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Benjamin P Oldroyd - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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genetic structure of a giant honey bee Apis dorsata population in northern thailand implications for conservation
Insect Conservation and Diversity, 2013Co-Authors: Atsalek Rattanawannee, Chanpen Chanchao, Siriwat Wongsiri, Benjamin P OldroydAbstract:. 1. The giant honey bee, Apis dorsata, is a keystone pollinator. The species is heavily hunted throughout Thailand. Furthermore, forest clearing, widespread use of pesticides and proliferation of street lighting (which attracts bees, often resulting in their death) are likely to have significant impacts on population viability. 2. We examined the relatedness and genetic variation within and between aggregations of A. dorsata nests. Microsatellite analysis of 54 nests in three aggregations showed that no colonies were related as mother–daughter. Thus, if reproduction occurred at our study sites, daughter colonies dispersed. This suggests that rapid increases in A. dorsata colony numbers during general flowering events most likely occur by swarms arriving from other areas rather than by in situ reproduction. 3. The population has high levels of heterozygosity. Fst values between aggregations were not significantly different from zero (P > 0.05). This suggests that despite the formidable anthropogenic pressures that the A. dorsata population endures in northern Thailand, the species continues to enjoy a large effective population size and has high connectedness. 4. We conclude that A. dorsata is currently able to tolerate habitat fragmentation and annual harvesting. We speculate that the population is sustained by immigration from forested regions to the northwest of our study sites in Burma.
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No evidence that habitat disturbance affects mating frequency in the giant honey bee Apis dorsata
Apidologie, 2012Co-Authors: Atsalek Rattanawannee, Chanpen Chanchao, Siriwat Wongsiri, Benjamin P OldroydAbstract:The giant honey bee (Apis dorsata) is a keystone pollinator within Asian lowland forests. Across its range, A. dorsata populations are impacted by heavy hunting pressure and habitat disturbance. These pressures have the potential to significantly impact the genetic structure of populations, particularly the ability of queens to find a large number of genetically diverse drones for mating. Here, we compare queen mating frequency and allelic diversity between colonies sampled in disturbed and undisturbed areas in Thailand. Microsatellite analysis of 18 colonies in 6 aggregations showed no significant difference in paternity frequency at disturbed and undisturbed habitats. Measures of FST and genetic differentiation between aggregations were not significantly different from zero (P > 0.05); measures of allelic diversity showed no differences between disturbed and undisturbed sites, and there was no evidence of population structuring based on the program STRUCTURE. Our findings suggest, surprisingly, that habitat disturbance has no effect on the mating frequency, genetic diversity, or population connectedness. This suggests that the mating behavior of A. dorsata is robust to anthropogenic changes to the landscape.
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genetic structure of an Apis dorsata population the significance of migration and colony aggregation
Journal of Heredity, 2004Co-Authors: Jurgen Paar, Benjamin P Oldroyd, E Huettinger, Gerald KastbergerAbstract:Eight microsatellite loci were used to investigate the genetic structure of the giant honeybee (Apis dorsata) population in northeast India. This species migrates seasonally between summer and winter nesting sites, and queens appear to return to their previously occupied site. Furthermore, there is a strong tendency for colonies of this species to aggregate at perennially utilized nesting sites that may be shared by more than 150 colonies. These behavioral features suggest that colonies within aggregations should be more related than random colonies, but that the long-distance migration could act to minimize genetic differentiation both between geographical areas and within aggregations. Our genetic study supports these conjectures arising from natural history. A. dorsata aggregations are comprised of colonies that share more alleles than expected by chance. Although queens heading neighboring colonies are not close relatives, fixation indices show significant genetic differentiation among aggregation sites. However, there appears to be sufficient gene flow among aggregations to prevent high degrees of relatedness developing between colonies within aggregations. The results also suggest that there is significant population structuring between geographical regions, although the level of structuring caused by aggregation
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colony relatedness in aggregations of Apis dorsata fabricius hymenoptera apidae
Insectes Sociaux, 2000Co-Authors: Benjamin P Oldroyd, K Osborne, Makhdzir MardanAbstract:Apis dorsata colonies often form dense aggregations, with over 100 colonies sometimes seen in the same tree. Reasons for these aggregations are unknown, but one reasonable hypothesis is that colonies form a related family group. Here we show that 7 adjacent colonies sampled from a single branch of a tree (near Alor Setar in northern peninsular Malaysia) containing over 120 colonies were not related as mother/daughter. Thus the notion that aggregations arise through splitting of the first-arriving colonies can be rejected.
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levels of polyandry and intracolonial genetic relationships in Apis dorsata hymenoptera apidae
Annals of The Entomological Society of America, 1996Co-Authors: Benjamin P Oldroyd, Siriwat Wongsiri, Adam J Smolenski, Jeanmarie Cornuet, Arnaud Estoup, Thomas E Rinderer, Ross H CrozierAbstract:Pupae and adults of 4 Apis dorsata F. colonies from northern Thailand were collected in liquid nitrogen. DNA was extracted, and microsatellite genotypes at 3 loci determined for 42-194 workers per colony. From these data, the queen genotype was inferred, and the number of males with which each queen mated deduced. These A. dorsata queens mated with a mean of 26.75 ± 5.42 (SEM) drones (range, 13-39). The mean within-colony genetic relatedness was 0.29 ± 0.009. All colonies were monogynous. Possible reasons for the very high level of polyandry and the great variance are discussed. A null allele was detected for 1 microsatellite locus in 1 queen progeny.
Siriwat Wongsiri - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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genetic structure of a giant honey bee Apis dorsata population in northern thailand implications for conservation
Insect Conservation and Diversity, 2013Co-Authors: Atsalek Rattanawannee, Chanpen Chanchao, Siriwat Wongsiri, Benjamin P OldroydAbstract:. 1. The giant honey bee, Apis dorsata, is a keystone pollinator. The species is heavily hunted throughout Thailand. Furthermore, forest clearing, widespread use of pesticides and proliferation of street lighting (which attracts bees, often resulting in their death) are likely to have significant impacts on population viability. 2. We examined the relatedness and genetic variation within and between aggregations of A. dorsata nests. Microsatellite analysis of 54 nests in three aggregations showed that no colonies were related as mother–daughter. Thus, if reproduction occurred at our study sites, daughter colonies dispersed. This suggests that rapid increases in A. dorsata colony numbers during general flowering events most likely occur by swarms arriving from other areas rather than by in situ reproduction. 3. The population has high levels of heterozygosity. Fst values between aggregations were not significantly different from zero (P > 0.05). This suggests that despite the formidable anthropogenic pressures that the A. dorsata population endures in northern Thailand, the species continues to enjoy a large effective population size and has high connectedness. 4. We conclude that A. dorsata is currently able to tolerate habitat fragmentation and annual harvesting. We speculate that the population is sustained by immigration from forested regions to the northwest of our study sites in Burma.
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geometric morphometric analysis of giant honeybee Apis dorsata fabricius 1793 populations in thailand
Journal of Asia-pacific Entomology, 2012Co-Authors: Atsalek Rattanawannee, Chanpen Chanchao, Siriwat WongsiriAbstract:Abstract Geometric morphometry was used to characterize 73 Apis dorsata colonies collected from 31 different localities in five major geographic regions of mainland Thailand. We measured 19 easily identified landmarks from the digitized images of the right forewing of 10 worker bees from each colony (730 bees in total); thus, avoiding the confounding variation from haploid or diploid males. After plotting the factor scores, A. dorsata from (mainland) Thailand were found to belong to a single group, which was further supported by a hierarchical cluster analysis-generated dendrogram. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA, α = 0.05) demonstrated no significant differences among the five geographic groups of A. dorsata in Thailand, producing a low degree of accuracy (31.2%) in the identification of the geographic region from which any individual bee originated. Additionally, when the bee samples were classified into two groups, those north and south of the Isthmus of Kra were not significantly different (MANOVA, α = 0.05), and a low rate of correct classification in a cross-validation test (65% correct) was found. Therefore, this geometric morphometric based analysis of worker bee wing venation pattern suggests that A. dorsata populations in mainland Thailand are panmictic.
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No evidence that habitat disturbance affects mating frequency in the giant honey bee Apis dorsata
Apidologie, 2012Co-Authors: Atsalek Rattanawannee, Chanpen Chanchao, Siriwat Wongsiri, Benjamin P OldroydAbstract:The giant honey bee (Apis dorsata) is a keystone pollinator within Asian lowland forests. Across its range, A. dorsata populations are impacted by heavy hunting pressure and habitat disturbance. These pressures have the potential to significantly impact the genetic structure of populations, particularly the ability of queens to find a large number of genetically diverse drones for mating. Here, we compare queen mating frequency and allelic diversity between colonies sampled in disturbed and undisturbed areas in Thailand. Microsatellite analysis of 18 colonies in 6 aggregations showed no significant difference in paternity frequency at disturbed and undisturbed habitats. Measures of FST and genetic differentiation between aggregations were not significantly different from zero (P > 0.05); measures of allelic diversity showed no differences between disturbed and undisturbed sites, and there was no evidence of population structuring based on the program STRUCTURE. Our findings suggest, surprisingly, that habitat disturbance has no effect on the mating frequency, genetic diversity, or population connectedness. This suggests that the mating behavior of A. dorsata is robust to anthropogenic changes to the landscape.
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genetic differentiation of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata in thailand analyzed by mitochondrial genes and microsatellites
Biochemical Genetics, 2007Co-Authors: S Insuan, Sureerat Deowanish, Sirawut Klinbunga, Siriporn Sittipraneed, H A Sylvester, Siriwat WongsiriAbstract:: Genetic diversity and population differentiation of the giant honey bee (Apis dorsata) in Thailand were examined. Six PCR-RFLP mitotypes were generated from digestion of the COI-COII, Cytb-tRNA(ser), ATPase6-8, and lrRNA genes with Dra I and Hin fI. Low genetic diversity (h=0.074, pi=0.032%) and a lack of genetic population differentiation between A. dorsata originating from geographically different regions were observed from mtDNA polymorphisms (P > 0.05). In contrast, microsatellite (A14, A24, and A88) polymorphisms revealed a relatively high level of genetic diversity in A. dorsata (H (o)=0.68-0.74, average number of alleles per locus=6.0-9.0). Both A24 and A88 indicated significant population differentiation between bees from the north-to-central region (north, northeast, and central regions), peninsular Thailand, and Samui Island.
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levels of polyandry and intracolonial genetic relationships in Apis dorsata hymenoptera apidae
Annals of The Entomological Society of America, 1996Co-Authors: Benjamin P Oldroyd, Siriwat Wongsiri, Adam J Smolenski, Jeanmarie Cornuet, Arnaud Estoup, Thomas E Rinderer, Ross H CrozierAbstract:Pupae and adults of 4 Apis dorsata F. colonies from northern Thailand were collected in liquid nitrogen. DNA was extracted, and microsatellite genotypes at 3 loci determined for 42-194 workers per colony. From these data, the queen genotype was inferred, and the number of males with which each queen mated deduced. These A. dorsata queens mated with a mean of 26.75 ± 5.42 (SEM) drones (range, 13-39). The mean within-colony genetic relatedness was 0.29 ± 0.009. All colonies were monogynous. Possible reasons for the very high level of polyandry and the great variance are discussed. A null allele was detected for 1 microsatellite locus in 1 queen progeny.
Jerzy Woyke - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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for what purpose do worker bees of Apis dorsata colonies construct and use wax specks
Journal of Apicultural Research, 2018Co-Authors: Jerzy WoykeAbstract:The free living giant bee Apis dorsata migrates seasonally, but the biology of migrating swarms is unknown. A recent publication suggests, that arriving giant honey bees use wax specks from a previ...
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shape indexes of nests of Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa
Journal of Apicultural Research, 2016Co-Authors: Jerzy Woyke, Jerzy Wilde, Maria WildeAbstract:The giant honey bees Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa construct nests of different shapes and sizes. A method was required to compare the shapes and sizes of these nests. We developed a nest shape index (NSI). It presents the ratio of the dimension of the upper horizontal attachment of the nest base (B), to the vertical dimension of the nest (V); NSI = B/V. We examined the NSI of A. dorsata nests. The results varied; NSI = 0.6–4.7. The shape of nests under a sloped support is characterized by the inclination index (II). This index presents the ratio of the vertical dimension of the nest (V) to the dimension perpendicular to the sloped base (P). The inclination index of the nests observed by us, varied; II = 1.2–3.0. The mean shape of A. laboriosa was NSI = 0.96. The difference between the NSI of A. dorsata and A. laboriosa is due to environmental conditions. These indexes make it possible to compare the shapes of different sized nests when real nests were measured or from measurement of nests in photograph...
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workers often predominate in dusk drone flights of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata
Journal of Apicultural Research, 2005Co-Authors: Jerzy Woyke, Jerzy Wilde, Maria Wilde, Chandrashekar C Reddy, Cleofas R CervanciaAbstract:Mating flights of queen and drone honey bees are performed at a particular, species-specific time of day. Mating flights of Apis dorsata drones take place in mass flights at dusk (Koeniger & Wijayagunasekara, 1976; Koeniger et al., 1988; Rinderer et al., 1993; Koeniger et al., 1994; Woyke et al., 2001). Queens of A. dorsata fly at the same time (Tan et al., 1999). Although only drones and queens have been reported as taking part in these mass flights at dusk, we have observed workers flying together with drones (unpublished observation). The research we report here documents flight activity of worker A. dorsata during dusk mass flights (DMFs).
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temperature correlated dorso ventral abdomen flipping of Apis laboriosa and Apis dorsata worker bees
Apidologie, 2004Co-Authors: Jerzy Woyke, Jerzy Wilde, Maria WildeAbstract:Observations were conducted in Nepal, on A. laboriosa nests in the Himalayas, and A. dorsata in Rampur, Chitwan. At low temperatures, A. laboriosa worker bees of the whole nest curtain repeatedly raised the abdomen up and down with its tip at the peak up to 30-40°. Frequency of those movements was correlated with ambient temperature. With the increase in temperature, from 10 °C to 17 °C, the percentage of workers performing the temperature correlated dorso-ventral abdomen flipping (AF) dropped significantly from 51.4% to 7.5%. The duration of particular AF decreased from 0.62 s at 10 °C to 0.27 s at 17 °C. The workers repeated successive AF every 1.75 s at 10 °C and every 6.00 s at 17 °C. A. dorsata performed similar movements. However, the duration of single AF was shorter in A. dorsata than in A. laboriosa, and A. dorsata repeated those movements more frequently than A. laboriosa. Apis laboriosa / Apis dorsata / abdomen flapping / body movements / temperature correlation / Nepal
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periodic mass flights of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata
Journal of Apicultural Research, 2004Co-Authors: Jerzy Woyke, Jerzy Wilde, Cezary Kruk, Maria WildeAbstract:SUMMARYThis article reports observations conducted in Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal, during March-April and October—December 1999. 14 continuous observations were carried out from 08:00 h to 19:00 h on 6 to 48 nests of Apis dorsata in different seasonal conditions. Detailed observations of 410 periodic mass flights (PMFs) were recorded. During the day, A. dorsata workers made 0–6 PMFs, each of which lasted about 5 min. Worker bees from 52% to 100% of colonies performed PMFs within a day. About 55% of colonies performed a second PMF and about 25% a third flight. Percentage of colonies performing PMFs and the number of PMF activities per colony were highest when the largest amount of brood was present in colonies. In cool conditions (average temp. 20.9 °C), PMF activity lasted between 4 and 7 h and peaked around noontime. In warm conditions (average 26–28 °C), the duration of this activity extended up to 9 h with no PMFs at noon. In hot conditions (average 33.6 °C), the duration of PMF activities was extended to 1...
Gerald Kastberger - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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evidence for ventilation through collective respiratory movements in giant honeybee Apis dorsata nests
PLOS ONE, 2016Co-Authors: Gerald Kastberger, Frank Weihmann, Dominique Waddoup, Thomas HoetzlAbstract:The Asian giant honeybees (Apis dorsata) build single-comb nests in the open, which makes this species particularly susceptible to environmental strains. Long-term infrared (IR) records documented cool nest regions (CNR) at the bee curtain (nCNR = 207, nnests > 20) distinguished by marked negative gradients (ΔTCNR/d 0) displaying the Venturi effect, which evidences funnel properties of CNRs. The air flows inwards through CNRs, which is verified by the negative spatial gradient ΔTCNR/d, by the positive grading of TCNR with Tamb and lastly by fanners which have directed their abdomens towards CNRs. Rare cases of RAT +0.4 cm2/s) displaying “inhalation” and “exhalation” cycling. “Inhalation” could be boosted by bees at the inner curtain layers, which stretch their extremities against the comb enlarging the inner nest lumen and thus causing a pressure fall which drives ambient air inwards through CNR funnels. The relaxing of the formerly “activated” bees could then trigger the “exhalation” process, which brings the bee curtain, passively by gravity, close to the comb again. That way, warm, CO2-enriched nest-borne air is pressed outwards through the leaking mesh of the bee curtain. This ventilation hypothesis is supported by IR imaging and laser vibrometry depicting CNRs in at least four aspects as low-resistance convection funnels for maintaining thermoregulation and restoring fresh air in the nest.
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Giant honeybees (Apis dorsata) mob wasps away from the nest by directed visual patterns
Naturwissenschaften, 2014Co-Authors: Gerald Kastberger, Frank Weihmann, Martina Zierler, Thomas HotzlAbstract:The open nesting behaviour of giant honeybees ( Apis dorsata ) accounts for the evolution of a series of defence strategies to protect the colonies from predation. In particular, the concerted action of shimmering behaviour is known to effectively confuse and repel predators. In shimmering, bees on the nest surface flip their abdomens in a highly coordinated manner to generate Mexican wave-like patterns. The paper documents a further-going capacity of this kind of collective defence: the visual patterns of shimmering waves align regarding their directional characteristics with the projected flight manoeuvres of the wasps when preying in front of the bees’ nest. The honeybees take here advantage of a threefold asymmetry intrinsic to the prey–predator interaction: (a) the visual patterns of shimmering turn faster than the wasps on their flight path, (b) they “follow” the wasps more persistently (up to 100 ms) than the wasps “follow” the shimmering patterns (up to 40 ms) and (c) the shimmering patterns align with the wasps’ flight in all directions at the same strength, whereas the wasps have some preference for horizontal correspondence. The findings give evidence that shimmering honeybees utilize directional alignment to enforce their repelling power against preying wasps. This phenomenon can be identified as predator driving which is generally associated with mobbing behaviour (particularly known in selfish herds of vertebrate species), which is, until now, not reported in insects.
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intraspecific aggression in giant honey bees Apis dorsata
Insects, 2014Co-Authors: Frank Weihmann, Dominique Waddoup, Thomas Hotzl, Gerald KastbergerAbstract:We investigated intraspecific aggression in experimental nests (expN1, expN2) of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata in Chitwan (Nepal), focusing on interactions between surface bees and two other groups of bees approaching the nest: (1) homing “nestmate” foragers landing on the bee curtain remained unmolested by guards; and (2) supposed “non-nestmate” bees, which were identified by their erratic flight patterns in front of the nest, such as hovering or sideways scanning and splaying their legs from their body, and were promptly attacked by the surface bees after landing. These supposed non-nestmate bees only occurred immediately before and after migration swarms, which had arrived in close vicinity (and were most likely scouting for a nesting site). In total, 231 of the “nestmate” foragers (fb) and 102 approaches of such purported “non-nestmate” scouts (sc) were analysed (total observation time expN1: 5.43 min) regarding the evocation of shimmering waves (sh). During their landing the “nestmate” foragers provoked less shimmering waves (relnsh[fb] = 23/231 = 0.0996, relnsh[sc] = 75/102 = 0.7353; p 18 min) quite similarly to the defensive response against predatory wasps. Hence, the surface members of settled colonies respond differently to individual giant honey bees approaching the nest, depending on whether erratic flight patterns are displayed or not.
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Social waves in giant honeybees (Apis dorsata) elicit nest vibrations
Naturwissenschaften, 2013Co-Authors: Gerald Kastberger, Frank Weihmann, Thomas HoetzlAbstract:Giant honeybees ( Apis dorsata ) nest in the open and have developed a wide array of strategies for colony defence, including the Mexican wave-like shimmering behaviour. In this collective response, the colony members perform upward flipping of their abdomens in coordinated cascades across the nest surface. The time–space properties of these emergent waves are response patterns which have become of adaptive significance for repelling enemies in the visual domain. We report for the first time that the mechanical impulse patterns provoked by these social waves and measured by laser Doppler vibrometry generate vibrations at the central comb of the nest at the basic (=‘natural’) frequency of 2.156 ± 0.042 Hz which is more than double the average repetition rate of the driving shimmering waves. Analysis of the Fourier spectra of the comb vibrations under quiescence and arousal conditions provoked by mass flight activity and shimmering waves gives rise to the proposal of two possible models for the compound physical system of the bee nest: According to the elastic oscillatory plate model, the comb vibrations deliver supra-threshold cues preferentially to those colony members positioned close to the comb. The mechanical pendulum model predicts that the comb vibrations are sensed by the members of the bee curtain in general, enabling mechanoreceptive signalling across the nest, also through the comb itself. The findings show that weak and stochastic forces, such as general quiescence or diffuse mass flight activity, cause a harmonic frequency spectrum of the comb, driving the comb as an elastic plate. However, shimmering waves provide sufficiently strong forces to move the nest as a mechanical pendulum. This vibratory behaviour may support the colony-intrinsic information hypothesis herein that the mechanical vibrations of the comb provoked by shimmering do have the potential to facilitate immediate communication of the momentary defensive state of the honeybee nest to the majority of its members.
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evidence of nasonov scenting in colony defence of the giant honeybee Apis dorsata
Ethology, 2010Co-Authors: Gerald Kastberger, Gunther Raspotnig, Sutapa Biswas, Otmar WinderAbstract:Participation of the Nasonov scent in the defence waving behaviour of Apis dorsata is demonstrated. The Nasonov scent seems to act as a superior pheromone for the control and promotion of individual defensive reaction, synchronizing and maximizing the defensive response on colony level. The role of Nasonov scenting in defensive behaviour is discussed, being in keeping with its usual role in attraction and coordination of social behaviour, as known from A. mellifera.
Maria Wilde - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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shape indexes of nests of Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa
Journal of Apicultural Research, 2016Co-Authors: Jerzy Woyke, Jerzy Wilde, Maria WildeAbstract:The giant honey bees Apis dorsata and Apis laboriosa construct nests of different shapes and sizes. A method was required to compare the shapes and sizes of these nests. We developed a nest shape index (NSI). It presents the ratio of the dimension of the upper horizontal attachment of the nest base (B), to the vertical dimension of the nest (V); NSI = B/V. We examined the NSI of A. dorsata nests. The results varied; NSI = 0.6–4.7. The shape of nests under a sloped support is characterized by the inclination index (II). This index presents the ratio of the vertical dimension of the nest (V) to the dimension perpendicular to the sloped base (P). The inclination index of the nests observed by us, varied; II = 1.2–3.0. The mean shape of A. laboriosa was NSI = 0.96. The difference between the NSI of A. dorsata and A. laboriosa is due to environmental conditions. These indexes make it possible to compare the shapes of different sized nests when real nests were measured or from measurement of nests in photograph...
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workers often predominate in dusk drone flights of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata
Journal of Apicultural Research, 2005Co-Authors: Jerzy Woyke, Jerzy Wilde, Maria Wilde, Chandrashekar C Reddy, Cleofas R CervanciaAbstract:Mating flights of queen and drone honey bees are performed at a particular, species-specific time of day. Mating flights of Apis dorsata drones take place in mass flights at dusk (Koeniger & Wijayagunasekara, 1976; Koeniger et al., 1988; Rinderer et al., 1993; Koeniger et al., 1994; Woyke et al., 2001). Queens of A. dorsata fly at the same time (Tan et al., 1999). Although only drones and queens have been reported as taking part in these mass flights at dusk, we have observed workers flying together with drones (unpublished observation). The research we report here documents flight activity of worker A. dorsata during dusk mass flights (DMFs).
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temperature correlated dorso ventral abdomen flipping of Apis laboriosa and Apis dorsata worker bees
Apidologie, 2004Co-Authors: Jerzy Woyke, Jerzy Wilde, Maria WildeAbstract:Observations were conducted in Nepal, on A. laboriosa nests in the Himalayas, and A. dorsata in Rampur, Chitwan. At low temperatures, A. laboriosa worker bees of the whole nest curtain repeatedly raised the abdomen up and down with its tip at the peak up to 30-40°. Frequency of those movements was correlated with ambient temperature. With the increase in temperature, from 10 °C to 17 °C, the percentage of workers performing the temperature correlated dorso-ventral abdomen flipping (AF) dropped significantly from 51.4% to 7.5%. The duration of particular AF decreased from 0.62 s at 10 °C to 0.27 s at 17 °C. The workers repeated successive AF every 1.75 s at 10 °C and every 6.00 s at 17 °C. A. dorsata performed similar movements. However, the duration of single AF was shorter in A. dorsata than in A. laboriosa, and A. dorsata repeated those movements more frequently than A. laboriosa. Apis laboriosa / Apis dorsata / abdomen flapping / body movements / temperature correlation / Nepal
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periodic mass flights of the giant honey bee Apis dorsata
Journal of Apicultural Research, 2004Co-Authors: Jerzy Woyke, Jerzy Wilde, Cezary Kruk, Maria WildeAbstract:SUMMARYThis article reports observations conducted in Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal, during March-April and October—December 1999. 14 continuous observations were carried out from 08:00 h to 19:00 h on 6 to 48 nests of Apis dorsata in different seasonal conditions. Detailed observations of 410 periodic mass flights (PMFs) were recorded. During the day, A. dorsata workers made 0–6 PMFs, each of which lasted about 5 min. Worker bees from 52% to 100% of colonies performed PMFs within a day. About 55% of colonies performed a second PMF and about 25% a third flight. Percentage of colonies performing PMFs and the number of PMF activities per colony were highest when the largest amount of brood was present in colonies. In cool conditions (average temp. 20.9 °C), PMF activity lasted between 4 and 7 h and peaked around noontime. In warm conditions (average 26–28 °C), the duration of this activity extended up to 9 h with no PMFs at noon. In hot conditions (average 33.6 °C), the duration of PMF activities was extended to 1...
