexagonal cells, no honey, hairless, body larger than honeybee, yellow and black OR black and brown banding
characteristics of syrphid flies
no nests, not social, yellow and black OR black and brown banding, single pair of wings, body smaller than honey bee
what is eusociality
individuals that depend on societal organization to survive and cannot live on their own
3 charcteristics of eusocial organism
- overlapping generations - more than 1 living together (queen and workers)
- cooperative brood care - share duty of raising young that isn’t theirs
- reproductive division of labor - queen sole egg layer, workers do not reproduce
what is altruism
majority of female bees in colony suppress their own reproduction and instead help another individual
what is kin theory
strategy to increase reproduction of someone else while decreasing your own
how many sets of chromosomes in male bees
1
how many sets of chromosomes in female bees
2
queen bees mate with how many males
12-50
how many eggs does queen lay a day
1,000 to 1,500
what is polyandry
multiple mates
how many species of wild bees
20,000
are most wild bees social?
no - vast majority are solitary
are wild bees more susceptible to habitat loss
yes
how do honey bees reproduce
- swarming 2. individuals mate
what is DNA
the name of molecule that carries genetic material
what are genes
sections of DNA that code for particular proteins
dna is tightly coiled into molecules called
chromosomes
how many chromosomes for honey bee dna
16 - females have 2 sets so 32
honey bee genome how many genes approx
10,000
what are proteins
building blocks of life
what molecules are important to reproduction - 4
proteins, neurotransmitters, hormones, pheromones
what are proteins needed for
- organs made up of them
- immune system needs to function
- development and reproduction
- instructions for building proteins are in DNA
what are neurotransmitters
chemicals released by neurons in brain to send fast signals to other neurons (messenger molecules of nervous system)
what do neurotransmitters help with - 3 things
- muscle movements
- learning
- memory
what are hormones
chemicals produced in special glands that are secreted into blood to be carried to specific organs/tissues to influence how they function
hormones are involved in
reproduction, development, and general functions (stress)
what are pheromones
chemicals produced in special glands but are secreted outside the body to elicit a behavioral or physiological response by another indivdual
pheromones are a form of
communication
when does mating peak in northeast
spring/summer
how many mating flights and how far will queen go for mating
1-3, and up to 9 miles
how far up are drone congregation areas
50-200 ft
how do drones detect queen
sight and smell
how long after mating will queen start laying eggs
2-4 days
what time do most mating flights happen
between 2-5pm
what different about worker bees reproductive system vs. queen
have fewer ovarioles and aren’t able to mate
when do drones sexually mature
9-12 days of adult life
how many eggs per minute does queen lay
1 egg per minute, 1,500 a day, half a million in 2-3 year life span
where are eggs produced in queens and how many do queens have
ovarioles, 150-180
what is the place sperm is stored and how many are stored
spermatheq (sperm sac) - 5-6 million sperm
process when egg is released
- leaves ovariole
- slides down oviduct
- passes by spermatea
- moves through body
- exists body
process when egg fertilized
small duct to spermatheca opens as egg passes by to fertilize
how does a queen signal fertility
queen pheromone (blend of pheromones)
if a worker mates can they fertilize egg
no - all unfertilized eggs
how fast can workers detect absence of queen
20 minutes
what is ovipositor in other insects, what is it in bees
used for laying eggs, is adapted stinger!
how many days do bees spend as egg and larva
3 egg, 6 larva
how long do honey bees pupate by caste
drones - 15, workers- 12, queen - 7
what is main function of larva
to eat and grow
what are workers fed
royal jelly and then bee bread
what are eggs a sign of
queen has been there in last 1-3 days
how many workers does colony need before they start investing in drones
4,000 approx
what does fertilized egg inherit
2 sets of chromosomes (diploid) = female
what does unfertilized egg inherit
1 set of chromosomes (haploid) = male
what gene determines sex of bees
complementary sex determination (CSD)
male bees get how many copies of genes from mother’s egg
1 copy
if bee gets multiple copies of gene from mothers’ egg & fathers sperm what is sex?
female - but have to be different versions
if bee gets 2 copies of identical gene - what sex and is called what
male - diploid male, usually detected as larva and eaten
what determines if bee becomes queen or workers
environmental factors (royal jelly) - not genetic
what age can egg be in order to become queen vs. worker
12-36 hours, past 36 can’t be changed
where does royal jelly come from
secreted from hypopharyngeal gland and mandibular gland of nurse bees
what does royal jelly contain - 8
water, sugar, salts, fatty acids, lipids, vitamins, amino acids, proteins
how long are queens fed royal jelly vs. workers
queen - all time as larva (6 days), workers - only first 2-3 days then bee bread
3 conditions to successfully rear queen
- exclusively fed royal jelly
- when fed lots of royal jelly
- when selected @ young age to get special queen diet
what happens if 1 condition not met when rearing queen
queen is considered “intercaste” and is between worker and queen - tend to be superseded
what is different about the royal fed to queen vs workers
queen jelly has higher sugar content and higher fatty acid
what two molecules are found in caste determination
juvenile hormone and vitellogenin
what is vitellogenin
protein produced by body fat and found in ovaries
what is vitellogenin used for - 3
- helps make eggs
- ensures queen can lay lots of eggs
- remains high in queens which increased lifespan
- in workers = poor fertility
what does juvenile hormone do
contributes to many ovarioles and long lifespan - found in all insects
what is polyethism
transitioning and specializing in different tasks at a time
jobs of worker bee throughout life - inside - 4
- cleans cell and those around her
- capping and tending brood or tending to queen called retinue
- receiving nectar, cleaning debris, packing pollen called hive maintenance
- ventilation and guarding entrance
worker bee outside jobs
foraging - nectar, pollen, water, resin, or new nest - will die as foragers
molecules involved in worker polyethism
juvinile hormone, vitellogenin, dopamine
what role does juvenile hormone play in worker polyethism
new workers low levels, increases for first 15 days, then they shift to outside tasks
what role does vitellogenin play in worker polyethism
helps create royal jelly in nurses, decreases as they become foragers
what role does dopamine play in worker polyethism
low levels stimulate nurses to care for brood, presence of queen regulates production, nurses in contact with queen so reduces production
how long do spring and fall bees live
1-2 months
how long do summer bees live
2-5 weeks
how long do winter bees live
4-5 months
when do winter bees start hatching
August-November
difference between winter bees and others?
have lower levels juvenile hormone, larger glands/fat body cells
who won nobel prize for bee dance
karl von frisch
queen pheromone has how many components
9
what does QMP or queen mandibular phereomone do
- strong indicates queen is healthy and productive (inhibits ovaries of workers)
- attracts workers to surround/tend queen
- regulation of transition from nurse to forager - can delay it
where is dufours gland located
end of abdomen and pheromone released through vagina - in females
what does dufours gland do
-signal fertility/promoting retinue behavior - if queen lost, workers will start producing their own queen like pheromone
brood produced pheromone tells workers what about larva
sex, caste, age, what food and how much, inhibits ovary development - if detected nurse bees will delay transition to forager and reverse will speed up if not detected
what are the 3 worker produced pheromones
- nasonov
- forager
- alarm
what is nasonov pheromone used for and where (3)
aggregation/orientation
1 - marking nest to assist returning bees
2 - aggregation during swarming
3 - marking water source
do queens/drones have nasonov pheromones
no
what is forager pheromone derived from and what does it do
from fermented nectar - delays onset of foraging in nurse bees if high levels
what does alarm pheromone do
marks a potential threat and rallys others to defend
where is alarm pheromone released from
mandibular gland and gland besides the stinger
what is a waggle (round) dance used for
to share info about location/scent of rich food source
what is included in the dance - 4 things
buzzing wings, duration - distance, direction or dance = direction of food source, number of circuits = quality of food source
what is a shaking signal
foragers that aren’t busy can be found asleep, if another forager wants to recruit sleeping bees - shakes them
what is the tremble dance
trembles and walks throughout hive so other bees pick up signal and convert to receiver bees to receive incoming nectar
if food site failing or crowded what will returning foragers do
issue stop signal - short high toned beep
where are most neurons located
in brain
brain and what are control centers
ganglia
what does mushroom body do
center for learning/memory - interprets sensory information
what is mechanoreception
ability of animal to detect and respond to certain kinds of stimuli
examples of mechanoreception
touch, pressure, temperature, vibration
where are mechanoreceptors located
outside of body just below cuticle - on feet, mouthparts, wings, antanne
how do bees detect gravity
sensory hairs called hair plates -direction of hairs
what do bees use gravity for
to orient waggle dance, build combs straight down
what can bees hear
substrate (comb) vibrations and airborne vibrations (dancing bees)
sense of smell called
olfaction
sense of taste called
gustation
most important sense for bees
smell - find and learn food sources, communication through pheromones, discriminate against non-nest mates
how many olfactory sensors on antanne
over 100 (170)
how many gustatory receptors
about 10
bees have two types of eyes
1 - ocelli and 2 - compound
where are ocelli eyes found and what do they do
triangular pattern near top of head - detect light intensity and daytime vs. nighttime
where are compound eyes found and what do they do
2 eyes on side of head with 1000s of facets w/ lenses - can’t see far away, low visual resolution
color perception done by
compound eyes
what colors can/can’t bees see
Green, Blue, Ultaviolet - can’t see red (it’s black to them)
how fast can bees perceive movement
1/300th of second
how many times per second do bees flap wings
240 times/second or 20mph
where are largest muscles associated with flying located
in thorax
honey bees breathe through
tracheae, no lungs
where does air enter the bee
through holes in thorax called spiracles
do honey bees have capillaries
no
what is blood in bees called
hemolymph
5 main functions of circulatory system are
- transport energy from digested food to rest of body
- bring waste from cells to excretory organs to be removed
- lubricate body movements
- confer immunity through cells that attack pathogens
- carry hormones from gland to organs/tissues
proboscis is
part to bring liquids in mouth
crop in a bees is also know as
honey stomach (storage area)
what is name of valve at base of crop
proventriculus - prevents nectar from moving to midgut and being digested
what valve separates from hindgut
ventricular valve
how much honey does colony consume to make 1 lb wax
5-20lbs of honey
what is wax production stimulated by
1 - excess nectar (1:1 syrup or honey flow) 2 - colony needs more space
where are wax glands located and how many
underside of abdomen - 4 pairs
how many hours for 1 gland to form 1 new wax scale
12 hours
what is it called when inactive bees link themselves together by holding legs
festooning
what is propolis used for
caulk and seal holes around perimeter of hive, protection from moisture, and mummify intruders
propolis collected from
resin from trees - carried in pollen baskets
proplis is made of
resin mixed with wax
how far does individual forager fly
up to 6 miles, but 1-2 if resources available
bee space is
combs built 3/8 of inch apart
how are arcs arranged on bee frames
center = brood, next = pollen, last = honey
what size are wild bee nests in trees
nest cavity of 10 gallons
what size are langstroth bee nests (2 deeps, 1 medium)
30 gallons
what size entrance do bees prefer
small - 1-2 inches
3 types of hive styles
langstroth, topbar hive, warre hive
what temp do bees keep brood area
92 - 97 degrees
what temperature do bees cluster in winter
under 57 degrees
ways bees keep nest cool
- move away from brood to disperse heat
- fan wings - gather at entrance
- evaporating cooling - put water in empty holes and fan wings
- only collect water during the day
- beard on front of hive
