Suitability of resampled multispectral datasets for mapping flowering plants in the Kenyan savannah.

Pollination services and honeybee health in general are important in the African savannahs particularly to farmers who often rely on honeybee products as a supplementary source of income. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the floral cycle, abundance and spatial distribution of melliferous plants in the African savannah landscapes. Furthermore, placement of apiaries in the landscapes could benefit from information on spatiotemporal patterns of flowering plants, by optimising honeybees' foraging behaviours, which could improve apiary productivity.

Detection of Pesticide Residues in Selected Bee Products of Honeybees (Apis melllifera L.) Colonies in a Preliminary Study from Seychelles Archipelago.

Pesticide residues in honey and pollen from Seychelles against a target of 108 pesticides using LC-MS/MS were analyzed. Fifteen pesticides were detected, at trace levels (< 15 ppb) and below the acceptable maximum residue limits (MRLs) as per EU regulations. In honey, six insecticide and three fungicide residues were detected.

Potential distribution dataset of honeybees in Indian Ocean Islands: Case study of Zanzibar Island.

Honeybees () are principal insect pollinators, whose worldwide distribution and abundance is known to largely depend on climatic conditions. However, the presence records dataset on potential distribution of honeybees in Indian Ocean Islands remain less documented. Presence records in shape format and probability of occurrence of honeybees with different temperature change scenarios is provided in this article across Zanzibar Island.

The Biology and Control of the Greater Wax Moth, Galleria mellonella.

The greater wax moth, Linnaeus is a ubiquitous pest of the honeybee, Linnaeus, and Fabricius The greater wax moth larvae burrow into the edge of unsealed cells with pollen, bee brood, and honey through to the midrib of honeybee comb. Burrowing larvae leave behind masses of webs which causes galleriasis and later absconding of colonies. The damage caused by larvae is severe in tropical and sub-tropical regions, and is believed to be one of the contributing factors to the decline in both feral and wild honeybee populations.

Land use and land cover data changes in Indian Ocean Islands: Case study of Unguja in Zanzibar Island.

Land use and land cover changes will continue to affect resilient human communities and ecosystems as a result of climate change. However, an assessment of land use and land cover changes over time in Indian Ocean Islands is less documented. The land use/cover data changes over 10 years at smaller geographical scale across Unguja Island in Zanzibar were analyzed.

Structure, Composition, and Properties of Silk from the African Wild Silkmoth, (Boisduval) (Lepidoptera: Thaumetopoeidae).

Silk cocoon nests, as well as the fiber structure, compositions, and properties of the African wild silkmoth, , collected from Kakamega tropical rainforest (western Kenya) were studied using scanning electron microscopy, high-pressureliquid chromatography, tensile tests, and thermogravmetric analysis, and they were compared with the industrial standard, Cocoon nests are complex structures made up of inner, middle, and outer layers. The inner hard parchment was found to protect a mass of (20-200) individual soft flossy cocoons that enclose the pupae. The outer surface of the cocoon nests was covered with a mass of hair-like bristles.

Study on the microstructure of African wild silk cocoon shells and fibers.

Silk fibers and cocoon shells from four African wild silkmoths Gonometa postica, Anaphe panda, Argema mimosae and Epiphora bauhiniae-were studied to gain insight into the structure-property-function relations and potential commercial application. The surface and cross-section of cocoon shells and fibers revealed the presence of prominent structural variations. Cocoon shells were multilayered and porous structures constructed from highly cross-linked fibers that are densely packed within the sericin/gum.

Demineralization enables reeling of wild silkmoth cocoons.

Wild Silkmoth cocoons are difficult or impossible to reel under conditions that work well for cocoons of the Mulberry silkmoth, Bombyx mori . Here we report evidence that this is caused by mineral reinforcement of Wild Silkmoth cocoons and that washing these minerals out allows for the reeling of commercial lengths of good quality fibers with implications for the development of the "Wild Silk" industry. We show that in the Lasiocampid silkmoth Gonometa postica , the mineral is whewellite (calcium oxalate monohydrate).

Forest habitat conservation in Africa using commercially important insects.

African forests, which host some of the world's richest biodiversity, are rapidly diminishing. The loss of flora and fauna includes economically and socially important insects. Honey bees and silk moths, grouped under commercial insects, are the source for insect-based enterprises that provide income to forest-edge communities to manage the ecosystem.

Management of an ascending aortic aneurysm with coronary artery disease and tracheal compression from a substernal goiter.

We report the case of a 61-year-old female, who presented with a history of chronic fatigue, dyspnea on exertion, a widened mediastinum with tracheal deviation on chest X-ray, and a neck mass. After a diagnostic workup, the patient was found to have a paratracheal mass extending into the chest in addition to a 6.5 cm ascending aortic aneurysm with aortic insufficiency, and a 70% stenosis of the right coronary artery.

American foulbrood and African honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae).

We have taken samples of honey from individual beekeepers (N = 64), and of domestic (N = 35) and imported honey (N = 15) retailed in supermarkets in several sub-Saharan countries and cultivated these samples for Paenibacillus larvae subsp. larvae Heyndrickx et al. causing American foulbrood in honey bee colonies.