• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.1-6
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• 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
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• v.34 no.1
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• pp.47-55
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• 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.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
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• v.61 no.3
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• pp.399-408
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• 2022

There has been much debate on the morphometric divergence between the recently identified Apis cerana koreana and Apis cerana honey bees. The aim of this study was to obtain phenotypic information that can be used to compare A. c. koreana data with other A. cerana subspecies data from open resources and determine breeding results on the basis of morphometric traits. To differentiate A. c. koreana, we investigated 22 classic morphological characteristics; royal jelly secretion; and the weight of workers, queens, and drones of A. c. koreana bred in Korea. To define the selection results, we used the geometric morphometric method. The artificially selected A. c. koreana secreted significantly more royal jelly (1.18 times) than the naturally selected A. c. koreana, which positively influenced the health of the colonies. These honey bees were identified more clearly with the geometric morphometric method than with the classic morphometric method, which is traditionally used to determine the subspecies. Large trends were noted for A. c. koreana on the basis of our results and literature from the 1980s regarding A. cerana sizes in Korea (tarsal index, length of forewing, and cubital index were measured). The cluster analysis revealed the proximity of A. c. koreana, A. cerana in China, and A. c. indica on the basis of eight classic characters, which, perhaps, relay the origin of the honey bees. The results of this study defined the morphometric responses of A. c. koreana honey bees to geographic isolation, climate change, and selection, which are important to identify, protect, and preserve honey bee stock in Korea.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• v.38 no.3
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• pp.389-395
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• 2015

The composition of the Martes flavigula diet has been extensively studied, but little is known about its insect component. This study characterized the insect diet and insect nest materials in the feces of M. flavigula. A total of 952 fecal samples were collected in Jirisan National Park from January 2009 to November 2011, and 1379 species or taxonomic groups were identified. M. flavigula fed on insects (8.7%) and bee wax (5.0%), which comprised 2.9% and 4.4% of the dry weight of M. flavigula feces, respectively. A total of 12 insect species belonging to 8 families in 3 orders were identified. The most frequently found insects were Hymenoptera (frequency of occurrence, FO, 89.1), including Vespa simillima simillima (FO, 37.3) and Vespula koreensis koreensis (FO, 20.0). The Vespidae constituted the majority of the insect diet in autumn when the diversity of marten's prey was strongly reduced, probably because the numbers of social insects were sufficient for M. flavigula. In addition, the data suggest that M. flavigula attacks the nests of social wasps in late autumn when males do not have a venomous sting and new queens are less aggressive than workers. Bee wax appeared in all seasons and the highest rate was from spring to early summer. However, the remains of honeybees were not found in feces; thus, M. flavigula presumably eats honey but not honeybees.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.227-237
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• 2018

The majority parasitic bee mites of Thailand in genus Tropilaelaps are infesting colonies of native bees (Apis dorsata) and introduced bees (A. mellifera). The investigation aims to study morphological and genetic variation of Tropilaelaps mites infected different hosts. Adult mites were collected from honey bee brood throughout Thailand. Traditional and geometrical morphometrics were measured on photograph by using TPS program. Additional, COI gene variations were examined by PCR-RFLP and nucleotides sequencing. Tree of mites relationships were constructed by NJ and MP assumptions. Morphometric results indicated T. mercedesae were major species infesting on A. dorsata and A. mellifera. Mophological variation represented at anal and epigynial plate, which the shape of the anal plate apex margin has been key character to identify between T. mercedesae (bell to blunt shape) and T. koenigerum (pear shape). However, the discriminant analysis suggested that geometric results were potential to classify Thai Tropilaelaps populations from different hosts better than traditional morphometric. Otherwise, PCR-RFLP clearly detected the site of Dra I and Xba I digestion of Thai Tropilaelaps morphotypes. The COI sequences of T. koenigerum were founded infesting only A. dorsata in Thailand and four sequences that related to the Thai T. mercedesae morphotypes. The NJ and MP tree were clearly classified Thai Tropilaelaps species which were suggested both from morphological and molecular analysis. This information might be basically of taxonomic status, but this should have implication for controlling these mites in Thailand and other countries.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• v.33 no.11
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• pp.1495-1505
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• 2023

The western honeybee Apis mellifera L., a vital crop pollinator and producer of honey and royal jelly, faces numerous threats including diseases, chemicals, and mite infestations, causing widespread concern. While extensive research has explored the link between gut microbiota and their hosts. However, the impact of Varroa destructor infestation remains understudied. In this study, we employed massive parallel amplicon sequencing assays to examine the diversity and structure of gut microbial communities in adult bee groups, comparing healthy (NG) and Varroa-infested (VG) samples. Additionally, we analyzed Varroa-infested hives to assess the whole body of larvae. Our results indicated a notable prevalence of the genus Bombella in larvae and the genera Gillamella, unidentified Lactobacillaceae, and Snodgrassella in adult bees. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between NG and VG. Furthermore, our PICRUSt analysis demonstrated distinct KEGG classification patterns between larval and adult bee groups, with larvae displaying a higher abundance of genes involved in cofactor and vitamin production. Notably, despite the complex nature of the honeybee bacterial community, methanogens were found to be present in low abundance in the honeybee microbiota.

• Journal of Pharmacopuncture
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• v.23 no.4
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• pp.212-219
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• 2020

Objectives: Nowadays cancer treatment is an important challenge in the medical world that needs better therapies. Many active secretions produced by insects such as honey bees used to discover new anticancer drugs. Bee venom (BV) has a potent anti inflammatory, anti cancer and tumor effects. The aim of present study is evaluation of anticancer effects induced by Apis mellifera venom (AmV) on cell Lines. Methods: AmV was selected for study on cancer cell lines. Total protein, molecular weight and LD50 of crude venom were determined. Then, cells were grown in Dulbecco's Modified Eagle medium supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum and 1% antibiotics. The A549, HeLa and MDA-MB-231 cell Lines were exposed by different concentration of AmV. The morphology of cells was determined and cell viability was studed by MTT assay. Evaluation of cell death was determined by and DNA fragmentation. Results: The results from MTT assay showed that 3.125 ㎍/mL of A549, 12.5 for HeLa and 6.25 ㎍/mL of MDA-MB-231 killed 50% of cells (p < 0.05). Morphological analysis and the results from hoescht staining and DNA fragmentation indicated that cell death induced by AmV was significantly apoptosis. Conclusion: The data showed that using lower dosage of AmV during treatment period cause inhibition of proliferation in time and dose dependant manner. Findings indicated that some ingredients of AmV have anticancer effects and with further investigation it can be used in production of anticancer drugs.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.19 no.1
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• pp.193-197
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• 2009

We report an evaluation of the immunostimulatory effect of propolis volatiles from a stingless honeybee. We studied 34 elderly residents at a special nursing home. Twenty-one subjects were treated with propolis, 8 with $Binch\hat{o}$ charcoal and 5 subjects acted as controls. Subjects treated with either propolis or Bincho charcoal were housed in rooms separated from the other non-study residents in the nursing home. The effects of each treatment on natural killer (NK) cell activity and lymphocyte levels were examined after 2 months and then for a longer period. The results indicated that NK cell activity was significantly improved to that within the normal range only after propolis treatment.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.29-35
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• 2008

The midgut epithelium of Indian honey bee Apis cerana indica is consist of digestive cells and small regenerative cells. The regenerative cells are placed in the nests scattered among the digestive cells. During metamorphosis the midgut of Apis cerana indica is remodeled. The larval midgut epithelium and muscular sheath digested partially at the end of larval period and thrown out in the form of debris in the lumen. The new epithelium is formed by the proliferation of the regenerative cells and during pupation reorganization of midgut layer occurs. The ultrastuctural studies shows that the regenerative cells are in contact with degenerative cells by the cytoplasmic extension which have many septed and gap junctions in the fifth instar larvae. In developing pupae reorganization of the midgut epithelium is continued whereas in the pharate adult the midgut wall shows, characteristic of adult midgut epithelium with pycnotic nuclei in some cells.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.217-220
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• 2006

It is known that the process of variety development and maintenance of original plant is difficult in Angelica gigas and Angelica acutiloba because they are allogamous plants. The contents like this are stand in the way of theirs breeding. This study was conducted to investigate the foraging activity and pollinational efficacy by insects to flowers of A. gigas and A. acutiloba. Foraging activity by pollinators was observed every day from 10:00 to 10:30 during 3 days after September 21. Honey bee and fly were major pollinators. The rate of hymenoptera and diptera to total numbers of insects was the 56.5% and 40.6% in A. gigas, respectively. It was also 46.3% and 51.8% in A. acutiloba, respectively. The other insects were lepidoptera, coleoptera and hemiptera. The numbers of hymenoptera and diptera were more in flowers of A. gigas was 49.2% with bee, 36.0% with fly, 15.3% with human, 0.9% without anything in the nethouse and 76.6% in the open field. That of A. acutiloba was 43.6% with bee, 27.9% with fly, 20.3% with human, 0.6% without anything in the nethouse and 46.9% in the open field. Excepting open field, seed setting rate of with bee in the nethouse was the highest of all the others. However, we concluded that the use of fly was the most effective method for pollination of A. gigas and A. acutiloba considering low cost and convenient handling.