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  • 1
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    The Royal Society ; 2022
    In:  Royal Society Open Science Vol. 9, No. 8 ( 2022-08)
    In: Royal Society Open Science, The Royal Society, Vol. 9, No. 8 ( 2022-08)
    Abstract: European honeybee populations are considered to consist only of managed colonies, but recent censuses have revealed that wild/feral colonies still occur in various countries. To gauge the ecological and evolutionary relevance of wild-living honeybees, information is needed on their population demography. We monitored feral honeybee colonies in German forests for up to 4 years through regular inspections of woodpecker cavity trees and microsatellite genotyping. Each summer, about 10% of the trees were occupied, corresponding to average densities of 0.23 feral colonies km −2 (an estimated 5% of the regional honeybee populations). Populations decreased moderately until autumn but dropped massively during winter, so that their densities were only about 0.02 colonies km −2 in early spring. During the reproductive (swarming) season, in May and June, populations recovered, with new swarms preferring nest sites that had been occupied in the previous year. The annual survival rate and the estimated lifespan of feral colonies ( n = 112) were 10.6% and 0.6 years, respectively. We conclude that managed forests in Germany do not harbour self-sustaining feral honeybee populations, but they are recolonized every year by swarms escaping from apiaries.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2054-5703
    Language: English
    Publisher: The Royal Society
    Publication Date: 2022
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2787755-3
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  • 2
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    The Royal Society ; 2020
    In:  Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences Vol. 287, No. 1922 ( 2020-03-11), p. 20200190-
    In: Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, The Royal Society, Vol. 287, No. 1922 ( 2020-03-11), p. 20200190-
    Abstract: Efficient communication is highly important for the evolutionary success of social animals. Honeybees (genus Apis ) are unique in that they communicate the spatial information of resources using a symbolic ‘language’, the waggle dance. Different honeybee species differ in foraging ecology but it remains unknown whether this shaped variation in the dance. We studied distance dialects—interspecific differences in how waggle duration relates to flight distance—and tested the hypothesis that these evolved to maximize communication precision over the bees' foraging ranges. We performed feeder experiments with Apis cerana , A. florea and A. dorsata in India and found that A. cerana had the steepest dialect, i.e. a rapid increase in waggle duration with increasing feeder distance, A. florea had an intermediate, and A. dorsata had the lowest dialect. By decoding dances for natural food sites, we inferred that the foraging range was smallest in A. cerana , intermediate in A. florea and largest in A. dorsata . The inverse correlation between foraging range and dialect was corroborated when comparing six (sub)species across the geographical range of the genus including previously published data. We conclude that dance dialects constitute adaptations resulting from a trade-off between the spatial range and the spatial accuracy of communication.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 0962-8452 , 1471-2954
    Language: English
    Publisher: The Royal Society
    Publication Date: 2020
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 1460975-7
    SSG: 12
    SSG: 25
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  • 3
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Elsevier BV ; 2022
    In:  Biological Conservation Vol. 266 ( 2022-02), p. 109450-
    In: Biological Conservation, Elsevier BV, Vol. 266 ( 2022-02), p. 109450-
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 0006-3207
    Language: English
    Publisher: Elsevier BV
    Publication Date: 2022
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 1496231-7
    SSG: 12
    SSG: 23
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  • 4
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    The Company of Biologists ; 2021
    In:  Journal of Experimental Biology Vol. 224, No. 9 ( 2021-05-01)
    In: Journal of Experimental Biology, The Company of Biologists, Vol. 224, No. 9 ( 2021-05-01)
    Abstract: Honey bees estimate distances to food sources using image motion experienced on the flight path and they use this measure to tune the waggle phase duration in their dance communication. Most studies on the dance-related odometer are based on experiments with Apis mellifera foragers trained in small tunnels with black and white patterns, which allows the creation of quantifiable changes in optic flow. In this study, we determined the waggle phase duration-distance curves of two Asian honey bee species, Apisflorea and Apiscerana, in two different natural environments with clear differences in the vegetation conditions and hence visual contrast. We found that the dense vegetation condition (with higher contrast) elicited a more rapid increase in the waggle phase duration with distance than the sparse vegetation condition in A. florea but not in A. cerana. Our findings suggest that contrast sensitivity of the waggle dance odometer might vary among honey bee species.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 0022-0949 , 1477-9145
    Language: English
    Publisher: The Company of Biologists
    Publication Date: 2021
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 1482461-9
    SSG: 12
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  • 5
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Springer Science and Business Media LLC ; 2021
    In:  Apidologie Vol. 52, No. 2 ( 2021-04), p. 503-523
    In: Apidologie, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 52, No. 2 ( 2021-04), p. 503-523
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 0044-8435 , 1297-9678
    Language: English
    Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
    Publication Date: 2021
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2005148-7
    SSG: 12
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  • 6
    In: Insects, MDPI AG, Vol. 13, No. 1 ( 2021-12-21), p. 4-
    Abstract: In vitro rearing of honeybee larvae is an established method that enables exact control and monitoring of developmental factors and allows controlled application of pesticides or pathogens. However, only a few studies have investigated how the rearing method itself affects the behavior of the resulting adult honeybees. We raised honeybees in vitro according to a standardized protocol: marking the emerging honeybees individually and inserting them into established colonies. Subsequently, we investigated the behavioral performance of nurse bees and foragers and quantified the physiological factors underlying the social organization. Adult honeybees raised in vitro differed from naturally reared honeybees in their probability of performing social tasks. Further, in vitro-reared bees foraged for a shorter duration in their life and performed fewer foraging trips. Nursing behavior appeared to be unaffected by rearing condition. Weight was also unaffected by rearing condition. Interestingly, juvenile hormone titers, which normally increase strongly around the time when a honeybee becomes a forager, were significantly lower in three- and four-week-old in vitro bees. The effects of the rearing environment on individual sucrose responsiveness and lipid levels were rather minor. These data suggest that larval rearing conditions can affect the task performance and physiology of adult bees despite equal weight, pointing to an important role of the colony environment for these factors. Our observations of behavior and metabolic pathways offer important novel insight into how the rearing environment affects adult honeybees.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2075-4450
    Language: English
    Publisher: MDPI AG
    Publication Date: 2021
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2662247-6
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  • 7
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    PeerJ ; 2018
    In:  PeerJ Vol. 6 ( 2018-04-06), p. e4602-
    In: PeerJ, PeerJ, Vol. 6 ( 2018-04-06), p. e4602-
    Abstract: It is a common belief that feral honey bee colonies ( Apis mellifera L.) were eradicated in Europe through the loss of habitats, domestication by man and spread of pathogens and parasites. Interestingly, no scientific data are available, neither about the past nor the present status of naturally nesting honeybee colonies. We expected near-natural beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) forests to provide enough suitable nest sites to be a home for feral honey bee colonies in Europe. Here, we made a first assessment of their occurrence and density in two German woodland areas based on two methods, the tracing of nest sites based on forager flight routes (beelining technique), and the direct inspection of potential cavity trees. Further, we established experimental swarms at forest edges and decoded dances for nest sites performed by scout bees in order to study how far swarms from beekeeper-managed hives would potentially move into a forest. We found that feral honey bee colonies regularly inhabit tree cavities in near-natural beech forests at densities of at least 0.11–0.14 colonies/km 2 . Colonies were not confined to the forest edges; they were also living deep inside the forests. We estimated a median distance of 2,600 m from the bee trees to the next apiaries, while scout bees in experimental swarms communicated nest sites in close distances (median: 470 m). We extrapolate that there are several thousand feral honey bee colonies in German woodlands. These have to be taken in account when assessing the role of forest areas in providing pollination services to the surrounding land, and their occurrence has implications for the species’ perception among researchers, beekeepers and conservationists. This study provides a starting point for investigating the life-histories and the ecological interactions of honey bees in temperate European forest environments.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2167-8359
    Language: English
    Publisher: PeerJ
    Publication Date: 2018
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2703241-3
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  • 8
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Wiley ; 2023
    In:  Journal of Applied Ecology Vol. 60, No. 6 ( 2023-06), p. 1056-1066
    In: Journal of Applied Ecology, Wiley, Vol. 60, No. 6 ( 2023-06), p. 1056-1066
    Abstract: Natürliche Wälder gelten als ursprünglicher Lebensraum der Westlichen Honigbiene ( Apis mellifera ) und bieten vermutlich wichtige Pollen‐ und Nektarquellen. In bewirtschafteten Wäldern könnte das Ressourcenangebot jedoch räumlich und zeitlich beschränkt sein, und es fehlen derzeit landschaftsbezogene Studien zum Sammelverhalten von Honigbienen in europäischen Waldregionen. Wir nutzten das einzigartige Kommunikationsverhalten der Honigbienen—den Schwänzeltanz—um deren Sammelverhalten in einem Laubwaldgebiet in Süddeutschland zu untersuchen. Wir dekodierten 2022 Schwänzeltänze von zwölf Bienenvölkern, die von März bis August 2019 in Landschaften mit unterschiedlichem Waldanteil (50%–99% Waldanteil im Umkreis von 2 km) aufgestellt waren, und ermittelten so Sammeldistanzen und Habitatpräferenzen für einen Großteil der Bienensaison. Durch die Verknüpfung von Tanzinformationen mit Gewichtsdaten ermittelten wir, inwieweit verschiedene Landnutzungstypen zur Gewichtszunahme der Kolonien beitragen. Die Sammeldistanzen stiegen im Allgemeinen mit dem Waldanteil in der Landschaft an, was auf geringere Nahrungsverfügbarkeit im Wald hindeutet. Dieser Effekt hing jedoch stark von der Jahreszeit ab und war bei der Pollensuche stärker ausgeprägt als bei der Nektarsuche. Obwohl die Sammelbienen in walddominierten Landschaften weitere Distanzen zurücklegen mussten, war die Gewichtsentwicklung der Bienenvölker durch den Waldanteil nicht signifikant beeinflusst. Im Vergleich zur Erwartung, basierend auf den Flächenanteilen der verschiedenen Landnutzungstypen, sammelten die Bienenvölker häufiger auf Grün‐ und Ackerland als in Laub‐ und Nadelwäldern, wobei der Spätsommer eine besonders schwierige Zeit für die Pollensuche in Wäldern war. Während einer Phase der Gewichtszunahme der Bienenvölker im Frühsommer entsprach die Nutzung der Wälder als Nahrungshabitat für Nektar‐/Honigtau etwa den Erwartungen, was die Bedeutung der Wälder als wichtige Kohlenhydratquelle in einem kurzen Zeitraum im Jahr unterstreicht. Politische Implikationen . Der ökologische und wirtschaftliche Nutzen von bewirtschafteten Wäldern als Lebensraum für Honigbienen und andere soziale Bienenarten könnte durch die kontinuierliche Bereitstellung von Blütenressourcen, insbesondere bei der Pollenversorgung, erheblich gesteigert werden. Wir empfehlen daher, Waldbestände mit insektenbestäubten Bäumen zu diversifizieren, sekundäre Sukzessionen in Waldlücken zuzulassen und, auf größerer räumlicher Ebene, Waldlandschaften mit hoher Lebensraumvielfalt zu schaffen. Dies wird nicht nur den wild lebenden Honigbienen in den Wäldern helfen, sondern auch bewirtschaftete Bienenvölker und soziale Bienen im Allgemeinen fördern.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 0021-8901 , 1365-2664
    URL: Issue
    Language: English
    Publisher: Wiley
    Publication Date: 2023
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2020408-5
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 410405-5
    SSG: 12
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  • 9
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Wiley ; 2023
    In:  Ecological Solutions and Evidence Vol. 4, No. 3 ( 2023-07)
    In: Ecological Solutions and Evidence, Wiley, Vol. 4, No. 3 ( 2023-07)
    Abstract: Bee parasites are the main threat to apiculture and since many parasite taxa can spill over from honeybees ( Apis mellifera ) to other bee species, honeybee disease management is important for pollinator conservation in general. It is unknown whether honeybees that escaped from apiaries (i.e. feral colonies) benefit from natural parasite‐reducing mechanisms like swarming or suffer from high parasite pressure due to the lack of medical treatment. In the latter case, they could function as parasite reservoirs and pose a risk to the health of managed honeybees (spillback) and wild bees (spillover). We compared the occurrence of 18 microparasites among managed ( N  = 74) and feral ( N  = 64) honeybee colony samples from four regions in Germany using qPCR. We distinguished five colony types representing differences in colony age and management histories, two variables potentially modulating parasite prevalence. Besides strong regional variation in parasite communities, parasite burden was consistently lower in feral than in managed colonies. The overall number of detected parasite taxa per colony was 15% lower and Trypanosomatidae, chronic bee paralysis virus, and deformed wing viruses A and B were less prevalent and abundant in feral colonies than in managed colonies. Parasite burden was lowest in newly founded feral colonies, intermediate in overwintered feral colonies and managed nucleus colonies, and highest in overwintered managed colonies and hived swarms. Our study confirms the hypothesis that the natural mode of colony reproduction and dispersal by swarming temporally reduces parasite pressure in honeybees. We conclude that feral colonies are unlikely to contribute significantly to the spread of bee diseases. There is no conflict between the conservation of wild‐living honeybees and the management of diseases in apiculture.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 2688-8319 , 2688-8319
    URL: Issue
    Language: English
    Publisher: Wiley
    Publication Date: 2023
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 3021448-8
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  • 10
    Online Resource
    Online Resource
    Springer Science and Business Media LLC ; 2020
    In:  Apidologie Vol. 51, No. 4 ( 2020-08), p. 570-582
    In: Apidologie, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 51, No. 4 ( 2020-08), p. 570-582
    Abstract: Honeybees are very sensitive to their breeding temperature. Even slightly lower temperatures during larval development can significantly affect adult behavior. Several devices which are employed for killing the honeybee ectoparasite Varroa destructor rely on short-term hyperthermia in the honeybee hive. The device used here applies 43.7 °C for 2 h, which is highly effective in killing the mites. We study how short-term hyperthermia affects worker brood and behavior of emerging adult bees. Sucrose responsiveness was strongly reduced after treatment of larvae early or late of larval development. Hyperthermia significantly enhanced life span, particularly in bees receiving treated early in larval development. To ask whether increased life span correlated with foraging performance, we used radio frequency identification (RFID). Onset and offset of foraging behavior as well as foraging trip duration and lifetime foraging effort were unaffected by hyperthermia treatment as prepupa.
    Type of Medium: Online Resource
    ISSN: 0044-8435 , 1297-9678
    Language: English
    Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
    Publication Date: 2020
    detail.hit.zdb_id: 2005148-7
    SSG: 12
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