No abstract

-Hygienic behavior in honey bees can be tested by piercing the brood with a pin; however, there is concern that variability in the quantity of fluids that leaks from the pupae could influence test results. Colonies of Apis mellifera carnica were tested to evaluate this possibility. We made four repetitions of four treatments and one control in each of three colonies. The order of degree of hygienic behavior was: pin-killed capped worker brood with a drop of body fluid injected underneath the cell capping > pin-killed capped worker brood > undamaged capped brood with a drop of body fluid injected underneath the cell capping > control or a drop of pupal body fluid placed on the cell cappings. All of the differences were significant (Tukey test, P < 0.05) except the body fluid on the cell cap, which gave the same results as the control. The addition, inside worker brood cells, of pupal body fluid had a significant effect on honey bee hygienic behavior, both in normal brood and in pin-killed brood. © Inra/DIB/AGIB/Elsevier, Paris Apis mellifera carnica / hygienic behavior / body fluid / pin-killing method

In 2014, an online survey was launched to assess impacts of bee losses in Brazil (honeybees, stingless bees, and solitary bees). Events from January 2013 to December 2017 were collected on a website http://www. semabelhasemalimento.com.br/beealert as well as in apps for smartphones and tablets. In total, 322 post-confirmed qualified reports (287 for honeybee, 33 for stingless bee, 2 for solitary bee) were included in our analyses. Overall, 19,296 of 37,453 colonies and nests were lost (estimated > 1 billion bees). Losses were highest for Africanized honeybees (Apis mellifera), followed by stingless bee Tetragonisca angustula. Honeybee 95% confidence intervals (CI) for loss rates on the basis of year, 5-year interval, regions, and operation sizes were estimated using a generalized linear model (GLM) for total loss (TL) and a Wald method for average losses (AL). Other species losses were mentioned in the text. Based on information from respondents, pesticide exposures were suspected as the main cause of nest and colony losses. In São Paulo State, which accounted for 45.7% of total reports, neonicotinoids and fipronil led pesticide are listed in 55.9% of reports (fipronil, clothianidin, imidacloprid, and thiamethoxam are widely used in sugar cane plantations and orange groves in this state).

The use of Africanised honeybee (Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier) hives to increase pollination success in apple orchards is a widespread practice. However, this study is the first to investigate the number of honeybee hives ha-1 required to increase the production of fruits and seeds as well as the potential contribution of the stingless bee Mandaçaia (Melipona quadrifasciata anthidioides Lepeletier). We performed tests in a 43-ha apple orchard located in the municipality of Ibicoara (13º24’50.7’’S and 41º17’7.4’’W) in Chapada Diamantina, State of Bahia, Brazil. In 2011, fruits from the Eva variety set six seeds on average, and neither a greater number of hives (from 7 to 11 hives ha-1) nor a greater number of pollen collectors at the honeybee hives displayed general effects on the seed number. Without wild pollinators, seven Africanised honeybee hives ha-1 with pollen collectors is currently the best option for apple producers because no further increase in the seed number was observed with higher hive densities. In 2012, supplementation with both stingless bees (12 hives ha-1) and Africanised honeybees (7 hives ha-1) provided higher seed and fruit production than supplementation with honeybees (7 hives ha-1) alone. Therefore, the stingless bee can improve the performance of honeybee as a pollinator of apple flowers, since the presence of both of these bees results in increases in apple fruit and seed number.