Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alison McAfee, David R. Tarpy, Leonard J. Foster
Summary: The study revealed that cold stress decreased stored sperm viability in queen bees, but heat stress did not significantly impact other metrics, indicating substantial variation in temperature tolerance among queens in terms of fertility impacts.
Article
Entomology
Ignazio Floris, Michelina Pusceddu, Pietro Niolu, Alberto Satta
Summary: While reproduction is traditionally seen as the sole task of the queen bee, foraging activities are typically carried out by worker bees. However, a new observation in the countryside of northern Sardinia revealed a honey bee queen foraging on a borage flower, highlighting the potential for queens to engage in tasks normally attributed to workers. This discovery opens up new perspectives on the behavior of queen bees outside the nest and prompts further research into their capabilities and behavior.
Article
Agronomy
Anna Maria Gajda, Ewa Danuta Mazur, Andrzej Marcin Bober, Michal Czopowicz
Summary: Research findings indicate that N. ceranae is more pathogenic to A. mellifera than N. apis, and the course of type C nosemosis is more severe, resulting in shorter lifespans for bees. The presence of BQCV exacerbates the disease, making it even more dangerous for bees.
Article
Entomology
Cole Baril, Christophe M. R. LeMoine, Bryan J. Cassone
Summary: In this study, the novel black queen cell virus (BQCV) was identified in mosquitoes collected from Manitoba, Canada. The nearly complete genome sequence of BQCV was obtained, revealing its high similarity to a BQCV isolate from Sweden. It is hypothesized that mosquitoes acquired the virus indirectly through foraging at the same nectar sources as honeybees.
JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Zoology
Vera W. Pfeiffer, David W. Crowder
Summary: Global efforts to assess honey bee health have found that viruses are major stressors that affect colony performance. A study in the Pacific Northwest region of the USA surveyed viruses in honey bees and identified factors such as regional bee density and hive management that affect virus prevalence. The study also found that mite management is important in slowing virus spread.
JOURNAL OF INVERTEBRATE PATHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Duan C. Copeland, Kirk E. Anderson, Brendon M. Mott
Summary: This study reveals the relationship between honey bee queen gut microbiota and early social environment as well as queen breeder identity, which is associated with the queen's reproductive capacity.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2022)
Article
Entomology
Ricarda Scheiner, Kayun Lim, Marina D. Meixner, Martin S. Gabel
Summary: This study compared the associative learning performance of six honeybee subspecies from different European regions, with results showing that the Iberian honeybee displayed significantly poorer learning performance. Possible causes for this discrepancy were discussed in the study.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Kirsten S. Traynor, Dennis VanEngelsdorp, Zachary S. Lamas
Summary: The study revealed that queens and broods exposed to sublethal doses of pesticides experienced decreased resilience, with impacts including reduced pollen consumption, increased brood loss, and changes in protein acquisition. Additionally, colonies exposed to pesticides showed a higher proportion of pollen foragers and increased queen reproductive loss after fungicide exposure.
ECOTOXICOLOGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL SAFETY
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Sonia E. Eynard, Alain Vignal, Benjamin Basso, Kamila Canale-Tabet, Yves Le Conte, Axel Decourtye, Lucie Genestout, Emmanuelle Labarthe, Fanny Mondet, Bertrand Servin
Summary: This study introduces new statistical methods to accurately estimate the genetic ancestry and reconstruct the genotypes of the queen from pool sequencing data of workers in a eusocial colony, allowing for genetic diversity monitoring, genomic-based studies, and selective breeding.
MOLECULAR ECOLOGY RESOURCES
(2022)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Maxime Pineaux, Stephane Grateau, Tiffany Lirand, Pierrick Aupinel, Freddie -Jeanne Richard
Summary: The widely used fungicide boscalid has detrimental effects on honey bee queen reproduction, leading to increased mortality and reduced sperm storage. However, it does not affect paternity frequency in successfully established colonies.
ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION
(2023)
Article
Biology
Benjamin P. Oldroyd, Boris Yagound, Michael H. Allsopp, Michael J. Holmes, Gabrielle Buchmann, Amro Zayed, Madeleine Beekman
Summary: The study investigated the genetic recombination rates between Cape honeybee workers and queens, revealing that workers have evolved mechanisms to reduce recombination while queens do not possess such mechanisms.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Clara Jabal-Uriel, Laura Barrios, Anne Bonjour-Dalmon, Shiran Caspi-Yona, Nor Chejanovsly, Tal Erez, Dora Henriques, Mariano Higes, Yves Le Conte, Ana R. Lopes, Aranzazu Meana, Maria Alice Pinto, Maritza Reyes-Carreno, Victoria Soroker, Raquel Martin-Hernandez
Summary: The study on Nosema ceranae infection levels showed that geographical location and beekeeping conditions can influence the prevalence of infection, with higher levels in Israel and lower levels in mainland France. The correlation between infection levels and colony losses varied among different locations, suggesting the need for further research on the interaction of this parasite with other factors for effective control strategies.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Alison McAfee, Joseph P. Milone, Bradley Metz, Erin McDermott, Leonard J. Foster, David R. Tarpy
Summary: This study investigated the direct impact of topical pesticide exposure on honey bee queens and found that common pesticides found in wax did not have a direct effect on queen performance, reproduction, or quality at the doses tested. The research suggests that previously reported associations between high levels of pesticide residues in wax and queen failure are likely driven by indirect effects of worker exposure on queen care or perception.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Yao Yi, Yi-Bo Liu, Andrew B. Barron, Zhi-Jiang Zeng
Summary: Queens reared from transplanted worker larvae show differences in weight, number of ovarioles, and genome-wide methylation compared to queens reared from transplanted eggs. Methylation differences in genes related to reproduction, longevity, immunity, and metabolic functions suggest that queens reared from worker larvae may be less fecund and healthy. The findings caution that commercial queen rearing practices involving worker larvae transplantation may compromise the quality of queens produced.
Article
Biology
Hamutahl Cohen, Gordon P. Smith, Hillary Sardinas, Jocelyn F. Zorn, Quinn S. McFrederick, S. Hollis Woodard, Lauren C. Ponisio
Summary: The study found that mass-flowering crops increase bee abundance, but are also associated with parasite presence. Wild bee abundance is related to parasite presence, but only in areas with low amounts of non-crop flowers. Bee traits related to higher dispersal ability and broader diet are positively correlated with parasite presence.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Boris Yagound, Kathleen A. Dogantzis, Amro Zayed, Julianne Lim, Paul Broekhuyse, Emily J. Remnant, Madeleine Beekman, Michael H. Allsopp, Sarah E. Aamidor, Orly Dim, Gabriele Buchmann, Benjamin P. Oldroyd
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Nicholas M. A. Smith, Boris Yagound, Emily J. Remnant, Charles S. P. Foster, Gabriele Buchmann, Michael H. Allsopp, Clement F. Kent, Amro Zayed, Stephen A. Rose, Kitty Lo, Alyson Ashe, Brock A. Harpur, Madeleine Beekman, Benjamin P. Oldroyd
Article
Microbiology
Amanda M. Norton, Emily J. Remnant, Gabriele Buchmann, Madeleine Beekman
FRONTIERS IN MICROBIOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Ecology
Guiling Ding, Martin Hasselmann, Jiaxing Huang, John Roberts, Benjamin P. Oldroyd, Rosalyn Gloag
Summary: The study found that in the complementary sex determiner gene of the Asian honeybee, just a few amino acid differences can affect female development, while most alleles are detected in only one sample location, indicating high variation and balancing selection lead to the exceptionally high polymorphism in this locus.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
C. A. M. Cardoso-Junior, B. P. Oldroyd, I. Ronai
Summary: Social insects, like honeybees, have two female castes with extreme differences in reproductive capacity. The study found that the expression of Vitellogenin (Vg) in the ovaries of worker bees is influenced by Royal Jelly, the food of honeybee queens. Surprisingly, the expression of Vg is not linked to ovary activation in worker bees, suggesting potential non-reproductive functions for this gene.
INSECT MOLECULAR BIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence
Jules Smith-Ferguson, Terence C. Burnham, Madeleine Beekman
Summary: The ability to learn from past experiences and adjust behavior according to risk levels has been demonstrated in experiments with the acellular slime mould Physarum polycephalum. Results showed that individuals consistently made the same foraging decision over time, demonstrating non-associative learning capabilities in slime molds.
Article
Ecology
Amanda M. Norton, Emily J. Remnant, Jolanda Tom, Gabriele Buchmann, Tjeerd Blacquiere, Madeleine Beekman
Summary: Research shows that DWV genotypes A and B have different responses to mite numbers within honeybee colonies. DWV-A accumulation in honeybees is positively correlated with mite numbers, while DWV-B can persist with high loads in colonies even when mite numbers are low.
JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
(2021)
Review
Biology
Benjamin P. Oldroyd, Boris Yagound
Summary: Eusocial insects, such as bees, have distinct queens and workers that arise from a common genome, with caste-specific developmental trajectories potentially influenced by epigenetic processes. Early studies suggested a causal role for DNA methylation in caste dimorphism, but more recent research has shown inconsistent associations between methylation and caste. The functional significance of DNA methylation in social insects remains equivocal, with studies on honeybees and other species yielding conflicting evidence.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Editorial Material
Biology
Alyson Ashe, Vincent Colot, Benjamin P. Oldroyd
Summary: Epigenetics is the study of changes in gene activity that are transmitted through cell divisions but not by changes in DNA sequence. Despite the typical erasure of epigenetic states every generation, some are heritable and subject to natural selection. Epigenetic variation enhances phenotypic plasticity, modulates the effect of natural selection on genetic variation, and can contribute to hybrid dysfunction and speciation.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Review
Biology
Benjamin P. Oldroyd, Boris Yagound
Summary: Social insects, due to haplo-diploidy and relatedness asymmetries, are prime candidates for the evolution of genomic imprinting. Different mating systems may lead to different evolutionary pressures on genes, influencing their direction of evolution. Crosses between subspecies of honeybees have shown evidence of genomic imprinting affecting genes related to worker reproduction.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Carlos A. M. Cardoso-Junior, Boris Yagound, Isobel Ronai, Emily J. Remnant, Klaus Hartfelder, Benjamin P. Oldroyd
Summary: The study found that DNA methylation is not a major factor in driving differential gene expression between tissues or behavioral types, while the presence of a queen affects the expression of all four DNA methyltransferase genes.
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Boris Yagound, Emily J. Remnant, Gabriele Buchmann, Benjamin P. Oldroyd
PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
(2021)
Article
Biology
Benjamin P. Oldroyd, Boris Yagound, Michael H. Allsopp, Michael J. Holmes, Gabrielle Buchmann, Amro Zayed, Madeleine Beekman
Summary: The study investigated the genetic recombination rates between Cape honeybee workers and queens, revealing that workers have evolved mechanisms to reduce recombination while queens do not possess such mechanisms.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Zijia Sun, Nadine C. Chapman, Rika Raffiudin, Ramadhani Eka Putra, John Roberts, Chandra Widjaya, Gabriele Buchmann, Michael Holmes, Rosalyn Gloag
Summary: Introduced species are a global concern that can disrupt ecosystems and cause economic damage. In this study, mitochondrial DNA diversity was analyzed in native and invasive populations of the Asian honey bee. The results indicate severe founder event bottlenecks in invasive populations and high mitochondrial diversity in native-range populations. Further research is needed to understand the effects of mitochondrial diversity loss in invasive populations.
AUSTRAL ENTOMOLOGY
(2022)