The effect of feeding honey or honey-pollen mixtures (using pollen from yellow flowered broom, male kiwifruit flowers, female kiwifruit flowers) on the ovary development of worker honey bees was assessed after the bees had been caged without a queen for 14 d. There was no significant difference in ovary development between bees fed honey and those fed pollen from female kiwifruit flowers mixed with honey, nor between bees fed broom pollen and pollen from male kiwifruit flowers when mixed with honey. Each of the latter 2 diets resulted in ovary development that was significantly greater than that of bees fed either honey only or pollen from female kiwifruit flowers mixed with honey. lt is suggested that the nutritional value of various pollens for worker honey bees may be determined by examining their ovary development after being fed selected pollen diets in cages without a queen for 14 d.

Canola, Brassica napus L., fields were sprayed with 210 ml/ha of malathion. Caged honey bees, Apis mellifera L., and mosquitoes, Aedes sp., were placed inside and outside the spray area. The correlation coefficient between malathion deposition and mortality was significant (P < 0.0001) and positive for bees (r = 0.900) and mosquitoes (r = 0.920). Caged bee mortality ranged from 1 to 43%, 1 km from the spray area. Malathion residues were detected in canola pollen collected in pollen traps, and blossoms collected from the field up to 12 h after spraying.

Drones were marked individually with numbered tags and introduced into pairs of hives that were spaced 1 m apart facing south. The queen state of one colony in each pair was altered (ie with a caged-virgin queen, caged-mated queen, mated-laying queen, queenless or pheromone trans-9-oxodecenoic acid) and the other member of the pair remained queenright. Drifting of 4 independent age groups of drones (5-10, 10-15, 15-20 and 20-25-d old) was studied. A higher proportion of drones drifted to colonies with caged-virgin queens or to colonies with lures containing a component of the virgin queen's pheromone, trans-9-oxodec-2-enoic acid, than to either queenless colonies, queenright colonies or colonies with caged-mated queens. The proportion of drones that drifted to colonies containing virgin queens increased with the age of the drone. There was a tendency for drones from queenright colonies to drift westward. This appears to have masked the attraction of drones to pairs of hives that had the pheromone or virgin queen-treated colonies in the westerly position. Drift of drones away from colonies with virgin queens was not significantly lower than drift from either queenright or queenless colonies.

Marked drone honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) of known age were introduced to queenright colonies of equal strength, in five different apiaries arranged in different patterns, in Manitoba, Canada. The extent of drone drifting was measured by counting marked drones in each colony. Most drones began drifting when 6-7 days old. The proportion of drones that drifted increased with age to a level of 50% at 15 days old. The proportion of drones older than 15 days that had drifted from the parent colony remained fairly constant (50-60%). Twenty one percent of the drones drifted more than once. Drones continued drifting after they had left their parent colonies, with the level of drift being fairly constant in all age groups of drones.At distances greater than 50 m, drone drift decreased with increased spacing between colonies. No drones drifted between colonies that were spaced more than 150 m apart unless other colonies were present at intermediate distances.Drone drift between hives with coloured entrances, offset entrances or laid out in horseshoe formations did not differ significantly from colonies arranged in straight rows. Drift between hives in a pair was significantly lower than that within rows of five hives, when drones were 7-10 and 14-16 days old. Drift from colonies at the ends of rows was not significantly different from drift from colonies in the middle of rows. There was no apparent tendency for drifting drones to collect in the colonies at both ends of a row. There was, however, a significant directional effect in which more drones drifted towards the south than towards the north, in west-facing rows. None of the apiary designs tested can be recommended for reducing drifting of drones in commercial apiaries.

The amount and sugar concentration of nectar produced by two cultivars (Candle, Tobin) of Brassica campestris L. and three cultivars (Altex, Andor, Regent) of Brassica napus L. were determined throughout the day. The effect of temperature and relative humidity on nectar production as well as the preferences for cultivars by honeybees were examined. Cultivars of B. napus produced more nectar than did those of B. campestris. The flowers of both species produced more nectar, with a lower sugar concentration, in the mornings. Correlations were found between the amounts and concentrations of nectar produced and temperature and relative humidity. Flowers sampled repeatedly produced more nectar, with a lower sugar concentration, than did those sampled only once per day. Honeybees did not show obvious preferences for any of the cultivars investigated.

The effectiveness of honeybees and leafcutter bees in cross pollination between two cultivars of faba beans within cages was assessed. Both honeybee and leafcutter bee positive-foragers moved laterally between rows more often than along rows. The bees moved to rows with different cultivars more frequently that to rows with the same cultivar. However, the direction of movement and cultivar preference did not differ significantly between the two species of bees.Honeybees foraged in greater numbers, and on more flowers per bee than did leafcutter bees. The amount of movement also varied with the cultivars that were used. Few bees moved between the cultivars that differed greatly in appearance and growth habit (e.g. Aladin and 15025). The amount of movement between the cultivars Aladin and CM4 was much higher, ranging from 27 to 43 percent in honeybees and 22 percent in leafcutter bees. Honeybees were more effective than leafcutter bees as pollinators of faba beans in caged plots.

The effects of colony relocation on bee loss and disorientation were studied at Beaverlodge, Alberta, Canada.Bee loss was 22% for unmoved colonies over a 7 day period, 32% for colonies transported at least 14 km, but returned to the original site and 45% for colonies that were moved at least 14 km to a new apiary site.Significant treatment and day effects were evident.Drifting was greatest in the colonies that were moved (38%) to a new apiary site and least in the colonies that were unmoved (13%).The rate of bee loss and drift were highest during the first day of flight, but continued at a decreased rate for the next 6 days.Apls n M /Mi M a— orientation -drifting -moving of colonies Résumé -Influence du déplacement des colonies sur la perte et la désorientation des abeilles (Apls melllllca).On a utilisé des groupes d'abeilles marquées pour déterminer la perte et la dérive des abeilles dans les situations suivantes : A, colonie non déplacée; B, colonie déplacée à, au moins 14 km, puis remise dans son rucher d'origine; C, colonie déplacée à, au moins 14 km dans un nouveau rucher.Les expériences ont été menées près de Beaverlodge, dans l'Alberta, Canada (lat 55° 10' N) avant les principales miellées.Dans chaque traitement, les colonies étaient placées en ligne droite avec leur entrée décalée et la «colonie marqueuse» située au centre (Figs. 1 et 2).Les colonies ont été déplacées le soir, une fois I activüé des abeilles cessée.On a déterminé la perte et la dérive, en dénombrant dans chaque ruche les abeilles marquées au bout de 1, 4 et 7 jours d'activité, le matin avant que les abeilles ne s'envolent.Une analyse de la déviance du nombre d'abeilles perdues montre des effets significatifs du traitement, du jour et de l'action combinée traitement et du jour (Tableau I).La perte en abeilles a été de 22% sur une période de 7 jours pour les colonies non déplacées (traitement A), de 32! pour les colonies du traitement B et de 45°/ pour celles du traitement C. Le Tableau lit donne la probabilité estimée des pertes d'abeilles.Les colonies ont également subi une forte dérive au cours de I expérience.C'est dans le traitement C qu elle a été la plus forte (38°/) et dans le traitement A la moins forte (13%).Apis mellifica -orlentatlon -dérive -déplacement de colonies Zusammenfassung -Effekte der Umsiedlung eines Blenenvolkes auf den Verlust und die Desorlentierung der Honigbienen.Gruppen von markierten Bienen wurden untersucht, um Verlust und Verflug von Bienen in Völkem unter folgenden Bedingungen zu studieren : A) Nicht bewegt (unmoved) B) mindestens 14 km bewegt, aber an den ursprünglichen Ort zurückgebracht (transported), und C) an einen mindestens 14 km entfernten neuen Ort gebracht (relocated).Die Experimente wurden in der Nähe von Beaverlodge, Alberta, Kanada (tat.55° 10' N), vor dem Hauptnektarllüß durchgeführt.Die drei Gruppen wurden in Linien mit versetzten Eingängen (Abb. 1) angeordnet, das «Markervolk» befindet sich in der Mitte und zwei leere Völker an jeder Seite.Für die Untersuchung des Verflugs wurde die umgekehrte Anordnung gewählt : ein leeres Volk in der Mitte und zwei «Fängervolker», die die verflogenen Bienen aufnehmen, zu jeder Seite (Abb. 2).Die Völker wurden abends nach dem Bienenflug bewegt.Verlust und Verflug wurden durch Auszählen von markierten Bienen in jedem Volk am Morgen vor dem Bienenflug nach 1, 4 und 7 Tagen bestimmt.Eine Analyse der Abweichungen von der zu erwartenden Binomialverteilung im Verlust an Bienen zeigte signifikante Effekte der Behandlung, des Tages und der Behandlung x Tag (Tabelle I).Der Bienenverlust war bei den nicht bewegten Völkern nach 7 Tagen 22%, bei den mindestens 14 km transportierten 32% und bei den an einen neuen Ort umlogierten 45%

SummaryDrones were marked with individually numbered tags and introduced into pairs of hives that were spaced 1 m apart facing N, S, E and W. The drifting of four age groups of drones (5–10, 10–15, 15–20 and 20–25 days old) was studied in queenright colonies, queenless colonies and in colonies with virgin queens. The proportion of drones that drifted between pairs of hives varied according to the colony's queen state and the direction that the hives faced. In pairs of hives that faced east or west, drifting between queenless colonies did not differ significantly from that in colonies with virgin queens, but was higher than in queenright colonies. In pairs of hives that faced north or south, the amount of drifting did not vary with the colony's state.The direction towards which drift was greater depended on the direction that the pairs of hives faced. In pairs that faced north or south, a higher proportion of drones tended to drift towards the west than the east, while in pairs that faced east or west a higher proportion of drones tended to drift towards the south than the north. However, these differences were significant only in south- and east-facing pairs. The directional trends varied only slightly in colonies with different queen states and in drones of different age groups between 5–25 days old. The directions that drones drifted were correlated with the position and apparent movement of the sun.

SummaryFive layouts of 4 colonies each, were arranged on pallets to determine the amount of drifting that occurs between the colonies of each layout and to determine the relative honey production of the colonies of these layouts. There was no significant difference in the number of marked bees that drifted within 4 of the layouts but there was a significant difference in the number of marked bees that drifted within each of these four layouts and a fifth layout, where the hive entrances faced inwards. However, there was no significant difference in total honey production between the five layouts. Further, there were no significant differences in total honey production of colonies according to their position (which includes the direction they faced) both within and between layouts.

SummaryGroups of 100 marked drones of known ages were introduced into colonies on different dates throughout 1980 and 1981. The number of drones surviving was measured every 2–4 days. Drone acceptance ranged from 8–88% and was correlated with environmental conditions at the time of introduction. Most loss of drones occurred within 24 h after introduction. The initial acceptance of drones showed positive simple correlations with mean daily temperature (r = 0·82, P < 0·001, in 1980) and the number of hours of sunshine (r = 0·58, P < 0·0007, in 1980, and r = 0·39, P < 0·01, in 1981) and was negatively correlated with daily precipitation (r = −0·44, P < 0·0001, in 1980) and relative humidity (r = −0·51, P < 0·0007, in 1981). Significant partial correlations were found between the initial acceptance of drones and temperatures (r = 0·67, P < 0·05, in 1980, and r = 0·51, P < 0·05, in 1981) and with relative humidity (r = −0·58, P < 0·5, in 1981).Queenless colonies accepted more drones (66%) than did queenright colonies (33%), but the survival rates of drones in queenless and queenright colonies were not significantly different. The mean longevity of adult drones ranged from 13–15 days (median 11–13 days) and did not vary significantly with seasonal changes in nectar flow. Survival rates of drones were not reduced by their drifting behaviour.

Studies on drone management could aid in honey bee breeding programs by improving the efficiency and quality of mating.In this study the effects of introducing foreign drones into honey bee colonies were examined.Marked drones were introduced into single story colonies in the afternoon, evening and on the following morning.The number of drones accepted was measured for five consecutive days after drones were introduced.Introduced drones were either, released into the hive after crawling through a wire screen or were confined within the colony overnight by placing a queen excluder between the bottom board of the hive and the bottom box.The number of drones that was accepted was significantly higher when the marked drones were confined in the colony overnight, using queen excluders.There was a significant interaction between the introduction technique used and time of day when drones were introduced.When introduced drones were confined in colonies with queen excluders, acceptance was higher if the drones were introduced in the afternoon than when they were introduced in the evening or on the following morning.However, if drones were not confined within the colony (i.e. no excluders were used) acceptance was highest in the evenings.The number of drones that was accepted varied with the number that was introduced.When 50 or 95 drones were introduced the mean number of drones that were accepted after five days was not significantly different.However, when 50 or more drones were introduced, acceptance after five days was significantly higher than when only 25 drones were introduced.Therefore, the number of drones accepted by a colony can be increased by confining the drones in the colony for about 18 hours after introduction and by introducing drones in the afternoon or evening rather in the morning.The number of drones accepted, however, cannot be increased when more than 50 drones are introduced per hive.

SummaryThe nectar- and pollen-collecting behaviour of honeybees was observed on two species of canola, Brassica campestris L. and B. napus L. Honeybees collected nectar from both species. Pollen was usually collected incidently while the bees foraged for nectar, but in one experiment, 48% of the honeybees actively collected canola pollen from B. napus. Honeybees foraging on B. campestris were observed to ‘cross-over’ 34–81% of the stigmas compared to 24–53% on B. napus. The lower percentage of B. napus stigmas crossed may be due to the higher percentage of ‘thieving’ that occurs on the larger flowers of this species. Thieving on B. napus was 18–65%. Bees foraging on B. campestris spent 12·5–19·3 s/plant, visited 2·4–2·6 flowers/plant and spent 4·6–6·6 s/flower. Bees foraging on B. napus spent 13·3–17·0 s/plant, visited 1·9–2·6 flowers/plant and spent 6·1–7·0 s/flower.

SummaryPartially filled hives, containing cells of Megachile rotundata (F) brood, were replaced with empty hives early in the field season in an attempt to obtain an increase in the number of female alfalfa leaf-cutter bees. The frequency of female bees decreased from the back of the tunnels to the front ends in both the original and replacement hives; male bees showed the opposite pattern. Ratios of male to female bees ranged from 1·6: 1 to 3·0: 1 despite the use of tunnels of standard length and diameter. There was no significant increase in females produced in the replacement nests suggesting that it is neither feasible nor economical to replace nests to increase numbers of female bees. However, chalcidoid parasitism (by Pteromalus venustus Walker) was significantly reduced in the replacement hives, possibly owing to the method used to remove bees from the original hives.

With a growing world population and increasingly demanding consumers, the production of sufficient protein from livestock, poultry, and fish represents a serious challenge for the future. Approximately 1,900 insect species are eaten worldwide, mainly in ...Read More

SummaryCounts of sperm and tests for nosema disease were done in queen honeybees (Apis mellifera) over a 6-year period on their arrival in western Canada from the United States. During that period, Nosema was found in 0·5–18% of the queens (mean 7·5%); 11% of the queens had fewer than 3 million sperm. In each year a high percentage (i.e., 45–64%) of the queens had over 5 million sperms. Sperm counts and nosema disease in queens were also examined in relation to the State of origin in USA and their date of arrival in Canada.

SummaryThe effects were assessed of the presence of a queen, and of beeswax foundation, and of feeding honey, sucrose solution, or a honey and pollen mixture, on the production of wax by worker honeybees of European and tropical African origin during a 7-day confinement in laboratory cages. The European bees produced significantly more wax than the African bees did, but the two kinds of bees could not be shown to differ in their responses to the various treatments, although experiments on a larger scale might do so. Queenless bees in cages produced significantly less wax than did those with queens; variation in wax production among the queenless treatments was not significant.

SummaryHiving queenless package honeybees increased bee losses significantly, as did storage of packages at high temperatures (24°C) for 48 h under either light or dark conditions. However, there were no significant differences in bee losses after hiving between packages containing 0·9 or 1·8 kg bees, between packages that were shaken or not shaken at hiving (in the evening), or between packages stored under light or dark conditions, at 14° or at 24°.

(1982). Producing Honey in the Canadian Prairies Using Package Bees. Bee World: Vol. 63, No. 3, pp. 110-117.

SummaryOver a 6-year period package honeybees, queens and attendant workers in queen cages were examined for Nosema on arrival in western Canada from the United States. Depending on the year of sampling, Nosema was found in 26% to 53% of the packages, 0·5% to 18% of the queens, and 31% to 67% of the attendant workers. The incidence of Nosema was also examined in relation to the State of origin in USA and the arrival date in Canada.

SummaryIn two experiments with queenright honey-producing colonies, 17% (46 of 276) and 31% (9 of 29) of the old queens were replaced by queens emerging from queen cells introduced with little or no isolation from the original queen. Few old queens were replaced by young virgin queens introduced to colonies with either smoke or vanilla-honey-water sprays.