Biogeography and Taxonomy of Honeybees

Biogeography and Taxonomy of Honeybees
Author: Friedrich Ruttner
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 292
Release: 2013-03-09
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3642726496

Honeybees are as small as flies or as large as hornets, nesting in nar row cavities of trees and rocks or in the open on large limbs of trees 30 m above ground. They occur in tropical zones and in the forests of the Ural mountains, they survive seven months of winter and even longer periods of drought and heat. Historically, they lived through a extended time of stagnation in the tropics from the mid-Tertiary, but then experienced an explosive evolution during the Pleistocene, re sulting in the conquest of huge new territories and the origin of two dozen subspecies in Apis mellifera. This vast geographic and ecologic diversification of the genus Apis was accompanied by a rich morphological variation, less on the level of species than at the lowest rank, the subspecies level. Variation being exclusively of a quantitative kind at this first step of speciation, tradi tional descriptive methods of systematics proved to be unsatisfactory, and honeybee taxonomy finally ended up in a confusing multitude of inadequately described units. Effective methods of morphometric-sta tistical analysis of honeybee popUlations, centered on limited areas, have been developed during the last decades. Only the numerical characterization of the populations, together with the description of behavior, shows the true geographic variability and will end current generalizations and convenient stereotypes.

Neurobiology of Chemical Communication

Neurobiology of Chemical Communication
Author: Carla Mucignat-Caretta
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 614
Release: 2014-02-14
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1466553413

Intraspecific communication involves the activation of chemoreceptors and subsequent activation of different central areas that coordinate the responses of the entire organism—ranging from behavioral modification to modulation of hormones release. Animals emit intraspecific chemical signals, often referred to as pheromones, to advertise their presence to members of the same species and to regulate interactions aimed at establishing and regulating social and reproductive bonds. In the last two decades, scientists have developed a greater understanding of the neural processing of these chemical signals. Neurobiology of Chemical Communication explores the role of the chemical senses in mediating intraspecific communication. Providing an up-to-date outline of the most recent advances in the field, it presents data from laboratory and wild species, ranging from invertebrates to vertebrates, from insects to humans. The book examines the structure, anatomy, electrophysiology, and molecular biology of pheromones. It discusses how chemical signals work on different mammalian and non-mammalian species and includes chapters on insects, Drosophila, honey bees, amphibians, mice, tigers, and cattle. It also explores the controversial topic of human pheromones. An essential reference for students and researchers in the field of pheromones, this is also an ideal resource for those working on behavioral phenotyping of animal models and persons interested in the biology/ecology of wild and domestic species.

Asian Honey Bees

Asian Honey Bees
Author: Benjamin P. Oldroyd
Publisher: Harvard University Press
Total Pages: 374
Release: 2009-06-01
Genre: Nature
ISBN: 9780674041622

The familiar European hive bee, Apis mellifera, has long dominated honey bee research. But in the last 15 years, teams in China, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand began to shift focus to the indigenous Asian honey bees. Benjamin Oldroyd, well known for his work on the genetics and evolution of worker sterility, has teamed with Siriwat Wongsiri, a pioneer of the study of bees in Thailand, to provide a comparative work synthesizing the rapidly expanding Asian honey bee literature. After introducing the species, the authors review evolution and speciation, division of labor, communication, and nest defense. They underscore the pressures colonies face from pathogens, parasites, and predators--including man--and detail the long and amazing history of the honey hunt. This book provides a cornerstone for future investigations on these species, insights into the evolution across species, and a direction for conservation efforts to protect these keystone species of Asia's tropical forests.

Honey Bee Colony Health

Honey Bee Colony Health
Author: Diana Sammataro
Publisher: CRC Press
Total Pages: 320
Release: 2011-11-17
Genre: Science
ISBN: 1439879419

This book summarizes the current progress of bee researchers investigating the status of honey bees and possible reasons for their decline, providing a basis for establishing management methods that maintain colony health. Integrating discussion of Colony Collapse Disorder, the chapters provide information on the new microsporidian Nosema ceranae pathogens, the current status of the parasitic bee mites, updates on bee viruses, and the effects these problems are having on our important bee pollinators. The text also presents methods for diagnosing diseases and includes color illustrations and tables.

Beekeeping in Western Canada

Beekeeping in Western Canada
Author: John Gruszka
Publisher: Alberta Agriculture, Food and Rural Development, Publishing Branch
Total Pages: 192
Release: 1998
Genre: Bee culture
ISBN:

A comprehensive manual on all aspects of beekeeping, including bee physiology and biology, getting started, nectar and pollen plants, supplementary feeding, honey extraction and production, bee health and marketing. Includes illustrations and colour photographs.

Honey Bee Medicine for the Veterinary Practitioner

Honey Bee Medicine for the Veterinary Practitioner
Author: Terry Ryan Kane
Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2021-05-11
Genre: Medical
ISBN: 1119583373

An essential guide to the health care of honey bees Honey Bee Medicine for the Veterinary Practitioner offers an authoritative guide to honey bee health and hive management. Designed for veterinarians and other professionals, the book presents information useful for answering commonly asked questions and for facilitating hive examinations. The book covers a wide range of topics including basic husbandry, equipment and safety, anatomy, genetics, the diagnosis and management of disease. It also includes up to date information on Varroa and other bee pests, introduces honey bee pharmacology and toxicology, and addresses native bee ecology. This new resource: Offers a guide to veterinary care of honey bees Provides information on basic husbandry, examination techniques, nutrition, and more Discusses how to successfully handle questions and 'hive calls' Includes helpful photographs, line drawings, tables, and graphs Written for veterinary practitioners, veterinary students, veterinary technicians, scientists, and apiarists, Honey Bee Medicine for the Veterinary Practitioner is a comprehensive and practical book on honey bee health.

The Lives of Bees

The Lives of Bees
Author: Thomas D. Seeley
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Total Pages: 370
Release: 2019-05-28
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 0691166765

Seeley, a world authority on honey bees, sheds light on why wild honey bees are still thriving while those living in managed colonies are in crisis. Drawing on the latest science as well as insights from his own pioneering fieldwork, he describes in extraordinary detail how honey bees live in nature and shows how this differs significantly from their lives under the management of beekeepers. Seeley presents an entirely new approach to beekeeping--Darwinian Beekeeping--which enables honey bees to use the toolkit of survival skills their species has acquired over the past thirty million years, and to evolve solutions to the new challenges they face today. He shows beekeepers how to use the principles of natural selection to guide their practices, and he offers a new vision of how beekeeping can better align with the natural habits of honey bees.

Honeybees of Africa

Honeybees of Africa
Author: H. Randall Hepburn
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
Total Pages: 378
Release: 2013-03-14
Genre: Science
ISBN: 3662036045

A comprehensive review of the honeybees of Africa on a subspecies as well as by country basis. Includes an updated multivariate analysis of the subspecies based on the merger of the Ruttner database (Oberursel) and that of Hepburn & Radloff (Grahamstown) for nearly 20,000 bees. Special emphasis is placed on natural zones of hybridisation and introgression of different populations; seasonal cycles of development in different ecological-climatological zones of the continent; swarming, migration and absconding; and an analysis of the bee flora of the continent. The text is supplemented by tables containing quantitative data on all aspects of honeybee biology, and by continental and regional maps.