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IntroductionThere is overwhelming evidence of declines in native bee populations and therefore a need for increased monitoring to track these declines and assist in conservation and restoration efforts. Bees can be sampled non-lethally through visual surveys (e.g., distance transects) or lethally through active (e.g., hand netting) or passive (e.g., traps that lure insects from afar) methods. These lethal methods suffer from imperfect detection that is difficult to account for and can confound inferences about habitat characteristics. Additionally, evidence suggests that lethal sampling methods can even invert habitat quality patterns such that high-quality sites yield fewer individuals and low-quality sites yield more individuals.MethodsTo study potential biases associated with imperfect detection, we used hierarchical density estimation with visual surveys to estimate density of bees within 40 young forest patches across Pennsylvania, USA. We surveyed bee communities non-lethally using visual surveys and lethally using blue-vane traps and bee bowls every two weeks between May and September 2019. We collected data on blooming flowers, vegetation structure, and weather during times of survey.ResultsWe found that bee densities estimated from distance transects had a positive relationship with floral resource availability. In contrast, abundance measured via bee bowls and blue-vane traps had no relationship, or sometimes even negative trends with habitat quality, including floral resource availability. Raw bee counts within 2-m of the transect always correlated with modeled densities, showing that some methods do not share the biases of attractive traps.DiscussionOur study demonstrates that failing to account for imperfect detection can impact the interpretation of pollinator surveys and adds to a growing body of literature that acknowledges the value of distance sampling for insects like bees to better understand species’ habitat needs and to monitor populations for conservation.

Bees are important pollinators. However, their numbers and diversity are in decline which poses a serious threat to plant pollination and affects food production. The Big-Bee project (http://big-bee.net) launched in 2021 to research bee ecology and taxonomy through the digitalization of bee specimens. Bees’ ocelli are important navigational organs that receive and evaluate light intensities. The project aims at exploring the impact of bees’ sociality on potential variation in ocelli morphology. By measuring median ocellar width between sexes, I firstly tested whether sexual size dimorphism occurs in ocelli between sexes in the same bee species. Then, I evaluated whether the sexual size dimorphism exists based on social versus solitary bees. The results indicated the existence of a different median ocellar size between males and females within one species. However, such existence does not occur in males and females based on sociality categorization, indicating the sociality might not be a driver in causing the dimorphism. This poster was presented at UC Santa Barbara Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Poster Colloquim on May 3rd, 2022.

The article traces changes in human cognitive and social development using the example of the domesticated insect, the bee. From the 13th to the 20th century, forest bee-keeping spread, using live trees as beehives, and later also log hives on the ground. The ways of keeping bees changed fundamentally in the 19th century with the introduction of new types of hives, and they also consolidated beliefs in relation to bees. Bees had numerous special names, euphemisms were used when talking about them and in incantations, in which bees were called men/workers or other kinship terms were used, and they were also called domestic animals of the guardian fairies. The article presents beliefs about bees as soul animals and various legends that were associated with the journey of the soul, as well as the popular belief about the connection between the death of the owner and the bees. While earlier on honey denoted an abundant and ideal life in the minds of people, the bee represented a hardworking, loyal person, and bees were the epitome of the motherland in texts expressing national identity.

The article traces changes in human cognitive and social development using the example of the only domesticated insect, the bee. From the 13th to the 20th century, forest bee-keeping spread, using live trees as beehives, and later also log hives on the ground. The ways of keeping bees changed fundamentally in the 19th century with the introduction of new types of hives, and they also consolidated beliefs in relation to bees. Bees had numerous special names, euphemisms were used when talking about them and in incantations, in which bees were called men/workers or other kinship terms were used, and they were also called domestic animals of the guardian fairies. The article presents beliefs about bees as soul animals and various mythical stories that were associated with the journey of the soul, as well as the popular belief about the connection between the death of the owner and the bees. While earlier on honey denoted an abundant and ideal life in the minds of people, the bee represented a hardworking, loyal person, and bees were the epitome of the motherland in texts expressing national identity. In the foreground is the search for balance between human and other beings, human and the environment, which is expressed, e.g., by the declaration of the rights of bees and the development trends of urban representation.

The Cheadle Center for Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration (CCBER) is working with the UCSB Data Science capstone team to continue the research and understanding of bee ecology through image and trait digitalization.In efforts to help researchers involved in the Big-Bee project, we want to automate the process it takes to handle and process the digital images of bees. Given images of bees with a QR/Datamatrix code, we sought to develop scripts that can rename the image files based on the decoded box and extract EXIF metadata. In the latter half of our project, we shift our focus toward the hairy characteristics of bees. Given data of high definition lateral bee images, we want to create models that can quantify how hairy a bee is.  ResultsTwo scripts, the QR Code Scanner & MetaData Extractors, are published on GitHub and are currently used by two academic institutions. More trial testing is required to discover bugs and further improvements for the scripts. Using density as our metric, our U-net and transfer learning method yields an accuracy of 97.68% for bee masking and 87.2% for hair masking. Using entropy as our metric, we were able to compare the average entropy values for different bees binned in the following manner: low, middle, and high hairiness. The box-plot distribution of the bins and t-tests show that there was a positive correlation between bee hairiness and average entropy value. Furthermore, we discover that entropy analysis works best for specimens that have low reflectivity and minimal skin texture. QR Scanner: https://github.com/booleank/Bee-ScannerMetadataExtractor: https://github.com/harperklauke/Metadata-Extractor

Pesticides are linked to global insect declines, with impacts on biodiversity and essential ecosystem services. In addition to well-documented direct impacts of pesticides at the current stage or time, potential delayed "carryover" effects from past exposure at a different life stage may augment impacts on individuals and populations. We investigated the effects of current exposure and the carryover effects of past insecticide exposure on the individual vital rates and population growth of the solitary bee, Osmia lignaria Bees in flight cages freely foraged on wildflowers, some treated with the common insecticide, imidacloprid, in a fully crossed design over 2 y, with insecticide exposure or no exposure in each year. Insecticide exposure directly to foraging adults and via carryover effects from past exposure reduced reproduction. Repeated exposure across 2 y additively impaired individual performance, leading to a nearly fourfold reduction in bee population growth. Exposure to even a single insecticide application can have persistent effects on vital rates and can reduce population growth for multiple generations. Carryover effects had profound implications for population persistence and must be considered in risk assessment, conservation, and management decisions for pollinators to mitigate the effects of insecticide exposure.

Las abejas son fundamentales para nuestra seguridad alimentaria y la polinización de las plantas silvestres y cultivadas. Sin embargo, algunas poblaciones y especies están en riesgo de desaparecer. Nuestro conocimiento de los factores que causan estas disminuciones es limitado, en parte porque carecemos de datos suficientes sobre la distribución de las especies que nos sirvan para predecir cambios en su rango geográfico bajo escenarios de cambio climático. Además, carecemos de datos adecuados sobre las características morfológicas y comportamentales que podrían influir en la vulnerabilidad de las abejas a los cambios ambientales inducidos por el hombre, como la pérdida de hábitat y el cambio climático. Afortunadamente, se puede extraer una gran cantidad de información a partir de los especímenes depositados en colecciones entomológicas. Acá presentamos este proyecto, el cual incluye 13 instituciones y es financiado por la Fundación Nacional de Ciencias de los EE. UU. (NSF, por sus siglas en Ingles). En el transcurso de tres años, crearemos más de un millón de imágenes (2D y 3D) de alta resolución de especímenes de abejas que representan alrededor de 1⁄4 de la diversidad mundial. También desarrollaremos herramientas para medir los rasgos de las abejas a partir de las imágenes. La información generada estará disponible a través de un portal de datos abierto Symbiota-Light llamado Bee Library. Además, los datos de interacción biótica y asociación de especies se compartirán a través de Global Biotic Interactions. Presented by Victor Hugo Gonzalez at the XII Congreso Mesoamericano de Abejas Nativas, Centro de Investigaciones Apícolas Tropicales (CINAT), Universidad Nacional, Costa Rica, Nov. 20-21, 2021

Background: There are few studies analyzing the epidemiological characteristics and clinical features of arthropod bites and stings, emergency department (ED) admission rate and cost burden. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical features and ED burden of such cases. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 954 patients who presented to ED after exposure to arthropods. The demograph­ic and clinical characteristics, treatment rates, consultation and hospitalization requirements, and costs were evaluated. Results: The rate of presentation to the ED after exposure to arthropods was 0.36%. Among the identifiable insects, 25%, 22%, 5%, 3% and 1% patients were exposed to bees, ticks, scorpions, spiders, and centipedes, respectively. Of the included patients, 51% were male and the mean age was 39.4±14.8 years. Exposure to arthropods was most commonly seen in the summers (45%). Local and systemic toxicities developed in 11% and 1% of patients, respectively. Further examinations were requested in 50% of cases and 83% of cases received treatment. 4% of cases were hospitalized, and 21% were prescribed medicines.. The average cost per patient of exposure to spiders, scorpions, centipedes, ticks and bees were 45.5, 28.3, 17.3, 12.6, and 10.1 US Dollars, respectively. The total cost of ED for all patients was calculated as $12,694.65. Conclusion: We believe that a better understanding of the characteristics and prevalence of arthropod bites and stings will have a positive impact on primary prevention, health resource planning and reducing the burden on EDs by improv­ing people's knowledge and practices to reduce the incidence of bites and stings.

Honey bees are crucial for our ecosystems as pollinators, but the intensive use of plant protection products (PPPs) in agriculture poses a risk for them. PPPs do not only affect target organisms but also affect non-targets, such as the honey bee Apis mellifera and their microbiome. This study is the first of its kind, aiming to characterize the effect of PPPs on the microbiome of the cuticle of honey bees. We chose PPPs, which have frequently been detected in bee bread, and studied their effects on the cuticular microbial community and function of the bees. The effects of the fungicide Difcor® (difenoconazole), the insecticide Steward® (indoxacarb), the combination of both (mix A) and the fungicide Cantus® Gold (boscalid and dimoxystrobin), the insecticide Mospilan® (acetamiprid), and the combination of both (mix B) were tested. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene and fungal transcribed spacer region gene-based amplicon sequencing and quantification of gene copy numbers were carried out after nucleic acid extraction from the cuticle of honey bees. The treatment with Steward® significantly affected fungal community composition and function. The fungal gene copy numbers were lower on the cuticle of bees treated with Difcor®, Steward®, and PPP mix A in comparison with the controls. However, bacterial and fungal gene copy numbers were increased in bees treated with Cantus® Gold, Mospilan®, or PPP mix B compared to the controls. The bacterial cuticular community composition of bees treated with Cantus® Gold, Mospilan®, and PPP mix B differed significantly from the control. In addition, Mospilan® on its own significantly changed the bacterial functional community composition. Cantus® Gold significantly affected fungal gene copy numbers, community, and functional composition. Our results demonstrate that PPPs show adverse effects on the cuticular microbiome of honey bees and suggest that PPP mixtures can cause stronger effects on the cuticular community than a PPP alone. The cuticular community composition was more diverse after the PPP mix treatments. This may have far-reaching consequences for the health of honey bees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbiomes are increasingly recognised as critical for the health of an organism. In eusocial insect societies, frequent social interactions allow for high‐fidelity transmission of microbes across generations, leading to closer host–microbe coevolution. The microbial communities of bees with other social lifestyles are less studied, and few comparisons have been made between taxa that vary in social structure. To address this gap, we leveraged a cloud‐computing resource and publicly available transcriptomic data to conduct a survey of microbial diversity in bee samples from a variety of social lifestyles and taxa. We consistently recover the core microbes of well‐studied corbiculate bees, supporting this method's ability to accurately characterise microbial communities. We find that the bacterial communities of bees are influenced by host location, phylogeny and social lifestyle, although no clear effect was found for fungal or viral microbial communities. Bee genera with more complex societies tend to harbour more diverse microbes, with Wolbachia detected more commonly in solitary tribes. We present a description of the microbiota of Euglossine bees and find that they do not share the "corbiculate core" microbiome. Notably, we find that bacteria with known anti‐pathogenic properties are present across social bee genera, suggesting that symbioses that enhance host immunity are important with higher sociality. Our approach provides an inexpensive means of exploring microbiomes of a given taxa and identifying avenues for further research. These findings contribute to our understanding of the relationships between bees and their associated microbial communities, highlighting the importance of considering microbiome dynamics in investigations of bee health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In manufacturing industries, polymers are widely used due to their exceptional physiochemical and mechanical characteristics. It consists of high strength, low weight, corrosive resistivity, and ease of fabrication. Glass fiber is more cost-effective and easily available than other fibers such as carbon, aramid and kevlar. The most challenging issue for the manufacturer in the laminated polymer is the non-homogeneity and anisotropic behavior. This nature also hinders the machining performance of laminated polymer composites, which are entirely different from metals and their alloys. The supplements of nanomaterials enhanced the physiomechanical properties and the machining efficiency of fiber laminates. This work highlights the machining (drilling) aspect of glass fiber-reinforced polymer composites modified by multiwall carbon nanotube (MWCNT). The effect of drilling factors such as spindle speed (S), feed rate (F), and MWCNT weight percent (wt.%) on machining responses such as Thrust force (Th), Torque (T), and Surface roughness (SR) has been investigated. The drilling operations were conducted using the 5 mm diameter TiAN (Sic coated) according to the response surface methodology (RSM) design. The process constraints were controlled by the hybrid module of additive ratio assessment (ARAS) and the Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm. The nature-inspired principles of the bee are used to optimize the objective function. The multiple responses were aggregated using the ARAS method, and its objective function is fed into the ABC algorithm. It was remarked that the hybrid ARAS-ABC is more capable than the traditional ARAS, with an overall improvement of 7.33% in assessment values. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) test confirms the feasibility of the proposed hybrid (ARAS-ABC) module to achieve a favorable machining environment while drilling modified nanocomposites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Floral displays often signal the presence of nectar, but nectar may not always be present due to previous visits by nectarivores or temporal changes in nectar availability. But how does the presence of empty flowers impact the preferences of foraging honey bees for the available flowers? We aimed to test if previously rewarding flowers changed the preference relationship between neighboring flowers, and if empty flowers impacted overall visitation, in the honey bee Apis mellifera. Using artificial flowers, we showed that although empty flowers did not influence foraging choices in A. mellifera workers, empty flowers did increase movement between flowers in the patch. The presence of empty flowers also resulted in increased rates of patch abandonment. Our results suggest that while empty flowers may not directly impact foraging preferences in bees, they can have an impact on visitation within patches and in the surrounding area, with possible knock-on effects for the pollination of both the emptied flower and neighboring plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lasioglossum marginatum sp. is the most efficient pollinator of stone fruit crops (such as peach, plum, and cherry). Its proportional contribution to the total visitation is significantly higher than the conventional visitation. This species is polylectic, polyandrous, and an efficient pollinator that is endogeic in nature. Its nesting behavior has been studied earlier. Various nest soil physical characteristics like tumulus length, turret height, nest depth, nest density, nest diameter, nest length, and the height from the plane have been determined across the experimental sites and found to be statistically significantly higher than the normal range. Various parameters were found to be most significant in Budgam (Experiment location-I) located at an altitude of 1700 m above sea level (a. s. l.) higher than Srinagar (Experiment location-II) which is situated at an altitude of 1400 m a. s. l. The current study investigated some of the parameters like the total number of individuals per nest, cell length, cell diameter, cell area, sex ratio per nest, and the weight of pollen mass. Based on the Kolmogorov–Smirnov analysis outcomes, it was found that the species prefers clay loam soil. Further, various soil gravimetrical characteristics such as gravel/sand, slit, and clay in soils at different locations were significantly higher than the normal range. In addition to these, the Chi-square results regarding various nest soil chemical characteristics like the hydrogen ion concentration (pH), electric conductivity (dSm−1), organic matter (%), organic carbon (%), nitrogen (kg/ha), porosity (%) and soil moisture (%) content at different locations were significantly higher than the normal range. The maximum number of males emerged from the final brood in the 2nd—4th week of April; followed by the emergence of other workers and gynes, till the 4th week of May. The maximum flight activity was recorded from 15th April till the 1st week of May. The number of individuals per nest varied from 6 to 27 with a sex ratio in the range of 0.24 to 0.5. The minimum number of males and females per nest was found to be 1.0 and 5 respectively; while the maximum numbers were 9 and 18, respectively. The pollen-masses were found in short-side tunnels that were terminated with cells, in which the eggs were present and it sustained in the brood cells during the long overwintering periods. The current study helps in the conservation of bees by preserving their foraging plants and providing them with suitable and pollution-free breeding and nesting habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pesticides help produce food for humanity's growing population, yet they have negative impacts on the environment. Limiting these impacts, while maintaining food supply, is a crucial challenge for modern agriculture. Mitigation measures are actions taken by pesticide users, which modify the risk of the application to nontarget organisms, such as bees. Through these, the impacts of pesticides can be reduced, with minimal impacts on the efficacy of the pesticide. Here we collate the scientific evidence behind mitigation measures designed to reduce pesticide impacts on bees using a systematic review methodology. We included all publications which tested the effects of any pesticide mitigation measure (using a very loose definition) on bees, at any scale (from individual through to population level), so long as they presented evidence on the efficacy of the measure. We found 34 publications with direct evidence on the topic, covering a range of available mitigation measures. No currently used mitigation measures were thoroughly tested, and some entirely lacked empirical support, showing a weak evidence base for current recommendations and policy. We found mitigation measure research predominantly focuses on managed bees, potentially failing to protect wild bees. We also found that label-recommended mitigation measures, which are the mitigation measures most often applied, specifically are seldom tested empirically. Ultimately, we recommend that more, and stronger, scientific evidence is required to justify existing mitigation measures to help reduce the impacts of pesticides on bees while maintaining crop protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Megachilidae is one of the United States' most diverse bee families, with 667 described species in 19 genera. Unlike other bee families, which are primarily ground nesters, most megachilid bees require biotic cavities for nesting (i.e., wood, pithy stems, etc.). For this group, the availability of woody-plant species may be as important as nectar/pollen resources in maintaining populations. We studied Megachilidae biodiversity in the continental United States. We confirmed that the highest species richness of Megachilidae was in the southwestern United States. We examined the relationship between species richness and climate, land cover, tree species richness, and flowering plant diversity. When examining environmental predictors across the conterminous United States, we found that forested habitats, but not tree diversity, strongly predicted Megachilidae richness. Additionally, Megachilidae richness was highest in areas with high temperature and low precipitation, however this was not linearly correlated and strongly positively correlated with flowering plant diversity. Our research suggests that the availability of nesting substrate (forested habitats), and not only flowering plants, is particularly important for these cavity-nesting species. Since trees and forested areas are particularly susceptible to climate change, including effects of drought, fire, and infestations, nesting substrates could become a potential limiting resource for Megachilidae populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bees are important pollinators of agricultural crops, but their populations are at risk when pesticides are used. One of the largest risks bees face is poisoning of floral nectar and pollen by insecticides. Studies of bee detection of neonicotinoids have reported contradictory evidence about whether bees can taste these pesticides in sucrose solutions and hence avoid them. Here, we use an assay for the detection of food aversion combined with single-sensillum electrophysiology to test whether the mouthparts of the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) detect the presence of pesticides in a solution that mimicked the nectar of oilseed rape (Brassica napus). Bees did not avoid consuming solutions containing concentrations of imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, clothianidin, or sulfoxaflor spanning six orders of magnitude, even when these solutions contained lethal doses. Only extremely high concentrations of the pesticides altered spiking in gustatory neurons through a slight reduction in firing rate or change in the rate of adaptation. These data provide strong evidence that bumblebees cannot detect or avoid field-relevant concentrations of pesticides using information from their mouthparts. As bees rarely contact floral nectar with other body parts, we predict that they are at high risk of unwittingly consuming pesticides in the nectar of pesticide-treated crops.

Abstract Microbiomes are increasingly recognised as critical for the health of an organism. In eusocial insect societies, frequent social interactions allow for high‐fidelity transmission of microbes across generations, leading to closer host–microbe coevolution. The microbial communities of bees with other social lifestyles are less studied, and few comparisons have been made between taxa that vary in social structure. To address this gap, we leveraged a cloud‐computing resource and publicly available transcriptomic data to conduct a survey of microbial diversity in bee samples from a variety of social lifestyles and taxa. We consistently recover the core microbes of well‐studied corbiculate bees, supporting this method's ability to accurately characterise microbial communities. We find that the bacterial communities of bees are influenced by host location, phylogeny and social lifestyle, although no clear effect was found for fungal or viral microbial communities. Bee genera with more complex societies tend to harbour more diverse microbes, with Wolbachia detected more commonly in solitary tribes. We present a description of the microbiota of Euglossine bees and find that they do not share the “corbiculate core” microbiome. Notably, we find that bacteria with known anti‐pathogenic properties are present across social bee genera, suggesting that symbioses that enhance host immunity are important with higher sociality. Our approach provides an inexpensive means of exploring microbiomes of a given taxa and identifying avenues for further research. These findings contribute to our understanding of the relationships between bees and their associated microbial communities, highlighting the importance of considering microbiome dynamics in investigations of bee health.

Abstract Soybean varieties with indeterminate growth habit are widely used in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul and are characterized by not having well-defined phenological stages. Due to the importance of bee conservation, studies on the frequency and time of visitation in indeterminate soybean are needed. Samples were collected in a 4-ha plot of soybeans not treated with insecticides. Sampling was carried out at random spots, throughout the flowering period, starting at 08h:00min, during 15 min/hour, successively until 16h:00min. Generalized Linear Models were generated and the Poisson regression model provided the best fit, reflecting the significant differences revealed by the deviance analysis. The association between bees and climatic variables was tested with the Spearman’s correlation. The temporal pattern of bee visitation was independently influenced by flowering period and time of day. However climatic variables did not influence significantly bee visitation rate. In the first days of flowering, bees were more abundant, especially between 10h and 15h. These results have practical implications in the maintenance of this species during soybean management practices, contributing to a balanced coexistence between beekeepers and soybean growers, by avoiding applications of phytosanitary products during the periods of high bee visitation.

Since Virgil, there has been a discrete but constant association of beekeeping with some sort of epicurean wisdom. Living a frugal live in the quietness of Nature, far from the urban whirl of agitation, the beekeeper was supposed to experience the happiness of the philosopher detached from the world. This old vision, as illusory as it might be, seems to have encountered a new popularity in the contemporary novel. Many current writers tend indeed to depict beekeepers characters in their fictions as philosophing misfits, good-hearted wise men or anti-modernity fighters. This article tries to make an inventory of all these textual appearances and to define what could possibly be a beekeeper’s wisdom.

Honey bees are crucial for our ecosystems as pollinators, but the intensive use of plant protection products (PPPs) in agriculture poses a risk for them. PPPs do not only affect target organisms but also affect non-targets, such as the honey bee Apis mellifera and their microbiome. This study is the first of its kind, aiming to characterize the effect of PPPs on the microbiome of the cuticle of honey bees. We chose PPPs, which have frequently been detected in bee bread, and studied their effects on the cuticular microbial community and function of the bees. The effects of the fungicide Difcor® (difenoconazole), the insecticide Steward® (indoxacarb), the combination of both (mix A) and the fungicide Cantus® Gold (boscalid and dimoxystrobin), the insecticide Mospilan® (acetamiprid), and the combination of both (mix B) were tested. Bacterial 16S rRNA gene and fungal transcribed spacer region gene-based amplicon sequencing and quantification of gene copy numbers were carried out after nucleic acid extraction from the cuticle of honey bees. The treatment with Steward® significantly affected fungal community composition and function. The fungal gene copy numbers were lower on the cuticle of bees treated with Difcor®, Steward®, and PPP mix A in comparison with the controls. However, bacterial and fungal gene copy numbers were increased in bees treated with Cantus® Gold, Mospilan®, or PPP mix B compared to the controls. The bacterial cuticular community composition of bees treated with Cantus® Gold, Mospilan®, and PPP mix B differed significantly from the control. In addition, Mospilan® on its own significantly changed the bacterial functional community composition. Cantus® Gold significantly affected fungal gene copy numbers, community, and functional composition. Our results demonstrate that PPPs show adverse effects on the cuticular microbiome of honey bees and suggest that PPP mixtures can cause stronger effects on the cuticular community than a PPP alone. The cuticular community composition was more diverse after the PPP mix treatments. This may have far-reaching consequences for the health of honey bees.

Megachilidae is one of the United States’ most diverse bee families, with 667 described species in 19 genera. Unlike other bee families, which are primarily ground nesters, most megachilid bees require biotic cavities for nesting (i.e., wood, pithy stems, etc.). For this group, the availability of woody-plant species may be as important as nectar/pollen resources in maintaining populations. We studied Megachilidae biodiversity in the continental United States. We confirmed that the highest species richness of Megachilidae was in the southwestern United States. We examined the relationship between species richness and climate, land cover, tree species richness, and flowering plant diversity. When examining environmental predictors across the conterminous United States, we found that forested habitats, but not tree diversity, strongly predicted Megachilidae richness. Additionally, Megachilidae richness was highest in areas with high temperature and low precipitation, however this was not linearly correlated and strongly positively correlated with flowering plant diversity. Our research suggests that the availability of nesting substrate (forested habitats), and not only flowering plants, is particularly important for these cavity-nesting species. Since trees and forested areas are particularly susceptible to climate change, including effects of drought, fire, and infestations, nesting substrates could become a potential limiting resource for Megachilidae populations.

Background: There are few studies analyzing the epidemiological characteristics and clinical features of arthropod bites and stings, emergency department (ED) admission rate and cost burden. This study aimed to evaluate the clinical features and ED burden of such cases. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 954 patients who presented to ED after exposure to arthropods. The demographic and clinical characteristics, treatment rates, consultation and hospitalization requirements, and costs were evaluated. Results: The rate of presentation to the ED after exposure to arthropods was 0.36%. Among the identifiable insects, 25%, 22%, 5%, 3% and 1% patients were exposed to bees, ticks, scorpions, spiders, and centipedes, respectively. Of the included patients, 51% were male and the mean age was 39.4±14.8 years. Exposure to arthropods was most commonly seen in the summers (45%). Local and systemic toxicities developed in 11% and 1% of patients, respectively. Further examinations were requested in 50% of cases and 83% of cases received treatment. 4% of cases were hospitalized, and 21% were prescribed medicines.. The average cost per patient of exposure to spiders, scorpions, centipedes, ticks and bees were 45.5, 28.3, 17.3, 12.6, and 10.1 US Dollars, respectively. The total cost of ED for all patients was calculated as $12,694.65. Conclusion: We believe that a better understanding of the characteristics and prevalence of arthropod bites and stings will have a positive impact on primary prevention, health resource planning and reducing the burden on EDs by improving people's knowledge and practices to reduce the incidence of bites and stings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Changes in the heart activity of bees have been correlated with several stressors. However, this has been studied in just a few species within Apoidea. The purpose of our study was to evaluate several parameters of heart activity in a stingless bee species from the Amazon region, Melipona flavolineata, during a 30 min stress period. Workers of the species were restrained and anesthetized using isoflurane. The basal heartbeat at the first five minutes of the records was about 600 beats per minute, which generally increased over the restraining period. The contention stress also changed other parameters of heart activity in the species. Our study was the first to evaluate the cardiac activity in a stingless bee, an important group of tropical pollinators, and showed that heart activity was altered by stress. Thus, heart monitoring using ECG is a feasible technique to show some of the effects of different stressors, such as pesticides, in the physiology of worker bees. We also showed that isoflurane can be used as an anesthetic, an alternative to narcosis induced by CO2 and cold, although its effects must still be studied. The hemodynamic activity of Melipona flavolineata workers was evaluated during restraint stress for a period of 30 min. The observed parameters were power variation in the elapsed time, and subsequently, six periods of one second were divided and called A, B, C, D, E and F; in each period, the electrocardiographic parameters were evaluated: spike frequency, amplitude, spike intervals and spike duration. The experiment was carried out with eight worker bees of M. flavolineata, for which electrodes of a nickel–chromium alloy were made. The bees were previously anesthetized with isoflurane and properly contained and fixed in a base for stereotaxis in which the electrode was implanted. All these procedures were performed inside a Faraday cage. The results showed power oscillations during the recording, with the highest energy level being between 300 and 600 s. Spike frequency, spike amplitude, interval between spikes and spike duration parameters underwent changes during the restraint stress period. Thus, the cardiac activity of M. flavolineata can be used as a biomarker and can be used to clarify physiological issues or alterations caused by toxic agents and indicate risk factors for these animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prunus necrotic ringspot virus (PNRSV) and prune dwarf virus (PDV) are pollen-borne viruses of important stone fruit crops, including peaches, which can cause substantial yield loss. Although both horizontal and vertical (i.e., seed) transmission of both viruses occurs through pollen, the role of flower-visiting insects in their transmission is not well understood. Bees and thrips reportedly spread PNRSV and PDV in orchards and greenhouse studies; however, the field spread of PNRSV and PDV in peach orchards in the southeastern United States is not explored. We hypothesized that bees and thrips may facilitate virus spread by carrying virus-positive pollen. Our 2-yr survey results show that 75% of captured bees are carrying virus-positive pollen and moving across the orchard while a subsample of thrips were also found virus positive. Based on morphology, Bombus, Apis, Andrena, Eucera, and Habropoda are the predominant bee genera that were captured in peach orchards. Understanding the role of bees and thrips in the spread of PNRSV and PDV will enhance our understanding of pollen-borne virus ecology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While pollinating, honeybees are subject to exposure to a variety of pesticides; with their characteristics of certain foraging distances, they could serve as bioindicators of pesticide exposure in a neighborhood. We conducted a study to assess availability by collecting and analyzing bee samples from 15 apiaries located in East Taiwan and dust samples from the adjacent environment, and by finding relations between both samples. Seventeen pesticides were selected for the analysis using gas or liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry, and eight (three insecticides, two herbicides, and three fungicides) were more frequently detected from bee or dust samples; the levels of these pesticides were mostly under 1000 ng/g. Significant correlation results (r ≅ 0.8) between residue concentrations in bees and in dust suggest that honeybees could be a good bioindicator for exposure to herbicides and fungicides within certain ranges. The pesticide contents of sick/dead bees were much higher than those of healthy counterparts regarding any pesticide type, with the mean total concentrations of 635 ng/g and 176 ng/g, respectively. We conclude that honeybees could be used as bioindicators of pesticide exposure; sick/dead bees could serve as a warning sign of the severity of pesticide pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The floral nectar of angiosperms harbors a variety of microorganisms that depend predominantly on animal visitors for their dispersal. Although some members of the genus Acinetobacter and all currently known species of Rosenbergiella are thought to be adapted to thrive in nectar, there is limited information about the response of these bacteria to variation in the chemical characteristics of floral nectar. We investigated the growth performance of a diverse collection of Acinetobacter (n = 43) and Rosenbergiella (n = 45) isolates obtained from floral nectar and the digestive tract of flower-visiting bees in a set of 12 artificial nectars differing in sugar content (15% w/v or 50% w/v), nitrogen content (3.48/1.67 ppm or 348/167 ppm of total nitrogen/amino nitrogen), and sugar composition (only sucrose, 1/3 sucrose + 1/3 glucose + 1/3 fructose, or 1/2 glucose + 1/2 fructose). Growth was only observed in four of the 12 artificial nectars. Those containing elevated sugar concentration (50% w/v) and low nitrogen content (3.48/1.67 ppm) were limiting for bacterial growth. Furthermore, phylogenetic analyses revealed that the ability of the bacteria to grow in different types of nectar is highly conserved between closely related isolates and genotypes, but this conservatism rapidly vanishes deeper in phylogeny. Overall, these results demonstrate that the ability of Acinetobacter spp. and Rosenbergiella spp. to grow in floral nectar largely depends on nectar chemistry and bacterial phylogeny. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Croatian Journal of Ethnology & Folklore Research / Narodna Umjetnost is the property of Institute of Ethnology & Folklore Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Maetagused is the property of Estonian Literary Museum, Department of Folkloristics and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Wind is a critical factor in the ecology of pollinating insects such as bees. However, the role of wind in determining patterns of bee abundance and floral visitation rates across space and time is not well understood. Orchid bees are an important and diverse group of neotropical pollinators that harvest pollen, nectar and resin from plants. In addition, male orchid bees collect volatile scents that they store in special chambers in their hind legs, and for which the wind-based dispersal of odours may play a particularly crucial role. Here, we take advantage of this specialized scent foraging behaviour to study the effects of wind on orchid bee visitation at scent sources in a fragmented tropical forest ecosystem. Consistent with previous work, forest cover increased orchid bee visitation. In addition, we find that temporal changes in wind speed and turbulence increase visitation to scent stations within sites. These results suggest that the increased dispersal of attractive scents provided by wind and turbulence outweighs any biomechanical or energetic costs that might deter bees from foraging in these conditions. Overall, our results highlight the significance of wind in the ecology of these important pollinators in neotropical forests.

Natural and protected area degradation constitutes a threat to bee communities and could decrease crop yield by reducing bee pollination effectiveness. For West Africa, changes in bee communities across disturbance gradients from savannah to agricultural land are mainly unknown. Our study aimed to assess the impact of land use patterns on bee communities in the department of Korhogo. We chose three sites of varying disturbance intensity (low, medium and high disturbance). Bees were caught using pan traps. Abundance, richness, evenness and community structure of bees were assessed. During 6 months of sampling, 3176 bee specimens belonging to three families (Apidae, Halictidae and Megachilidae) were caught, comprising 18 species and 15 genera. Species richness of Halictidae and abundance of Apidae were highest (F = 93.86; p = 0.0051). The station with low disturbance was more diversified (H′ = 2.75). Bee average abundance was higher in sites with medium disturbance. Our findings are relevant to biodiversity conservation. They show that bee diversity is high where the disturbance level is still low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Metal contamination is a worldwide issue that is particularly present and ubiquitous in urban environments. Many pollinators, including species of bees, butterflies, and moths are found in heavily modified landscapes where they may be negatively affected by exposure to metal contamination. Increased efforts to convert vacant urban lands to habitat that benefits such communities necessitates a thorough understanding of the hazard and risks pollinators face in metal contaminated landscapes. This investigation revealed that bees and butterflies have complex species and population specific responses to metals. Exposure to these pollutants can have reproductive, immunological, behavioral, and developmental impacts. These include challenged reproductive efforts, longer developmental times, and elevated brood mortality for pollinators. Implications for insect conservation: This review shows that pollinator conservation efforts are threatened if we fail to recognize the importance of metal exposure within contaminated landscapes. Bees and butterflies are exposed to metal concentrations in legacy cities that can cause reproductive, development, or behavioral impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thirty-three honey samples were collected between 2017 and 2018 in Kastamonu Province, in order to characterise the palynological and physico-chemical properties of the honey produced in the western Black Sea region of Türkiye. Melissopalynological characteristics of the honey samples were determined based on the total pollen number in 10 g (TPN-10 g) along with the pollen taxa diversity. The physicochemical properties of the samples including humidity ratio, volatile organic compounds, total phenolic content, fructose/glucose ratio and hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) content were determined using a refractometer, gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (GC–MS), ultraviolet-visible spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography, respectively. Melissopalynological analysis revealed that the honey samples contain 49 taxa, of which 18 were determined at family level and 31 were determined at genus level. The most common taxon was Castanea sativa while the other important taxa were Apiaceae, Asteraceae, Amaranthaceae, Boraginaceae, Brassicaceae, Fabaceae and Lamiaceae. Eleven out of 33 honey samples were monofloral and the remaining 22 samples were multifloral. According to the TPN-10 g results of the honey samples, the total number of pollens in 10 g of Kastamonu honey was between 1051 and 325 108 pollen grains. The moisture ratio was obtained between 11.9 and 18.9% while the fructose + glucose values were between 35.84 and 84.1 g/100 g. HMF content varied between 0.38 and 21.31 ppm while the total phenolic content varied between 39.6 and 138.8 mg GAE/100 g. The GC–MS analysis revealed that the samples contain compounds belonging to the groups of aldehydes, aliphatic acid and its esters, alcohols, hydrocarbons, flavonoids, carboxylic acid and esters, ketones, and sugars. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Revista Ciencia y Tecnología Agropecuaria is the property of Agrosavia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Featured Application: Microsporidiosis leads to the formation of dead intestine cell spots, which can cause interruption of the host's intestinal continuity and lead to intestinal leaking. Background: Microsporidia from the Nosema (Vairimorpha) genus are pathogenic fungi that complete their life cycle in the honeybee intestine. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the impact of the course of infection on the viability of honeybee intestine cells. Methods and Results: Intestines isolated from healthy and N. ceranae-infected honeybees were stained using two dyes, SYTO 9 and propidium iodide, and analyzed under an Axiovert 200M fluorescence microscope immediately after the isolation of the intestines. The ImageJ program was used for the quantitative analysis of the cell structure parameters. Our study demonstrated for the first time that healthy bees have a higher number of live cells in their intestines than infected bees, and that the intestines of N. ceranae-infected honeybees contain dead cells concentrated in spots. The results obtained for these two cases differed significantly, and were confirmed by statistical tests. Conclusions: The intestines of infected honeybees contain dead cells concentrated in red/dead spots, which can lead to necrotic changes, the interruption of the host's intestinal continuity, intestinal leaking and the increased mortality of the host. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The turfgrass lawn is a common feature of urban and suburban communities, often accounting for the largest green spaces by area in these landscapes. Flowering species within turfgrass lawns have the potential to serve as a source of forage for bee pollinators in urban and suburban areas. We intentionally introduced low-growing flowers to turfgrass lawns to promote bee diversity and reduce inputs, while maintaining the traditional aesthetics and recreational uses associated with lawns. We compared bee communities on lawns with naturally-occurring blooms of Trifolium repens to bee communities on florally-enhanced lawns that contained Prunella vulgaris ssp. lanceolata and Thymus serpyllum in addition to T. repens. Trifolium repens provided forage for both wild bee communities and Apis mellifera, with A. mellifera being the most common of the 56 species of bees observed on T. repens. We found that florally-enhanced lawns supported more diverse bee communities than lawns with just T. repens. Furthermore, the bee communities supported by florally-enhanced lawns were significantly different from the bee communities supported by lawns containing just T. repens based on presence-absence data (Jaccard's dissimilarity index). Our research indicates that A. mellifera colonies and wild bee communities can be supported by allowing T. repens to bloom in turfgrass lawns, and that land managers can support more diverse bee communities by intentionally introducing low-growing species of flowers to lawns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]