Honey bee lines selected for high propolis production also have superior hygienic behavior and increased honey and pollen stores

Nicodemo, Daniel; Jong, David De; Couto, Regina Helena Nogueira; Malheiros, Euclides Braga

doi:10.4238/2013.december.19.12

Cited by 31 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Compared to other subspecies tested after 6 h of pin-killing of the brood, Malagasy colonies from classes 2 and 3 were better at detecting, uncapping, and removing damaged brood than those of European (Gramacho, 1999;Gramacho and Gonçalves, 2009;Locke and Fries, 2011) and some of the Africanized honey bee populations (Nicodemo et al, 2013;Pereira et al, 2013). In hygienic European honey bee colonies, the rate of cleaned cells ranged from about 5 to 31% in A. mellifera carnica (Gramacho, 1999;Gramacho and Gonçalves, 2009) and reached 64% in Argentinean honeybee stock, mainly derived from Apis mellifera ligustica queens according to Palacio et al (2005).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Assessing hygienic behavior of Apis mellifera unicolor (Hymenoptera: Apidae), the endemic honey bee from Madagascar

Rasolofoarivao¹,

Delatte²,

Ravaomanarivo³

et al. 2015

Genet. Mol. Res.

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ABSTRACT. Hygienic behavior (HB) is one of the natural mechanisms of honey bee for limiting the spread of brood diseases and Varroa destructor parasitic mite. Objective of our study was to measure HB of Apis mellifera unicolor colonies (N = 403) from three geographic regions (one infested and two free of V. destructor) in Madagascar. The pin-killing method was used for evaluation of the HB. Responses were measured from 3 h 30 min to 7 h after perforation of the cells. Colonies were very effective in detecting perforated cells. In the first 4 h, on average, they detected at least 50% of the pin-killed brood. Six hours after cell perforation, colonies tested (N = 91) showed a wide range of uncapped (0 to 100%) and cleaned cells (0 to 82%). Global distribution of the rate of cleaned cells at 6 h was multimodal and hygienic responses could be split in three classes. Colonies from the three regions showed a significant difference in HB responses. Three hypotheses (geographic, genetic traits, presence of V. destructor) are further discussed to explain variability of HB responses among the regions. Levels of HB efficiency of A. mellifera unicolor colonies are among the greatest levels reported for A. mellifera subspecies. Presence of highly hygienic colonies is a great opportunity for future breeding program in selection for HB.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 80%

Assessing hygienic behavior of Apis mellifera unicolor (Hymenoptera: Apidae), the endemic honey bee from Madagascar

Rasolofoarivao¹,

Delatte²,

Ravaomanarivo³

et al. 2015

Genet. Mol. Res.

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“…Propolis extracts can also have narcotic and lethal effects on V. destructor depending on the dosage used [80,81]. Consequently, propolis appears to be active against a range of honeybee pests and pathogens and can be considered a social immune defense mechanism, which is likely to be important for maintaining colony health [76,82,83,84]. However, the majority of studies which investigated the effect of propolis on honeybee pests used propolis ethanolic extracts, and therefore do not inevitably reflect the functional properties of propolis in its natural (solid) form as placed in hives by bees.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inside Honeybee Hives: Impact of Natural Propolis on the Ectoparasitic Mite Varroa destructor and Viruses

Drescher

Klein

Neumann

et al. 2017

Insects

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Social immunity is a key factor for honeybee health, including behavioral defense strategies such as the collective use of antimicrobial plant resins (propolis). While laboratory data repeatedly show significant propolis effects, field data are scarce, especially at the colony level. Here, we investigated whether propolis, as naturally deposited in the nests, can protect honeybees against ectoparasitic mites Varroa destructor and associated viruses, which are currently considered the most serious biological threat to European honeybee subspecies, Apis mellifera, globally. Propolis intake of 10 field colonies was manipulated by either reducing or adding freshly collected propolis. Mite infestations, titers of deformed wing virus (DWV) and sacbrood virus (SBV), resin intake, as well as colony strength were recorded monthly from July to September 2013. We additionally examined the effect of raw propolis volatiles on mite survival in laboratory assays. Our results showed no significant effects of adding or removing propolis on mite survival and infestation levels. However, in relation to V. destructor, DWV titers increased significantly less in colonies with added propolis than in propolis-removed colonies, whereas SBV titers were similar. Colonies with added propolis were also significantly stronger than propolis-removed colonies. These findings indicate that propolis may interfere with the dynamics of V. destructor-transmitted viruses, thereby further emphasizing the importance of propolis for honeybee health.

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“…It is not known whether honey bees actually consume propolis, but Johnson et al (2012) demonstrated that when bees were experimentally fed propolis in sucrose syrup, the transcription of three cytochrome 450s, involved in pesticide detoxification, was induced (Johnson et al, 2006;Mao et al, 2011). The placement of natural propolis in the nest cavity has been positively correlated with brood viability, worker lifespan, honey production, hygienic behavior and pollen stores (Nicodemo et al, 2013(Nicodemo et al, , 2014). …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the colony level, we hypothesized that colonies with a propolis envelope would have greater colony strength (more bees and brood; e.g. Nicodemo et al, 2013Nicodemo et al, , 2014 and would have increased winter survivorship. Our findings revealed a significant reduction in the baseline activity of a number of immune-related gene transcripts in individual bees, but no effects on other measured microbes, pathogens or parasites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal benefits of a natural propolis envelope to honey bee immunity and colony health

Borba

Klyczek

Mogen

et al. 2015

Journal of Experimental Biology

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Honey bees, as social insects, rely on collective behavioral defenses that produce a colony-level immune phenotype, or social immunity, which in turn impacts the immune response of individuals. One behavioral defense is the collection and deposition of antimicrobial plant resins, or propolis, in the nest. We tested the effect of a naturally constructed propolis envelope within standard beekeeping equipment on the pathogen and parasite load of large field colonies, and on immune system activity, virus and storage protein levels of individual bees over the course of a year. The main effect of the propolis envelope was a decreased and more uniform baseline expression of immune genes in bees during summer and autumn months each year, compared with the immune activity in bees with no propolis envelope in the colony. The most important function of the propolis envelope may be to modulate costly immune system activity. As no differences were found in levels of bacteria, pathogens and parasites between the treatment groups, the propolis envelope may act directly on the immune system, reducing the bees' need to activate the physiologically costly production of humoral immune responses. Colonies with a natural propolis envelope had increased colony strength and vitellogenin levels after surviving the winter in one of the two years of the study, despite the fact that the biological activity of the propolis diminished over the winter. A natural propolis envelope acts as an important antimicrobial layer enshrouding the colony, benefiting individual immunity and ultimately colony health.

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Honey bee lines selected for high propolis production also have superior hygienic behavior and increased honey and pollen stores

Cited by 31 publications

References 32 publications

Assessing hygienic behavior of Apis mellifera unicolor (Hymenoptera: Apidae), the endemic honey bee from Madagascar

Assessing hygienic behavior of Apis mellifera unicolor (Hymenoptera: Apidae), the endemic honey bee from Madagascar

Inside Honeybee Hives: Impact of Natural Propolis on the Ectoparasitic Mite Varroa destructor and Viruses

Seasonal benefits of a natural propolis envelope to honey bee immunity and colony health

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