Apidologie最新文献

{"title":"Comparative ultrastructural and proteomics analysis of peritrophic membrane between Apis cerana and Apis mellifera","authors":"Xiaoqing Li,&nbsp;Yiduo Chen,&nbsp;Xue Li,&nbsp;Xin Tan,&nbsp;Yufan Zhang,&nbsp;Huan Wu,&nbsp;Zhengang Ma,&nbsp;Jinshan Xu,&nbsp;Xiaoqun Dang,&nbsp;Zeyang Zhou","doi":"10.1007/s13592-026-01305-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s13592-026-01305-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The peritrophic membrane (PM), a semipermeable mucosal layer secreted by midgut epithelial cells, plays a crucial role in digestion, innate immunity, and pathogen defense. However, whether the PM’s physical barrier contributes to the interspecific difference in susceptibility to sacbrood virus (SBV) between <i>Apis cerana</i> and <i>Apis mellifera</i> remains unknown. In this study, we showed that the SBV viral load in the PM of <i>A. cerana</i> larvae (2.52 × 10⁵ copies/µL) was significantly higher than that of <i>A. mellifera</i> larvae (6.87 × 10⁴ copies/µL). These results demonstrated that the PM may serve as a key barrier during SBV infection. Thus, the differences in the PM between <i>A. cerana</i> and <i>A. mellifera</i> from both morphological and protein composition perspectives were deeply analyzed. Scanning electron microscopy of the <i>A. mellifera</i> larva PM exhibited a unique hexagonal diamond-shaped architecture, while <i>A. cerana</i> larva PM displays protrusions and folds. Further, <i>A. cerana</i> adult PM is characterized by distinct protruding particles, while that of <i>A. mellifera</i> adult displays a smooth, dense, and fibrous network. Importantly, the surface roughness of the <i>A. cerana</i> adult PM is significantly higher than that of the <i>A. mellifera</i> adult PM. In addition, a total of 1792 proteins were identified on the PM of <i>A. cerana</i> larva and adult, whereas 2026 proteins were detected on that of <i>A. mellifer</i>a larva and adult by LC-MS/MS. GO and KEGG enrichment analyses revealed that the PM-associated proteins from all four groups exhibited significant co-enrichment in pathways related to hydrolase and peptidase activity, indicating that the basic functions are conserved. Differential proteomic profiling revealed 268 DEPs between <i>A. cerana </i><i>larva</i> and <i>A. mellifera </i><i>larva</i>. This is the systematic comparative morphology and proteomics analysis of the PM between <i>A. cerana</i> and <i>A. mellifera</i>, which enhances the comprehension of its molecular and ultrastructure and sheds light on the mechanisms underlying interspecific SBV resistance differences.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8078,"journal":{"name":"Apidologie","volume":"57 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148986308","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effect of diamide insecticides on survival and locomotor activity of two species of Meliponines, Melipona beecheii and Nannotrigona perilampoides","authors":"Esaú Ruiz-Sánchez,&nbsp;Cristian Góngora-Gamboa,&nbsp;Diana Méndez-Flota,&nbsp;Horacio Ballina-Gómez,&nbsp;Alejandro García-Ramírez","doi":"10.1007/s13592-026-01309-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s13592-026-01309-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Chlorantraniliprole and flubendiamide are diamide insecticides widely used to control lepidopteran pests and commonly classified as reduced-risk compounds with low toxicity to honey bees. However, information on their effects on meliponine bees remains scarce. Here, we evaluated under laboratory conditions, the lethal and sublethal effects of oral exposure to chlorantraniliprole- and flubendiamide-based formulations on foragers of two Neotropical meliponine species, <i>Melipona beecheii</i> and <i>Nannotrigona perilampoides</i>. Bees were fed sucrose solutions containing the field-recommended concentration of chlorantraniliprole (84 a.i. mg L⁻¹) or flubendiamide (96 mg a.i. L⁻¹), and their tenfold and 100-fold dilutions. Survival, walking speed and flight take-off activity were assessed. Chlorantraniliprole significantly reduced survival of <i>M. beecheii</i> only at the field recommended concentration, whereas <i>N. perilampoides</i> was not affected. In contrast, flubendiamide reduced survival of <i>N. perilampoides</i> across all tested concentrations, while no lethal effects were detected in <i>M. beecheii</i>. As for locomotor activity evaluation, chlorantraniliprole impaired walking speed and flight take-off probability in both species, with stronger and time-dependent effects in <i>M. beecheii</i>, whereas <i>N. perilampoides</i> showed transient or concentration-dependent responses. Flubendiamide consistently reduced walking speed and severely disrupted flight take-off in both species, particularly after prolonged exposure, even at diluted concentrations. These results demonstrate that diamide insecticides pose species-specific lethal and sublethal risks to stingless bees, highlighting the need to include native meliponine species in pesticide risk assessments.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8078,"journal":{"name":"Apidologie","volume":"57 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148986295","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Differential effects of vitamin D and vitamin E supplementation on post-thaw sperm quality and fertility in cryopreserved drone semen","authors":"Nurdan Coşkun,&nbsp;Cengiz Yildiz,&nbsp;Oğuz Kaan Yalçin,&nbsp;Aziz Gül","doi":"10.1007/s13592-026-01304-1","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s13592-026-01304-1","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Long-term storage of honeybee semen by cryopreservation is essential for preserving genetic resources and supporting sustainable apiculture. This study evaluated the effects of vitamin D and vitamin E supplementation on post-thaw sperm quality and fertility in drone semen. Semen was collected using a Schley-type device and allocated into seven groups, including a non-supplemented control and treatment groups supplemented with vitamin D (25, 50, and 100 ng) or vitamin E (0.5, 1, and 2 mg). In the first experiment, semen from 42 drones per group was cryopreserved, and post-thaw sperm motility, membrane integrity, viability, and longevity were assessed. In the second experiment, 56 queens (<i>n</i> = 8 per group) were instrumentally inseminated to evaluate fertility outcomes. Vitamin E supplementation, particularly at 0.5 mg, significantly improved post-thaw sperm quality parameters, including motility (85%), membrane integrity (97%), and longevity (120 h) (<i>P</i> &lt; 0.05). Fertility outcomes were consistent with these findings, with the highest fertilization rate observed in the 0.5 mg vitamin E group (20.5%, <i>P</i> &lt; 0.01). In contrast, vitamin D supplementation showed a dose-dependent pattern, with the lowest dose (25 ng) associated with reduced sperm longevity and fertility, while higher doses showed partial improvement but remained below vitamin E treatment levels. These results indicate that vitamin E supplementation, particularly at a dose of 0.5 mg, exerts a protective effect on honeybee sperm during cryopreservation by enhancing post-thaw sperm quality and fertility in honeybee semen, offering a practical improvement for bee breeding programs.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8078,"journal":{"name":"Apidologie","volume":"57 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148986293","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Navigating through the high species diversity of wild bees (Hymenoptera: Apoidea) requires more than identification keys","authors":"Noé Barbier Chabot,&nbsp;Vincent Carlier,&nbsp;Adrien Perrard","doi":"10.1007/s13592-026-01299-9","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s13592-026-01299-9","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>In the context of pollinator decline and species-focused conservation measures, the need for data on wild bees continues to grow, and identifying them at a species level has become a crucial issue. This challenge is linked to a lack of naturalist skills, to the difficulty of the group, but also to a lack of tools to train people in this expertise, such as accessible, comprehensive, and up-to-date identification keys. Online multi-access keys are designed to facilitate identification, better illustrate criteria, and enable more fluid updates. These keys require a higher initial investment than dichotomous keys, but they should enable correct identification if they contain at least the information found in the corresponding traditional keys. In this study, we tested whether multi-access keys could help identify wild bees in France. We created three multi-access keys for the three most diverse genera of bees and tested them against dichotomous keys. These tests were carried out by 101 participants each having 15 min per specimen. The resulting 1320 identifications show that the multi-access format returns significantly less correct identifications from the 10 specialists (−19.4%), for longer identification time (+ 156 s). There were no significant differences between the keys for the less-experienced participants. Our results also highlight a high misidentification rate, 23–80% for specialists and 74–100% for beginners, stressing that species identification of wild bees in 15 min using only an identification key is ill-advised. This study suggests that morphological identification keys alone are not enough for fast and accurate species identifications of wild bees.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8078,"journal":{"name":"Apidologie","volume":"57 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13592-026-01299-9.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148927280","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Integrating morphological and molecular perspectives on foraging tactic constancy in a nectar-robbing bumble bee","authors":"Natalie Fischer,&nbsp;Claudineia P. Costa,&nbsp;S. Hollis Woodard","doi":"10.1007/s13592-026-01300-5","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s13592-026-01300-5","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Tactic constancy, where individuals consistently employ particular foraging tactics, provides a framework for linking ecologically relevant behaviors with morphology and neurogenomic state. Bumble bees (<i>Bombus</i>) can show tactic constancy to nectar robbing, a foraging tactic in which individuals bypass floral reproductive structures to access nectar through perforations. Although the ecological drivers of nectar robbing have been studied, its molecular and morphological underpinnings remain entirely unknown. Here, we investigated whether tactic constancy in <i>Bombus bifarius</i> foraging on <i>Linaria vulgaris</i> is associated with body size and brain transcriptomic differences. Workers were categorized as secondary nectar robbers, legitimate foragers, or tactic switchers based on detailed field observations, and were collected for body size measurements and whole brain RNA sequencing. Body size was associated with tactic: legitimate foragers were on average larger, whereas robbers were smaller, and switchers were intermediate. Differential expression analysis of 10,633 filtered genes revealed a small set of differentially expressed genes between nectar robbers and legitimate foragers, with no transcriptomic differences detected between switchers and any other foraging strategy. Together, these results suggest that foraging tactics are associated with body size, with a modest whole-brain transcriptomic signal observed between nectar robbers and legitimate foragers, providing new insights into the mechanistic basis of behavioral specialization in social insect colonies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8078,"journal":{"name":"Apidologie","volume":"57 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13592-026-01300-5.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148927150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Bumble bee queen egg laying is facilitated by both social conditions and nest cavity size","authors":"Meghan E. Moore,&nbsp;Claudinéia P. Costa,&nbsp;Daiki Fujinaga,&nbsp;Kerry E. Mauck,&nbsp;Naoki Yamanaka,&nbsp;Guy Bloch,&nbsp;S. Hollis Woodard","doi":"10.1007/s13592-026-01301-4","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s13592-026-01301-4","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Bumble bees are essential pollinators that have an annual eusocial lifestyle where new cohorts of queens establish colonies each season. The early stages of colony establishment are critical for colony success and are heavily impacted by how readily queens activate their ovaries and initiate egg laying at the start of the season. Understanding the social and nesting factors that influence queen reproduction may provide key insights into early colony establishment. Here, we examine how social conditions and nest cavity size affect the onset of egg laying in early nesting <i>Bombus impatiens</i> queens. In the first experiment, queens were assigned to a social condition where they were placed into nesting boxes that either completely restricted contact with nestmates (and were smaller in size) or allowed direct physical contact and then housed either alone or with nestmates (males or workers). We found that contact with either workers or males accelerated egg laying in queens relative to being housed alone. Unexpectedly, queens housed in the restricted cages, regardless of whether alone or with nestmates, also initiated egg laying earlier. This led us to a second experiment, where we examined ovarian activation and hemolymph juvenile hormone (JH-III) concentrations in early queens housed in different nesting cavity sizes. Here, we found that smaller nest cavity sizes lead to a greater degree of ovarian activation in gynes (young, unmated queens), but juvenile hormone concentrations did not differ. Our findings demonstrate that both social conditions and nest cavity size influence reproductive timing in queens in early-stage bumble bee colonies.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8078,"journal":{"name":"Apidologie","volume":"57 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13592-026-01301-4.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148926491","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Survival and behavior of the solitary bee Centris analis under greenhouse conditions","authors":"Rafaela Tadei,&nbsp;Cláudia Inês da Silva,&nbsp;João P. Marchiori de Claudio,&nbsp;Wesley Angelino de Souza,&nbsp;Rogério Hartung Toppa,&nbsp;Elaine C. Mathias da Silva,&nbsp;Osmar Malaspina","doi":"10.1007/s13592-026-01303-2","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s13592-026-01303-2","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Maintaining pollinators in greenhouses can provide a semi-field environment to investigate the effects of biotic and abiotic factors on bee activity, including pesticide exposure, while enabling studies of behavioral ecology under controlled but realistic conditions. In this study, we evaluated the survival, behavior, and nesting of the solitary bee <i>Centris analis</i> under greenhouse conditions to identify the conditions required to maintain this species in semi-field experiments. Greenhouses were constructed and supplied with floral resources known to be used by <i>C. analis</i>. Male and female bees were released, and survival was monitored daily. Survival was significantly influenced by sex and mating status, with mated males exhibiting longer survival than unmated individuals. Bees survived for more than 30 days under greenhouse conditions, and females consistently outlived males. Nest establishment was primarily driven by the density of <i>Malpighia emarginata</i> flowers rather than female lifespan. Behavioral observations showed that females were most active between 10:00 and 13:00. This study demonstrates, for the first time, that <i>C. analis</i> can be maintained under semi-field (greenhouse) conditions, where individuals exhibited survival and behavioral patterns similar to those observed in the field. However, improving nesting success remains necessary for studies focusing on reproduction. Overall, our findings provide a practical framework for future studies in behavioral ecology, ecotoxicology, and other semi-field experiments with Neotropical solitary bees.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8078,"journal":{"name":"Apidologie","volume":"57 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13592-026-01303-2.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148928119","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The factors influencing the darkening of the nest color of Bombus terrestris L.","authors":"Fan Yang,&nbsp;Mingsheng Zhuang,&nbsp;Yu Fei,&nbsp;Huipeng Yang,&nbsp;Jun Yao,&nbsp;Fugang Liu,&nbsp;Zhongyan Xia,&nbsp;Zhengyi Zhang,&nbsp;Zhihao Zhang,&nbsp;Jilian Li","doi":"10.1007/s13592-026-01294-0","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s13592-026-01294-0","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Nest is an essential habitat for social insects. In the bumblebee colonies, the darkening of nest color is a prominent indicator of colony collapse. However, the reason for nest darkening remains uncertain. In this study, we used <i>Bombus terrestris</i> L. as a model insect to investigate the factors influencing the darkening of the nest color. We used nuclear colonies to confirm the influence of social factors in the colony on the color change of the nest. The results revealed that in the nuclear colonies, the male is a primary contributor to nest darkening. Specifically, when the ratio of males to workers exceeded 1:1, the process of nest darkening accelerated. Additionally, we found that removing males during the later stages of colony development not only delayed nest darkening but also prolonged overall colony growth and development.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8078,"journal":{"name":"Apidologie","volume":"57 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148782448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Nest box volume affects colony initiation in the Neotropical bumblebee Bombus pauloensis under laboratory conditions","authors":"Valentina Stellfeldt,&nbsp;Pablo José Ramello,&nbsp;Gerardo Pablo Gennari,&nbsp;Mariano Lucia","doi":"10.1007/s13592-026-01298-w","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s13592-026-01298-w","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>The Neotropical bumblebee <i>Bombus pauloensis</i> is a native alternative to the exotic commercial pollinators currently used in South American agriculture, most notably <i>Bombus terrestris</i> (Linnaeus, 1758). We evaluated the effect of nest box volume on colony initiation success in 215 field-collected queens from Argentina. Queens were housed in small plastic boxes (400 cm³) or larger wooden boxes (1100 cm³) under controlled laboratory conditions. Overall initiation probability was 61%. Smaller boxes achieved significantly higher success rates (72.1% vs 50.4%; <i>p</i> &lt; 0.01) and shorter initiation latency (15 vs 21 days). Most queens (83.9%) initiated egg cells on the nest floor rather than on pollen pellets. These findings indicate that reduced nest volume promotes faster and more successful colony initiation and provide practical guidelines for the captive rearing of pocket-maker bumblebees.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8078,"journal":{"name":"Apidologie","volume":"57 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148782449","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Scientific note: New natural history observations expanding the feeding habits of the high-Andean bumblebee Bombus funebris","authors":"Yarina Tapuy-Avilés,&nbsp;Joceline López-Poveda,&nbsp;Rúben Pineida,&nbsp;Sebastián Kohn,&nbsp;Marcio Luiz de Oliveira,&nbsp;Alex Pazmiño-Palomino","doi":"10.1007/s13592-026-01296-y","DOIUrl":"10.1007/s13592-026-01296-y","url":null,"abstract":"<div><p>Bees are the main group of pollen and nectar foragers in terrestrial habitats around the world. However, many species visit other resources facultatively, to feed, build nests, or collect essences for reproductive or breeding purposes. In the case of the genus <i>Bombus</i>, visits to non-floral resources have been documented in a few species restricted to the Old World, North and Central America. Here, we describe and illustrate, for the first time, necrophagy and coprophagy in a South American bumblebee, the high-Andean <i>Bombus funebris</i> (Smith, 1854) associated with Andean condor (<i>Vultur gryphus)</i> in Pichincha Province, Ecuador. This natural history information provides novel knowledge on the trophic habits and behavior of South American <i>Bombus</i> species.</p></div>","PeriodicalId":8078,"journal":{"name":"Apidologie","volume":"57 5","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.7,"publicationDate":"2026-08-18","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s13592-026-01296-y.pdf","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"148752348","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"农林科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}