The Incidental Collection of Fungal Spores by Bees and the Collection of Spores in Lieu of Pollen

Shaw, Dorothy E.

doi:10.1080/0005772x.1990.11099059

Cited by 39 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…The reasons bees collect fungi are unknown; however, low offer of protein resources near the apiary may have infl uenced bees, which collected other resources, such as fungi, to supply the needs of their colony, once suffi cient pollen was unavailable (Shaw 1990).…”

Section: May -June 2009mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The fungi collected could be used as a protein resource for the brood; however, since this is predominantly a saprophyte genus, some species may induce the occurrence of diseases in the beehives, and depending on the proportion of spores collected in comparison to the pollen stocked, they may negatively affect beehive balance (Prest et al 1974, Shaw 1990, Calderon et al 2004.…”

Section: May -June 2009mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Fungus development on bee pollen is widely known (Medina et al 2004, González et al 2005, as well as the occasional worldwide collection of fungus spores by bees of the genus Apis (Wingfi eld et al 1989, Shaw 1990). However, Cladosporium, a fungus dispersed in the air, found in rotten organic matter and as food contaminant, had not been reported in Brazil as being collected by Apis mellifera (L).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Saprophytic fungus collection by africanized bees in Brazil

Modro¹,

Silva

Message

et al. 2009

Neotrop. entomol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Section: May -June 2009mentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: May -June 2009mentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Saprophytic fungus collection by africanized bees in Brazil

Modro¹,

Silva

Message

et al. 2009

Neotrop. entomol.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The occasional collection of fungal spores in lieu of pollen by honeybees of the genus Apis has been reported in a fair number of cases all over the world. The fungi concerned were either rust fungi (Basidiomycota), powdery mildews or members of Neurospora (Ascomycota) (Shaw and Robertson, 1980;Wingfield et al, 1989;Shaw, 1990 and references therein). Very few observations have been reported on spore feeding by bees other than honeybees.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Generally, data on the performance of brood raised on fungal spores is scant and it remains controversial whether the bees actually benefit from spore collection. In some cases, however, the sheer quantity of spores collected as well as the fact that spore collection takes place over considerable periods of time suggests that some nutritional benefit is likely to be obtained (Shaw, 1990).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Collection of mold ( Rhizopus sp.) spores in lieu of pollen by the stingless bee Trigona collina

2002

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In the course of a study on pollen diets of three sympatric species of stingless bees (Apidae: Meliponini) in Sabah, Malaysia, we made the observation that large fractions of the foragers of three colonies of Trigona collina collected corbicular loads of fungal spores in lieu of pollen. Collection of spores continued for at least three consecutive days. The spores were brought to germination in the laboratory and the culture was identified as mold of the genus Rhizopus (Zygomycota, Mucorales). Our observations represent the first reported case of the collection of Rhizopus mold spores in lieu of pollen by bees and a rare case of the collection of fungal spores by bees other than honeybees (Apis).

show abstract

High‐resolution biomonitoring of plant pathogens and plant species using metabarcoding of pollen pellet contents collected from a honey bee hive

et al. 2019

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Canadian beekeeping industry is spread across the country, with the greatest proportion of managed honey bee colonies occurring in the Prairie Provinces. Nationally, the number of beekeepers has recently been trending upwards. Simultaneously, agronomic and environmental plant pest incidents are increasing due to a number of factors, including the introduction of exotic organisms through international trade, which is a major pathway for the introduction of potentially invasive alien species and quarantine pests. Therefore, regulatory agencies are interested in developing high‐throughput tools to achieve earlier detection of unwanted species in order to expedite application of mitigating measures to limit the impacts of their introduction. This study evaluates the potential of pollen pellet contents collected by honey bees to monitor plant pests using metabarcoding, a high‐throughput sequencing (HTS) approach for monitoring complex environmental samples. The study used the ITS1 intergenic region to target oomycetes and fungi, the ATP9‐NAD9 spacer to specifically target Phytophthora species, and the ITS2 region to target plant species. From the HTS results, a number of plants that were detected corresponded to known hosts of certain pathogens or species closely related to potentially invasive plant species. Genera including phytopathogenic species found in the pollen samples comprised Fusarium sp., Ophiostoma sp., Peronospora sp., Phytophthora sp., and Pythium sp. Correlations, high entropy, and co‐occurrences between certain plants and oomycetes or fungi were observed. The potential for using honey bee‐collected pollen pellets to study phytopathogens in a given environment is demonstrated here, and this concept could represent a promising complementary tool for the surveillance of phytopathogens or unwanted plants with previously described air and insect sampling methods if the protocol was applied with additional genetic markers.

show abstract

The Incidental Collection of Fungal Spores by Bees and the Collection of Spores in Lieu of Pollen

Cited by 39 publications

References 31 publications

Saprophytic fungus collection by africanized bees in Brazil

Saprophytic fungus collection by africanized bees in Brazil

Collection of mold ( Rhizopus sp.) spores in lieu of pollen by the stingless bee Trigona collina

High‐resolution biomonitoring of plant pathogens and plant species using metabarcoding of pollen pellet contents collected from a honey bee hive

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About