Go East for better honey bee health : Apis cerana is faster at hygienic behavior than A. mellifera

dc.contributor.authorLin, Zheguang
dc.contributor.authorPage, Paul
dc.contributor.authorLi, Li
dc.contributor.authorQin, Yao
dc.contributor.authorZhang, Yingying
dc.contributor.authorHu, Fuliang
dc.contributor.authorNeumann, Peter
dc.contributor.authorZheng, Huoqing
dc.contributor.authorDietemann, Vincent
dc.date.accessioned2016-10-26T12:30:24Z
dc.date.available2016-10-26T12:30:24Z
dc.date.issued2016-09-08
dc.description.abstractThe poor health status of the Western honey bee, Apis mellifera, compared to its Eastern counterpart, Apis cerana, is remarkable. This has been attributed to lower pathogen prevalence in A. cerana colonies and to their ability to survive infestations with the ectoparasitic mite, Varroa destructor. These properties have been linked to an enhanced removal of dead or unhealthy immature bees by adult workers in this species. Although such hygienic behavior is known to contribute to honey bee colony health, comparative data of A. mellifera and A. cerana in performing this task are scarce. Here, we compare for the first time the removal of freeze-killed brood in one population of each species and over two seasons in China. Our results show that A. cerana was significantly faster than A. mellifera at both opening cell caps and removing freeze-killed brood. The fast detection and removal of diseased brood is likely to limit the proliferation of pathogenic agents. Given our results can be generalized to the species level, a rapid hygienic response could contribute to the better health of A. cerana. Promoting the fast detection and removal of worker brood through adapted breeding programs could further improve the social immunity of A. mellifera colonies and contribute to a better health status of the Western honey bee worldwide.en_ZA
dc.description.departmentZoology and Entomologyen_ZA
dc.description.librarianam2016en_ZA
dc.description.sponsorshipModern Agroindustry Technology Research System (No. CARS- 45) and Science and Technology Department of Zhejiang Province, China (No. 2012C12906-19) to F. H., by the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities to H.Z., by a Swiss National Science Foundation grant (No. 31003A_147363) to V. D. and P.N. and by the Vinetum Foundation to P.N.en_ZA
dc.description.urihttp://www.plosone.orgen_ZA
dc.identifier.citationLin, ZG, Page, P, Li, L, Qin, Y, Zhang, YY, Hu, FL, Neumann, P, Zheng, HQ & Dietemann, V (2016) Go East for Better Honey Bee Health: Apis cerana Is Faster at Hygienic Behavior than A. mellifera. PLoS ONE 11(9): e0162647. DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0162647.en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn1932-6203
dc.identifier.other10.1371/journal.pone.0162647
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2263/57467
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherPublic Library of Scienceen_ZA
dc.rights© 2016 Lin et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License.en_ZA
dc.subjectApis ceranaen_ZA
dc.subjectWestern honey beeen_ZA
dc.subjectHealth statusen_ZA
dc.subjectChinaen_ZA
dc.subjectHoneybee (Apis mellifera)en_ZA
dc.titleGo East for better honey bee health : Apis cerana is faster at hygienic behavior than A. melliferaen_ZA
dc.typeArticleen_ZA

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