Vol.54 No.1 2010 Content Beata Panasiuk, Wojciech Skowronek, Małgorzata Bieńkowska, Dariusz Gerula - Process of cleaning dead brood from cells in a honeybee colony 5 Abdolreza Saffari, Peter G. Kevan, James Atkinson - Consumption of three dry pollen substitutes in commercial apiaries 13 Shailja Mishra, Ram C. Sihag - Efficacy of some chemicals and additives as bee repellents against two honeybee species, Apis mellifera L. and Apis florea F. in semi-field trials 21 Tadeusz Pawlikowski - Structural dynamic of bumblebee communities (Hymenoptera: Bombini) in forest areas destroyed by acid rains in the Karkonosze Mountains of Poland 35 Grzegorz Borsuk, Krzysztof Olszewski - Morphometric traits of Buckfast and Caucasian bees 43 Maria Josiane Sereia, Vagner de Alencar Arnaut de Toledo, Luis Carlos Marchini, Eloi Machado Alves, Patrícia Faquinello, Tiago Cleyton Simoes de Oliveira Arnaut de Toledo - Microorganisms in organic and non organic honey samples of africanized honeybees 49 Piotr Semkiw, Wojciech Skowronek, Piotr Skubida, Helena Rybak-Chmielewska, Teresa Szczęsna - Changes occurring in honey during ripening under controlled conditions based on α-amylase activity, acidity and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural content 55 Ernest Stawiarz, Anna Wróblewska - Melissopalynological analysis of multifloral honeys from the Sandomierska Upland area of Poland 65 Joonyeong Kim, Jongseok Lee - Quantitative analysis of trans-10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid in royal jelly products purchased in USA by high performance liquid chromatography 77 PROCESS OF CLEANING DEAD BROOD FROM CELLS IN A HONEYBEE COLONY Beata Panasiuk, Wojciech Skowronek, Małgorzata Bieńkowska, Dariusz Gerula Summary Hygienic behaviour of honeybees is described as recognizing, and removing diseased or dead brood from capped cells. This behaviour is a mechanism of honeybee resistance against the brood diseases. It also limits the growth of the parasitic mite population. The process of dead brood removal was observed in 2006. An experimental colony was set up in a 1-frame glass hive. A piece of comb containing 102 capped cells with freeze-killed brood was observed. The cleaning cell process was divided into successive stages, i.e.: recognition of cell with dead brood, opening with mandibles the wax capping, removal of dead brood, cleaning and polishing the cell. It was noticed that the queen laid eggs in some of the cells that had been cleaned by workers. The successive stages of cell cleaning started and finished at various time periods. The time to clean the cell differed as well. Bees cleaned all the cells within 3 to 85 hours, on the average during 46 hours. Keywords: hygienic behaviour, freeze-killed brood, cleaning stages. Full text PDF Back to the top CONSUMPTION OF THREE DRY POLLEN SUBSTITUTES IN COMMERCIAL APIARIES Abdolreza Saffari1, Peter G. Kevan1, James Atkinson2 Summary The palatability tests were done in commercial apiaries in early spring 2004. In this trial, three different feeds, FeedbeeŽ, TLS Bee Feed and Bee-ProŽ were fed to 153 colonies in 12 bee yards for 6 weeks (March 25th - May 6th) in southern Ontario. Two methods of feeding were used: 1) No-choice feeding, where each yard received only one of the three feeds, and 2) Choice feeding, where each yard received all three experimental feeds. The mean feed intake (g/colony/6 weeks) of FeedbeeŽ was 960 g and 883 g for the first and second feeding methods respectively. These amounts were significantly greater (p>0.05) than for the other two feeds. The amount of Bee-ProŽ consumed (g/colony/6 weeks) in the two feeding methods was 224 g and 106 g and for the TLS Bee Feed, 115 g and 52 g respectively. These results indicate that FeedbeeŽ in powder/dry form is highly palatable to honey bees. The results show that it is well accepted by bees during the shortage or absence of natural pollen. Keywords: pollen, substitute diet, feed, honey bees, palatability, consumption rate. Full text PDF Back to the top EFFICACY OF SOME CHEMICALS AND ADDITIVES AS BEE REPELLENTS AGAINST TWO HONEYBEE SPECIES, Apis mellifera L. AND Apis florea F. IN SEMI-FIELD TRIALS Summary Fifteen compounds belonging to three different groups, viz., phenols, aldehydes and ketones along with two additives i.e. ethylene glycol and glycerol were tested at three concentrations for their repellency against two honeybee species viz. Apis mellifera L. and Apis florea F. under semi-field conditions. The addition of ethylene glycol and glycerol to all the fifteen compounds enhanced their repellency. All the ketones with additives showed the desired repellency of ?80% at 0.1% concentration, followed by aldehydes which at 0.2% concentration showed the desired threshold of effective activity. Phenyl acetaldehyde showed the desired repellency at 0.1% concentration. Most of the phenols showed the desired repellency at 0.3 and 0.4% concentrations whereas p-bromophenol and p-cresol did this at 0.2% concentration. The effect of glycerol as an additive in enhancing the repellency of chemicals was much higher than ethylene glycol. Keywords: Honeybee, Apis florea, Apis mellifera, pollination, pesticides, repellents. Full text PDF Back to the top STRUCTURAL DYNAMIC OF BUMBLEBEE COMMUNITIES (HYMENOPTERA: BOMBINI) IN FOREST AREAS DESTROYED BY ACID RAINS IN THE KARKONOSZE MOUNTAINS OF POLAND Tadeusz Pawlikowski Summary The structure of bumblebee communities was investigated in forest areas transformed by acid rains in the Polish Karkonosze mountains. The bumblebee communities were studied at intervals for five years. It was found that the number of species decreased as the altitude increase. This increase and decrease took place at similar ratios relative to the natural distribution of the number of species recorded in the Tatra Mountains. In the dynamic of bumblebee density within the vegetation floors of the Karkonosze Mts, a significant twofold increase was recorded in the values for lower subalpine forest. A threefold decrease in the values for upper subalpine forest was recorded and a twofold decrease in the values for the dwarf pine floor. The result of these changes was a significant increase in the general diversity (H’) of communities in the upper subalpine forest and the dwarf-pine floor. Equalization of frequency of individual species in communities was the reason for the significant increase. While observing the progressing successive restoration of forests, one can assume that the recorded structural changes in bumblebee communities represent their transitional state. Together with the restoration of destroyed forest stands, the dynamics peculiar to the high mountains of Central Europe should be preserved for bumblebee communities in those areas. Keywords: Hymenoptera, Bombini, bumblebees, community structure, forests, Karkonosze Mts. Full text PDF Back to the top MORPHOMETRIC TRAITS OF BUCKFAST AND CAUCASIAN BEES Grzegorz Borsuk, Krzysztof Olszewski Summary The aim of the study was to assess and compare morphometric traits in Buckfast bees. The traits were compared with the traits of the Caucasian, which is the foreign bee that has been bred in Poland for the longest time. The study involved pure-bred Buckfast and Caucasian worker bees. The following traits were measured: the length of the proboscis, venation for determination of the cubital index of the right wing, and the width of tergite III and IV. Additionally, the right hindwing hooks as well as the rows of pollen brush hairs on the right leg of the 3rd pair of legs were counted, and the bees were weighed. The morphometric traits of the Buckfast bee were similar to those of the Italian race described by Ruttner. The Buckfast bee was developed from the Italian breed. The biggest discrepancies in the Caucasian breed standard were observed in the length of the proboscis, whereas the other morphometric traits did not differ from the standard. Maintenance of the purity of the Caucasian breed for approximately 50 years was impossible. It is likely to have crossed with the Carniolan bee, which is indicated inter alia by the proboscis length. Keywords: morphometric, honey bees, Buckfast bees, Caucasian bees. Full text PDF Back to the top MICROORGANISMS IN ORGANIC AND NON ORGANIC HONEY SAMPLES OF AFRICANIZED HONEYBEES Maria Josiane Sereia1, Vagner de Alencar Arnaut de Toledo2, Luis Carlos Marchini3, Eloi Machado Alves4, Patrícia Faquinello4, Tiago Cleyton Simoes de Oliveira Arnaut de Toledo5 Summary This research was carried out to evaluate and compare 11 organic honey samples and six non organic honey samples, respectively, harvested from islands of the triple frontier (Sao Paulo, Parana and Mato Grosso do Sul states) and from the state of Paraná, Brazil. The samples were studied for the presence of coliforms from 35°C, to 45°C and the enumeration of moulds and yeast, a minimum of 1.9 × 102 and a maximum of 1.1 × 103 CFU/g were observed in organic honey and a minimum of 1.8 × 101 and a maximum of 2.5 × 102 CFU/g were in non organic honey. In this studied region, the organic honey presented a microbiological quality inferior to the non organic honey. Keywords: Africanized honeybees, microbiological analysis, coliforms, moulds and yeast. Full text PDF Back to the top CHANGES OCCURRING IN HONEY DURING RIPENING UNDER CONTROLLED CONDITIONS BASED ON α-AMYLASE ACTIVITY, ACIDITY AND 5-HYDROXYMETHYLFURFURAL CONTENT Piotr Semkiw, Wojciech Skowronek, Piotr Skubida, Helena Rybak-Chmielewska, Teresa Szczęsna Summary The aim of the study was to determine the effect of honey ripening under controlled conditions on α-amylase activity as well as on the content of free acids and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF) in selected honeys. The assessment of α-amylase activity and content of free acids was conducted on 79 samples of unripe honeys which were dehydrated in a specially designed chamber and 69 samples of honeys from the same apiaries but ripened in hives. The content of HMF was determined in 20 samples of unripe dehydrated honeys and in 20 samples of honeys obtained conventionally. During the dehydration process of unripe honeys, a characteristic tendency toward increasing enzymatic activity and acidity was observed. However, changes in these parameters were not statistically significant. Only the acidity of traditionally harvested buckwheat honey was significantly higher. There were no significant differences between the ranges of α-amylase activity and acidity between the dehydrated and in-hive ripened honeys. Statistical analysis revealed that during dehydration the content of 5-hydroxymethylfurfural in buckwheat honey samples increased significantly; nevertheless, the average content of this aldehyde did not exceed 1 mg/kg. A significantly higher content of HMF was also observed in raspberry and buckwheat honeys harvested traditionally, in comparison to the unripe and dehydrated honeys. Keywords: honey, dehydration, α-amylase, acidity, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF). Full text PDF Back to the top MELISSOPALYNOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF MULTIFLORAL HONEYS FROM THE SANDOMIERSKA UPLAND AREA OF POLAND Ernest Stawiarz, Anna Wróblewska Summary The object of the study were 73 samples of multifloral honeys collected in the years 2003-2005 in the Sandomierska Upland area of Poland. The material was found to contain pollen grains of 103 taxa (75 nectariferous and 28 non-nectariferous ones) belonging to 52 botanical families. Amongst the nectariferous plants, the main nectar flow was provided by the Brassicaceae (including Brassica napus), Prunus, Trifolium repens, Anthriscus, Aesculus, Salix, Taraxacum and Phacelia. Pollen grains of the taxa mentioned were characterized by a high pollen frequency (52.0-100.0%). Among the non-nectariferous plants, the highest pollen frequency (89.0%) was reported for the Poaceae (others). In particular, honey sample analyses found from 16 to 41 taxa of pollen grains, including 12 to 34 of the nectariferous plants and from 2 to 13 of the non-nectariferous plants. The colour of the honeys discussed in the study varied from creamy, through amber-like to dark brown. Keywords: multifloral honeys, nectariferous plants, pollen analysis, the Sandomierska Upland, Poland. Full text PDF Back to the top QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF TRANS-10-HYDROXY-2-DECENOIC ACID IN ROYAL JELLY PRODUCTS PURCHASED IN USA BY HIGH PERFORMANCE LIQUID CHROMATOGRAPHY Joonyeong Kim, Jongseok Lee Summary Quantitative analysis of trans-10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA) in pure royal jelly creams and dietary supplements of royal jelly available in the United States was carried out via reversed phase high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The target compound, 10-HDA, in samples and an internal standard, methyl 4-hydroxybenzoate (MHB), were separated using a Zorbax Eclipse XDB-C18 column (150 × 4.6 mm) with a mobile phase composed of methanol and an aqueous solution of phosphoric acid at 25°C. The flow rate was 1.0 mL/min and the UV detection was performed at 215 nm. The average recovery rate of 10-HDA was 97.4 - 100.4% with the relative standard deviation (RSD) of 2.4 - 3.4% over the concentrations ranging from 10 to 80 ľg/mL. The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were found to be about 0.05 and 0.25 ľg/mL, respectively. Our results show that the concentration of 10-HDA lies between 1.85 and 2.18% for pure royal jelly creams and between 0.43 and 6.28% for royal jelly supplements. Keywords: royal jelly, trans-10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid (10-HDA), high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Full text PDF Back to the top Homepage