Effects of Long Distance Transportation on Honey Bee Physiology

Despite the requirement of long distance transportation of honey bees used for pollination, we understand little how transportation affects honey bees. Three trials in three different states (CA, GA, and MI) were conducted to study the effects of long distance transportation on honey bee physiology....

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Kiheung Ahn, Xianbing Xie, Joseph Riddle, Jeff Pettis, Zachary Y. Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Wiley 2012-01-01
Series:Psyche: A Journal of Entomology
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/193029
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1832551652750524416
author Kiheung Ahn
Xianbing Xie
Joseph Riddle
Jeff Pettis
Zachary Y. Huang
author_facet Kiheung Ahn
Xianbing Xie
Joseph Riddle
Jeff Pettis
Zachary Y. Huang
author_sort Kiheung Ahn
collection DOAJ
description Despite the requirement of long distance transportation of honey bees used for pollination, we understand little how transportation affects honey bees. Three trials in three different states (CA, GA, and MI) were conducted to study the effects of long distance transportation on honey bee physiology. Newly emerged bees from one colony were split into two groups and introduced into a transported (T) colony or a stationary (S) colony in each trial. Volumes of hypopharyngeal gland acini in T colonies were significantly smaller than S colonies in all three trials. There were no significant differences between S and T colonies in juvenile hormone titers. Protein content in head showed no significant differences between S and T either in 7-day-old or 17-day-old bees of MI trial, but GA trial showed a significant reduction in bees experiencing transportation. Protein content in thorax was only measured in GA trial and was not significantly different between the two groups. Lipid content in abdomen was not significantly different between the S and T colonies in all three trials. This study suggests that bees experiencing transportation have trouble fully developing their food glands and this might affect their ability to nurse the next generation of workers.
format Article
id doaj-art-23ee6ba37bb04d9caa710906091c9d87
institution Kabale University
issn 0033-2615
1687-7438
language English
publishDate 2012-01-01
publisher Wiley
record_format Article
series Psyche: A Journal of Entomology
spelling doaj-art-23ee6ba37bb04d9caa710906091c9d872025-02-03T06:00:52ZengWileyPsyche: A Journal of Entomology0033-26151687-74382012-01-01201210.1155/2012/193029193029Effects of Long Distance Transportation on Honey Bee PhysiologyKiheung Ahn0Xianbing Xie1Joseph Riddle2Jeff Pettis3Zachary Y. Huang4Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USADepartment of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USADepartment of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USABee Research Laboratory, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Beltsville, MD 20705, USADepartment of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824, USADespite the requirement of long distance transportation of honey bees used for pollination, we understand little how transportation affects honey bees. Three trials in three different states (CA, GA, and MI) were conducted to study the effects of long distance transportation on honey bee physiology. Newly emerged bees from one colony were split into two groups and introduced into a transported (T) colony or a stationary (S) colony in each trial. Volumes of hypopharyngeal gland acini in T colonies were significantly smaller than S colonies in all three trials. There were no significant differences between S and T colonies in juvenile hormone titers. Protein content in head showed no significant differences between S and T either in 7-day-old or 17-day-old bees of MI trial, but GA trial showed a significant reduction in bees experiencing transportation. Protein content in thorax was only measured in GA trial and was not significantly different between the two groups. Lipid content in abdomen was not significantly different between the S and T colonies in all three trials. This study suggests that bees experiencing transportation have trouble fully developing their food glands and this might affect their ability to nurse the next generation of workers.http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/193029
spellingShingle Kiheung Ahn
Xianbing Xie
Joseph Riddle
Jeff Pettis
Zachary Y. Huang
Effects of Long Distance Transportation on Honey Bee Physiology
Psyche: A Journal of Entomology
title Effects of Long Distance Transportation on Honey Bee Physiology
title_full Effects of Long Distance Transportation on Honey Bee Physiology
title_fullStr Effects of Long Distance Transportation on Honey Bee Physiology
title_full_unstemmed Effects of Long Distance Transportation on Honey Bee Physiology
title_short Effects of Long Distance Transportation on Honey Bee Physiology
title_sort effects of long distance transportation on honey bee physiology
url http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2012/193029
work_keys_str_mv AT kiheungahn effectsoflongdistancetransportationonhoneybeephysiology
AT xianbingxie effectsoflongdistancetransportationonhoneybeephysiology
AT josephriddle effectsoflongdistancetransportationonhoneybeephysiology
AT jeffpettis effectsoflongdistancetransportationonhoneybeephysiology
AT zacharyyhuang effectsoflongdistancetransportationonhoneybeephysiology