Evaluation of cage designs and feeding regimes for honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) laboratory experiments.

The aim of this study was to improve cage systems for maintaining adult honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) workers under in vitro laboratory conditions. To achieve this goal, we experimentally evaluated the impact of different cages, developed by scientists of the international research network COLOSS (Prevention of honey bee COlony LOSSes), on the physiology and survival of honey bees. We identified three cages that promoted good survival of honey bees. The bees from cages that exhibited greater survival had relatively lower titers of deformed wing virus, suggesting that deformed wing virus is a significant marker reflecting stress level and health status of the host. We also determined that a leak- and drip-proof feeder was an integral part of a cage system and a feeder modified from a 20-ml plastic syringe displayed the best result in providing steady food supply to bees. Finally, we also demonstrated that the addition of protein to the bees' diet could significantly increase the level ofvitellogenin gene expression and improve bees' survival. This international collaborative study represents a critical step toward improvement of cage designs and feeding regimes for honey bee laboratory experiments.

[Sudden die-off of honeybee colonies]. / Bal Arilarinda Ani Koloni Sönmesi.

Apis mellifera is used for honeybee keeping all over Turkey. Recently, honeybees have been suddenly disappearing for no apparent reason. It is presumed that some viral and parasitic honeybee pathogens are responsible for this. No medical research has been conducted to determine the pathologic causes of the sudden die-off of the honeybee colonies in Turkey as yet. This is of urgent importance for future of the honeybee industry.