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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1978

Modification of attention in honey bees.

Honey bees were trained in two consecutive two-dimensional (color-position) problems with one dimension (color or position) relevant and the other irrelevant in each problem. As in analogous experiments on dimensional transfer in rats and monkeys, performance in the second problem was more accurate when the relevant and irrelevant dimensions were the same as in the first problem than when they were interchanged. The results of further experiments suggest that the transfer is mediated by different modes of responding that develop in color and position problems rather than by some special process of dimensional selection, such as has been assumed to operate in vertebrates.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

From bioactive compounds to volatile profiles: a multidimensional characterization of Indonesian stingless bee honeys.

BACKGROUND: Stingless bee honeys are drawing increasing attention as ingredients for functional foods and health-oriented products because of their distinctive sensory characteristics and bioactive potential. In this study, honeys collected from nine stingless bee species reared in West Sumatra, Indonesia, were comprehensively characterized using physicochemical indices, antioxidant assays [DPPH (i.e. 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) and ferric reducing antioxidant power], microbiological screening, volatile profiling [gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS)] and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) fingerprinting. RESULTS: Marked between-sample variability was observed across key quality attributes, including pH (2.80-3.68), Brix (49.83-61.25), viscosity (23.36-175.22 cP) and color parameters. FTIR spectra were consistent with carbohydrate-rich matrices and exhibited carbonyl-related bands. GC-MS profiling identified linalool oxide isomers and junenol among the predominant volatiles. To the best of our knowledge, junenol has not previously been reported in stingless bee honey and may represent a potential regional chemical marker for Indonesian stingless bee honeys. Lactic acid bacteria were detected in selected samples, whereas yeast and mold were not detected. Antioxidant activities were comparatively low, which may reflect local environmental and ecosystem-related factors. CONCLUSION: The results provide a multi-parameter baseline for stingless bee honeys produced within a shared ecosystem in West Sumatra and demonstrate the value of integrating conventional chemical indices with FTIR and volatile fingerprints for quality assessment. This combined approach may also support future authentication and origin-tracing frameworks for Indonesian stingless bee honeys. © 2026 Society of Chemical Industry.

Animals↗

PubMed1977

Immunoassay for honey bee cytochrome c in single animals with cytochrome c-coated bacteriophages: a sensitive tool for the study of caste formation in the honey bee, Apis mellifera.

The development of a sensitive viroimmunoassay for honey bee cytochrome c and its usage for early detection of caste differentiation is described. Pure honey bee cytochrome c was isolated from workers and used to produce antibodies in rabbits. Bacteriophage T4 was chemically modified by covalent attachment of honey bee cytochrome c using tolylene-2,4-diisocyanate as a cross-linking agent. The immunospecific inactivation of this bacteriophage-cytochrome c conjugate by anti-cytochrome c antibodies can be inhibited by free cytochrome c. In quantitative determinations, 50% inhibition is reproducibly achieved at a concentration of 6 ng/ml (5 pmol/ml) and as little as 0.3 ng/ml (0.25 pmol/ml) could be detected by this system. Cytochrome c concentrations were measured in individual animals and substantial differences corresponding larval stages of worker and queen bees are reported.

Antibodies↗

PubMed2026

Feeding the disease: The impact of nutritional supplementation on Nosema (Vairimorpha) infection in honey bees (Apis mellifera).

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) experience variable colony losses across regions and years, with infectious diseases representing a key component of colony health challenges. Among the most prevalent pathogens are the microsporidian parasites Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae, whose impacts on host survival and transmission vary widely depending on context. While nutritional supplementation is commonly used to support honey bee health, its effects on Nosema infection outcomes remain unclear. Here, we experimentally tested whether dietary enrichment alters survival and infection intensity following exposure to a mixed Nosema inoculum. Newly emerged worker bees were challenged with Nosema spores and maintained on either a basic sucrose diet or the same diet supplemented with a commercial pollen substitute. Dietary enrichment significantly increased both mortality risk and infection intensity in Nosema-infected bees, while having no detectable effect on survival in uninfected controls. These results indicate that supplementation can, counter intuitively, exacerbate nosemosis by promoting parasite replication rather than enhancing host resistance. Our findings highlight the importance of distinguishing nutritional effects on host tolerance versus resistance, and caution that interventions intended to improve bee nutrition may inadvertently increase pathogen production and transmission potential under certain conditions.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

Social evolution and diminished olfactory function in larval honey bees.

Social evolution made larval honey bees dependent on adult colony members for feeding; they are confined to cells in waxen honeycombs and visited about 100 times per day by adult "nurse" bees. Based on organismal resource conservation theory, we predicted larvae have diminished olfactory capabilities at both the molecular and behavioral levels. Consistent with theory, larvae expressed very low levels of Orco, an essential gene for olfactory receptor (OR) function. By contrast, they showed higher expression of Ir25a, essential for other forms of sensory perception including gustation. Also consistent with theory, behavioral assays demonstrated that larvae cannot find food via olfaction, suggesting they use taste for feeding. By contrast, it is known that adult honey bees use OR-based olfaction extensively for a variety of behavioral functions, and the honey bee genome contains many OR-encoding genes. Comparative transcriptomic analyses of social and nonsocial insects suggest that this developmentally regulated suppression of olfactory function is related to social evolution, especially systems of offspring care.

Animals↗

PubMed2024

Brood indicators are an early warning signal of honey bee colony loss-a simulation-based study.

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are exposed to multiple stressors such as pesticides, lack of forage, and diseases. It is therefore a long-standing aim to develop robust and meaningful indicators of bee vitality to assist beekeepers While established indicators often focus on expected colony winter mortality based on adult bee abundance and honey reserves at the beginning of the winter, it would be useful to have indicators that allow detection of stress effects earlier in the year to allow for adaptive management. We used the established honey bee simulation model BEEHAVE to explore the potential of different indicators such as population size, number of capped brood cells, flight activity, abundance of Varroa mites, honey stores and a brood-bee ratio. We implemented two types of stressors in our simulations: 1) parasite pressure, i.e. sub-optimal Varroa treatment by the beekeeper (hereafter referred as Biotic stress) and 2) temporal forage gaps in spring and autumn (hereafter referred as Environmental stress). Neither stressor type could be detected by bee abundance or honey reserves at the end of the first year. However, all response variables used in this study did reveal early warning signals during the course of the year. The most reliable and useful measures seem to be related to brood and the abundance of Varroa mites at the end of the year. However, while in the model we have full access to time series of variables from stressed and unstressed colonies, knowledge of these variables in the field is challenging. We discuss how our findings can nevertheless be used to develop practical early warning indicators. As a next step in the interactive development of such indicators we suggest empirical studies on the importance of the number of capped brood cells at certain times of the year on bee population vitality.

Bees↗

PubMed1976

Physical, chemical, and enzymatic studies on the major sucrase of honey bees (Apis mellifera).

A sucrase from honey bees (Apis mellifera) which precipitates between ammonium sulfate saturations of 50 and 70% (5 mg protein per millilitre) and which makes up the major portion of the sucrases of honey bees was purified to homogeneity as shown by several criteria. A large part of the sucrase was found in the head while most of the rest was in the abdomen (a small amount was in the thorax). The enzyme precipitated between the same values of ammonium sulfate saturation as did the sucrase in honey and honey sucrase exhibited kinetics very similar to those of this enzyme. The enzyme was found to be a relatively nonspecific alpha-glucosidase and was shown to have transglucosidase activity. The production of glucose from sucrose was rectilinear when plotted by the Hofstee method at low substrate concentrations but decreased at high sucrose concentrations. The production of fructose was rectilinear throughout the concentration range used. The production of both glucose and rho-nitrophenol when rho nitrophenyl alpha-D-glucoside was the substrate was linear by the Hofstee plot. These effects were found to be due to transglucolysis and a mechanism of action is proposed. Amino acid and amino sugar analyses indicated that the sucrase was a glycoprotein. The molecular weight was found to be between 51000 and 82000 by three different methods and an so20.w value of 4.0 S was obtained. There was no evidence for subunit structure. Tests of the enzyme under various denaturation conditions did not reveal any unusual stabilities. The sucrase bound very tightly to a hydrophobic column. Iodoacetic acid decreased the activity of the sucrase but a large concentration was needed to bring about a 50% activity loss. Reducing agents caused some activity declines. Diethyl pyrocarbonate activated the enzyme.

Amino Acids↗

PubMed2026

Species-specific structuring of gut bacterial and fungal communities in honey bees Apis cerana and Apis mellifera.

Honey bee gut microbiome studies have primarily emphasized bacteria, leaving fungal communities comparatively overlooked despite their ecological and functional importance. Whole-genome shotgun metagenomics of Apis cerana and Apis mellifera revealed fungal assemblages dominated by Ascomycota, with Basidiomycota and Microsporidia in minor proportions, alongside gut bacterial communities composed mainly of Pseudomonadota, Bacillota, and Actinomycetota. The bacterial diversity was markedly higher in A. mellifera (Shannon = 5.90; Simpson = 0.98) than in A. cerana (Shannon = 4.01; Simpson = 0.94; p > 0.05), while fungal diversity remained comparable between species (p > 0.05). Beta-diversity analyses revealed strong host-specific clustering for both bacterial (PERMANOVA R2 = 0.7989, p > 0.05) and fungal communities (R2 = 0.7218, p > 0.05), indicating distinct microbial organization driven by host species. Bacterial-fungal co-occurrence patterns exhibited host-specific structuring, suggesting differential inter-kingdom community organization between A. cerana and A. mellifera. Linear Discriminant Analysis Effect Size (LEfSe) identified 93 discriminatory fungal taxa (45 enriched in A. cerana, 48 in A. mellifera), highlighting yeast-dominated signatures in A. mellifera and Basidiomycota-affiliated enrichments in A. cerana. KEGG and CAZy profiling revealed host- and kingdom-specific functional differences, with bacterial communities of A. mellifera showing distinct representation of carbohydrate metabolism and nutrient-cycling functions, while fungal communities exhibited a comparatively narrower functional repertoire. Together, these findings provide a high-resolution view of honey bee bacterial and fungal microbiomes, highlighting strong host-driven divergence in taxonomy, function, and cross-kingdom interactions.

Animals↗

PubMed1979

The localization of honey bee thorax trehalase.

Differential and sucrose gradient centrifugation of honey bee thoraces, disrupted by gentle methods and using mannitol-triethanolamine-EDTA buffer at pH 6.5, showed that in the honey bee thorax 92-94.8% of the trehalase was mitochondrial. Since only 92-95% of the cytochrome c oxidase, a known mitochondrial enzyme, was found in the mitochondrial fraction by these methods, it was concluded that honey bee trehalase is totally mitochondrial. Significant amounts of 'microsomal' or 'soluble' trehalase were formed only by harsh methods of thorax disruption and similar 'microsomal' or 'soluble' trehalases were also formed by harsh treatment of purified whole mitochondria. They thus seem to be artifacts of the isolation procedure. Studies (using marker enzymes) with purified intact mitochondria which were dispersed by various chemical, enzymatic, and physical methods showed that the trehalase in the mitochondria was membrane bound and that it was bound to either the outside of the inner membrane or to one of the sides of the outer membrane.

Animals↗

PubMed2026

Whole-genome sequences of the dwarf honey bee subgenus Micrapis: Apis andreniformis and Apis florea.

The Micrapis subgenus, which includes the black dwarf honey bee (Apis andreniformis) and the red dwarf honey bee (Apis florea), remains underrepresented in genomic studies despite its ecological significance. Here, we present high-quality de novo genome assemblies for both species, generated using a hybrid sequencing approach combining Oxford Nanopore Technologies long reads with Illumina short reads. The final assemblies are highly contiguous, with contig N50 values of 5.0 Mb (A. andreniformis) and 4.3 Mb (A. florea), representing a major improvement over the previously published A. florea genome. Genome completeness assessments indicate high quality, with BUSCO scores exceeding 98.5% using the Hymenoptera database and k-mer analyses supporting base-level accuracy. Repeat annotation revealed a relatively low repetitive sequence content (∼6%), consistent with other Apis species. Using RNA sequencing data, we annotated 12,189 genes for A. andreniformis and 12,207 genes for A. florea, with ∼98% completeness in predicted proteomes. These genome assemblies provide a valuable resource for comparative and functional genomic studies, with the potential to offer new insights into the genetic basis of dwarf honey bee adaptations.

Male↗

PubMed1976

Role of intracellular calcium and sodium in light adaptation in the retina of the honey bee drone (Apis mellifera, L).

In the honey bee drone, the decrease in sensitivity to light of a retinula cell exposed to background illumination was found to be accurately reflected by the difference in amplitude between the initial transient depolarization and the lowest steady depolarization evoked by the background light. It is shown that both the decrease in sensitivity to light and the accompanying drop in potential from the transient to the plateau can be prevented by injecting EGTA intracellularly. A decrease in duration and amplitude of responses to short test flashes such as observed immediately after illumination was found to occur too when Ca or Na, but not K, Li, or Mg injected into dark-adapted retinula cells. Injection of EGTA into a retinula cell maintained a steady state of light adaptation, was found to cause an increase in amplitude and duration of the response to a short test flash, thus producing the effects of dark adaptation. It is suggested that, in the retina of the honey bee drone, an increase in intracellular calcium concentration plays a central role in light adaptation and that an increase in intracellular sodium concentration, resulting from the influx of sodium ions during the responses to light, could lead to this increase in intracellular free calcium.

Adaptation, Ocular↗

PubMed2026

Country specific hybridization of honey bees from lineage M.

BACKGROUND: Honey bees are essential pollinators supporting agricultural production and wild plant diversity. In evolutionary lineage M, some populations are threatened by genetic erosion caused by the widespread introduction of commercially bred queens. To assess this risk, wing images from existing and new datasets were used to assign them to four evolutionary lineages (A, C, M, and O). The new dataset consisted of 29,043 wing images representing 1,342 colony samples from ten countries. RESULTS: Overall, 63.7% of colonies belonged to lineage M, whereas 27.5% were classified as A, 7.9% as C, and 0.8% as O. Lineage M remains prevalent in unprotected populations in Portugal, Spain, and Ireland, as well as in protected populations elsewhere. In contrast, a pronounced decline was observed in unprotected populations in northeastern Poland. CONCLUSIONS: These findings reveal strong regional differences in the persistence of lineage M and underscore the need for coordinated conservation efforts throughout Europe. The data provided in this study should allow for more accurate discrimination between native and introduced phenotypes.

Apis mellifera↗

PubMed1975

[Colony defence of Asian honey bees].

Colony Defence in Asian Honey Bees. 1. In Ais cerana, Apis dorsata and Apis florea a defence behaviour (Körperschütteln) can be released by the approach of flying insects. Films of Apis cerana colonies exhibiting this behaviour were made and anaylysed. 2. Körperschütteln "could not be released by various mechanical and chemical" stimuli. Only the movement of a dark object before light background was effective in releasing this behaviour. 3. The optimal angular velocity of the dark object when moved on a moving disk was between 80 degrees to 250 degrees per sec. The optimal size for stimulation was between 5 degrees and 12 degrees (visual angle). 4. The stimulatory effect was not greatly influenced by the shape of the dark object. 5. Continued stimulation over a 90 min period resulted in 80% reduction in the number of responding bees. 6. The colony's ability to discriminate between returning forager bees and other flying insects is discussed.

Animals↗

PubMed1975

Properties of a free and a solubilized form of bound alpha,alpha-trehalase purified from honey bee thorax.

The free and bound forms of alpha,alpha-trehalase (EC 3.2.1.28) of the honey bee thorax were separated and the bound enzyme was solubilized by raising the pH to 8.0 for 10 h. Both enzymes were purified. They were homogeneous as determined by several electrophoretic criteria. It was found that the two enzymes had very similar Km's (each about 0.89 mM), Vm's (53.2 and 54.3 U/mg for free and solubilized, respectively), inhibition characteristics, specificities (both only hydrolyzed alpha,alpha-trehalose), pH maxima (each had maxima at about 3.5 and 6.5), molecular weights (65,000), isoelectric points (5.1), reactivities to sulfhydryl reagents, electrophoretic mobilities, activation energies (about 12.8 kcal/mol), and similar stabilities to heat, pH, and urea. Some significant differences between the two enzymes were, however, found: the solubilized alpha,alpha-trehalase floated at 70% saturation of ammonium sulfate while the free alpha,alpha-trehalase did not; the solubilized alpha,alpha-trehalase did not dissociate into subunits as readily as did the free one; and the solubilized alpha,alpha-trehalase was found to bind more readily to a hydrophobic grouping than the free enzyme. In addition to these comparisons, three new findings relating to thorax alpha,alpha-trehalases are reported. (1) Thorax alpha,alpha-trehalases are strongly inhibited by beta-glucosides (Ki values of about 8 x 10(-4) M); (2) under certain conditions thorax alpha,alpha-trehalases from honey bees dissociated into subunits of one-half the normal molecular weight; (3) honey bee thorax alpha,alpha-trehalases have unusual biphasic pH activity profiles.

Animals↗

PubMed2025

Genetic variation influences food-sharing sociability in honey bees.

Individual variation in sociability is a central feature of every society. This includes honey bees, with some individuals well connected and sociable, and others at the periphery of their colony's social network. However, the genetic and molecular bases of sociability are poorly understood. Trophallaxis-a behavior involving sharing liquid with nutritional and signaling properties-comprises a social interaction and a proxy for sociability in honey bee colonies: more sociable bees engage in more trophallaxis. Here, we identify genetic and molecular mechanisms of trophallaxis-based sociability by combining genome sequencing, brain transcriptomics, and automated behavioral tracking. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) identified 18 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with variation in sociability. Several SNPs were localized to genes previously associated with sociability in other species, including in the context of human autism, suggesting shared molecular mechanisms of sociability. Variation in sociability also was linked to differential brain gene expression, particularly genes associated with neural signaling and development. Using comparative genomic and transcriptomic approaches, we also detected evidence for divergent mechanisms underpinning sociability across species, including those related to reward sensitivity and encounter probability. These results highlight both potential evolutionary conservation of the molecular roots of sociability and points of divergence.

Animals↗

PubMed1976

Effects of fructose-1,6-diphosphate administration on learning efficiency and time sense of the honey bee, Apis mellifica carnica.

In discrimination experiments honey bees had to decide between two glass dishes, one placed on a black cross, the other 40 cm away on a black square. In spontaneous selections the bees in 70% of all cases chose the black cross. The bees were then trained to search back and forth between the cross and the square until after 5 min sugar-water was given on the black square. Over a total of 5 learning trials, during which multiple decisions had been made by the searching insects, 96% of all choices were in favour of the black square. If 80 mM fructose-1,6-diphosphate (F-1,6-P2) in 1 M glucose had been ingested by the bees 30 min before the first spontaneous choice, learning was facilitated with 83% deciding in favour of the black square at the first trial compared with 46% of the controls (which had been fed on 1 M glucose only). In both groups of bees the same number of flight approches was made to the cross or square as made by the bees searching for 5 min before the reward was given. Thus no change in general activity or harvesting motivation appears to be induced by F-1,6-P2. When F-1,6-P2 had been given at the end of a successful learning series the bees favoured the black square for up to 3 days. In contrast to the controls no new incentive needed to be given during this period. Ingestion of other metabolites proved either ineffective, as in the case of fructose-6-phosphate or 5'-adenosine monophosphate, or, as observed after feeding citrate plus 3-phosphoglycerate, even reduced the performance. To test the effect of F-1,6P2 on the same time sense (circadian rhythm), bees were trained on three successive days to visit a feeding place at a specific time of day. The control bees which ingested only glucose on the evening of the 3rd day returned at their entrained 24-h interval on the 4th day. In contrast, the maximum frequency of appearance of bees fed on F-1,6-P2 was advanced by one hour, with minor appearance peaks at earlier hours of the day.

Animals↗

PubMed1976

Activities of antennal and ocellar interneurones in the protocerebrum of the honey-bee.

1. Unit responses to olfactory and mechanical stimuli of the antennae, and illumination of the ocelli, were recorded extracellularly in the protocerebrum of the honey-bee. 2. Bimodal units responded both to antennal and to ocellar stimuli; antennal units responded to the former and the ocellar units to the latter. Some antennal units responded to olfactory stimuli (olfactory units), and others responded to mechanical stimuli (mechanical units). 3. Ocellar units in the brain showed phasic responses at the start and/or cessation of illumination. Six types of responses were found. 4. About two-thirds of the bimodal units showed the same type of response to stimulation of the antennae as to stimulation of the ocelli. Most of them showed excitation by each stimulus. 5. Bimodal units were distributed around the alpha-lobe in the protocerebral lobe, whereas the antennal and the ocellar units were widely distributed. 6. By turning off the ocellar illumination, background discharge frequency, and the pattern and magnitude of responses to antennal stimuli, were changed. The activities of the ocellar units were altered by inputs from the antenna. 7. It was postulated that antennal and ocellar inputs converge and interact with each other in the protocerebral lobe of the honey-bee.

Action Potentials↗

PubMed1978

Effect of honey bee venom on prostaglandin levels in mouse skin.

The effects of honey bee venom on prostaglandin (PG) E levels were studied in mouse skin under in vivo and in vitro conditions. Levels of PGE were increased 10.8-fold after 15 minutes exposure to reconstituted bee venom in vitro and 3.8-fold 35 minutes after a bee sting in vivo. Phospholipase A2 (PLA2), a major componet of bee venom, also caused a 10.9-fold increase in PGE levels in vitro and may be primarily responsible for this response of skin to bee venom.

Animals↗