Honey bees are economically important insects for crop pollination. They play a significant role as pollinators of wild plants and agricultural crops and produce economical products, such as honey, royal jelly, wax, pollen, propolis, and venom. Despite their ecological and economical importance, the global honey bee population is in decline due to factors including pathogens, parasites, intensive agriculture, and pesticides.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBee venom (BV), or apitoxin, is a complex substance produced by a gland in the abdominal cavity of bees. The main component of BV is melittin, which is a largely studied substance due to its biological properties. To date, the most well-known bee venom and melittin are derived from domesticated honey bees, while venom and melittin derived from wild honey bees have been under-investigated.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHoneybees are globally threatened by several pathogens, especially deformed wing virus (DWV), as the presence of DWV in western honeybees is indicative of colony loss. The high mortality rate is further exacerbated by the lack of effective treatment, and therefore understanding the immune and apoptosis responses could pave an avenue for the treatment method. In this study, DWV was directly injected into the white-eyed pupae stage of western honeybees ().
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAmerican foulbrood (AFB) disease is caused by Paenibacillus larvae. Currently, this pathogen is widespread in the European honey bee-Apis mellifera. However, little is known about infectivity and pathogenicity of P.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBlack queen cell virus (BQCV) has been found in honey bees worldwide. By using the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) technique, BQCV was detected in a non-native species, Apis mellifera L., collected in both Thailand and Japan, and three other honey bee species (Apis cerana indica F.
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