Evaluation of Cage Designs and Feeding Regimes for Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Laboratory Experiments

Huang, Shao Kang; Csaki, Tamas; Doublet, Vincent; Dussaubat, Claudia; Evans, Jay D.; Gajda, Anna M.; Gregorc, Alex; Hamilton, Michele C.; Kamler, Martin; Lecocq, Antoine; Muz, Mustafa N.; Neumann, Peter; Özkirim, Asli; Schiesser, Aygün; Sohr, Alex R.; Retschnig, Gina; Tozkar, Cansu Özge; Williams, Geoffrey R.; Wu, Lyman; Zheng, Huoqing; ... (2014). Evaluation of Cage Designs and Feeding Regimes for Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Laboratory Experiments. Journal of economic entomology, 107(1), pp. 54-62. Oxford University Press 10.1603/EC13213

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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.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH)
05 Veterinary Medicine > Department of Clinical Research and Veterinary Public Health (DCR-VPH) > Institute of Bee Health

UniBE Contributor:

Neumann, Peter (B), Retschnig, Gina, Williams, Geoffrey Rhys

Subjects:

500 Science > 590 Animals (Zoology)
600 Technology > 630 Agriculture
500 Science > 570 Life sciences; biology

ISSN:

0022-0493

Publisher:

Oxford University Press

Language:

English

Submitter:

Gina Retschnig

Date Deposited:

18 Mar 2015 11:22

Last Modified:

29 Mar 2023 23:34

Publisher DOI:

10.1603/EC13213

PubMed ID:

24665684

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.64851

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/64851

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