Evaluating the Load mass of foragers enhances the pre-selection of Apis cerana koreana honey bees for honey production

Frunze Olga,Dong Won Kim,김수배,박보선,Peter N. Akongte,Yong-Soo Choi 한국응용곤충학회 2023 Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology Vol.26 No.2

Improving honey yield is a crucial concern in global beekeeping. Typically, honey extraction is used simulta neously to collect honey and assess honey bees, but this can vary from year to year, which has led to the development of alternative selection methods. The aim of this study was to analyze honey-related traits in order to update honey bee pre-selection methods. Apis cerana koreana X, R lines, RX crossbred were evaluated using traditional (Weekly honey control and Cut-honey) methods, internal morphological traits (Load mass 10 , Load mass 30 , Load mass All , Maximal Load mass All , Load (%), and Nectar crop weight), and Acfor gene expression. Xline colonies were selected for significantly higher (P < 0.0001) Load mass 10 , and Load mass 30 which had high discriminatory power (P < 0.0001) and low positive correlation to traditional methods. Our observations can be used for improving the method of honey bee selection for honey production and reducing dependence on nectar flow. However, further testing on Apis mellifera honey bees is necessary to confirm the universality of these criteria.

Honey Production and Characterization of New Honey bee (Apis mellifera) Stock in Jeon-Nam Province

Jung Eun Kim,Seon Gon Kim,Hyang Choul Choi,Sung Ju Kang,Yong Soo Choi,Myeong Lyeol Lee 한국응용곤충학회 2014 한국응용곤충학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2014 No.10

RDA(Rural Development Administration of Agriculture) and YIRI(Yecheon-gun Industrial Insect Research Institute) was development of 3 strains crossbred honey bee(Apis mellifera) for increasing honey production(HP). The overall goal of this research is to improve the honey production of queen honey bees. This will enhance the economic value of the nation’s honey bees for honey production, and hazard resistance. Our main objective of this research is to test of honey bees(A. mellifera) that have increased as well as being good honey producers and resistance of disease in jeon-nam province. The new honey bee(A. mellifera) stock were identified ability of increasing honey production by comparing with rearing practice colony. The new honey bee(A. mellifera) stock can produce more than 30~50% honey(HP; 12.31 kg) comparing with rearing practice colonies(control 1; 8.17 kg, and control 2; 9.53 kg). Furthermore, we are calculated the number of worker bee per colony. Population of worker bee in new honey bee(A. mellifera) stock are 2,849 (colony 1), 8,860 (colony 2) and 10,451 (colony 3), it was more then 1.2~3.7 fold comparing with controls.

Honey bees in crisis: Investigation of honey bee viruses in South Korea through virome analysis

Minhyeok Kwon,Chuleui Jung,Eui-Joon Kil 한국응용곤충학회 2023 한국응용곤충학회 학술대회논문집 Vol.2023 No.10

South Korea experienced a significant decline in honey bee populations starting in 2021, which continued for two years until the winter of 2022. To investigate the potential causes of this decline, we conducted a virome analysis, considering viruses as possible culprits. Samples were collected during two periods: April-May 2022 and May-June 2023. From libraries contsructed from their total RNA, we secured a total of 25 raw FASTQ files by high-throughput sequencing. In the honey bees collected in 2022, we identified eight previously unreported honey bee viruses including Lake Sinai viruses, one novel honey bee-related virus, and one novel plant-related virus. In the subsequent sampling in 2023, we found that most of the viruses identified in 2022 were still present. Additionally, the novel honey bee virus reported in 2022 was also found in the 2023 collections, along with three more honey bee-related novel viruses. Notably, numerous plant viruses were detected in honey bees collected during the flowering season. This analysis suggests that the viruses observed in South Korean honey bees are likely distributed nationwide. These findings provide fundamental data for future research on honey bee viruses in South Korea.

Remote Honey Bee Breeding Center in the Wido Island, the Republic of Korea

Olga Frunze,Peter Njukang Akongte,Dongwon Kim,강은진,김경문,박보선,Yong-Soo Choi 한국양봉학회 2022 韓國養蜂學會誌 Vol.37 No.2

Queens of the honey bees (Apis mellifera and Apis cerana) are extremely polyandry and controlling their mating partners can be possible by having remote isolated mating stations (case study of the Wido Island in the Republic of Korea). This Island is some 14.6 km from the mainland, lacks indigenous honey bees, has an average size of about 11.72 km2, and suitable weather conditions for breeding during the months of May to September excluding the rainy month (July). It is an ideal position for mating of high-quality virgin queen bees with selected drones. Methods of the rearing virgin queen bees are presented and described on the numbers of pure bred colonies of honey bees. In summer 2021, 30 queen cells of Apis cerana were reared in the island while 25 cages of nuclei hives with honey bees and six drone populations of about 9,000 drones were shipped to the island for three mating sessions. Colonies were returned to the mainland three weeks after mating. Mating success was about 79% per mating session. The one-week interval between mating sessions was used to clean the island environment from aging drones. This information is vitally important to manage the controlled mating centers on remote islands because the Republic of Cameroon and Korea have islands that can be used by beekeepers as mating stations for breeding of the selected lines of honey bees.

Composition and Antioxidant Activity of Trigona carbonaria Honey from Australia

Livia Persano Oddo,Tim A. Heard,Antonio Rodríguez-Malaver,Rosa Ana Pérez,Miguel Fernández-Muiño,María Teresa Sancho,Giulio Sesta,Lorenzo Lusco,Patricia Vit 한국식품영양과학회 2008 Journal of medicinal food Vol.11 No.4

Stingless bees (Tribe Meliponini) are a diverse group of highly eusocial bees distributed throughout the tropics and subtropics. Trigona carbonaria honey, from Australia, was characterized by traditional physicochemical parameters (acidity, sugars, diastase, electrical conductivity, hydroxymethylfurfural, invertase, nitrogen, and water content) and other compositional factors (flavonoids, polyphenols, organic acids, and water activity), as well as total antioxidant capacity and radical scavenging activity. For the Australian T. carbonaria, the traditional analytical parameters were similar to those previously reported for neotropical stingless bee honey and confirm that honeys produced by Meliponini bees possess several physicochemical properties that are distinctly different from Apis mellifera honey, with higher values of moisture (26.5 ± 0.8 g of water/100 g of honey), water activity (0.74 ± 0.01), electrical conductivity (1.64 ± 0.12 mS/cm), and free acidity (124.2 ± 22.9 mEq/kg of honey) and a very low diastase activity (0.4 ± 0.5 diastase number) and invertase activity (5.7 ± 1.5 invertase number). The sugar spectrum was quite different from that of A. mellifera honey, with 20.3 ± 2.9 g of maltose/100 g of honey. The values of pH (4.0 ± 0.1), lactonic acidity (4.7 ± 0.8 mEq/kg of honey), sucrose (1.8 ± 0.4 g/100 g of honey), and fructose/glucose ratio (1.42 ± 0.13) fell in the same ranges as those of A. mellifera honey. Citric (0.23 ± 0.09) and malic (0.12 ± 0.03) acid concentrations (in g/kg of honey) of T. carbonaria honeys were in the range described for A. mellifera honey. D-Gluconic was more concentrated (9.9 ± 1.3 g/kg of honey), in the range of Italian Castanea, Thymus, Arbutus, and honeydew honeys. Flavonoid content was 10.02 ± 1.59 mg of quercetin equivalents/100 g of honey, and polyphenol contents were 55.74 ± 6.11 mg of gallic acid equivalents/100 g of honey. The antioxidant activity, expressed as percentage of 2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) cation (ABTS.+) decolorization, was 233.96 ± 50.95 μM Trolox equivalents, and free radical 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH.) depletion was 48.03 ± 12.58 equivalents of ascorbic acid. All reported values are averages ± standard deviation. The antioxidant activity can represent an important added value for T. carbonaria honey, to initiate a medicinal approach for both nutritional and pharmaceutical applications, besides further physicochemical characterization.

Evaluation of stingless bee (Tetragonula pagdeni) honey properties and melissopalynological analysis from different geographical origins in Thailand

Maitip Jakkrawut,Polgate Amonwit,Promsart Woranika,Butdee Jinatchaya,Rueangwong Athitta,Sittisorn Tanatip,Chanasit Wankuson,Jorakit Satasak,Kodcharin Prapai 한국생태학회 2024 Journal of Ecology and Environment Vol.48 No.1

Background: Honey from different geographical origins can have distinct characteristics due to variations in the floral sources available to stingless bees in different regions. The most abundant stingless bee for meliponiculture in Thailand is Tetragonula pagdeni. However, only a few studies about the properties of honey from a different origin were carried out. The objective of this study was focused on a comparative study to evaluate the melissopalynological, physicochemical, antioxidant activities, and total phenolic contents (TPCs) of stingless bee honey produced by T. pagdeni from different parts of Thailand. Results: Fifty honey samples were collected from five locations, and the physicochemical properties of T. pagdeni honey samples are acidic (pH 3.02–4.15) and have a high water content (18.42–25.06 %w/w), which is related to the regions of meliponary. Melisopalynological analysis reveals the predominant pollen from Melaleuca quinquenervia, Cocus nuciferca, Nephelium lappaceum, Salacca wallichiana, and multiflora honey. All honey samples were analyzed for their TPC and 2,2-diphenyl1-picrylhydrazyl radical scavenging activity. The results show that all samples had high TPC and antioxidant activities with a strong correlation (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The data from this study indicates the importance of geographical origin, which links physicochemical properties, phenolic compounds, and functional characteristics to their floral. Besides, the floral sources and harvesting location affected the properties of stingless bee honey. Our results identify Melaleuca honey as a promising source of phenolic content and antioxidant activity that can be used as a functional food, as well as multiflora and Cocus honey. However, further studies are required to characterize the phenolic compound and its biological potential, which could be a stingless bee honey biomarker and quality control, simultaneously with the physicochemical analysis.

Antiviral Effect of Korean Native Bee-honey against Influenza A Virus in A549 Cells

Eun-Bin Kwon,Young Soo Kim,Buyun Kim,Hong Min Choi,Soon Ok Woo,Se-Gun Kim,Jang-Gi Choi 한국양봉학회 2023 韓國養蜂學會誌 Vol.38 No.4

Influenza viruses are responsible for respiratory infections in humans, which results in significant morbidity and mortality. Among the drugs commonly employed to treat influenza virus infections, neuraminidase inhibitors, such as oseltamivir and peramivir, feature pro- minently. However, the emergence of drug-resistant viruses underscores the need for the development of new anti-influenza medications. Korean Native bee-honey has been used for medicinal and food. Korean native bee-honey exhibits pharmacological effects, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial activity; however, an anti-influenza effect of Korean native bee-honey has not been reported. In this study, we determined whether Korean native bee-honey from nine different regions (samples A-I) exhibits antiviral activity in pre-, co-, and posttreatment assays using the green fluorescent protein (GFP)-tagged influenza A/PR/8/34 (A/PR/8/34-GFP) virus. The results indicated that sample G (native bee-honey in Nonsan-si, Chungcheongnam-do) exhibited inhibitory effects in the pre-treatment assay against IAV. Also, samples C(native bee-honey in Boseong-gun, Jeollanam-do) and H(native bee-honey in Muju-gun, Jeollabuk-do) had anti-influenza effect under co-treatment conditions, and samples D (native bee-honey in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do) and F (native bee-honey in Hamyang-gun, Gyeongsangnam-do) showed antiviral activity under post-treatment conditions. These results warrant further studies to identify the active ingredients and mechanisms underlying the anti- influenza effect of Korean native bee-honey.

Effects of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colony size on the pollination of greenhouse-cultivated watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) under forcing cultivation

Lee, Kyeong Yong,Yoon, Hyung Joo,Lim, Jeonghyeon,Ko, Hyeon-Jin Korean Society of Sericultural Science 2018 International Journal of Industrial Entomology Vol.37 No.2

We investigated the effects of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colony size on the pollination of greenhouse-cultivated watermelon grown under the forcing cultivation system. The highest pollination activity of bees was observed ($14.3{\pm}5.0$ honey bees/day) when the bee colony size was 10,000 followed by 7,500 and 5,000 honey bees. There was a positive correlation between the bee colony size and pollination activity (R = 0.262) but insignificant difference in fruit set with different honey bee colony sizes (88%-91%). Evaluation of physical properties revealed that the weight and shape of watermelon were also not significantly different among different colony sizes. However, larger the bee colony size, higher the number of seeds were fertilized and rate of seed fertilization (p > 0.05). Number of seeds and content of sugar were negatively correlated (R = -0.714). Fertilized seeds showed a significant increase in mealy flesh, which has a negative effect on fruit quality, compared with that of the unfertilized seeds. Overall, we found that a colony size of 5,000 honey bees was the most effective for the pollination of watermelon grown under forcing cultivation. A comparison of the effects of bee pollination with those of artificial pollination suggested that artificial pollination can be effectively replaced by bee pollination in the forcing cultivation of watermelon, because fruit set, weight, and shape by bee pollination were similar to those achieved by artificial pollination.

Effects of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colony size on the pollination of greenhouse-cultivated watermelon (Citrullus lanatus L.) under forcing cultivation

이경용,윤형주,임정현,고현진 한국잠사학회 2018 International Journal of Industrial Entomology Vol.37 No.2

We investigated the effects of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colony size on the pollination of greenhouse-cultivated watermelon grown under the forcing cultivation system. The highest pollination activity of bees was observed (14.3 ± 5.0 honey bees/day) when the bee colony size was 10,000 followed by 7,500 and 5,000 honey bees. There was a positive correlation between the bee colony size and pollination activity (R = 0.262) but insignificant difference in fruit set with different honey bee colony sizes (88%–91%). Evaluation of physical properties revealed that the weight and shape of watermelon were also not significantly different among different colony sizes. However, larger the bee colony size, higher the number of seeds were fertilized and rate of seed fertilization (p > 0.05). Number of seeds and content of sugar were negatively correlated (R = -0.714). Fertilized seeds showed a significant increase in mealy flesh, which has a negative effect on fruit quality, compared with that of the unfertilized seeds. Overall, we found that a colony size of 5,000 honey bees was the most effective for the pollination of watermelon grown under forcing cultivation. A comparison of the effects of bee pollination with those of artificial pollination suggested that artificial pollination can be effectively replaced by bee pollination in the forcing cultivation of watermelon, because fruit set, weight, and shape by bee pollination were similar to those achieved by artificial pollination.

Pyrosequencing Analysis of the Bacterial Communities in the Guts of Honey Bees Apis cerana and Apis mellifera in Korea

안재형,홍인표,복증임,김병용,송재경,원항연 한국미생물학회 2012 The journal of microbiology Vol.50 No.5

The bacterial communities in the guts of the adults and larvae of the Asian honey bee Apis cerana and the European honey bee Apis mellifera were surveyed by pyrosequencing the 16S rRNA genes. Most of the gut bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences were highly similar to the known honey bee-specific ones and affiliated with Pasteurellaceae or lactic acid bacteria (LAB). The numbers of operational taxonomic units (OTUs, defined at 97% similarity) were lower in the larval guts (6 or 9) than in the adult guts (18 or 20), and the frequencies of Pasteurellaceae-related OTUs were higher in the larval guts while those of LAB-related OTUs in the adult guts. The frequencies of Lactococcus, Bartonella, Spiroplasma,Enterobacteriaceae, and Flavobacteriaceae-related OTUs were much higher in A. cerana guts while Bifidobacterium and Lachnospiraceae-related OTUs were more abundant in A. mellfera guts. The bacterial community structures in the midguts and hindguts of the adult honey bees were not different for A. cerana, but significantly different for A. mellifera. The above results substantiated the previous observation that honey bee guts are dominated by several specific bacterial groups, and also showed that the relative abundances of OTUs could be markedly changed depending on the developmental stage, the location within the gut, and the honey bee species. The possibility of using the gut bacterial community as an indicator of honey bee health was discussed.