<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Honey bee populations in the United States have been under stress for the past several decades. Several internal parasites may contribute to this, including the trypanosome <italic>Lotmaria passim</italic>. It is unknown how widespread the honey bee parasite, <italic>L. passim</italic>, is in Africanized honey bee (AHB) populations in the United States. A total of 321 feral honey bee colony samples which had been previously recorded to be of Africanized origin using molecular diagnostics from California (n=3), New Mexico (n=46), Oklahoma (n=57), Texas (n=106), and Utah (n=109) were used in this study. Of these samples, a total of 15 (4.7%) from three States were positive for <italic>L. passim</italic>. Utah AHB samples had the highest infection rate (11.0%), followed by Texas (1.9%) and Oklahoma (1.8%). Compared with previous studies on the occurrence of <italic>L. passim</italic> from European honey bees from the same sampled States, infection rates of Africanized honey bees for <italic>L. passim</italic> were significantly higher in the State of Utah, but not for the other sampled States. This study provides evidence that feral honey bee populations do not necessarily have lower levels of honey bee parasites than managed honey bee colonies.
</abstract>

Occurrence of <italic>Lotmaria passim</italic> in Africanized and European Honey Bee, <italic>Apis mellifera</italic>, Lineages from the United States

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The three honey bee phenotypes - queens, workers, and drones differ in the size and shape of body parts. We used a large dataset to describe how the three phenotypes differed with regard to fore wings and applied the methodology of geometric morphometrics to measure the wings using the coordinates of nineteen landmarks. On average, queens had wings larger than workers, but the two castes had a broad overlap. Drones, on the other hand, had distinctly larger wings. Wing shape differed markedly among queens, workers and drones and can be used to reliably differentiate them from one other. Surprisingly, the fore wing shape of workers was more similar to that of drones than to that of queens. Small queens were not more similar to workers than large queens, and large workers were not more similar to queens than small workers. Because wing size, unlike body mass, does not change over the life of the queen, it can be used to evaluate the quality of a queen throughout its life and not only during a short period after emergence. We provide a large number of wing images of queens and drones, which can be used as a reference in future studies.
</abstract>

Size and Shape Differences in Fore Wings of Honey Bee (<italic>Apis mellifera</italic>) Queens, Workers and Drones

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

The virulence patterns observed in viruses transmitted by <italic>Varroa destructor</italic> implied a potential association of these honey bee pests in Poland with the Korean haplotype. Nevertheless, it is noteworthy that this hypothesis lacked direct verification. Therefore, the aim of the study was to determine the haplotype affiliation of <italic>V. destructor</italic> mites infesting bees in Poland and Ukraine. Adult females were collected from drone brood from honey bee colonies maintained in the apiary at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland, and the apiary in Synevyr National Park in Ukraine. The haplotype affiliation was determined through the sequencing of the cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene (CO I; 929 bp) fragment. Based on the phylogenetic comparison with 84% bootstrap support, the <italic>V. destructor</italic> females from both locations were confirmed to represent three haplotypes: Korean 1 (AmK1-1), Korean 2 (AmK1-2), and Chinese 4 (AmK1-4). They are the most virulent types of this parasite worldwide and in Poland. Concurrently, the present study confirms that the Synevyr National Park in Ukraine is isolated from alien bee subspecies, but is not free from alien parasites.
</abstract>

Subdepartment of Apidologie, Institute of Biological Basis of Animal Production; Faculty of Animal Sciences and Bioeconomy

Institute of Biological Sciences, Maria Curie-Skłodowska University

Department of Parasitology and Invasive Diseases

University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn

Haplotype Affiliation of <italic>Varroa destructor</italic> in Selected Locations from Poland and Ukraine

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Honey bee workers (<italic>Apis mellifera</italic> L.) collect nectar, honeydew and pollen from plants in orderto provide the colony with, among others, carbohydrates and protein. Whenever these sources are unavailable in the environment, bees turn to alternatives. An example of this are fungi spores collected accidentally or on purpose. This last phenomenon is the aim of this study, in which we have shown that worker bees can collect willow rust (<italic>Melampsora</italic> spp.) spores. We observed as the bees obtained spores and placed them in pollen baskets. The presence of spores was demonstrated with the use of a scanning electron microscope (SEM). This observation indicates that the honey bee may use alternative sources as a potential supplement. There are few studies in this field and it requires a deeper analysis.
</abstract>

Department of Bees Breeding, Institute of Animal Husbandry and Breeding

Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences

Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Life Sciences and Technology

Department of Plant Protection, Division of Plant Pathology and Mycology

Case of Willow Rust Spores (<italic>Melampsora</italic> Spp.) Collected by Honey Bees

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

Eight samples of propolis commercially available on south-eastern Poland’s beekeeping market were compared in terms of quality, chemical composition and biological activity, including antioxidant and antimicrobial properties. The organoleptic characteristics and physicochemical requirements indicated that only 50% of tested propolis samples was classified to class II regarding obligatory limits, while the others were out-class. A big variation in mineral composition was determined by the ICP-OES method but all samples were free of heavy metals (Pb, Cd and Ni). Although mesophilic bacteria, yeasts and moulds occurred in tested propolis (in general lower than 102 CFU/g), <italic>E. coli</italic> and spore-forming sulphite-reducing bacteria as well as <italic>Salmonella</italic> and <italic>Shigella</italic> bacteria were not detected. High antioxidant activity and total phenolic content for all samples was confirmed, which was correlated with antibacterial activity tested against <italic>E. coli</italic> ATCC 11775 strain. Additionally, the propolis sample with the strongest antibacterial activity (MIC 0.33 mg/mL) inhibited biofilm formation of <italic>S. aureus</italic> and <italic>S. epidermidis</italic> ATCC 35984 (MBIC 0.66 and 5.25 mg/mL, respectively). However, great variation in terms of antioxidant activity and HPLC polyphenolic profile were observed, and sakuranetin and pinobanksin were identified as the most effective antioxidant components. Moreover, the usefulness of ATR-FTIR spectra analysis was confirmed as a quick method for initial testing of propolis quality.
</abstract>

Department of Chemistry and Food Toxicology, Institute of Food Technology and Nutrition

Department of Biotechnology and Bioinformatics, Faculty of Chemistry

Department of Bioenergetics, Food Analysis and Microbiology, Institute of Food Technology and Nutrition

Quality of Propolis Commercially Available on Podkarpacki Beekeeping Market

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Journal of Apicultural Science

 The Journal of Apicultural Science is a scientific, English-language journal that publishes both original research articles and review papers covering all aspects of the life of bees (superfamily Apoidea) and broadly defined apiculture. The main subject areas include:   bee biology  bee genetics  bee breeding  pathology and toxicology  pollination and bee botany  bee products  management, technologies, and economy  solitary bees and bumblebees   Publication options  The Journal of Apicultural Science has been published by the National Institute of Horticultural Research and Apicultural Research Association twice a year in paper and online versions since 2001. The Journal is a continuation of the former scientific periodical "Pszczelnicze Zeszyty Naukowe," issued from 1957 to 2000. Archive issues of Pszczelnicze Zeszyty Naukowe and issues of the Journal of Apicultural Science published since 2001 to 2011 are available at the original Journal's website (www.jas.org.pl). The paper version is available at www.jas.org.pl (subscriptions). After acceptance, articles are given DOI numbers, assigned to successive volumes and issues, and published online by Sciendo (sciendo.com/journal/JAS), which has used the open access model since 2012.  Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 

Journal of Apicultural Science

AHEAD OF PRINT

Occurrence of Lotmaria passim in Africanized and European Honey Bee, Apis mellifera, Lineages from the United States

Size and Shape Differences in Fore Wings of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Queens, Workers and Drones

Haplotype Affiliation of Varroa destructor in Selected Locations from Poland and Ukraine

Case of Willow Rust Spores (Melampsora Spp.) Collected by Honey Bees

Quality of Propolis Commercially Available on Podkarpacki Beekeeping Market

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