Vol.55 No.1 2011 Content Algirdas Amšiejus, Honorata Danilčenko, Elvyra Jarienė, Maria Jeznach, Jurgita Kulaitienė - Consumer assessment on varietal honeys and effect of thermal liquefaction of the product on some of its qualitative parameters 5 Jerzy Woyke, Jakub Gąbka - Effect of volcanic ash cloud over Poland on flight activity of honey bees 15 Krystyna Żółtowska, Regina Frączek, Zbigniew Lipiński - Hydrolases of developing worker brood and newly emerged worker of Apis mellifera carnica 27 Roxane M. Magnus, Amber D. Tripodi, Allen L. Szalanski - Mitochondrial DNA diversity of honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) from queen breeders in the United States 37 Jakub Gąbka, Maciej Ochnio, Beata Madras-Majewska - Effect of age of eggs used for rearing honey bee queens on the number of received queen cells 47 Grzegorz Borsuk, Aneta Strachecka, Krzysztof Olszewski, Jerzy Paleolog - The interaction of worker bees with increased genotype variance. I. Field tests of sugar syrup collection and storage 53 Grzegorz Borsuk, Aneta Strachecka, Krzysztof Olszewski, Jerzy Paleolog - The interaction of worker bees which have increased genotype variance. II. Cage tests of sugar syrup collecting and mortality 59 Rustem A. Ilyasov, Ildus A. Kutuev, Aleksandr V. Petukhov, Aleksandr V. Poskryakov, Alexei G. Nikolenko - Phylogenetics relationships of Dark European honeybees Apis mellifera mellifera L. of Russian Urals and West European populations 67 Zhenghua Xie - Managed honeybee colonies and honey production in China grew during the last five decades 77 Maciej Siuda, Jerzy Wilde, Janusz Bratkowski, Bożena Chuda-Mickiewicz, Jerzy Woyke, Zygmunt Jasiński, Beata Madras-Majewska, Jerzy Samborski - Wintering queen bees in modified mating nuclei 87 Małgorzata Bieńkowska, Krzysztof Loc, Beata Panasiuk, Paweł Węgrzynowicz, Dariusz Gerula - Effect of semen dose and application on the performance of instrumentally inseminated honeybee queens kept with 25 worker bees 99 Teresa Szczęsna, Helena Rybak-Chmielewska, Ewa Waś, Katarzyna Kachaniuk, Dariusz Teper - Characteristics of Polish unifloral honeys. I. Rape honey (Brassica napus L. var. oleifera Metzger) 111 Ewa Waś, Helena Rybak-Chmielewska, Teresa Szczęsna, Katarzyna Kachaniuk, Dariusz Teper - Characteristics of Polish unifloral honeys. II. Lime honey (Tilia spp.) 121 Ewa Waś, Helena Rybak-Chmielewska, Teresa Szczęsna, Katarzyna Kachaniuk, Dariusz Teper - Characteristics of Polish unifloral honeys. III. Heather honey (Calluna vulgaris L.) 129 Krystyna Pohorecka, Marta Skubida, Dagmara Zdańska, Andrzej Bober - Epizootic status of apiaries with massive losses of bee colonies (2008-2009) 137 CONSUMER ASSESSMENT OF VARIETAL HONEYS AND EFFECT OF THERMAL LIQUEFACTION OF THE PRODUCT ON SOME OF ITS QUALITATIVE PARAMETERS Algirdas Amšiejus, Honorata Danilčenko, Elvyra Jarienė, Maria Jeznach, Jurgita Kulaitienė Summary The research covered two parts: I. Results of the consumer survey on quality of honey. In the survey, 576 college students from Lithuania and Poland took part. They ranged in age from 20- 24. II. For the research project, five kinds of honey from flowers of lime, raspberry, buckwheat, cockshead, and forest flowers were selected. Usually, consumers preferred liquid, golden-coloured honey. To liquefy the crystallised honey, a special device was used. Bees from a private apiary were carried for nectar collections to different forest districts. Chemical and sensory analysis of the honey were carried out at the Lithuanian University of Agriculture and at the Laboratory of the National Food and Veterinary Risk Assessment Institute. Data of the research were processed statistically by the software package "SPSS 10.0 for Windows". The most marketable is golden-coloured (46%) and liquid (84%) honey, whereas the best known is lime honey (98.7%). Lime honey was characterized as having the best flavour and the best aroma prior and post melting by the device to liquefy crystallised honey. Raspberry honey and buckwheat honey were noted for having the most attractive colour. Raspberry honey and buckwheat honey were also found to have the best consistency. In all honey samples melted by the device to liquefy the crystallised honey, the moisture content was significantly decreased. In lime and buckwheat honey prior and post thermal processing, diastase activity remained unchanged, whereas in cockshead and forest flower honey it increased significantly. The greatest HMF content was observed in buckwheat and forest honey (respectively 3.27 and 3.46 mg kg-1). After melting, the HMF content increased in lime and raspberry honey, however, it did not exceeded the recommended limit (not more than 40 mg kg-1). Keywords: honey, kinds, thermal processing, device to liquefy crystallised honey, quality. Full text PDF Back to the top EFFECT OF VOLCANIC ASH CLOUD OVER POLAND ON FLIGHT ACTIVITY OF HONEY BEES Jerzy Woyke, Jakub Gąbka Summary Changes in light intensity effect flight intensity of honey bees. The ash cloud of the volcano Eyjafjallajökull covered the sky over Poland from 17 till 20 April 2010. We investigated whether the volcano cloud affected the flight intensity of foraging worker bees. We determined the flight intensity of bees during the two days of 17 and 20 April when the sky was covered by the cloud, and during the two days of 28 and 29 April when the cloud disappeared. We did seven counts on the number of bees returning to each of the 10 colonies studied. Each count lasted 5 min. The counts were done on the hour, from 10:00 to 16:00. The frequency distribution of the number of flights/5 min performed by bees differed significantly between different colonies, as well as between different days. High significant correlation was found between the number of combs covered by bees in different colonies and the flight activity. No significant correlation was found between the number of brood combs in the colonies and the flight activity. The daily mean number of flights/5 min performed by bees, differed significantly between different colonies, as well as between different days. The number of flights differed significantly on each of the four days. The flight activity decreased by 9%, during the first two days when the volcanic ash cloud covered the sky. Keywards: volcanic cloud, Eyjafjallajökull volcano, honey bee flights, flight activity of bees. Full text PDF Back to the top HYDROLASES OF DEVELOPING WORKER BROOD AND NEWLY EMERGED WORKER OF APIS MELLIFERA CARNICA Krystyna Żółtowska, Regina Frączek, Zbigniew Lipiński Summary The activity of 19 hydrolases was studied using the API ZYM test in extracts of worker brood and newly emerged honey bee workers Apis mellifera carnica. Four of these enzymes, namely trypsin, chymotrypsin, -galactosidase, and -glucuronidase, were only periodically active, while the remaining were constantly present. The activity of hydrolases was shown to change during the development of worker brood. Most of the enzymes were mainly active in one-/two-day-old larvae and in newly emerged bees. The lowest activity was observed in seven-day-old larvae and prepupae. The activity of hydrolases changed slightly during pupation. Keywords: Apis mellifera carnica, brood, development, enzymes, hydrolases. Full text PDF Back to the top MITOCHONDRIAL DNA DIVERSITY OF HONEY BEES, APIS MELLIFERA L. (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE) FROM QUEEN BREEDERS IN THE UNITED STATES Roxane M. Magnus, Amber D. Tripodi, Allen L. Szalanski Summary In the United States, few studies have been conducted on the genetic variation of honey bees, Apis mellifera L. in queen breeder colonies. In this study, a 571-572 bp region of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome oxidase I and II (COI-COII) genes was sequenced from 140 colonies from 14 queen breeders in the United States. DNA sequence analysis revealed seven different mitotypes (C1, C2, C11, C12, C19, C27, C31) from 14 queen breeders in 11 states. The most common mitotypes were C1, C2 and C11 which accounted for 82% of the observed mitotypes, while two mitotypes were singletons. Of the seven observed mitotypes, two (C27, C31) have not been previously described. The observed mitotype and nucleotide diversity was 0.74985 and 0.00352 respectively. This is the first study to use mtDNA sequences extensively on queen breeder colonies in the United States. DNA sequencing is more sensitive to genetic variation than PCR-RFLP as it detects single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). Future studies using the same molecular method can also be conducted on the feral (unmanaged) population in order to understand the population genetic structure of honey bees in the United States. Keywords: honey bees, queen breeders, population genetics, mitochondrial DNA. Full text PDF Back to the top EFFECT OF AGE OF EGGS USED FOR REARING HONEY BEE QUEENS ON THE NUMBER OF RECEIVED QUEEN CELLS Jakub Gąbka, Maciej Ochnio, Zbigniew Kamiński, Beata Madras-Majewska Summary The age of the brood used for rearing queens has a major impact on the quality of the resulting queens. The best are queens reared from eggs. The aim of the experiment was to investigate whether the age of the eggs affects their acceptance by the rearing colonies. In four series, eggs at the age of 0-18, 24-42 and 48-66 hours were introduced to five colonies. All colonies in the first and third series had open brood and were 1 day without queens. The second and forth series had no open brood and were 10 days without queens. Out of all the 720 introduced eggs, the bees accepted 44.4% for queen rearing. No significant differences were detected between the total number of eggs accepted by the colonies with an open brood - one day after the queens had been removed (43.6%) and colonies without open brood - ten days after the queens had been removed (45.3%). However, significant differences were detected between the acceptance of eggs of different ages. The age of the eggs did not significantly influence their acceptance by rearing colonies with open brood - one day after the queens had been removed. However, the bees significantly accepted the lowest percentage of eggs (25%) after the youngest eggs, 0-18 h old were introduced, and the bees accepted the highest percentage of eggs (64.2%) after the oldest, 48-66 h old were introduced into colonies without open brood - ten days after queens removal. Keywords: honey bee, bee eggs, queen rearing, rearing colonies. Full text PDF Back to the top THE INTERACTION OF WORKER BEES WITH INCREASED GENOTYPE VARIANCE. I. FIELD TESTS OF SUGAR SYRUP COLLECTION AND STORAGE Grzegorz Borsuk, Krzysztof Olszewski, Aneta Strachecka, Jerzy Paleolog Summary The experiment was conducted in two independent rounds in two consecutive years. In both years, the round started on the 1st of June and continued for 10 days. The weather in the first year was warm and sunny. The climatic conditions in the second year varied. The A. m. carnica (Car) and Buckfast (Bcf) bees used in the experiment differed in the genotypes and the colour of the cuticle. The different cuticle colours facilitated differentiation of the filmed bees and determination of the frequency of sugar syrup collection from feeders. The experiment was performed in two-comb mating hives colonized with 0.5 l of bees divided into three experimental groups: homogeneous - colonies colonized by Car (Car) bees (100%) only, mixed - colonies comprising 50% of Bcf bees and 50% of Car bees (Bcf/Car), and homogeneous - colonies containing Bcf (Bcf) bees (100%) only. Ten mating colonies per each group were thus colonized and provided with sister virgin queens. The type of cooperation between bees exhibiting increased genotype variance and colonizing the common colony during collection and storage of sugar syrup was determined. In favourable weather conditions, the Bcf bees were more efficient, whereas the Car bees displayed higher efficiency in adverse conditions. Mixed Car/Bcf bees in the common colony exhibited additive interactions and higher repeatability of results. This may be related to the better adaptation of the more and less efficient mixed bees to both favourable and adverse environmental conditions. Keywords: mixed colonies, syrup, worker interactions, bees, Apis mellifera. Full text PDF Back to the top THE INTERACTION OF WORKER BEES WHICH HAVE INCREASED GENOTYPE VARIANCE. II. CAGE TESTS OF SUGAR SYRUP COLLECTING AND MORTALITY Grzegorz Borsuk, Krzysztof Olszewski, Aneta Strachecka, Jerzy Paleolog Summary The experiment was performed in two rounds. Bees of two different genotypes/breeds were used (A. m. carnica and Buckfast). The bees differed in the colour of their cuticle, which facilitated differentiation of the filmed bees and determination of the frequency of sugar syrup collection from feeders. The following experimental groups of one-day-old bees were formed: homogenous - consisting of 20 cages with 50 Car bees per cage (Car); mixed - consisting 20 cages of 25 Car bees and 25 Bcf bees per cage (Car/Bcf); and homogenous - consisting of 20 cages with 50 Bcf bees per cage (Bcf). After colonizing, the cages were transferred into an air-conditioned chamber. The chamber was kept at a constant temperature of 26°C, and at 65% relative humidity. The bees were fed sugar syrup in a 1:1 ratio administered ad libitum from a syringe feeder. The type of interaction between bees with increased genotype variance was determined in laboratory tests. The Car bees collected more food in their honey sac than the Bcf bees. The mixed Car/Bcf bees more frequently exhibited non-additive interactions. It is probable that the Bcf bees transferred the syrup to one another within their breed, and did not exchange it with the Car bees through the trophallaxis process. Food intake by the bees showed a significant correlation with mortality. Bees which often collected sugar syrup from the feeder died significantly faster. Keywords: mixed bees, syrup, bee mortality, worker interaction, Apis mellifera. Full text PDF Back to the top HONEYBEES APIS MELLIFERA MELLIFERA L. FROM THE RUSSIAN URAL AND WEST EUROPEAN POPULATIONS Rustem A. Ilyasov, Ildus A. Kutuev1, Aleksandr V. Petukhov, Aleksandr V. Poskryakov, Alexei G. Nikolenko Summary A mitochondrial DNA region covering 5'-end of the gene of the second subunit NADH dehydrogenase (ND2), was PCR amplified in Dark European Honeybees Apis mellifera mellifera from the Urals (Russia) region and in the presumed Apis mellifera macedonica from the Ukraine. Phylogenetic analysis of sequenced DNA samples with GenBank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) data showed the existence of four evolutionary branches where the Ural honeybees were grouped with European A. m. mellifera, and Ukrainian honeybees with European A. m. macedonica. These results suggest the genetic relationship of the Russian Urals and the European populations of A. m. mellifera. These data have allowed us to put forward the hypothesis that the subspecies A. m. mellifera, is a unique specimen of evolutionary branch M. Keywords: honeybees, Dark European Honeybees, Apis mellifera mellifera, mtDNA, genetic variation, ND2, sequencing, Urals, Russia. Full text PDF Back to the top MANAGED HONEYBEE COLONIES AND HONEY PRODUCTION IN CHINA GREW DURING THE LAST FIVE DECADES Xie Zhenghua Summary Honeybee losses and declines have been documented in North America and Europe over the last few decades, but the status and trends of honeybees in other countries and territories have not been assessed. China has more abundant honeybee colonies than any other country, and the changes of managed honeybees over the years are still unknown. In this study, I compiled data and assessed trends in the number of managed honeybee colonies and honey production in China, during the last five decades. Twenty-three of the twenty-four provinces assessed had increased honeybee colonies at a two-year gap during which data were available, and the national honeybee colonies grew from 3 million in 1960 to 8.77 million in 2008. Twenty-one of the twenty-four provinces assessed had increased honey production, and the national honey production grew from 1.6 thousand tonnes in 1963 to 40 thousand tonnes in 2009. All of these results demonstrated a different trend in managed honeybee population in China unlike the North American and European trends. Keywords: honeybee loss, honeybee colony, honey production, exported honey, China. Full text PDF Back to the top WINTERING QUEEN BEES IN MODIFIED MATING NUCLEI Maciej Siuda, Jerzy Wilde, Janusz Bratkowski, Bożena Chuda-Mickiewicz, Jerzy Woyke, Zygmunt Jasiński, Beata Madras-Majewska, Jerzy Samborski Summary The aim of this study was to develop an effective method which provides for additional queen bees to overwinter in mating nuclei. The assay was carried out in the years 2005-2008 (three wintering seasons) in three places in Poland: the Department of Zoology and Beekeeping at the West Pomeranian University of Technology in Szczecin, Division of Apiculture, University of Life Science-SGGW in Warsaw, and the Apiculture Division at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn. Experimental colonies were created and kept in two types of nuclei: in a trapezoid, top-bar mating nucleus [TB] and in a mini-plus nucleus [MP]. The highest number of colonies survived in Szczecin (63%), less in Warsaw (31%), and the least in Olsztyn (20%). In the TB nuclei, only 2% of the colonies overwintered successfully. In the MP nuclei with one colony, 65% overwintered successfully, and in MP with two colonies - 45% overwintered successfully. Keywords: wintering season, queen bees, mating nuclei. Full text PDF Back to the top EFFECT OF SEMEN DOSE AND APPLICATION ON THE PERFORMANCE OF INSTRUMENTALLY INSEMINATED HONEYBEE QUEENS KEPT WITH 25 WORKER BEES Małgorzata Bieńkowska, Krzysztof Loc, Beata Panasiuk, Paweł Węgrzynowicz, Dariusz Gerula Summary The study was conducted in 2008 and 2009, at two places: the Institute of Pomology and Floriculture, Apiculture Division in Puławy, Poland, and at the Honeybee Breeding Apiary in Teodorów, Poland. Sister queens of the Carniolan subspecies were inseminated at the age of 7 days. They were either inseminated: once with one of the following doses: 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 or 8 l, or they were inseminated 2 times with one of the following doses: 2, 3 or 4 l, or they were inseminated 3 times and 4 times with doses 1 and 2 l of semen. The queens were kept after insemination with 25 bees. Of the 951 queens, only 25 (2.6%) died two days after insemination. Nearly 87% of all inseminated queens had completely cleared the oviducts, and 10.7% had some residue of semen in the oviducts. Queens that were inseminated with very small doses of semen (1-2 l) cleared the oviducts completely. Queens inseminated with bigger doses had some semen residue in their oviducts. The significantly highest number of spermatozoa in the spermatheca had queens inseminated four times with 2 l of semen. Queens that were inseminated two times, in the combination: 2x4, 2x2 and 2x3 l of semen, had about 6 million spermatozoa in their spermatheca. Queens inseminated 3x1 and 4x1 l of semen had slightly fewer spermatozoa in their spermatheca (more than 5 million). Insemination with large doses of 6 and 8 l of semen resulted in about 4 million spermatozoa in the spermatheca. Small, single doses of 1 and 2 l caused around 2-3 million spermatozoa entering the spermatheca. More than 4 million spermatozoa in the spermatheca ranged in queens inseminated 1, 2, 3, or 4 times from 32.5 to 63.4%, from 56.3 to 91.4%, from 94 to 97.7% and from 87.7 to 100% respectively. The highest percentage of queens (76.7%) with 4 to 6 million spermatozoa in their spermatheca had been inseminated three times with a dose of 1 l of semen. Keywords: dose of semen, insemination, spermatheca filling, emptying oviducts. Full text PDF Back to the top CHARACTERISTICS OF POLISH UNIFLORAL HONEYS. I. RAPE HONEY (BRASSICA NAPUS L. VAR. OLEIFERA METZGER) Teresa Szczęsna, Helena Rybak-Chmielewska, Ewa Waś, Katarzyna Kachaniuk, Dariusz Teper Summary The research was done as part of a larger project typifying varieties of honey collected in Poland in recent years. For samples of rape honey collected in 2007-2010 the following parameters were determined: water, sugars, -amylase activity, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), pH and free acidity, electrical conductivity and proline. Melissopalynological and sensory analysis (colour, consistency, flavour, aroma, manner of crystallisation) were used to establish the botanical origin of the samples tested. The research employed routine methodology which was validated and recommended by the International Honey Commission. Physicochemical parameters of rape honey have not changed significantly over the last 30 years despite the introduction of new rapeseed varieties in agriculture and implementation of modern analytical methods in research. Rape honey is typically low in electrical conductivity and low in activity of -amylase as well as low in free acidity and proline content. These parameters show great variability in this honey variety. Amendments are needed in Polish and international normalising documents as regards the minimum requirements for electrical conductivity (0.1 mS/cm), free acidity (5 mval/kg) and proline content (18 mg/100 g). Such a change would permit a relatively easy detection of low quality or adulterated honey. Keywords: rape honey, honey variety, characteristics, organoleptic traits, pollen analysis, physicochemical parameters, Poland. Full text PDF Back to the top CHARACTERISTICS OF POLISH UNIFLORAL HONEYS. II. LIME HONEY (TILIA SPP.) Ewa Waś, Helena Rybak-Chmielewska, Summary The aim of the study was to characterise Polish lime honey harvested under local climatic conditions. The characterisation was based on sensory analysis (evaluation of aroma, flavour, colour, consistency) and analysis of pollen as well as physicochemical parameters (electrical conductivity, activity of -amylase enzyme, pH and free acidity, water content, sugars, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural, and proline). The research material consisted of 53 samples of lime honey collected from selected apiaries over the years 2007-2010. The organoleptic traits, typical for lime honey, were determined: a strong aroma which is similar to that of the lime flowers, and a sweet, slightly burning flavour - often with a hint of bitterness. Prior to crystallisation, lime honey has a consistency of thick liquid. The crystallised form is fine-grained. Some samples of lime honey have a relatively high, for a nectar honey, electrical conductivity and lower monosaccharides content caused by the addition of honeydew. The samples were characterised by high variability of the majority of parameters determined (colour, diastase number, electrical conductivity, free acidity, content of proline and disaccharides: turanose, maltose, and trehalose). Keywords: lime honey, honey variety, characteristics, organoleptic traits, pollen analysis, physicochemical parameters, Poland. Full text PDF Back to the top CHARACTERISTICS OF POLISH UNIFLORAL HONEYS. III. HEATHER HONEY (CALLUNA VULGARIS L.) Ewa Waś, Helena Rybak-Chmielewska, Teresa Szczęsna, Katarzyna Kachaniuk, Dariusz Teper Summary The aim of the study was to characterise Polish heather honey harvested under local climatic conditions. The characterisation was based on sensory analysis (evaluation of aroma, flavour, colour, consistency), and analysis of pollen as well as physicochemical parameters (electrical conductivity, activity of -amylase enzyme, pH and free acidity, the water content, sugars, 5-hydroxymethylfurfural and proline). The research material consisted of 26 samples of heather honey, collected from selected apiaries over the years 2008-2010. The organoleptic traits, typical for heather honey, were determined: strong aroma, approaching the aroma of the heather flower, and flavour - not overly sweet, spicy and slightly bitter. A feature typical only for this honey variety, is its gelatinous consistency. Moreover, the examination of physicochemical parameters demonstrated that heather honey is characterised by high water content, an elevated fructose to glucose ratio, electrical conductivity which is relatively high for a nectar honey variety, high proline content and activity of -amylase enzyme. Keywords: heather honey, honey variety, characteristics, organoleptic traits, pollen analysis, physicochemical parameters, Poland. Full text PDF Back to the top EPIZOOTIC STATUS OF APIARIES WITH MASSIVE LOSSES OF BEE COLONIES (2008-2009) Krystyna Pohorecka, Andrzej Bober, Marta Skubida, Dagmara Zdańska Summary In 2008 and 2009, winter bee colony mortality in apiaries showed losses which ranged from 30% to 100%. Analyses of tests results obtained from 1000 colonies (from 142 apiaries) were performed to determine the impact of pathogens on the winter bee colony mortality in apiaries. Relationships between individual pathogens were also determined. Dead bees were sampled separately from an average of 7 colonies in each apiary, and the presence of V. destructor, Nosema spp. and viruses: ABPV, CBPV, IAPV, DWV was detected. Co-infection with 3 or 4 pathogens was detected in over 60% of bee colonies. Infestation of V. destructor was found in 88.7% of the colonies while infection of deformed wing virus (DWV) in 76%. A similar number of colonies (74%) were infected with Nosema spp. parasites. Acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV) was detected in 35% of the examined colonies and chronic bee paralysis virus (CBPV) was found in only 7,8% of the colonies. The level of Varroa destructor and Nosema spp. infestation was high (averaged 192 mites per sample and 18 million Nosema spores per bee). Severe colony losses in examined apiaries could be attributed to the wide prevalence of V. destructor with DWV and ABPV infections, and/or Nosema spp. infestation. Losses can also be attributed to the co-occurrence of these pathogens in bee colonies and their total negative impact on the bees. Keywords: Apis mellifera, winter losses, pathogens. Full text PDF Back to the top Homepage