Bombus Norvegicus Research Paper

The European honey bee interacts with a wide diversity of flora (over 200) and native Australian fauna, especially through the sharing of floral resources. These interactions can be harmful to threatened species if the resources are limited, and due to the degree of how much the honey bee consumes, relative to the other species.

Insecticides, fungicides, pesticides, and herbicides were the real cause for the bee population decline. The harmful chemicals that were sprayed

Honeybees, of the genus Apis, play a huge role in our environment through pollination. One in every three bites of food you eat depends on pollinators. Pollinators transfer pollen and seeds, allowing the plant to grow and produce food. Without bees pollinating, many plants would eventually die off, including the crops that humans eat. But like any other living organism, they are subjected to disease and pests that are harmful to their population. The effective defense against disease is the most vital aspect of keeping a bee colony functioning properly. Their most effective defense mechanism that can lead to self-healing is their behavior of removing as many harmful agents as possible, such as parasites, from their colony. If the dead organism is too large, they will cover it with propolis, which prevents release of pathogens during decomposition of the body. The most important defense against disease, however, is their hygiene behavior. If they find an infected larva in a sealed cell, they will uncap the cell and remove the infected larva from the colony. If adult bees become ill, they will be forced

Over the years, bees have received invasions from very dangerous parasites straight from a horror movie. For example Acarapis woodi are microscopic mites that infect the Trachea of bees by laying their eggs there, and feeding on their fluids weakening them considerably. The Varroa Destructor reproduces in honeybee hives, and are one of the bees greatest enemies. The female mites enter a hive cell, and lay eggs on the bee larva before the bees cover the cell in wax. When the

The objective of this research is to gain knowledge and disseminate information in regards to the cultural practices in honey bee husbandry and the management of small hive beetles. The small hive beetle is known to be an occasional pest species to African honey bees, but they are more of a threat to European honey bees. The aim of this study is to investigate the potential effects of commercial pollen dough substitutes on the survivability and reproductive success of the small hive beetle. This new information will aid beekeepers through the process of selecting diets that are impactful in stopping the spread of SHB in honey bee colonies.

The Dutch have figured out how to use bumblebee as pollinators because they share so many similarities with honeybees; both honeybees and bumblebees are social nesters, their colonies are headed by a single queen, who is the main egg-layer (The Silence of the Bees, 2009). The daughters of the queen, also known as the “worker bees” do almost all the work and the drones ( which are the males) are only produced during the mating season. Perhaps the biggest consideration is an economic one. Considering the fact that bumblebees only last about two months and cost two-hundred dollars to rent per colony, whereas honeybees can last up to several months with colony rentals running only one-hundred to one-hundred and forty dollars. As a depressing result, the use of bumblebee pollination is usually confined to high-value crops like tomatoes. Clearly, the use of bumblebees is a step in the right direction, but not a final

2012). Without the ability to return to the hive, affected worker honeybees were unable to tell other bees where the sources of food were and therefore more and more bees died. The first time that homing flights were studied under the impacts of neonicotinoid use, was in France using radio frequency identification to track specific bees until they died. This study showed that the bees would wait until the behavioral effects caused by the insecticides wore off until they could forage again (Schneider et al. 2012). Another study done in Japan took 60-100 wild foraging honeybees and exposed them to two different types of neonicotinoids (clothianidin and dinotefuran) for 30 minutes before releasing the bees 500 m from their hive. The results showed that there was a wide range of variability but the reduction in homing flights was significant (Matsumoto, 2013). From the results of these studies, it appears that the behaviors that are expected from honeybees are similar, no matter how the study is done. A reduction in homing flights and returning to the hive are common, as well as tremors and unhealthy

Although it is difficult to directly exemplify the impact of invasive European honeybees on native bumblebees through floral resources, many studies prove there is an indirect relationship between the species concerning overlapping of their ecological niche (Thomson 2004). Diane Thomson conducted an experiment measuring the impacts of the invasive honeybee on the native bumblebee through competition for nectar and pollen resources. Each summer from 1998 through 2000, two to three Apis colonies (each consisting of 10,000-15,000 workers) were introduced into three sites from early June to early September (Thomson 2004). Each Apis colony was placed 2 km apart. For the native bumblebees, B. occidentalis colonies were located at 10 m, 500 m, and 1000 m away from each site. Since there are three distances, and three different sites, there were nine B. occidentalis colonies in total. The B. occidentalis species was placed in the same location every year; however, the distance treatment was altered (Thomson 2004). To reduce the factors that may alter the results, laboratory-reared colonies were used to minimize any differences in the Bombus colonies and weighed to keep the amount consistent (Thomson 2004). Overall, Thomson’s experiment exemplified the direct effects of the invasive Apis species on reproductive success and foraging activity of the native Bombus.

It doesn’t have to be that way. There are alternatives to consider using. One of them is to use other insects. Shimon Steinberg is a chief scientist at Bio-Bee, and his mission is to replace pesticides with plant-friendly, pest-consuming insects. According to Steinberg from his Ted Talk segment, And here comes the salvation, through this parasitic wasp. Here we are not talking about a predator.Here we are talking a parasite -- not a two-legged parasite, but an eight-legged parasite, of course.This is a parasitic wasp, again, two millimeters long, slender, a very quick and sharp flier. And here you can see this parasite in action, like in an acrobatic maneuver. She stands vis-à-vis in front of the victim at the right-hand side, bending its abdomen

In fact, some beekeepers have even reported that “90% of their bees have simply buzzed off”. To blame? “Mites, viruses and parasites, but many are now looking at a class of insecticides called neonicotinoids.” This neurotoxin is used to kill off crop eating insects and pests, however it also happens to affect the central nervous systems of bees”, which really means makes them a little crazy and

It is widely believed that the evolution of floral characteristics is influenced by the perception and behaviors of insect pollinators such as bumblebees. Variation in floral traits may provide pollinators with cues that reduce search time in flower locating, thereby increasing foraging efficiency. Furthermore, genetic variation in these traits may be subject to pollinator-mediated selection. Pollinators may be innately attracted to certain combinations of floral characteristics; alternatively, they may learn to associate suites of traits with rewarding flowers. The effects of floral size, color, and odor on bumblebee foraging behavior were tested. The main research question is how various floral factors (size, color, and odor) affect the foraging

Honey bees are an evolving invertebrate. A predatory mite called Varroa destructor has made a lot of the bees lose their colony. People found some bees in New York that were fine even though the mites were around. They were once almost destroyed by them, but recovered strongly from the attack. The bees were evolving and learning how to defend against the mite attacks.

Bees, when foraging for food, are constantly exposed to nectar toxins, pesticides and several opportunistic pathogens. The specific bacterial community that harbors the bee gut seems to protect bees when exposed to such stressors, since disturbances in this environment can negatively affect bee health. Bee symbionts can help bees by both processing harmful compounds and by producing secondary metabolites to avoid infection. Understanding the impact of secondary metabolites on the bee gut symbionts is the main focus of this research proposal. First, nectar toxins and pesticides residues can either affect bee symbionts or be metabolized by them. Studies in vitro and in vivo will be performed to evaluate how the bee bacterial community is affected

Benton Smith Ent 3011 Dr. Benson Behavior Lab Introduction During my behavior lab experiment I observed bumblebees in the Botanical Garden. I got a better understanding of their habits by doing this and realized they are very busy insects. They act as if they are in sequence and do not waste any time at all. I observed three types of habit, which were flying, feeding and mating.

Bumblebees have been rapidly disappearing there are many different theories of what is causing the population to decrease. One possible reason for the decline in the population of bumblebees is due to cell phone radiation. Electromagnetic exposure causes a change in the bee’s behavior. The radiation interferes with their navigation systems causing impairment they get confused and are not able to make it back to their hive. Bumblebees and other insects use crypotochrome for navigation. Crypotochromes are photoreceptors that regulate entrainment by light by the circadian clock. Bumblebees use it to sense the direction of earth’s magnetic field. There ability to do this is compromised by cellphone radiation.