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Zarate D, Mukogawa B, Kohn J, Nieh JC. Seasonal variation in defense behavior in European and scutellata-hybrid honey bees (Apis mellifera) in Southern California. Sci Rep 2023; 13:12790. [PMID: 37550348 PMCID: PMC10406949 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-38153-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/04/2023] [Indexed: 08/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Nest defense in the honey bee (Apis mellifera) is a complex collective behavior modulated by various interacting social, environmental, and genetic factors. Scutellata-hybrid ("Africanized") honey bees are usually considered to be far more defensive than European honey bees which are therefore preferred for commercial and hobbyist beekeeping. In the most recent zone of scutellata hybridization, the southern USA, the degree to which this defensiveness differs among current strains, and the extent to which defensiveness varies across a season has not been measured. We quantified the levels of A. m. scutellata ancestry in colonies and conducted a seasonal assessment (May through November) of colony nest defensiveness in feral scutellata-hybrid and a popular lineage of European honey bee commonly used in managed environments (sold as A. mellifera ligustica) hives at two apiaries in Southern California. Standard measures of defensiveness were low in both scutellata-hybrid and European colonies during May. Defensiveness increased during the later months of the study in scutellata-hybrid colonies. Most measures of defensiveness did not increase in managed colonies. Defensiveness in the scutellata-hybrids appears lower than what has been previously documented in Brazil and Mexico, possibly due to their lower proportion of A. m. scutellata ancestry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Zarate
- Department of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., MC 0116, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0116, USA.
| | - Brandon Mukogawa
- Department of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., MC 0116, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0116, USA
| | - Joshua Kohn
- Department of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., MC 0116, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0116, USA
| | - James C Nieh
- Department of Ecology, Behavior, and Evolution, School of Biological Sciences, University of California San Diego, 9500 Gilman Dr., MC 0116, La Jolla, CA, 92093-0116, USA
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Miller O, Hale C, Richardson L, Sossa D, Iverson A, McArt S, Poveda K, Grab H. Commercial
Bombus impatiens
colonies function as ecological traps for wild queens. J Appl Ecol 2023. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.14353] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Olivia Miller
- Department of Entomology Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
| | - Casey Hale
- Department of Entomology Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
| | - Leeah Richardson
- Department of Integrative Biology University of Texas at Austin Austin Texas USA
| | - David Sossa
- Department of Entomology Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
| | - Aaron Iverson
- Environmental Studies Department St. Lawrence University Canton New York USA
| | - Scott McArt
- Department of Entomology Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
| | - Katja Poveda
- Department of Entomology Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
| | - Heather Grab
- School of Integrative Plant Sciences Cornell University Ithaca New York USA
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Betti M, Shaw K. A Multi-Scale Model of Disease Transfer in Honey Bee Colonies. INSECTS 2021; 12:700. [PMID: 34442266 PMCID: PMC8396591 DOI: 10.3390/insects12080700] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2021] [Revised: 07/28/2021] [Accepted: 08/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Inter-colony disease transfer poses a serious hurdle to successfully managing healthy honeybee colonies. In this study, we build a multi-scale model of two interacting honey bee colonies. The model considers the effects of forager and drone drift, guarding behaviour, and resource robbing of dying colonies on the spread of disease between colonies. Our results show that when drifting is high, disease can spread rapidly between colonies, that guarding behaviour needs to be particularly efficient to be effective, and that for dense apiaries drifting is of greater concern than robbing. We show that while disease can put an individual colony at greater risk, drifting can help less the burden of disease in a colony. We posit some evolutionary questions that come from this study that can be addressed with this model.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew Betti
- Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB E4L 1E2, Canada
| | - Karalyne Shaw
- Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS B3H 3C3, Canada;
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