• Journal of Apiculture
• /
• 제32권3호
• /
• pp.171-180
• /
• 2017

Slow Bee Paralysis Virus (SBPV) is a pathogenic virus against honeybee and bumblebee, causes the death of adult bee by paralyzing the fore-leg of bee. In this study, for rapid detection of SBPV from bumblebee, SBPV-specific Ultra-rapid Reverse transcription PCR was developed. After optimizing of SBPV-specific Ultra-rapid PCR, the existence of $1.0{\times}10^8$ SBPV-specific DNA molecules could be recognized in 3 minute and 35 seconds. Even $1.0{\times}10^1$ molecules of SBPV-specific DNA could be measured with quantitative manner. Meanwhile, from both imported bumblebee and bumblebee produced in Korea, SBPV were detected using proposed method. In the laboratory as well as in the field, SBPV-specific Ultra-rapid Reverse transcription PCR would be applied and might be expected as useful tools at production of bumblebee or inspection for the import and export system of bumblebee.

• Journal of Apiculture
• /
• 제32권2호
• /
• pp.119-131
• /
• 2017

For the Rapid detection of small hive beetle (SHB; Aethina tumida) and for the mass-survey against SHB invasion, SHB-specific ultra-rapid PCR system was developed. Three different pairs of Aethina tumida-specific primers were deduced from cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) gene in mitochondrial DNA of SHB. Using optimized SHB-specific ultra-rapid PCR, $2.1{\times}10^1$ molecules of COI gene belonged to SHB could be detected specifically and quantitatively within 18 minutes 40 seconds. For the purpose of the application in apiary field, a DNA extraction method from bee debris was separatedly developed. When $10^5$ SHB-specific COI molecules (1/1000 body of SHB larvae) are existed in 1g of bee debris, it could be verified inner 10 minutes as qualitative and quantitative manner. SHB-specific ultra-rapid PCR we proposed would be expected to apply widely, either in apiary field or laboratory, for the rapid detections and the control against SHB-invasion.

• Journal of Apiculture
• /
• 제32권3호
• /
• pp.269-273
• /
• 2017

We investigated whether purified bee venom increases the enzymatic activity of the alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH). ADH and ALDH assay were tested by in vitro kits. The purified bee venom was assayed by ultra performance liquid chromatography, The contents of melittin, apamin and phospholipase A2, as main component of purified bee venom, were 63.9%, 2.3%, and 10.9%, respectively. The ADH and ALDH acitivity of purified bee venom(at 1mg/ml) were $88.6{\pm}7.34%$ and $94.6{\pm}0.57%$, respectively compared with positive control at 2mg/ml. These results showed that purified bee venom induces the activity of ADH and ALDH which reduce the aldehyde concentration in the blood, suggesting the possibility of purified bee venom as resource of medicine or functional beverage for hangover relieving.

• Journal of Apiculture
• /
• 제32권3호
• /
• pp.181-189
• /
• 2017

Lysinibacillus fusiformis has been suspected to be a pathogen of Bombus terrestris in Korea since 2008. In this study, we developed the rapid detection method for the L. fusiformis by utilizing the Ultra-rapid PCR. After optimizing of L. fusiformis-specific Ultra-rapid PCR, it can detect the existence of $1.0{\times}10^8$ L. fusiformis-specific DNA molecules in 4 minute and 22 seconds. Even, only 10 molecules could be detected quantitatively using this method. In addition, for the first time, in our knowledge, L. fusiformis was detected using proposed method from bumblebee produced commercially in Korea. Not only in the laboratory but also in the field, L. fusiformis-specific Ultra-rapid PCR would be applied and might be expected as convenient tools at production of bumblebee or inspection for the import and export of bumblebee.

• Journal of Apiculture
• /
• 제32권3호
• /
• pp.147-154
• /
• 2017

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are common pollinators and important insects studied in agriculture, ecology and basic research. Recently, RDA (Rural Development Administration) and YIRI (Yecheon-gun Industrial Insect Research Institute) have been breeding a triple crossbred honey bee named Jangwon, which have the ability to produce superior quality honey. In this study, we identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) marker in the genome of Jangwon honeybee, particularly, in the paternal line (D line). Initially, we performed Sequence-Based Genotyping (SBG) using the Illumina Hiseq 2500 in 5 honeybee inbred lines; A, C, D, E, and F; and obtained 1,029 SNPs. Seventeen SNPs for each inbred line were generated and selected after further filtering of the SNP dataset. The 17 SNP markers validated by performing TaqMan probe-based real-time PCR and genotyping analysis was conducted. Genotyping analysis of the 5 honeybee inbred lines and one hybrid line, $D{\times}F$, revealed that one set of SNP marker, AmD9, precisely discriminated the inbred line D from the others. Our results suggest that the identified SNP marker, AmD9, is successful in distinguishing the inbred honeybee lines D, and can be directly used for genotyping and breeding applications.

• Journal of Apiculture
• /
• 제34권1호
• /
• pp.1-6
• /
• 2019

Honey bees use propolis to defend against invaders and pathogens. Propolis, a resinous mixture, has been widely used for its antibacterial, antifungal and anti-inflammatory properties. This research was carried out to evaluate the propolis productivity in Apis mellifera lines to select superior honeybee lines. For the study, which were collected from three regions in Korea were evaluated for the productivity of propolis. The results showed that, the average propolis per colony was highest in the line P2 (10.1 g/hive), which was inbed line derived from isolated region, compared to other lines. We also measured brood development one the basis of population size of eggs, brood, and adult bees to further probe for relation between population size and propolis yield, in that larger population generally have more foragers. Also, adult population expended more greatly in the line P2 compared to that in the control.

• Journal of Apiculture
• /
• 제34권1호
• /
• pp.47-55
• /
• 2019

Honey bees are a vital part of the food chain as the most important pollinators for a broad palette of crops and wild plants. The climate change and colony collapse disorder (CCD) phenomenon make it challenging to develop ICT solutions to predict changes in beehive and alert about potential threats. In this paper, we report the test results of the bee-counting system which stands out against the previous analogues due to its comprehensive components including an improved dual infrared sensor to detect honey bees entering and leaving the hive, environmental sensors that measure ambient and interior, a wireless network with the bluetooth low energy (BLE) to transmit the sensing data in real time to the gateway, and a cloud which accumulate and analyze data. To assess the system accuracy, 3 persons manually counted the outgoing and incoming honey bees using the video record of 360-minute length. The difference between automatic and manual measurements for outgoing and incoming scores were 3.98% and 4.43% respectively. These differences are relatively lower than previous analogues, which inspires a vision that the tested system is a good candidate to use in precise apicultural industry, scientific research and education.

• Journal of Apiculture
• /
• 제35권1호
• /
• pp.9-19
• /
• 2020

The questionnaire survey for Apis cerana beekeepers and professionals on improved native bee hives was carried out and we compared the temperature, relative humidity(RH), and weight changes of 4 improved hives(Chungju, Miryang, Hanam, and Suwon) from May 1, 2019 to January 31, 2020. Beekeepers need vertical feeder, hive stand, entrance block, and separating panel as hive accessory devices. The average temperatures within brood area were kept constantly (31.3~35.1℃) and the low daily variances of temperature (≤1℃) in Chungju hive among tested hives were observed. The daily temperature variances in the separated space and on the top of winter cluster were not different among 4 hives. In correlation between the temperature of brood area and the number of combs, Chungju hive showed the highest correlation(80.4%) and between the temperature on top of winter clusters and outside temperature, 4 hives showed high positive correlation(76.8~87.1%). RH of brood area(45~60%) in all hives were kept relatively low and constant compared to the outside RH(60~85%). The stablest RH on the top of winter cluster was observed in Suwon hives (65~75%) The highest cumulative weight increase among hives and the high positive correlation(65~67%) between the change of cumulative hive weight and combs number of hives were shown in the Miryang and Chungju. Based on these results, A. cerana bees are able to manage constant temperature and RH within hives area for their colony life, which also effected by the types of hive.

• Journal of Apiculture
• /
• 제34권3호
• /
• pp.189-195
• /
• 2019

Plants release a large variety of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) into the surrounding atmosphere. Floral volatile compounds (FVCs) emitted from many plants is the critical factors for pollinator attraction and defense for adaptation in environments. Recent studies indicate that the chemical components contributing to FVCs play an important role in the honeybee attractiveness to flowers. Olfactory signals are rapidly learned, indicating that foraging behavior results from the association of plant chemicals acting as chemosensory cues for the bees. Solid phase microextraction(SPME)-GC/MS method was applied to analyze the chemical composition of FVCs according to the different species of Robinia spp. The abundant compounds identified in R. pseudoacacia were (Z)-β-ocimene (34.86%) and linalool (35.47%). Those of the tetraploid R. pseudoacacia were (Z)-β-ocimene (35.42%) and α-Farnesene (33.94%). The volatiles of R. margarettae 'Pink Cascade' comprised an abundance of (Z)-β-ocimene (42.73%), (E)-4,8-Dimethylnona-1,3,7-triene (37.23%). Differences in FVCs of the different species of Robinia spp. are discussed in light of biochemical constraints on volatile chemical synthesis and of the role of flower scent in ecology of pollination.

• Journal of Apiculture
• /
• 제34권1호
• /
• pp.15-26
• /
• 2019

Tracheal mite (Acarapis woodi) is an internal parasite that is parasitic on the bronchus of adult bees and sucks fluid from the trachea. Since its first report by Rennie, it has been spread throughout Europe and in some Asian regions, with adjacent Japan and China reported in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Korea detected specific genes of A. woodi in 2015, but only one of 99 samples has been identified and the being of A. woodi has not been confirmed. In this study, we established a specific nested PCR method to confirm for detecting low-copy number of A. woodi-specific gene in bee samples. As a result, A. woodi-specific COI gene was amplified in 15 of 23 samples, and they were judged positive by melting point analysis and sequencing analysis. Although we could not observe the existence of the mites in bees, our results suggest that tracheal mit might exist in nature.