Find research datasets worth reusing

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

Data from: Pathogen shifts in a honey bee predator following arrival of the Varroa mite

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are a global threat to honey bees, and spillover from managed bees threaten wider insect populations. Deformed wing virus (DWV), a widespread virus that has become emergent in conjunction with the spread of the mite Varroa destructor, is thought to be partly responsible for global colony losses. The arrival of Varroa in honey bee populations causes a dramatic loss of viral genotypic diversity, favoring a few virulent strains. Here, we investigate DWV spillover in an invasive Hawaiian population of the wasp, Vespula pensylvanica, a honey bee predator and honey-raider. We show that Vespula underwent a parallel loss in DWV variant diversity upon the arrival of Varroa, despite the mite being a honey bee specialist. The observed shift in Vespula DWV, and the variant-sharing between Vespula and Apis, suggest that these wasps can acquire DWV directly or indirectly from honey bees. Apis prey items collected from Vespula foragers were positive for DWV, indicating predation is a possible route of transmission. We also sought cascading effects of DWV shifts in a broader Vespula pathogen community. We identified concurrent changes in a suite of additional pathogens, as well as shifts in the associations between these pathogens in Vespula and in Apis. These findings reveal how hidden effects of the Varroa mite can, via spillover, transform the composition of pathogens in interacting species, with potential knock-on effects for entire pathogen communities.

opencc-zeroApr 2020View details →

Hunt honey bee markers

Early honey bee QTL studies (e.g. Hunt et al 1995) relied on RAPD and STS markers. For the latter, the sequences were often not included in the final publication or were difficult to find in the literature. The author discovered the attached list of markers for honey bees on Greg Hunt's desktop computer in 2019. The list is composed of published and unpublished marker sequences corresponding to those in QTL papers from 1995 onwards. This is not a peer-reviewed data set. Hunt, Greg J., et al. "Major quantitative trait loci affecting honey bee foraging behavior." Genetics 141.4 (1995): 1537-1545.

opencc-zeroJan 2020View details →

The weakest link: Haploid honey bees are more susceptible to neonicotinoid insecticides

Neonicotinoid insecticides are currently of major concern for the health of wild and managed insects that provide key ecosystem services like pollination. Even though sublethal effects of neonicotinoids are well known, there is surprisingly little information on how they possibly impact developmental stability, and to what extent genetics are involved. This holds especially true for haploid individuals because they are hemizygous at detoxification loci and may be more susceptible. Here we take advantage of haplodiploidy in Western honey bees, Apis mellifera, to show for the first time that neonicotinoids affect developmental stability in diploid females (workers), and that haploid males (drones) are even more susceptible. Phenotypic fore wing venation abnormalities and fluctuating wing asymmetry, as measures of developmental instability, were significantly increased under field-realistic neonicotinoid-exposure of colonies. The higher susceptibility of haploid drones suggests that heterozygosity can play a key role in the ability to buffer the sublethal effects of neonicotinoids. Aiming to improve conservation efforts, our findings highlight the urgent need to better understand the role that genetics plays at enabling non-target organisms to cope with insecticide exposure.

opencc-zeroDec 2017View details →

Data from: Population genomics and morphometric assignment of western honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in the Republic of South Africa

Backgrounds: Apis mellifera scutellata and A.m. capensis (the Cape honey bee) are western honey bee subspecies indigenous to the Republic of South Africa (RSA). Both bees are important for biological and economic reasons. First, A.m. scutellata is the invasive "African honey bee" of the Americas and exhibits a number of traits that beekeepers consider undesirable. They swarm excessively, are prone to absconding (vacating the nest entirely), usurp other honey bee colonies, and exhibit heightened defensiveness. Second, Cape honey bees are socially parasitic bees; the workers can reproduce thelytokously. Both bees are indistinguishable visually. Therefore, we employed Genotyping-by-Sequencing (GBS), wing geometry and standard morphometric approaches to assess the genetic diversity and population structure of these bees to search for diagnostic markers that can be employed to distinguish between the two subspecies. Results: Apis mellifera scutellata possessed the highest mean number of polymorphic SNPs (among 2,449 informative SNPs) with minor allele frequencies >0.05 (Np = 88%). The RSA honey bees generated a high level of expected heterozygosity (Hexp = 0.24). The mean genetic differentiation (FST; 6.5%) among the RSA honey bees revealed that approximately 93% of the genetic variation was accounted for within individuals of these subspecies. Two genetically distinct clusters (K = 2) corresponding to both subspecies were detected by Model-based Bayesian clustering and supported by Principal Coordinates Analysis (PCoA) inferences. Selected highly divergent loci (n = 83) further reinforced a distinctive clustering of two subspecies across geographical origins, accounting for approximately 83% of the total variation in the PCoA plot. The significant correlation of allele frequencies at divergent loci with environmental variables suggested that these populations are adapted to local conditions. Only 17 of 48 wing geometry and standard morphometric parameters were useful for clustering A.m. capensis, A.m. scutellata, and hybrid individuals. Conclusions: We produced a minimal set of 83 SNP loci and 17 wing geometry and standard morphometric parameters useful for identifying the two RSA honey bee subspecies by genotype and phenotype. We found that genes involved in neurology/behavior and development/growth are the most prominent heritable traits evolved in the functional evolution of honey bee populations in RSA.

opencc-zeroOct 2023View details →

Data from: Fecundity of diamondback moth females when offered honey with pyridalyl, a selective insecticide

We previously reported that the presence of pyridalyl, a selective insecticide, in aqueous honey (50 % v/v) negatively affects the survival of diamondback moth (Plutella xylostella: DBM) adults. However, it remains unclear whether toxicity of pyridalyl in aqueous honey affects the fecundity of adult female DBMs. We analyzed the survival and fecundity of adult DBM under the water, honey, or honey + pyridalyl conditions in glass tubes containing Japanese mustard spinach (Brassica rapa: Komatsuna) leaves for 10 days. The survival of adults under the honey (50 % v/v) and honey + pyridalyl (100-fold dilution) conditions was significantly higher and lower, respectively, than under the water condition during the experimental period. The number of eggs laid by DBM females each day (fecundity) under the water condition was significantly lower than that under the honey condition throughout the experimental period, except on day 1. In contrast, the numbers under the water, and honey + pyridalyl conditions were not significantly different, except on day 2 (the honey + pyridalyl condition was significantly lower). To study the effects of plants grown in pots on the survival and fecundity of DBM females, we conducted experiments using acrylic cages containing potted komatsuna plants. The survival trends under the honey, and honey + pyridalyl conditions in the cages were similar to those in the glass tubes. Fecundity was evaluated based on the total number of subsequent generations (DBM larvae and pupae) on day 10. The numbers were significantly higher in the honey condition than in the water condition. In contrast, the number in the honey + pyridalyl condition was not significantly different from that in the water condition. Based on these findings, the possible use of pyridalyl in honey for the biological control of DBM is discussed.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2023View details →

Dataset for honey bee audio detection

The database contains recordings of bees and drones in wav format, without compression. The sampling frequency is 44.1kHz.The database contains 10000 one-second recordings of bees and 1700 one-second recordings of drones.

openodc-odblDec 2023View details →

Fore wing images of honey bees (Apis mellifera) from Serbia

The dataset consists of 2282 fore wing images of honey bee (Apis mellifera) workers. The wing images represent 60 colonies. Each of the colonies was collected in a different location in Serbia. The wing images are compressed in RS_21_80-wing-images.zip. Raw coordinates of 19 landmarks marked on the wings are in file RS_21_80-raw-coordinates.csv. Additional data, including geographic coordinates and resolution, is saved in file RS_21_80-data.csv.

opencc-zeroJan 2024View details →

Flying, nectar-loaded honey bees conserve water and improve heat tolerance by reducing wingbeat frequency and metabolic heat production

Heat waves are becoming increasingly common due to climate change, making it crucial to identify and understand the capacities for insect pollinators, such as honey bees, to avoid overheating. We examined the effects of hot, dry air temperatures on the physiological and behavioral mechanisms that honey bees use to fly when carrying nectar loads, to assess how foraging is limited by overheating or desiccation. We found that flight muscle temperatures increased linearly with load mass at air temperatures of 20 or 30°C, but, remarkably, there was no change with increasing nectar loads at an air temperature of 40°C. Flying, nectar-loaded bees were able to avoid overheating at 40°C by reducing their flight metabolic rates and increasing evaporative cooling. At high body temperatures, bees apparently increase flight efficiency by lowering their wingbeat frequency and increasing stroke amplitude to compensate, reducing the need for evaporative cooling. However, even with reductions in metabolic heat production, desiccation likely limits foraging at temperatures well below bees' critical thermal maxima in hot, dry conditions.

opencc-zeroMar 2024View details →

Quantitative analysis of honey bee blood-ethanol levels following exposure to ethanol vapors

The use of invertebrate models has allowed researchers to examine the mechanisms behind alcoholism and its effects with a cost-effective system. In that respect, the honey bee is an ideal model species to study the effects of ethanol (EtOH) due to the behavioural and physiological similarities of honey bees with humans when alcohol is consumed. Although both ingestion and inhalation methods are used to dose subjects in insect EtOH model systems, there is little literature on the use of the EtOH vapor-exposure method for experiments using honey bees. The experiment presented here provides baseline data for a dose EtOH-haemolymph response curve when using EtOH vapor-inhalation dosing with honey bees (Apis mellifera). Bees were exposed to EtOH vapors for 0, 1, 2.5, or 5 min, and haemolymph was collected 1 min post EtOH exposure. Haemolymph samples were analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) for haemolymph EtOH concentration. The ethanol-haemolymph level of the bees increased linearly with ethanol exposure time. The results provide a dosing guide for haemolymph EtOH level in the honey bee model ethanol-inhalation system, and thus makes the honey bee model more robust.

opencc-zeroMar 2024View details →

A thermal performance curve perspective explains decades of disagreements over how air temperature affects the flight metabolism of honey bees

While multiple studies have shown that honey bees and some other flying insects lower their flight metabolic rates when flying at high air temperatures, critics have suggested such patterns result from poor experimental methods as, theoretically, air temperature should not appreciably affect aerodynamic force requirements. Here, we show that apparently contradictory studies can be reconciled by considering the thermal performance curve of flight muscle. We show that prior studies that found no effects of air temperature on flight metabolism of honey bees achieved flight muscle temperatures that were near or on equal, opposite sides of the thermal performance curve. Honey bees vary their wing kinematics and metabolic heat production to thermoregulate, and how air temperature affects the flight metabolic rate of honey bees is predictable using a non-linear thermal performance perspective of honey bee flight muscle.

opencc-by-4.0Apr 2024View details →

1H NMR Data of Commercial Honey Analysed by 400 and 700 MHz Spectrometers

Datasets (*.xlsx) contain the 1H NMR Raw (.fid) and Binning data (.xlsx) of commercial honey analysed using 400 MHz and 700 MHz NMR spectrometers

opencc-by-nc-nd-4.0Aug 2024View details →

Honey bee nurse behavior - HB2017 OH4

Dataset of honey bee nurse behavior collected for:  Charbonneau, Pekora, Scavetta, Harris, Smithson, Sheahan, Tarpy, Linksvayer, and Vojvodic Kruse, Submitted 2024, Honey bee nurse task allocation shows short, frequent cycles of nursing and resting interrupted by occasional bouts of eating in honey bees

opencc-zeroApr 2022View details →

Effects of hive entrance orientation on honey bee colony activity

In an effort to determine the effects of the orientation of hive entrance on honey bee colony activity and temperature, hives were placed facing different cardinal directions (3-5 hives per direction). Hive weight was recorded every 5 minutes and temperature every 30 minutes from April 2019 to June 2020. Daily weight data were analyzed using piecewise regression. In southern Arizona from December to March, hives facing east started daily flight activity 50 minutes earlier than hives facing west, and ended flight activity 57 minutes earlier than hives facing south. During that period east-facing hives also lost only 62 g per d while north-facing hives lost about 100 g per d. East-facing hives were also about 7°C cooler on average than west-facing hives, although that may have been due to the movement of bee clusters within the hive. From December to March hives facing east also had significantly lower morning weight loss due to departing foragers than hives facing north (indicating more foragers) but higher weight loss from April-June 2020. Most effects were observed from December to March, probably due to restricted daylight hours and lower ambient temperatures. No significant effects were observed with respect to visually-estimated adult bee numbers (frames of bees) or the surface areas of sealed brood. We recommend hive orientation be taken into account in the design of field experiments that involve monitoring colony activity.

opencc-zeroApr 2022View details →

Supplementary tables for Honey Bee symbiont buffers larvae against nutritional stress and supplements lysine

Honey bees have suffered dramatic losses in recent years, largely due to multiple stressors underpinned by poor nutrition. Nutritional stress especially harms larvae, who mature into workers unable to meet the needs of their colony. In this study, we characterize the metabolic capabilities of a honey bee larvae-associated bacterium, Bombella apis (formerly Parasaccharibacter apium), and its effects on the nutritional resilience of larvae. We found that B. apis is the only bacterium associated with larvae that can withstand the antimicrobial larval diet. Further, we found that B. apis can synthesize all essential amino acids and significantly alters the amino acid content of synthetic larval diet, largely by supplying the essential amino acid lysine. Analyses of gene gain/loss across the phylogeny suggest that four amino acid transporters were gained in recent B. apis ancestors. In addition, the transporter LysE is conserved across all sequenced strains of B. apis. Finally, we tested the impact of B. apis on developing honey bee larvae subjected to nutritional stress and found that larvae supplemented with B. apis are bolstered against mass reduction despite limited nutrition. Together, these data suggest a novel role of B. apis as a nutritional mutualist of honey bee larvae.

opencc-by-4.0May 2022View details →

The attraction of western honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) to commercially available pollen substitutes and wildflower pollen

Many beekeepers supplement their western honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies with artificial pollen substitutes to provide colonies with adequate nutrition during times of low pollen availability or limited pollen quality. Here, we provided caged adult worker bees with three commercially available pollen substitutes (AP23, MegaBee, UltraBee) and wildflower pollen to determine which diet is most attractive to the bees. We measured diet weight change (as a proxy for consumption) and observed honey bee behavior to test for bee preferences for certain diets. We found that the bees interacted with and consumed more wildflower pollen than they did with any of the commercially available pollen substitutes. Ultimately, our data suggest that bees have a strong preference for wildflower pollen over that of commercially available pollen substitutes.

opencc-by-4.0Aug 2022View details →

Unpublished data on birds feeding on dead honey bees

The data were collected by me during two years with the aim to initiate a larger research project. However, I neither found the time nor the research funding for the project. Hence, I decided to upload the data so they may be used for a scientific publication, preliminary data set for a similar project, or any other research. About 2500 observations of birds visiting six honey bee colonies are available in the excel file.

FIG. 3. — A in An emic understanding of honey bees and their environment: attracting bee swarms to nest on rafters in Belitung, Indonesia

FIG. 3. — A "stowed" rafter (unggat type) with two colonies. Credit: C. Vuillier.

FIG. 2 in An emic understanding of honey bees and their environment: attracting bee swarms to nest on rafters in Belitung, Indonesia

FIG. 2. — Two models of rafters: A, sunggau muke; B, sunggau bantai. Credits: C. Vuillier.

FIG. 7 in An emic understanding of honey bees and their environment: attracting bee swarms to nest on rafters in Belitung, Indonesia

FIG. 7. — Two rafters taking advantage of the same access path. Credit: N. Césard.

FIG. 4. — A in An emic understanding of honey bees and their environment: attracting bee swarms to nest on rafters in Belitung, Indonesia

FIG. 4. — A rafter (tingku) in Central Sulawesi. Credits: N. Césard (A), C. Vuillier (B).