Honeybees defend their colonies aggressively against intruders and release a potent alarm pheromone to recruit nestmates into defensive tasks. The effect of floral odours on this behaviour has never been studied, despite the relevance of these olfactory cues for the biology of bees. Here we use a novel assay to…
Tolerance to Varroa destructor in Ireland
In North County Dublin, Ireland, a region that has a relatively self-contained beekeeping regime with little movement of colonies or queens into the area, tolerance (co-adaptation) to varroa mites is becoming established.
Estimating C-lineage Introgression
Conservation efforts for A. m. mellifera are underway in multiple European
countries requiring reliable and cost-efficient molecular tools to identify purebred colonies. Here, we developed four ancestry-informative SNP assays for high sample throughput genotyping using the iPLEX Mass Array system.
Is the Dark Bee Really Native to Britain and Ireland?
This article by Dorian Pritchard was originally published in BIM 30 Winter 2008
Breeding for resistance to Varroa destructor in Europe
The rich variety of native honeybee subspecies and ecotypes in Europe offers a good genetic resource for selection towards Varroa resistance.
Work with Bangor University
North Wales BIBBA groups have teamed up with South Clwyd Beekeepers and Bangor University.
The first study by Bangor concerned a survey of bee wings throughout South Clwyd. The wings were analysed using DrawWing and Morphplot. The samples were collected by BIBBA breeding groups and members of SCBKA and then tested by a number of BIBBA queen rearers and the Bangor researcher Elise Keller.
A similar study was conducted in 2015 by Bangor’s Sue Loughran and a third one in 2016 by Bangor’s Cheryl Owen.
Starting this winter it is hoped that a particularly interesting study will be conducted which compares the DNA of the samples collected in 2015 and 2016 with their wing patterns and behavioural traits.
New Approach to the Mitotype Classification
The main problem of the black honeybee in Russia and European countries is the preservation of the indigenous gene pool purity; A new approach to the classification of the honeybee M mitotypes was suggested.
Neonicotinoids and Bumblebees
Professor Dave Goulson – Bees, Pesticide and Politics: the impact of neonicotinoids on UK bumblebees
The health and status of the feral honeybee population of the UK
abstract of thesis Catherine Eleanor Thompson:
While declines in managed honeybee colonies are well documented, little is known about the health and status of feral honeybee populations. To date no studies have considered the wider pathogen burden in feral colonies, whether they represent a genetically distinct population, a remnant native population or a unique source of genetic resistance.
Caging Virgin Queens
Comparing Alternative Methods for Holding Virgin Honey Bee Queens for One Week in Mailing Cages before Mating