Products made by bees are well-known for their beneficial properties and nutritional value. This association has been proven by scientific studies that describe their composition and biological activities. The aim of this study is to portray the state of the art on research regarding stingless bee honey. The search for standards that guide the trade of these products is still portrayed as a future

An understanding of the origin and formation of biodiversity and distribution patterns can provide a theoretical foundation for biodiversity conservation. In this study, phylogeny and biogeography analyses based on mitochondrial genomes and niche modeling based on occurrence records were performed to test the hypotheses on the center of origin, diversification, and glacial refugia of honey bees (Apis

Soil emergence tents (e-tents) are a new tool for studying the nesting biology of ground-nesting bees. E-tents allow us to link nests with specific soil conditions; however, low success probabilities (≤ 20% of e-tents capture at least one bee) and long deployment times (> 72 h) limit their efficiency. We examined if adding scents—spearmint and lemongrass essential oils—increases how quickly e-tents

A longitudinal study was carried out in order to evaluate Nosema spp. spore counts in two key moments of the year (late autumn and spring) in honeybee colonies from five eco-regions of Argentina. Three hundred and sixty colonies were randomly selected and the infestation level of Nosema spp. and Varroa destructor was assessed in autumn and spring of 2015. In addition, a questionnaire concerning all

Bees are vitally important in natural and agricultural ecosystems, providing key pollination services to wild plants and crops. Increasing reports of regional declines of bee populations have attracted intense attention worldwide. Challenges to bee health are multifactorial and include poor nutrition, heat stress, agrochemicals, and pathogens. The impact of heat stress is a relatively minor factor

Bombus terrestris is a bumblebee with a wide geographic range, with subspecies showing a variety of local adaptations. Global export of commercially-reared B. terrestris started in the 1980s; the bees are a mixture of subspecies bred for ease of rearing, bivoltinism and large nests. This paper investigated whether the increase in bivoltinism in UK resident B. terrestris audax populations was related

Partamona is a genus of stingless bee composed of 33 neotropical species that occur from Mexico to Brazil. The scarcity of cytogenetic studies on Partamona limits the use of this indispensable information for the recognition of species. In this study, a comparative cytogenetic analysis of three Partamona species of controversial taxonomy was carried out. Partamona ailyae, Partamona sooretamae, and

We conducted several tests on the stingless bee Melipona quadrifasciata aiming to determine the impact of the glue used for applying radio frequency identification (RFID) tags on this bee species. The study was organized in three experimental sets, in which we evaluated the effects of a synthetic glue, a natural glue (shellac), and the effects of the bee manipulation alone (control group). We performed

In solitary bees, monandry is common in several species. Post-copulation strategies exerted by males to prevent females from mating with other males are known and vary between species. We studied a population of Epicharis dejeanii(Centridini) analyzing the reproductive aspects. The average mating time and the behavior of the couples were observed. Males performed synchronized movements of the legs

There is evidence that climate change may worsen the ecological conditions needed by many pollinator species for their survival; however, little is known about how the rise in ambient temperature might affect the survival of large bee species in tropical regions of the planet. This study investigated the thermoregulation mechanisms of the large carpenter bee Xylocopa frontalis when nesting spontaneously

Vitellogenin (Vg) plays a vital role in the reproduction of oviparous species, as the precursor of the major egg storage protein. In bees, most of the studies of this protein rely on honey bees (Apis mellifera), and very little is known in solitary species. The solitary bees Centris tarsata and C. analis were chosen to characterize vg cDNA and better understand its expression. The Vg-deduced amino

Exposure to agrochemicals and pathogens has been indicated as critical factors of declining pollinator populations, including species of native tropical bees. In the present study, we investigated the sublethal effects of acute oral exposure to azadirachtin and spinosad bioinsecticides on the expression of immunity-related genes and the number of hemocytes in uninfected and Escherichia coli–infected

Striking queen–worker dimorphism associated with each task is a key feature of highly eusocial insects, including Apis mellifera. The present study histologically examined the developmental process of the internal reproductive organs including spermatheca, valve-fold in the vagina, semi-circular muscle surrounding the common oviduct, and abdominal ganglia in honeybee queens and workers. During the

Little is known about the native bees of Uruguay and no scientific research has been carried out until now. This study aimed to contribute to the knowledge of the native bees, still greatly undermined in Uruguay. To achieve that, workers from the potential species were collected from different locations of the country. Firstly, they were morphologically identified through a taxonomic key and complemented

The genetic diversity of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) remains undescribed in some parts of its natural distribution range, concretely in those subspecies inhabiting central and southeastern Europe: the globally distributed A. m. ligustica and A. m. carnica, and A. m. cecropia and A. m. macedonica. In this study, we add further information about their genetic variation, differentiation, and admixture

Glyphosate is the most widely used herbicide worldwide and it could have negative effects on wild bees. We study the effect of glyphosate commercial formulation on the nesting behavior of wild solitary bees (Megachile spp.) and the survival of immature stages in a Pampean agroecosystem. In four plots without agricultural management located in an agricultural field, we placed 480 wooden trap-nests.

Various animal models are used in the study of alcoholism, with the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) among them. Here, we tested the hypothesis that foragers show higher intoxication resistance to alcohol than nurses, an issue thus far not investigated. To this end, we measured the latency to full sedation when exposed to alcohol in foragers, nurses and reverted nurses. In addition, we measured alcohol

The queen and worker castes of the honey bee are very distinct phenotypes that result from different epigenomically regulated developmental programs. In commercial queen rearing, it is common to produce queens by transplanting worker larvae to queen cells to be raised as queens. Here, we examined the consequences of this practice for queen ovary development and genome-wide methylation. Queens reared

The article was published with a typographical error to the name Álvaro Vega-Hidalgo.

Mandibular gland (MG) secretions of honey bee are synthesized through a three-step bifurcation pathway, and the initiate hydroxylation step is carried out by cytochrome P450 enzymes (P450). We have previously revealed that CYP6AS8 and CYP6AS11 are possibly participating in this process. In this study, we evaluated the function of CYP6AS8 in honey bee worker’s MG using RNA interference technology, and

The influence of long-term storage on the evolution of social insect male ejaculates remains a puzzle. Here, we studied the influence of sperm storage on male ejaculates in the stingless bee Scaptotrigona aff. depilis, a species where queens mate with a single male and thus do not trigger sperm competition. We estimated quantitative genetic parameters by sampling males from six colonies and two consecutive

The hypoharyngeal glands (HGs) are the major organ for synthesizing and secreting royal jelly (RJ) in nurse honeybees. To eliminate the influence of age, we explored the molecular basis of RJ production by determining the morphology and protein content, and comprehensively comparing the transcriptome of HGs of age-matched nurses and foragers obtained from an established colony. Acinus area and total

In hot climates, foraging bees risk overheating during food collection. Here, we investigated influence of ambient temperature on the foraging activity in Melipona subnitida, a stingless bee species that naturally occurs in the hottest and driest regions of the Brazilian tropical dry forest. We observed a decrease in round-trip duration of pollen foragers with increasing ambient temperature. Foraging

Nutritional studies often require precise control of nutrients via dilution of artificial diets with indigestible material, but such studies in bees are limited. Common diluents like cellulose typically result in total mortality of bee larvae, making quantitative studies difficult. We investigated potential alternative dietary dilution agents, sporopollenin (pollen exines) and agar. We reared Osmia

The bacterium Paenibacillus larvae and the mite Varroa destructor are two of the most severe biotic stressors affecting honeybees and are responsible for American foulbrood and varroosis respectively. To control these pathogens, beekeepers regularly apply synthetic acaricides or antibiotics to parasitized hives. However, antibiotic and acaricide overuse over time leads to resistance in bacteria strains

The cells of the combs of Apis mellifera are tilted upwards by approximately 13°. The literature says that this tilt serves to prevent the outflow of honey. We checked this by hanging empty honeycombs upside down into beehives. Honey was stored in these inverted honeycombs in the same way as in the normally oriented combs, and inverted combs were also well accepted for rearing the brood. We thus show

Body temperature changes can modify an insect’s ability to fight infections by altering its immune activity. This work evaluated the impact of mild cold and heat thermal stress on the expression of different immune and heat shock genes in the species Bombus terrestris. Additionally, a thermal treatment was repeated under starvation to analyze a possible compromise of immune gene expression in favor

The ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor, is a most important health risk for European honey bee subspecies (Apis mellifera) globally. There is a scarcity in experimental approaches addressing this issue by using computed tomography. Our purpose was to determine the decrease in the volume, surface, density and weight alteration triggered by V. destructor in pre-imaginal stages of A. mellifera using

Numerous activities within honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies rely on feedback loops for organization at the group level. Many of the processes associated with the feedback loops organizing a honey bee colony’s activities are in striking parallel to other systems, such as intercellular interactions involved in motor neuron function, and principles derived from their study can be applied to these

The aim of the research was to determine the influence of acetamiprid and deltamethrin on the mortality and behaviour of honeybees of the same variety, coming from the same source and estimated to be in good condition by a professional beekeeper, but in different years and under different weather conditions. Results of research conducted in field isolators in oilseed rape fields in the years 2012–2018

Hygienic behavior in honey bees, Apis mellifera, has been studied for over 80 years with the aim of understanding mechanisms of pathogen and parasite resistance and colony health. This review emphasizes the underlying behavioral mechanisms of hygienic behavior in honey bees and when known, in other social insects. We explore the relationship between honey bee hygienic behavior toward diseased brood

Since its foundation, Apidologie has steadily gained recognition as a journal that reports results from high-quality scientific research on the biology of bees, and this means Apidae in general, not only on its most prominent species, the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera. All started 50 years ago in a conversation between two eminent scientists, Jean Louveaux, director of one of INRA’s bee research

Research and development of new natural and safe veterinary medicaments to treat honey bee varroosis caused by Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman is an important step on the path to embarking on organic beekeeping. In the present research, field experiments were conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a new plant-based formulation against varroa mite and its safety for the honey bees during the summer

Honey bee (Apis mellifera) breeding programs that use a closed mating system are particularly vulnerable to low genetic diversity. Inadequate diversity at the complementary sex-determiner (csd) locus is problematic and potentially catastrophic in honey bee populations because it causes low brood viability. In typical commercial populations, queens are open mated and csd diversity is fostered by high

Hybrid cauliflower production predominately relies on pollen transfer from hermaphrodite to female lines by honeybees. However, the presence of other pollinators may impact pollination success. Here, we investigate how honeybee visitation frequency and behaviour vary with plant sex and presence of blowflies and affect seed and pod set. We found substantial pollen limitation when honeybees were alone

Reflections about the historical roots of our current scientific endeavors are useful from time to time as they help us to acknowledge the ideas, concepts, methodological approaches, and idiosyncrasies of the researchers that paved the ground we stand on right now. The 50-year anniversary of Apidologie offers the opportunity to refresh our knowledge about the history of bee research. I take the liberty

China has many habitats supporting a wide diversity of bumblebees, some species of which are limited in distribution to the Tibet Plateau. The high-altitude Tibet Plateau, which has low air density as well as extremely low temperatures, strains the energy requirements for flight in most insects. However, high-altitude bumblebees have adapted to the harsh conditions of this type of habitat. Bumblebees

We present the first study of infestation by the small hive beetle, Aethina tumida, in a queenright colony of the stingless bee Tetragonula carbonaria, a species used for pollination services. Nine managed hives were deployed outside the bee’s endemic range. After 2 months, including a heat wave of four consecutive days above 40 °C, one colony was visibly weakened with fewer foragers. This hive was

The ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman (Acar: Varroidae), is a major threat for the honey bee, Apis mellifera L. Varroa behavior and physiology are influenced by compounds produced by the honey bee, as well as cues from the general colony environment. As part of our effort to disrupt varroa host chemosensing, we tested 1-allyloxy-4-propoxybenzene, 3c{3,6}, a known feeding deterrent

Traditional beekeeping has been playing important socio-economic roles in Ethiopia for millennia. The country is situated in northeast Africa, where ranges of major evolutionary lineages of Apis mellifera adjoin. However, studies on the classification and distribution of subspecies and lineages of honey bees in the country are partly inconsistent, either proposing multiple subspecies and lineages or

Acaricides commonly used to control the honey bee parasitic mite, Varroa destructor, may also adversely affect bees. Sublethal LD05 doses of synthetic (tau-fluvalinate, amitraz, and coumaphos) and natural (thymol and formic acid) acaricides did not significantly reduce bee survivorship. However, compared to the ethanol solvent control, hygienic behavior critical for pathogen and parasite control was

Agrochemicals and biocides are suspected to cause a dysbiosis of honey bee microbiota, decreasing colonies ability to respond to the environment. As a first step to investigate agriculture and beekeeping impact, hives bacteriomes from an anthropized environment (Agri-env) were compared to that of pristine’s (Prist-env). 16S rRNA sequencing evidenced differences in richness and composition between sample

The ectoparasite V. destructor is one of the major threats to Western honeybees’ production (A. mellifera) worldwide, causing colony losses and reducing bees’ productivity and pollinating capacity. Since parasitism produces high energy consumption in hosts, the aim of this study was to compare the effects of this ectoparasite on energy expenditure and survival rate in honeybees. Newborn bees were kept

Following publication of the original article, the author group noticed an error related to the presentation of Figs. 4 and 5.

The sampling of orchid bees across different biomes provides an excellent opportunity to analyze morphological variability in this group. We examined the morphological variation of populations of Eulaema nigrita in the context of the determination of geographic origin. It also evaluated population variability of this group in different landscapes from two important biomes, Atlantic Forest, Brazilian

Wild and managed bees are essential for global food security and the maintenance of biodiversity. At present, the conservation of wild bees is hampered by a huge shortfall in knowledge about the trends and status of individual species mainly due to their large diversity and variation in life histories. In contrast, the managed Western honey bee Apis mellifera is one of the best studied and monitored

Functional worker sterility in queenright honey bees (Apis mellifera) is fostered by the colony-level costs of this behavior. However, anarchy in the beehive can occur when a fraction of workers lay eggs, which, if reared, will develop into males (drones). Because males do not gather resources but still consume them, they represent an additional energic cost for the colony. This small number of anarchic

Bees are key regulators in the maintenance of global biodiversity and food security. Overwhelming evidence has shown elevated colony losses for honey bees and a decrease in the abundance of other pollinators. Insecticides of the neonicotinoid type have been associated with these losses, but few studies have explored how residual exposure doses affect the queen’s energy metabolism. Here, we studied

In agricultural landscapes, differences in floral resources provided by crops compared with adjacent habitats promote the spillover of pollinators seeking to fulfil their feeding needs. These foraging patterns play an important role in both crop production and wild plant fitness. However, in classical observational studies, pollinator spillover patterns may be confounded by differences in pollinator

A considerable part of the knowledge about the honey bee parasite Varroa destructor emerged from rearing protocols in semi-natural or laboratory conditions, yet a durable protocol over several generations of mites is still lacking. The development of such multigenerational rearing relies on the emergence of a sufficient number of new fertile females in the first generation of V. destructor. The optimization

Monolecty in bees was defined a century ago for those species that consistently collect pollen only from the same single species of floral host. Even at the time, the term was considered “a curiosity” with little biological meaning. Here, I review its multiple problems and suggest that its utility would improve if we apply the term monolecty to those bees species that use a single genus (not species)

For bees to reach isolated islands, they need to be able to cross large water barriers. However, functional traits such as nesting behavior, flight range, and body size can limit their dispersal. In this study, the bee faunas of seven different islands or island groups (Anholt, Canary Islands, Fiji Islands, Hawaiian Islands, Madeira, Malta, and Sri Lanka) were analyzed by comparing them to the mainland

Modern techniques of selective breeding show high potential to improve economically important traits of honey bees. However, breeding may neglect fundamental rules of natural selection. The objective of this study was to analyze the effects of selection and local adaptation on some relevant breeding traits of Apis mellifera carnica. We compared open mated queens from three different origins: local

Two-day-old honeybee workers (± 6 h) were placed in cages and supplied with sucrose solution (1 mol/dm3) ad libitum. Subsequently, the cages with bees were placed in an electric field (E-field) exposure system with field intensities of 5.0 kV/m, 11.5 kV/m, 23 kV/m, and 34.5 kV/m. The duration of exposure was 1 h, 3 h, and 6 h. The biochemical parameters SOD (superoxide dismutase), CAT (catalase), FRAP

We measured abundance, diversity, and richness of Euglossa bees (Euglossini, Apidae) in lowland semi-deciduous forest in Darién National Park, Panamá, during the wet and dry seasons in the canopy and understory for five consecutive years (2013 to 2017) using McPhail traps baited with eucalyptus oil. We found a precipitous decline in abundance and richness throughout the 5 years of our study. Alpha

Thermotolerance has often been linked to species distribution for a diverse range of organisms. In the context of climate change, assessing heat resistance ability is useful for understanding potential future range shifts and the physiological response of populations. As bumblebee (Bombus) populations have been declining for several decades with several documented range shifts, an assessment of the

The present study was conducted to quantify at the individual level the grooming behavior of bees from resistant colonies and susceptible colonies. Experienced and naive bees from resistant colonies were compared to experienced and naive bees from susceptible colonies at the age of 4, 7, 15 and 21 days. In a total of 480 assays, resistant bees successfully groomed off 10 times more mites placed than

In vitro rearing of honey bees is becoming a widely employed procedure. Nevertheless, few studies have assessed its impact on brood development considering nutritional and social differences between both in vitro and in-hive rearing contexts. We compared developmental parameters between these two contexts using an intra-frame grafting procedure. We confirmed a grafting effect on development. However

Orchid bees are important long-distance pollinators in Neotropical rainforests. Despite their great flight capacity, some species avoid leaving the forest and might be then more vulnerable to the negative effects of habitat fragmentation. Here, we sampled the euglossine fauna from a forest fragment in an urban zone and compared the data to two surveys conducted in the same area 28 and 20 years before

Like Apis mellifera queens and different from all other bees, drones also have an exaggerated gonad phenotype, with over 150 serial units in each gonad. Yet, compared with the ovaries of the female castes, little is known about the development of the honey bee testis. Here we present a histological atlas on postembryonic testis development and spermatogenesis. Already in the first instar larvae, the