• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.25 no.1
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• pp.115-121
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• 2012

The bumblebee Bombus terrestris is widely used in greenhouses to pollinate crops. Here, we report the molecular cloning and characterization of chymotrypsin inhibitor and chitin-binding protein homologs from B. terrestris. Two cDNAs encoding chymotrypsin inhibitor (Bt-CI) and chitin-binding protein (Bt-CBP) homologs were cloned from B. terrestris. Gene sequence analysis showed that Bt-CI gene consists of three exons encoding 75 amino acids, including a predicted 20-amino acid signal peptide, while Bt-CBP consists of two exons encoding 78 amino acids, including a predicted 26-amino acid signal peptide. The mature Bt-CI and Bt-CBP peptides contain ten and six conserved cysteine residues, respectively. Database searches using the deduced sequences of Bt-CI and Bt-CBP showed similarity to those from B. impatiens (96% peptide sequence identities). Bt-CI and Bt-CBP were expressed in both the venom gland and fat body of B. terrestris worker bees. The recombinant Bt-CI and Bt-CBP peptides were expressed in baculovirus-infected insect cells. Taken together, our findings describe the molecular characterization of Bt-CI and Bt-CBP from B. terrestris.

• 보존과학연구
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• s.28
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• pp.5-19
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• 2007

The annals of Joseon Dynasty is the most valuable resource containing the record of Korean history and has been known as one of the UNESCO's Memory of the World Register. There was a period that the annals of Joseon Dynasty was used with beeswax to control pests. It is considered as the prior reason of damage on the annals of Joseon Dynasty. Therefore, in this study we examined the restoration paper(Hanji) as the solution of damage in the waxed volume of the annals of Joseon Dynasty. FT-IR spectrometer was used to examine traditional paper inside and outside of Korea and accelerated artificial aging paper. As a result of FT-IR analysis, spectrum did not showed its big difference in all paper used in this study. However, there was a different spectrum in paper which was made with not Broussonetia kazinoki, but Echinochloa crus-galli var. frumentacea and Dioscorea batatas. Among traditional papers in various countries, spectrum of Korean paper showed the most similarity from the annals of Joseon Dynasty. In comparison between accelerated artificial aging paper and waxed volume, we could identify the change of spectrum affected by the damage.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.22 no.2
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• pp.29-37
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• 2011

Commercially managed bees are available for pollination services and are used in large commercial fields, small gardens, or enclosures such as greenhouses and screen houses. This paper describes the current status and agricultural utilization of commercially managed bumblebees as well as bumblebee rearing techniques in Korea. We surveyed the use rate and number of bumblebees for the pollination of 10 major horticultural crops and fruit trees in Korea; in 2009, the use rates were approximately 7.9% and 2.8%, respectively. The use number of bumblebees as pollinators was more than 64,345 colonies, which included 51,400 colonies for 10 major horticultural crops and 12,945 colonies for 10 major fruit trees in 2009. The value of bumblebees as pollinators in 2009 in Korea was estimated at more than 5,100,000,000 won. We also describe feeding, rearing room conditions, colony initiation, mating and diapause breaks to establish year-round mass rearing techniques of the bumblebee Bombus ignitus.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.32 no.4
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• pp.391-394
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• 2017

Propolis is made by bees collecting protective material or essence of plants and mixing with saliva and enzymes produced by the salivary glands. It is used to repair the inside of the honeycomb, keep it sterile, and adjust the temperature and humidity. Propolis is a natural antibiotic substance that it is used to make a clean room by coating the cell before the queen bee lay eggs, and preventing the bacteria from invading by using with wax when sealing the nursery room. Propolis extract is a health functional food with antioxidant and oral antimicrobial effects. In order to use propolis in food, its active ingredients are extracted with ethanol. Water-soluble propolis was prepared by mixing and stirring honey and ethanol extracted propolis (EEP) solution. When 1kg of honey and 100ml of ethanol extracted propolis solution were mixed and stirred, the total flavonoid content of water-soluble propolis was $6.6{\pm}1.1mg/10g$, and the free radical scavenging effects of water-soluble propolis were 54 to 74%.

• Journal of Apiculture
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• v.34 no.4
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• pp.305-313
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• 2019

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) forage in agricultural areas, and are exposed to diverse pesticide poisoning. Toxic effects on Apis mellifera of different groups of pesticides were tested in the laboratory; fungicide (Metconazole), herbicide (Glyphosate), acaricide (Amitraz), organophosphate insecticide(Fenitrothion) and neonicotinoid insecticides(Thiacloprid, Thiamethoxam, Imidacloprid, Acetamiprid, Dinotefuran and Clothianidin). Commercial formulations were serially diluted from the recommended concentration (RC) to 10-6 times to carry out feeding and contact tests. Toxicity was transformed into lethal dose (LD50) and hazard question (HQ). The acute toxicity of pesticides showed similar patterns between feeding and contact tests. But feeding tests showed greater toxic to honey bee than contact test. The organophosphate and nitro-neonicotinoid insecticides were highly toxic with HQ values ranging greater than 1. However, cyano-neonicotinoids of Thiacloprid and Acetamiprid showed low toxicity. Even at the RC, 24 hr mortalities were 18 and 30%. The acaricide (Amitraz) showed intermediate level of toxicity at RC but negligible at the concentration lower than 10-1 times. A fungicide(Metconazole) and herbicide(Glyphosate) showed minimal impacts. The results imply that the selective use of pesticides could help conservation of pollinators in agricultural production systems.

• Journal of Veterinary Science
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• v.21 no.1
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• pp.4.1-4.9
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• 2020

Fast and accurate detection of viral RNA pathogens is important in apiculture. A polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based detection method has been developed, which is simple, specific, and sensitive. In this study, we rapidly (in 1 min) synthesized cDNA from the RNA of deformed wing virus (DWV)-infected bees (Apis mellifera), and then, within 10 min, amplified the target cDNA by ultra-rapid qPCR. The PCR products were hybridized to a DNA-chip for confirmation of target gene specificity. The results of this study suggest that our method might be a useful tool for detecting DWV, as well as for the diagnosis of RNA virus-mediated diseases on-site.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.25-33
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• 2023

Solitary bees, such as Osmia cornifrons, O. pedicornis, O. satoi, and O. taurus (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), have the potential for cost-effective and sustainable pollination, necessitating a comprehensive understanding of their ecological traits to implement effective fertilization strategies for various crops. This study investigated the nesting rate of Osmia spp. in different regions and altitudes, using various trap types, and found that the highest nesting rate occurred at altitudes of 300-399 m a.s.l. and showing a preference for bamboo-type traps, with the Andong region having the highest nesting rate overall, indicating the influence of altitude, habitat area, and trap type on the density of Osmia spp. nests. The distribution and diversity of the four Osmia spp. in different regions and altitudes revealed variations in their occurrence, with O. pedicornis having the broadest distribution rate, particularly at altitudes above 300 m a.s.l.. The present study found significant differences between species in the cocoon masses of O. cornifrons, O. pedicornis, and O. taurus, with region and altitude influencing the masses of each species too.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.23-31
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• 2017

Bumblebees, more efficient than honeybees, provide important services for pollination especially in tomato, pepper, cucumber, strawberries and other crops grown under tunnel farming or glasshouse conditions to yield maximization. These bees require pollen and nectar to meet their dietary needs and maintain their colony structure, development and reproduction. Keeping in view their economic importance, the effect of five concentrations of sugar and honey solutions (1:1, 1:1.5, 1:2, 2:1,1.5:1) each as alternative to nectar were used to observe their effect on life history parameters of Bombus terrestris. The 1:1 ratio of sugar solution was found most effective followed by 1.5:1, 1:1.5, 1:2 and 2:1 and also more effective of all five concentrations of honey solutions on all three stages of colony development i.e., at colony initiation, colony development and colony maturation stages. At colony initiation stage, early pre-oviposition period ($6.40{\pm}0.97$ days), early emergence of first worker in the first batch ($25.40{\pm}1.21$ days) and maximum numbers of workers ($6.20{\pm}0.24$) emergence in the first batch were observed at 1:1 ratio of sugar solution. Colonies reared on 1:1 ratio of sugar solution reached earlier ($52.13{\pm}1.28$ days) at colony foundation stage with minimum mortality ($3.27{\pm}0.54$ workers). At colony maturation stage, maximum numbers of workers, sexual (males, queens) and maximum mother queen longevity was observed at the same 1:1 ratio of sugar solution. It can be suggested from present study that sugar solution as alternative of nectar at 1:1 ratio was better than other sugar concentration levels and also from those of honey solution.

• Korean Journal of Agricultural Science
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.487-494
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• 2017

Spinosad and spinetoram are widely used insecticides for the control of lepidopteran larvae, leaf miners, and thrips; however, they might also have low toxicity toward beneficial insects like bees. Because these pesticides are easily photolyzed by ultraviolet radiation, the QuEChERS method, with its simple pretreatment procedure, is often used for analyzing residues of spinosad and spinetoram. The present study performed a residue analysis using a modified QuEChERS method by pretreating with ammonium salt. The limit of detection (LOD) of the modified method was 0.05 mg/kg and the limit of quantification (LOQ) was 0.25 mg/kg. The coefficient of determination ($R^2$) for the calibration curve was 0.999. Also, we examined any change in the adhesion of spinosad and spinetoram on the plants depending on a spray volume. The adhesion was approximately 70% when the spray volume was increased from 60 L to 120 L per 10 a whereas the adhesion was approximately 37% when the spray volume was increased from 125 L to 250 L. This showed that the amount of adhesion decreased with the higher spray volume. The efficacy result of spinetoram was that over 90% of Frankliniella occidentalis was controlled with the application volume of 125 L per 10 a. Therefore, the result of this study indicates that control of insects is effective and sufficient with a spray volume of 125 L per 10 a in paprika cultivation facilities.

• Biomolecules & Therapeutics
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• v.7 no.4
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• pp.362-370
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• 1999

Propolis, a natural resinous compound collected from honey bees, contains many biochemical constituents(wax, flavonoids, phenolic compounds, etc.) and has been used in traditional medicines as early as 300 B.C. It was been demonstrated that ethanol, acetylsalicylic acid, ischemia reperfusion, non-steroidal antiin-flammatory drugs and stress induce gastric lesions by promoting the generation of reactive oxygen metabolites. Therefore, some drugs that are capable of scavenging or inhibiting the generation of reactive oxygen radicals might be expected to prevent the gastric mucosal injury. The aim of this study was 1) to examine the antiulcer effect of propolis, 2) to investigate the mechanism of action by determining gastric acid secretion, lipid per-oxidation, mucus content and proton pump ($H^+$/$K^+$-ATPase) activity on gastric mucus in varios experimental models, and finally, 3) to isolate and identify the pure compounds that exert antiulcer activity. Step 2-1 and 2-3 sub-sub fraction shoed a significant reduction of severity of gastirc damage at the dose of 25 mg/kg in various experimental models. We isolated 4 sub-sub-sub fractions by flash column chromatography of Step 2-1 sub-sub fraction and one sub-sub-sub fraction by recrystalization of Step 2-3 sub-sub fraction. The protective effects of propolis sub-sub-sub fraction manifested sifnificant effects in HCl-ethanol induced gastric erosion model and aspirin induced gastric ulcer model. These results showed that the gastric mucosal protective effect of propolis might result from the increase of mucus secretion, free radical scavenging effect as well as the reduction of acid secretion in accordance with the reduction of $H^+$/$K^+$-ATPase activitv. Three compounds were isolated and identified from sub-sub fraction of propolis which showed antiulcer effects. Subsequently, these compounds were identified as a flavonoid, namely, 2-acetoxy-5,7,-dihydroxy-flavanone, galangin and chrysin.