• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.27 no.4
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• pp.605-611
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• 1995

Carbohydrase enzymes in honey catalyze transglucosylation reactions which result in the formation of structurally similar oligosaccharides. These oligosaccharides make up a small portion of the total carbohydrates in honey. These minor oligosaccharides in native-bee honeys were identified and quantitated employing trimethylsilylation by capillary Gas Chromatography. The minor oligosaccharides found in honey were eight disaccharides and five trisaccharides. The main oligosaccharide components of honey were erlose, maltose, turanose and sucrose.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.3
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• pp.154-160
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• 2022

Background: The mango is one of the essential fruit trees for the economy of Thailand. Mango pollination relies primarily on insects. Other external forces, such as wind, are less efficient since pollen is sticky and aggregating. There is only one report from Thailand on the use of bees as mango pollinators. The study of the behavior and pollination efficiency of honey bees (Apis mellifera) and stingless bees (Tetragonula laeviceps species complex) was conducted in Nam Dokmai mango plantings in Phrao and Mae Taeng districts, Chiang Mai province, between February and March 2019. Results: Our results reveal that the honey bees commenced foraging earlier than the stingless bee. The number of flowers visited within 1 minute by honey bees was higher than that visited by stingless bees. The average numbers of honey bees and stingless bees that flew out of the hive per minute from 7 a.m. and 6 p.m. in the Phrao district were 4.21 ± 1.62 and 9.88 ± 7.63 bees/min, respectively, i.e., higher than those observed in Mae Taeng, which were 3.46 ± 1.13 and 1.23 ± 1.20 bees/min, respectively. The numbers of fruits per tree were significantly higher in the honey bee and stingless bee treatments (T1 and T2) than in the open pollination treatment (T3). The number of fruits between T1 and T2 treatments was not different. In the pollinator exclusion treatment (T4), no fruit was produced. Fruit size factors were not significantly different among T1, T2, and T3 treatments. Conclusions: Our results showed that insect pollination is crucial for mango production, especially with the Nam Dokmai variety in Northern Thailand. As pollinator exclusion treatment showed no fruit set, and pollinator treatment significantly increased the fruit sets compared to open access plots, a managed pollinator program would benefit the mango growers for better productivity. Both the honey bee and the stingless bee were shown to be effective as pollinators.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.30 no.1
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• pp.1-5
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• 1998

To find out the difference between native bee-honey (NBH) and foreign bee-honey (FBH), quantification of honey protein and investigation of specific protein in NBH were carried out by SDS-PAGE. Contents of honey protein in NBH and FBH were measured by Bradford and Lowry method. The contents of protein determined by Bradford method were $0.1{\sim}3.3\;mg/g$ in NBH and $0.2{\sim}1.6\;mg/g$ in FBH, and by Lowry method were $12.9{\sim}45.7\;mg/g$ in NBH and $15.8{\sim}27.1\;mg/g$ in FBH. In order to investigate the distribution of bee honey proteins, the SDS-PAGE was performed. The results showed that molecular weight of the major proteins in NBH and in FBH were 56 kDa and 59 kDa. respectively. Therefore, it was confirmed that the difference between NBH and FBH can be identified visually by SDS-PAGE analysis. The major proteins in NBH and FBH were purified through two step chromatography, and the obtained proteins were used as marker protein in SDS-PAGE to discriminate NBH and FBH.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.241-249
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• 2011

This study was conducted to analyze ash content, mineral composition, hydroxy methyl furfural (HMF) content, stable carbon isotope ratio, and SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis patterns to investigate the quality characteristics of various honeys harvested from different sources and to identify differences useful for distinguishing honey sources. Ash content was 0.046-0.012% in acacia honey, 0.565-1.318% in chestnut honey, 0.06-0.582% in polyfloral honey, and 0.237-0.893% in native bee honey. Potassium content was high in order of chestnut honey>native bee honey>polyfloral honey>acacia honey. The Na/K ratio was 0.92-1.97 in acacia honey, 0.02-1.59 in chestnut honey, 0.02-5.30 in polyfloral honey, and 0.22-0.51 in native bee honey. The HMF content was 9.60-12.85, 10.15-25.75, 9.7-33.5, and 6.25-21.5 mg/kg in acacia, chestnut, native bee, and polyfloral honeys, respectively. HMF content was the highest in native bee honey. A 59 kDa protein band was revealed in all samples by SDS-PAGE analysis. Protein bands of 32.1, 31.9, and 33.5 kDa were revealed in some chestnut honeys, and protein bands of 32.3 and 32.5 kDa were shown in native bee honeys. A protein band of 72 kDa was also confirmed in some chestnut honeys.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.63 no.1
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• pp.13-23
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• 2024

Vespa velutina nigrithorax du Buysson, 1905 is the invaded species in Korea since 2003. Since its importance as the honey bee pest, beekeepers use insecticides to kill the adult and immature hornets. However, its legality and effectiveness has not been confirmed. This study investigated the susceptibility of insecticides commonly used to control hornets by beekeepers in Korea. Eight insecticides were tested on adult worker and larvae by topical or oral treatment. Adults showed more than 70% mortalities from Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, and Carbosulfan treatment within 30 minutes. Bifenthrin and Cartap hydrochloride showed relatively low toxicity. The median lethal dose (LD₅₀) for Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, and Carbosulfan was 0.29, 0.65, and 2.21 ㎍/bee, respectively. In larval feeding test where 5^th instar larvae were fed 3 times every 24 hours, the mortality began after second treatments. After 3rd treatments (72 h), all insecticides showed mortality more than 70%. The LD₅₀ values of Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, and Carbosulfan to V. velutina were approximately 10 to 100 times higher than those to honey bee, Apis mellifera. This study provides the basic information of those chemical toxicities to Vespa hornet and honey bees.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.1082-1088
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• 1997

To compare the characteristics between native bee honey (NBH) and foreign bee honey (FBH), NBH harvested from eight different areas of Kangwon, Korea and FBH harvested from Chuncheon, Kangwon, Korea and from other nations were investigated by measuring the contents of moisture, sugar, 5-hydroxymethyl furfural (HMF), and pollen. Our results showed that contents of moisture in NBH and FBH were $16.4{\sim}23.0%$ and $15.8{\sim}21.0%$, respectively. Sugar contained in bee honey such as fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, and isomaltose were also analyzed. No difference were found between NBH and FBH in pH. The contents of HMF in NBH and FBH were $0.0{\sim}19.2\;mg/kg$ and $0.0{\sim}85.8\;mg/kg$, and was found that NBH is much lower than that in FBH. And production of HMF were accelerated by conditions of storage. Distributions of pollen in NBH were $0.4{\sim}88.3{\times}10^4/g$, which were significantly different from $0.0{\sim}0.4{\times}10^4/g$ obtained from FBH. According to those results, the methods used in this study are not suitable for identification of difference between NBH and FBH.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.269-275
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• 2018

Beekeeping status of Apis cerana with emphasis of experiences overcoming sacbrood virus disease are presented. Social bee fauna are rich in Vietnam with 6 honeybee species (Apis laboriosa, Apis dorsata, Apis mellifera, Apis cerana, Apis andrenifomis, Apis florea); 8 stingless bee species (Trigona laeviceps, Trigona ventralis, Trigona pagdeni, Trigona gressitti, Trigona fuscobalteata, Trigona capenteri, Trigona scintillans Trigona iridipenis) and 2 bumble bee species (Bumbus haemorrhoidalis, B. breviceps). All of them are native except A. mellifera which was introduced in1887. These bees are slated for conservation by the Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development. Honey and other bee products are mainly harvested from 3 species including A. cerana, A. mellifera and A. dorsata. The manageable species (A. cerana and A. mellifera) are increasing in number, reaching about 1,500,000 beehives. Vietnam is the second largest honey exporter in Asia, with a total of about 48,000 tons of honey exported to the international market in 2014. A. cerana plays an important role in poverty alleviation in mountainous and remote areas of Vietnam. Honeybee suffers from various diseases of Sacbrood virus disease (SBV), European foulbrood (EFB), Nosema, and parasitic mites of Tropilaelaps mercedes and Varroa destructor. Most of these diseases can be resolved with biocontrol methods. For the parasitic mites, Vietnamese beekeepers usually apply formic acid.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.285-293
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• 2019

The honey bee queen shows extreme polyandry and controlling the mating partners can only be possible either by artificial insemination or having remote isolated mating locations. Here we report on the German North Sea island of Heligoland. Because of its location 60 km from the mainland, the lack of a local population of honey bees, its size of just 1.4 ㎢ and suitable weather conditions during the months of May to July, it is considered an ideal location for controlled inseminations of high-quality virgin queen bees with drones deemed genetically superior to others. Methods how to rear virgin queen bees are described and information is provided on the numbers of queen bees, their supporting workers and drone bees that are taken to the island in the mating season. The bee most commonly involved in the Heligoland mating trials has become Apis mellifera carnica strain "Baltica". In one summer, for example, 80 virgin queens (belonging to beekeepers from nine different locations in northern Germany) each with about 600 worker bees plus two drone populations of around 2,000 drones were taken by ship to Heligoland. On their return to the mainland no later than 3.5 weeks after the mating exercise, the beekeepers could register a mating success rate of 80%. This information can help operation management of the new remote mating centre of Weedo Island, Jeonbuk in Korea, which is currently under construction.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.46 no.2
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• pp.136-143
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• 2022

Background: In northern Thailand, the longan flower is the principal nectar source for honey production. Microorganisms play a critical function in the agricultural ecology. The morphological characteristics of fungal species found in longan pollen were studied. Aspergillus spp. were found to be invertase-producing strains and were employed in the longan syrup production process. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of invertase-added longan syrup on the adult honey bee population numbers that were fed by this syrup for 16 weeks. Results: Different fungal species were found in longan pollen samples. Aspergillus was the main genus, with three predominant sections: Nigri, Flavi, and Terrei. Other isolated species were Trichoderma spp., Rhizopus spp., Neurospora spp., Chaetomium spp., Fusarium spp. and Penicillium spp. However, Aspergillus spp. is the only fungal species that produces the enzyme invertase. The invertase-producing strains belonging to the Aspergillus section Nigri were found to be A. niger LP5 with an optimum activity at pH 6.0 and 60℃. When A. niger LP5 invertase was used for longan syrup processing, the highest levels of glucose (3.45%) and fructose (2.08%) were found in invertase added longan syrup (C), while fresh (A) and boiled longan syrup (B) had lower contents of both sugars. The sucrose content was detected in (A) at 4.25%, while (B) and (C) were at 4.02% and 3.08%, respectively. An appropriate amount of sugar to feed and maintain the honey bee population was considered. The data showed no statistically significant differences between the two selected forms of longan syrup compared to the sugar syrup examined by the adult honey bee population. Conclusions: The main species of isolated fungi from longan pollen were Aspergillus spp. The discovery of an invertase-producing strain of A. niger LP5 has enabled its application for enzyme utilization in the invert sugar preparation process. The adult worker bee populations fed by longan syrup from both boiled and invertase-added sources showed an increasing trend. Artificial syrup made from longan fruit to feed honey bees when natural food sources are limited can be applied.

• Korean Journal of Environmental Agriculture
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• v.36 no.4
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• pp.241-248
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• 2017

BACKGROUND: RNA interference (RNAi) eliminates or decreases gene expression by disrupting the target mRNA or by interfering with translation. Recently, RNAi technique was applied to generate new crop traits which provide protection against pests. To establish the environmental risk assessment protocol of RNAi LMO in lab scale, we developed dsRNA expression system using E. coli and tested acute oral toxicity assay to honey. METHOD AND RESULTS: The dsRNA expression vector, L4440, was chosen and cloned 240 bp of Snf7 and GFP gene fragment. To develop the maximum dsRNA induction condition in E. coli, we tested induction time, temperature and IPTG concentration in media. To estimate the risk assessment of dsRNA to honey bee, it has been selected and cultured with dsRNA supplement for 48 hours according to OECD guideline. As a result, the optimum condition of dsRNA induction was $37^{\circ}C$, 4 hours and 0.4 mM IPTG concentration and the difference between Snf7 and GFP dsRNA molecules from E. coli was not significant in survival and behavior to honey bee. Furthermore, blast search results indicated that effective match of predicted dsRNA fragments were not existed in honey bee genome. CONCLUSION: In this study, we developed and tested the acute oral toxicity of dsRNA using E. coli expression system to honey bee.