Article
Biology
Bin Han, Qiaohong Wei, Esmaeil Amiri, Han Hu, Lifeng Meng, Micheline K. Strand, David R. Tarpy, Shufa Xu, Jianke Li, Olav Rueppell
Summary: This study found that queen bees predictably and reversibly adjust egg size based on colony size in a series of experiments. The size of the queen's ovary changes in the opposite direction. These adjustments are not solely determined by egg-laying rate, but by the queen's perception of the colony size. Egg size plasticity is associated with changes in ovarian proteins related to energy metabolism, protein transport, and cytoskeleton. The small GTPase Rho1 is identified as a candidate regulator of egg size.
Article
Agriculture, Dairy & Animal Science
Jerzy Paleolog, Jerzy Wilde, Artur Miszczak, Marek Gancarz, Aneta Strachecka
Summary: Research shows that the antioxidant defenses of honey bee queens and workers are influenced differently by evolution, with old queens still having resistance while foraging workers do not, which may be disadvantageous for workers in pesticide-exposed ecosystems.
Article
Entomology
Wen-Feng Chen, Ying Wang, Wei-Xing Zhang, Zhen-Guo Liu, Bao-Hua Xu, Hong-Fang Wang
Summary: The study indicated that methionine plays a regulatory role in caste differentiation of honey bees. It affects the development of worker bee larvae and may direct female larvae towards becoming worker bees. By promoting DNA methylation, methionine may regulate caste differentiation through influencing gene expression.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Michelle Prioli Miranda Soares, Daniel Guariz Pinheiro, Flavia Cristina de Paula Freitas, Zila Luz Paulino Simoes, Marcia Maria Gentile Bitondi
Summary: The study analyzed 30 honeybee transcriptomes to identify gene expression for wing and thoracic dorsum construction from larval wing discs. Gene expression in wing discs and descendant structures showed differential expression profiles during developmental phases, highlighting caste-specific differences.
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
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Nathan T. Derstine, Gabriel Villar, Margarita Orlova, Abraham Hefetz, Jocelyn Millar, Etya Amsalem
Summary: The study revealed that the Dufour's gland in bumble bees contains caste-specific compounds that workers use to discriminate between individuals of different social and reproductive status. Furthermore, workers were attracted to Dufour's gland extracts without reproductive conflict, and queenless workers showed higher overall antennal sensitivity.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Biodiversity Conservation
Lars Straub, Laura Villamar-Bouza, Selina Bruckner, Panuwan Chantawannakul, Eleonora Kolari, Jakkrawut Maitip, Beatriz Vidondo, Peter Neumann, Geoffrey R. Williams
Summary: Research findings demonstrate that neonicotinoid insecticides have a significant impact on male honeybees, affecting their survival, behavior, and reproductive physiology in the field. These effects should be considered by policymakers when assessing risks to pollinating insects like honeybees.
JOURNAL OF APPLIED ECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Michelina Pusceddu, Desiderato Annoscia, Ignazio Floris, Davide Frizzera, Virginia Zanni, Alberto Angioni, Alberto Satta, Francesco Nazzi
Summary: The study found that honeybees use propolis to combat their major ectoparasite Varroa destructor, which has a positive effect on honeybees and potential impact on Varroa population. This discovery sheds light on the behavioral immunity of animals and could have significant implications for managing threats to honeybees globally.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(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
Ecology
Georgia C. Drew, Giles E. Budge, Crystal L. Frost, Peter Neumann, Stefanos Siozios, Orlando Yanez, Gregory D. D. Hurst
Summary: This study describes a symbiosis between a member of the genus Arsenophonus and the Western honey bee. While the symbiont shares common genomic properties with Arsenophonus nasoniae, evidence suggests that the bee Arsenophonus deviates from a heritable transmission model, with evidence of horizontal transmission between bees.
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
Ecology
Andree Cappellari, Giovanna Bonaldi, Maurizio Mei, Dino Paniccia, Pierfilippo Cerretti, Lorenzo Marini
Summary: Managed and wild pollinators coexist in different ecosystems. This study investigated the interactions between plants and pollinators in 51 grasslands and found that honeybee abundance, temperature, plant functional diversity, and trait similarity between wild pollinators and the honeybee influence resource overlap between them. Resource overlap decreases with increasing honeybee abundance, but only in plant communities with high functional diversity. Resource overlap increases with increasing trait similarity between wild pollinators and the honeybee.
Article
Entomology
Piotr Dziechciarz, Grzegorz Borsuk, Krzysztof Olszewski
Summary: The study found that manipulating comb cell width is not an effective method for modeling worker body size, as worker bees exhibit relatively constant body size. However, using small-cell combs may increase worker resistance to Varroa destructor. Additionally, morphometric traits commonly used for honeybee subspecies identification remained relatively stable despite changes in comb cell width, confirming their suitability for identification.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Lauren M. Rusert, Jeffrey S. Pettis, David R. Tarpy
Summary: The study found that the presence of Varroa mites in Hawaii may not significantly decrease the mating success of honey bee queens, with overall high levels of polyandry observed. Additionally, there was a significant association between the number of sperm stored in queen bees' spermathecae and the number of managed colonies in the mating localities.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Elias Beck, Tom Wenseleers, Ricardo Caliari Oliveira
Summary: The western honeybee Apis mellifera shows temporal polyethism, where workers perform different tasks as they age. This division of labor is regulated not only by bee age but also by the proportion of workers performing the required tasks. In a study simulating the loss of foragers in the colony, honeybee workers quickly replaced the missing foragers by accelerating their transition to a subsequent task. The study also found that the social network structure of the colony became more cohesive and interconnected after the disturbance.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Katherine R. Barrs, M. Omar Ani, Kimberlyn K. Eversman, Jonathan T. Rowell, Kaira M. Wagoner, Olav Rueppell
Summary: Behavioral specialization and cooperation are essential for the organization and success of social groups, as demonstrated by honey bee workers engaging in hygienic behavior. Our study reveals that individual worker bees specialized in either uncapping or removing brood tasks, with multiple individuals engaging in task partitioning. The speed-accuracy trade-off in collective performance of hygienic behavior is highlighted, showing that while cooperation may take longer with multiple individuals specializing on different tasks, it can prevent costly mistakes. Additionally, computer simulations suggest that task partitioning through collective decision-making can reduce errors in the removal of unhealthy brood, indicating the importance of specialized individual roles in the evolution of hygienic behavior.
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY AND SOCIOBIOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Shilpi Bhatia, Saman S. Baral, Carlos Vega Melendez, Esmaeil Amiri, Olav Rueppell
Summary: Honey bees and other pollinators are threatened by virus infections, and selective breeding may help improve their resistance. Significant differences in virus infection survival were found among different honey bee stocks in the U.S, indicating potential for selective breeding to decrease virus susceptibility. The study suggests that the differences in survival may be related to the natural immune system of honey bees and past virus exposure.
Article
Biology
Anissa Kennedy, Jacob Herman, Olav Rueppell
Summary: Social insect reproductives show exceptional longevity, with even workers experiencing increased lifespan when assuming a reproductive role. Reproductive activation enhances immunity and oxidative stress resistance, preemptively protecting against stressors and potentially explaining the extended lifespan of social insect reproductives.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bertrand Fouks, Philipp Brand, Hung N. Nguyen, Jacob Herman, Francisco Camara, Daniel Ence, Darren E. Hagen, Katharina J. Hoff, Stefanie Nachweide, Lars Romoth, Kimberly K. O. Walden, Roderic Guigo, Mario Stanke, Giuseppe Narzisi, Mark Yandell, Hugh M. Robertson, Nikolaus Koeniger, Panuwan Chantawannakul, Michael C. Schatz, Kim C. Worley, Gene E. Robinson, Christine G. Elsik, Olav Rueppell
Summary: This study compared the genomes of three different subgenera of honey bees and revealed a complex gene regulation pattern and the role of positive selection in adaptive evolution among honey bee species.
Article
Biology
Bin Han, Qiaohong Wei, Fan Wu, Han Hu, Chuan Ma, Lifeng Meng, Xufeng Zhang, Mao Feng, Yu Fang, Olav Rueppell, Jianke Li
Summary: Behavioral specialization is crucial for the success of social insects, and honeybee workers show different response thresholds to task-specific stimuli corresponding to their behavioral phenotypes. Tachykinin signaling plays a functional role in regulating the responsiveness of specialized honeybee workers to specific tasks, suggesting a potential mechanism for controlling behavior in animals.
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Prashant Waiker, Fabiano Carlos Pinto de Abreu, Danielle Luna-Lucena, Flavia Cristina Paula Freitas, Zila Luz Paulino Simoes, Olav Rueppell
Summary: This study provides new evidence for the association between high sociality and recombination rates in Hymenoptera, supporting the hypothesis that advanced social evolution in hymenopteran insects invariably selects for high genomic recombination rates.
Article
Entomology
K. Wagoner, J. G. Millar, J. Keller, J. Bello, P. Waiker, C. Schal, M. Spivak, O. Rueppell
Summary: Despite ongoing threats posed by the ectoparasitic mite Varroa and the pathogens it vectors, hygienic behavior remains a promising avenue for managing Varroa in honey bee colonies. While hygienic behavior is more prevalent in Varroa-resistant colonies, it does not guarantee resistance to Varroa, and current selection methods for Varroa resistance may lack efficiency in practice.
JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Entomology
Michael Simone-Finstrom, Micheline K. Strand, David R. Tarpy, Olav Rueppell
Summary: This study investigates the effects of honey bee management on pathogen loads and immunity. The results suggest that honey bees exposed to migratory management during adulthood have increased levels of virus complex and decreased expression of antiviral genes, while honey bees in stationary management as adults have elevated levels of gut parasites. The effects of environment during juvenile development are more complex.
JOURNAL OF INSECT SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Zoology
Tal Erez, Elad Bonda, Paz Kahanov, Olav Rueppell, Kaira Wagoner, Nor Chejanovsky, Victoria Soroker
Summary: Breeding for hygienic behavior in honey bees can lead to reduced Varroa infestation, decreased prevalence of DWV, and increased individual immune function.
JOURNAL OF INVERTEBRATE PATHOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yu Fang, Mao Feng, Chuan Ma, Olav Rueppell, Jianke Li
Summary: Age-based division of labor is a fundamental trait among social insects such as Western honey bees. Hormonal regulation plays a role in the transition from nest tasks to foraging, but the underlying neurobiological mechanisms are still unclear. Using a monoclonal antibody microarray, we identified potential protein effectors, Major royal jelly protein (MRJP) 1 and MRJP3, and confirmed their role in the regulation of worker bee behavior through experimental manipulations and RNAi injections. Our study provides novel insights into honey bee behavior and supports a nutrition-based model for the age-based division of labor.
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Chao Tong, Leticia Aviles, Linda S. Rayor, Alexander S. Mikheyev, Timothy A. Linksvayer
Summary: This study compares the genomes of 22 spider species and identifies specific genetic changes associated with the evolution of sociality in spiders. The genes involved are associated with key functions such as neurogenesis, behavior, and metabolism. The study also highlights the potential of using ethanol-preserved specimens for comparative genomics and phylotranscriptomics.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Biology
Bin Han, Qiaohong Wei, Esmaeil Amiri, Han Hu, Lifeng Meng, Micheline K. Strand, David R. Tarpy, Shufa Xu, Jianke Li, Olav Rueppell
Summary: This study found that queen bees predictably and reversibly adjust egg size based on colony size in a series of experiments. The size of the queen's ovary changes in the opposite direction. These adjustments are not solely determined by egg-laying rate, but by the queen's perception of the colony size. Egg size plasticity is associated with changes in ovarian proteins related to energy metabolism, protein transport, and cytoskeleton. The small GTPase Rho1 is identified as a candidate regulator of egg size.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Abigail Chapman, Esmaeil Amiri, Bin Han, Erin McDermott, Olav Rueppell, David R. Tarpy, Leonard J. Foster, Alison McAfee
Summary: This study found that viral infections significantly affect the reproductive success of honey bee queens, leading to decreased ovary mass. Infected queens displayed higher levels of infection, reduced sperm viability, smaller ovaries, and altered ovary protein composition compared to healthy queens.
SCIENTIFIC REPORTS
(2022)
Article
Agriculture, Multidisciplinary
Prashant Waiker, Yener Ulus, Martin Tsz-Ki Tsui, Olav Rueppell
Summary: Urbanization may contribute to increased mercury exposure in honey bees, making them a useful biomonitor for chemical pollutants in the environment.
AGRICULTURAL & ENVIRONMENTAL LETTERS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Megan E. Damico, Olav Rueppell, Zack Shaffer, Bin Han, Kasie Raymann
Summary: The study compared the gut microbiome composition of honey bees with high royal jelly production and Italian honey bees, finding that environmental factors play a more significant role in shaping gut bacterial composition than bee stocks. Further research is needed to investigate the impact of relative abundance differences in taxa on honey bee health.
