Physical properties of honeybee silk: a review

Abstract

-Honeybee silk is released from secretory cells and polymerises as birefringent tactoids in the lumen while silk is spun by a spinneret at the tip of the labium-hypopharynx and contains ά-helical proteins arranged in a four-strand coiled-coil structure. Wet fibres are only half as stiff as dried ones, but are equal in strength. The fibroin is hygroscopic and lithium thiocyanate and urea eliminate the yield point tested on both dry and wet fibres. The slopes of the solvent-related curves are reduced compared to those tested in water. Silk sheets are independent of temperature when deformed in tension. This fibre is rather crystalline and its hydration sensitivity, expressed as the ratio of the elastic modulus of wet to that of dry fibre, is 0.53. The ά-helical fibroins are predicted to have an antiparallel tetrameric configuration that is shown as a possible structural model. The molecular structure of ά-helical proteins maximizes their robustness with minimal use of building materials. In conclusion, it appears that the composition, molecular topology and amino acid content and sequence are a highly conserved feature in the evolution of silk in Apis species.honeybee / silk / ά-helix / fibroin

Optimization of Pt(II) and Pt(IV) Adsorption from a Water Solution on Biochar Originating from Honeycomb Biomass

“…In Figure 2 , the SEM microphotographs of the studied biochars are presented. For both biochars, their particles can be characterized by the complex heterogeneous morphology, which originates from the biological forms present in the pristine slumgum material, such as bee residues or honeybee silk [ 22 , 23 ]. In each case, pores with various sizes and shapes can be observed, which highlights the different nature of the porous structure of the studied biochars.…”

Juvenile hormone pathway in honey bee larvae: A source of possible signal molecules for the reproductive behavior of Varroa destructor

“…In Tribolium castaneum , pupation was found to be induced via jhamt mandatory gene suppression (Minakuchi et al., 2008). To further verify whether the results of hormone‐related gene expression are reflected by the true developmental stage of the larvae, we analyzed the expression of fibroins, the main components of the honey bees silk (Hepburn et al., 2013). Silk is produced from middle of the 5th instar larval period and is deposited first in the salivary glands before being distributed during the spinning process after the cell has been closed (Silva‐Zacarin et al., 2003).…”

Honeybee Nests

“…Artificial toots with a long syllable rise time are more effective in releasing quacking responses than toots with a short syllable rise time. Therefore, we can conclude that, while not precisely correct, musical transcription three centuries ago on the piping sounds produced by rival queen bees was certainly very accurate (Pirk et al 2013). A comparison of the threshold, emission level, and attenuation with distance, suggests that these and other vibration signals are only used by honeybees for local communication within a restricted area of the comb.…”