NEWS Back to top
French Bees under threat
In a sort of ‘bee history repeat’ French honey bees are now under
threat from hoards from the East. Apis mellifera mellifera, the
native subspecies also known as the dark bee, is losing out to
central and eastern European breeds because beekeepers find them
easier to handle and less likely to sting.
Lionel Garnery, a bee specialist at the University of Versailles and
a champion of Gallic bees, estimates the dark bee makes up around 75
percent of stocks in France after being totally dominant in the late
1980s. “If too many are imported, in certain regions, we risk
causing the disappearance of local stocks that are best adapted to
local ecosystems,” Garnery said. The rival Apis mellifera carnica
bees (Carniolans) are known for their calm temperaments and
beekeepers like them simply because of their ease of handling.
Probably due to successive beekeeping crises, caused by parasites
and insecticides, which decimated dark bee stocks, apiculturists
brought in overseas
A difference of opinion exists in the minds of beekeeping experts in
France over the probable future of the French bee. Professionals
have always preferred more prolific breeds compared to the dark bee,
which has several vulnerabilities,” said Thierry Fedon, one of
France’s largest bee breeders. “But I don’t think its survival is
threatened—we are only talking about certain honey-producing regions
and the dark bee does rather well on its own in nature.” But Raymond
Borneck disagrees. A former head of beekeeping professional and
technical associations whose career dates back to 1946, Borneck says
the dark bees’ future is “more or less a lost cause”. Apiculturists
must continue to survive and I think they will be using these other
races more and more,” he said.
New Bee Fossil Find
Scientists have identified the oldest known bee, a 100
million-year-old specimen preserved in amber. The discovery
coincides with the recent publication of the genetic blueprint of
the honeybee, which reveals surprising links with mammals, including
humans.
The ancient insect, trapped in tree sap, is at least 35-45 million
years older than any other known bee fossil. It appears to share
features with both bees and wasps, and supports theories of bee
evolution. (Experts believe pollen-dependent bees arose from
carnivorous wasp ancestors).
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| Wasp like Mellitosphex burmensis preserved in
amber, the oldest bee fossil found and thought to be
around 100 million years old. |
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With the arrival of pollinating bees, flowering plants blossomed on
Earth. Prior to 100 million years ago, the plant world was dominated
by conifers which spread their seeds on the wind. George Poinar,
professor of zoology at Oregon State University, US, whose team
reported the discovery in the journal Science, said: “This is the
oldest known bee we’ve ever been able to identify, and it shares
some of the features of wasps.
“But overall it’s more bee than wasp, and gives us a pretty good
idea of when these two types of insects were separating on their
evolutionary paths.”
The amber specimen, from a mine in the Hukawng Valley of northern
Burma, has been named Melittosphex burmensis. It has waspish
features, such as narrow hind legs, but also branched body hair and
other characteristics of bees.
The fossil bee is in remarkable condition, with individual hairs
preserved on undamaged portions of thorax, legs, abdomen and head.
Legs and wings are also clearly visible.
The bee’s biological clock shares similarities with that of mammals
In terms of size it is tiny, measuring barely 3mm across. This is
consistent with evidence that some of the earliest flowers were also
small.
Professor Poinar added: “This fossil may help us understand when
wasps, which were mostly just meat-eating carnivores, turned into
bees that could pollinate plants and serve a completely different
biological function.”
As you will have read, scientists have also recently published the
genetic blueprint of the western honeybee Apis mellifera which is
the fourth insect to have its genome sequenced, after the fruit fly,
mosquito and silk moth. Locked within bee DNA there are striking
links with mammals and humans, scientists discovered. Like humans,
honeybees spread into Europe from Africa, making at least two
ancient migrations. They split into two genetically different
European populations which, according to DNA evidence, are more
closely related to African honeybees than to each other. Honey bees
have an internal "biological clock" which is more like those of
mammals than of flies, the research has revealed. The clock governs
many activities, including time sensing, navigation, labour
division, and the famous bee "dance language" which the insects use
to communicate information about food sources.
UK NEWS Back to top
Hive beetle Found!
This interesting report comes to us from Cyril McComb writing in the Federation of Berkshire Beekeepers Associations Newsletter of
November 2006. Cyril asks if this is the first recorded instance of
such an event?
Beetles in the hive are not good news at the moment. However, this
specimen turned out to be very unusual. The colony had been
struggling all summer, the problem being a severe infestation of
varroa. Its treatment with Apiguard had proved fruitless. The result
was a pile of rather smelly bees, left exposed on the floor of the
WBC hive upon removal of the brood box.
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The
Sexton Beetle. Possibly Nicrophorus Investigator |
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The heap was gently moving up and down and investigation revealed a
very large black beetle, banded with orange, foraging amongst the
rotting debris. This turned out to be one of the several species of
the banded sexton beetle to be found in Britain, probably
Nicrophorus Investigator.
Normally the beetle searches for dead creatures, such as birds or
small mammals. Having found one, it proceeds to bury the corpse
beneath the soil, before removing feathers or fur and covering the
cadaver with a mucus-like substance, which masks the smell of decay.
This ensures that the beetle’s larvae, when they emerge from their
eggs, have the food source very much to themselves. The beetle and
its mate are also unusual insomuch that they care for the young
grubs, feeding them with regurgitated flesh from the rotting corpse.
The beetle, when removed from the hive, proved to be covered with
mites, although not those of varroa. These gamasid mites were simply
hitching a ride and are not believed to be injurious to the host.
Their prey is blowfly larvae and clinging to the beetle is the
certain route to an infested corpse.
The writer wonders if this is the first instance of a banded sexton
beetle being found in a beehive.
Man, manhole, and bees
Earlier this month, a colony of bees was saved after being found in
a manhole in Jersey. Don Anfray, the beekeeper who rescued
them, says it is the strangest place he has ever found them. Parish
workmen called him after they saw bees flying in and out of a
manhole on Queen’s Road. The 5,000 bees were thriving and had built
comb.
Fearing they would have to be destroyed Mr Anfray took them home
to his hives where he says they are doing well and will be producing
honey for next year.
(Let us know the strangest place that you have found a comb. I think
for my part, it was at RAF Waddington in Lincolnshire, the main gate
of which couldn’t be guarded (at the height of the IRA campaign),
because the well armed guards were too scared to be there because of
a swarm in the nearby hedge. Ed).
RESEARCH NEWS Back to top
Global Warming and Trees
Trees and other plants are the lifeblood of bees and beekeepers and
it has often crossed many a beekeeper’s mind how exactly global
warming will affect trees and so affect their own beekeeping
activities. It is of course doubtful that changes will come about
rapidly but even now most of us have noticed differences in the
timings of the flowering plants. But if matters change significantly
over time, how will this affect trees. Now scientists are making
some progress with this type of study. Research undertaken by
scientists at the University of Illinoise at Urbana-Champaign, shows
that trees appear to respond slower to climate change than
previously thought
Genetic analysis of living spruce trees provides strong evidence for
the presence of a tree refuge in Alaska during the height of the
last glacial period (17,000 to 25,000 years ago), and suggests that
trees cannot migrate in response to climate change as quickly as
some scientists thought.
White spruce (Picea glauca) is a dominant species in the boreal
forests of North America. In their study, the researchers analyzed
chloroplast DNA from 24 spruce forests in Alaska and Canada. Because
chloroplast DNA contains genes inherited from only one parent, there
is no confusing genetic recombination to take into account.
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Spruce may have survived the
last glacial maximum in tree refuges |
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They found a significant pattern in the geographic distribution of
the chloroplast DNA haplotypes (groups of individuals with similar
sequences of base pairs of genetic material) that differentiates
into two regions.
The chloroplast DNA, offers compelling evidence that white spruce
survived the last glacial maximum and probably some of the previous
glacial episodes in Alaska. This survival must have been facilitated
by the existence of favourable microhabitats … and by adaptations of
these trees to harsh climate.
The DNA data help resolve an old controversy over the manner in
which trees had migrated in response to past climate change, said
Feng Sheng Hu, professor of plant biology and geology at Illinois
and corresponding author of the paper.
One view is that trees were restricted to areas south of the
continental ice sheets covering North America, and then migrated
extremely rapidly as the climate grew warmer. The other view is that
there was a refuge in the ice-free areas north of the ice sheets,
and spruce trees expanded within those areas as the climate warmed.
It now seems clear that a glacial refuge did exist and so the trees
advanced from at least two directions.
Based on the data, it also appears likely that the migration rate
was lower than previously thought.
These results suggest that current estimated rates of tree migration
from fossil pollen records are too high and that the ability of
trees to keep pace with global warming is more limited than
previously thought. Additional analysis of fossil pollen in
sediments, as well as DNA data from living trees, could help pin
down the actual rate of tree movement over time. The researchers’
findings also illustrate the great resilience of white spruce – and
perhaps other tree species – to climate change, and have important
implications for the future.
For example, isolated populations of trees might persist in locally
suitable habitats for long periods after regional climatic
conditions have become unfavourable as a result of rapid global
warming. This resilience might reduce the probability of species
extinction and allow time for efforts at biodiversity conservation.
Or maybe not….
Pollen helps anglers!
Pollen has been shown for the first time to benefits lakes. Mark
Graham, a PhD student from the Department of Biological Sciences at
the U of A has concluded that rich in nutrients, pollen is an
essential component of plant fertilization but few think of its
importance to fertilize lakes. Wind-dispersed pollen in early summer
is not only visually striking, but it can represent a substantial
pulse of nutrients to northern lakes. Graham’s research team found
that plankton responded strongly to additions of pollen in
experimental enclosures, located along the shorelines of three
boreal lakes in northwestern Ontario’s Experimental Lakes Area.
“Specifically, pollen subsidized the lake water nutrient levels and
in turn, promoted the abundance of plankton,” said Graham, who is
working with Dr. Rolf Vinebrooke in the U of A’s Freshwater
Biodiversity Laboratory. “Our findings strongly suggest that pollen
is an important linkable between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems
in northern environments.”
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|
Spruce may have survived the
last glacial maximum in tree refuges |
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By increasing the availability of plankton, an important food
resource for forage fish, the production of harvestable sport fish
may also rise, all thanks to pollen.
This research is published in the current issue of the journal
“Limnology and Oceanography.”
Using common dirt to fight hay fever
A new drugs that trick the immune system into thinking that it is
under attack, could soon be used to tackle hayfever according to
scientists. Allergic reactions occur when the body’s defences react
to harmless substances, such as pollen, and research suggests that
diverting the immune system could be a successful way of preventing
them.
Cytos Biotechnology, a company based in Zurich, Switzerland, has
developed an experimental drug that fools the immune system into
thinking that it is under attack from a germ called mycobacteria,
found in dirt, and early results suggest a benefit for hay fever.
When 10 people suffering from hay fever were injected with the drug,
CYT 003-QbG10, their sensitivity to grass pollen was reduced by a
factor of 100, New Scientist magazine reports. Cytos said that the
patients remained symptom-free for up to eight months, but it is not
yet known whether the results are permanent. A previous study
indicated similar benefits for patients allergic to dust mites. They
are symptom-free a year on. Cytos has begun a study on more than 100
people with hay fever, dust mite allergy and atopic dematitis.
Mycobacteria, also found in soil, are pathogens to which people are
exposed at much lower levels than in the past. Artificial exposure
may “reboot” the immune system.
Evolution and the Compound Eye
What has a fruit fly got that a bee doesn’t have?
Researchers at the University of California, San Diego have
discovered that the presence of a key protein in the compound eyes
of the fruit fly (which glow at centre due to a fluorescent protein)
allows the formation of distinct light gathering units in each of
its 800 unit eyes, an evolutionary change to an “open system” that
enabled insects to make significant improvements in visual acuity
and angular sensitivity. In contrast, beetles, bees and many
mosquito species have the light-gathering units fused together into
a “closed system.
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In a paper published in the online edition of the journal Nature,
the scientists report that one of three proteins needed to form
these light gathering units is present in the visual system of fruit
flies, house flies and other insects with open eye systems, but
conspicuously absent in beetles, bees and other species with closed
systems. The researchers showed that the loss of this protein,
called “spacemaker,” can convert the eyes of fruitflies—which
normally have open eye systems—into a closed one.
In contrast, the introduction of spacemaker into eyes with a closed
system transformed them into an open one. “These results help
illustrate the beauty and power of evolution and show how ‘little
steps’—like the presence of a single structural protein—can so
spectacularly account for major changes in form and function,” said
Charles Zuker, a professor of biology and neurosciences at UCSD and
a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, who headed the
research team.
Bees and Flight Distance
This interesting piece of research adds considerably to our
knowledge of how bees judge distance when dancing.
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Image motion gives honey bees distance cues |
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“Our study suggests that honeybees use cues based primarily on image
motion to monitor flight distances of hundreds of meters in natural
outdoor environments,” reports Science author Mandyam V. Srinivasan.
Passing many visual landmarks-such as trees or flowers-makes the
insects feel they have travelled a long way, just as telephone poles
whizzing by a car window may enhance a passenger’s sensation of
speed, says Srinivasan, a professor with the Australian National
University’s (ANU) Centre for Visual Science within the Research
School of Biological Sciences. When foraging bees locate a meal more
than 50 meters from the hive, it has long been known that they
return to the colony and waggle their abdomens in the direction of
the food source. The longer the dance, the farther the journey to
food. If a meal is located closer than 50 meters, bees simply turn a
few circles, performing what’s called a “round dance.”
In the late 1960s, other researchers had suggested that bees
determine the distance to food based on the amount of energy
expended during flight, Thomas Collett of the University of Sussex
(U.K.) explains in a related Science “Perspectives” essay on
Srinivasan’s work. Then, in 1996, a different team discovered that
bees flying between very tall buildings performed waggle dances
suggesting they had flown half the distance signalled by bees
travelling the same course near street level, presumably because “as
the ground drops away, it doesn’t seem to move as quickly by the
bees’ eyes,” Srinivasan says.
Building on this earlier work, Srinivasan and his coauthors-Shaowu
W. Zhang of ANU and Monika Altwein and Jüergen Tautz of Germany’s
Universität Würzburg-have prompted bees to waggle even when food is
close to the hive, by bombarding their eyes with optical cues during
the journey. The research, sponsored by the U.S. Defence Advanced
Research Project Agency (DARPA) and the Australian Defence, Science
and Technology Organization, ultimately may guide new military
technologies. “We are interested in exploring the possibility of
developing autonomous, flying vehicles that incorporate some
principle of insect vision to avoid obstacles, perhaps for
surveillance applications,” Srinivasan says.
Such technologies might include, for example, “microair vehicles,”
just six inches long or smaller, adds Alan S. Rudolph, a DARPA
program manager. To test bees’ optical odometers, Srinivasan’s group
sent Apis mellifera lingustica Spinola specimens on a search for
snacks inside a narrow tunnel, which was 6.4 meters long, 20
centimetres high, and only 11 centimetres wide-roughly 21 feet by 8
inches by 4.3 inches. The tunnel entrance was positioned near a
specially designed “bee farm,” a hive sandwiched between transparent
observation windows. In a series of experiments, a feeder was then
placed near the tunnel entrance, or 6 meters inside the tunnel, so
that it was between 35 and 41 meters from the hive, a distance known
to prompt only round dances among bees flying outdoors.
Decorating the tunnel’s interior with a random, black-and-white
pattern prompted most bees (90 percent) to waggle, although they
danced in circles when flying similar distances between various
outdoor feeders on the ANU campus. When the tunnel was adorned
instead with horizontal black and white stripes, bees mainly
performed round dances (86.7 percent), apparently because they were
flying parallel with the lines, and therefore weren’t receiving an
exaggerated amount of optical input. Flying close to tunnel
walls-particularly those decorated with overly busy
wallpaper-amplified the bees’ perception of distance, skewing the
insects’ optical odometer by as much as a factor of 31, the Science
paper concludes. Consequently, 6 meters inside a tunnel feels to a
bee like 186 meters outdoors.
In summary, a bee waggles one millisecond for every 17.7 degrees of
image-motion it sees, the researchers found. The formula isn’t
absolute because a bee’s perception of distance is “environment
dependent,” the researchers report. But, the findings should help
scientists better understand the optical mechanisms that allows bees
to locate a promising buffet.
The evolution of social behaviour in Bees
One of the questions in the evolution of bees is how some species
developed social behaviours and over the last century there has been
a wealth of research carried out on the subject. Now, Arizona State
University Life Sciences associate professor Amdam thinks part of
the answer can be traced back to bee reproductive traits.
Beekeepers will know that honeybees live in highly complex communal
societies that include divisions of labour among worker bees.
Workers are female bees whose jobs include cleaning, maintaining and
defending the hive, raising the young and foraging for nectar and
pollen.
Other species of bees, like carpenter bees, do not engage in social
behaviour and instead lead solitary lives. This has prompted
researchers to look into how social structures and divisions of
labour have arisen in bees from their solitary ancestors. Amdam’s
research supports the idea that elements of the reproductive
behaviour of those ancestors evolved to form a basis for social
living and divisions of labour. This insight provides evidence for
how complex social behaviour evolves—evidence that could have value
for studies of social behaviour in other animals, possibly even
humans.
“How social life emerged from a solitary lifestyle is a fundamental
question,” Amdam said. “One theory is that social behaviour emerged
through new evolutionary inventions. Another is that ancestral
solitary phenotypes (characteristics of an organism) were the
building blocks of social life, providing a foundation from which
social forms could be assembled. For bees, our research supports the
latter theory.” Amdam’s research began as a doctoral dissertation at
the Norwegian University of Life Sciences. She continued the work at
University of California, Davis in 2003 researching the evolution of
social behaviour and aging in bees.
While at Davis, Amdam met Professor Robert Page, who was breeding
honeybee strains distinguished by whether the worker bees were more
likely to collect pollen or nectar. Besides their differing
collecting habits, the strains possessed various other physiological
and sense-related traits, but researchers did not understand how
these suites of traits emerged. Together, Amdam and Page theorized
that foraging behaviour could have something to do with reproductive
differences in the worker bees of the two strains. “Worker
bees—which are exclusively female—are considered to be
‘facultatively sterile,’ meaning that when a queen is present, they
do not lay eggs,” Amdam said. “However, if the queen is removed,
some of these females develop their ovaries and lay eggs.” Foraging
for pollen is a maternal reproductive behaviour in solitary species
of bees, while non-reproductive solitary bees feed mostly on nectar.
Amdam wondered if similar relationships were present in the highly
social worker bees. She noticed that a certain protein—called
vitellogenin—associated with a bee’s reproductive status was more
common in the strain of bees that preferred to forage for pollen
(identified by Amdam as the high pollen-hoarding strain). Low levels
of this protein were associated with bees that foraged mostly for
nectar (the low pollen-hoarding strain).
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| Foraging for pollen is a maternal reproductive behaviour in solitary bees.
Is there a similar relationship in highly social honey bees?
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Using that as a foundation, Amdam and Page hypothesized that that
the high pollen-hoarding strain of social worker bees, although
non-reproductive, represented the maternal, reproductive state of
its solitary ancestors, who presumably foraged for pollen when
reproductively active. By contrast, the low pollen-hoarding strain
of worker bees represented the state of those same ancestors when
they were not reproductively active. Due to the emergence of
colonies with queens responsible for reproduction, the ancestral
foraging states were no longer linked to reproductive activity in
worker bees, predicted Amdam. But the states could still influence
foraging behaviour, resulting in a division of labour between
pollen-foraging and nectar-foraging worker bees. To test this
hypothesis, Amdam set up a race of sorts to determine which strain
of worker bees became reproductively active the fastest. She
separated the high and low pollen-hoarding strains into “teams,”
with the high pollen-hoarding strain representing the ancestral
maternal reproductive state, and the low pollen-hoarding strain
representing the non-reproductive state. If her hypothesis were
correct, the high pollen-hoarders would win the race and develop
ovaries sooner than the low pollen-hoarders.
Amdam’s prediction proved to be correct when after 10 to 21 days, 76
percent of the high pollen-hoarding strain had developed active
ovaries, compared to 42 percent of worker bees in the low
pollen-hoarding strain. Students working with Amdam also noticed
that the winning strain of worker bees was characterized by larger
ovaries, which would contribute to greater reproductive output,
furthering the case that foraging behaviour was tied to reproductive
traits.
Amdam then put her results to a crucial test—wild-type bees (bees
that had not been used in the experiment) were captured after their
first foraging flight. Amdam and her team recorded what the bees
brought back from the forage and measured their ovaries.
Results from the experiment validated her hypothesis, showing that
pollen collection was primarily conducted by worker bees with larger
ovaries, cementing the connection between high pollen-hoarding
strains and reproductive traits. Amdam also found it remarkable that
other physiological traits known to differ between the two strains
also correlated with ovary size in the experiment. The success of
Amdam’s research could prove more far-reaching than just the
evolution of bee social behaviour—scientists can use the findings as
a stepping stone when looking at the social evolution of other
animals. “Our findings identify a bridgehead between solitary and
social behaviour,” Amdam said. “If we can understand the emergence
social behaviour in one system, we can use this insight to create a
more general model. Once we have a general model, we can build new
hypotheses that outline how similar principles might apply to other
animals.”
A paper describing Amdam’s experiments, “Complex social behaviour
derived from maternal reproductive traits,” was the cover story of a
2006 issue (Jan. 5, 2006) of Nature. Additional authors of the paper
included M. Kim Fondrk and Robert Page from Arizona State
University, and Angela Csondes from the University of California,
Davis.
Scientists Identify 36 Genes, 100 Neuropeptides in Honey Bee
Brains
From humans to honey bees, neuropeptides control brain activity and,
hence, our behaviours. Understanding the roles these peptides play
in the life of a honey bee assists researchers in understanding the
roles they play in their human counterparts.
There are a million neurons in the brain of a honey bee (Apis
Mellifera and the activities of these neurons are influenced by the
sea of peptides they are bathed in and these Neuropeptides play a
role in the bees’ shift from working in the hive to foraging,
displaying and interpreting dance language, and in defending the
hive say researchers of the Roy J. Carver Biotechnology Centre at
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and in order to use
the honey bee as a model for sociogenomics, and to link molecular
information to neurochemical and physiological data, they first must
know the identities of the peptides used in the brain and the genes
they are encoded by.
Using a combination of the newly available honey bee genome
sequence, as well as bioinformatics and mass spectrometry,
collaborators from the United States and Belgium inferred the
sequences of more than 200 possible neuropeptides and confirmed the
sequences of 100 neuropeptides from the brain of the honey bee.
This study lays the groundwork for future molecular studies of honey
bee neuropeptides with the identification of 36 genes, 33 of which
were previously unreported, the researchers write in the Oct. 27
issue of the journal Science.
Some of the neuropeptides the researchers discovered were a result
of direct measurements of bee brains using an extremely sensitive
mass spectrometer. Some of the genes were found because they
resembled genes discovered in other species, such as the fruit fly
(Drosophila melanogaster). And, because genes that produce
neuropeptides often have repeating sequences, some of the genes were
found by a computer algorithm that scanned the honey bee genome for
such telltale sequences.
The research found 36 genes, from which were detected 100 peptides
by mass spectrometry and by combining other techniques, from
bioinformatics to proteomics, an additional 100 peptides were
inferred. They admit that some of the inferred peptides may not have
been measured because they were present at too low a level to be
detected. Others may have been missed because they are present only
during particular developmental stages. Future work will no doubt
find and confirm more of the brain’s peptides.
At
http://www.neurobiologie.fu-berlin.de/beebrain/Model.html, they
present model which allows you to view and experience the Virtual
Honeybee Brain visually and interactively in all three dimensions.
It’s well worth a look especially for those interested in this type
of research. You can down load the complete atlas of the honey bee
brain.
Amazing Hymenoptera Displaces Shrimps in the Record Book
Can you imagine going to a sports meeting and watching an average
man launch himself 44 feet into the air or 132 feet in the long
jump? A miracle indeed, but one member of the hymenoptera, the trap
jaw ant has evolved this capability simply by snapping their jaws
and can move these distances (comparative to their size) with no
difficulties. In fact, the mandibles of this ant have evolved two
entirely separate functions, one to attack and capture their prey
and the other to escape in a hurry a lizards flicking tongue.
This species of ant is a native to Central and South America and is
entering the annals of extreme animal movement, boasting jaws
arguably more impressive than such noteworthy contenders as the
great white shark and the spotted hyena.
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| The Trap jaw ant showing the incredibly fast mandibles about to snap shut.
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Trap-jaw ants, Odontomachus bauri, fire their mandibles with such
acceleration that when the mandibles strike a hard surface, the
forces generated are strong enough to propel the ants’ bodies
through the air. In the ‘escape jump’, the ant’s trajectory is
directed upward. In a ‘bouncer defence jump’ by comparison, the ant
clears a greater horizontal distance.
In clocking the speed at which the trap-jaw ant closes its
mandibles, scientists found that they could do this at 35 to 64
meters per second, or 78 to 145 miles per hour - an action they say
is the fastest self-powered predatory strike in the animal kingdom.
The average duration of a strike was a mere 0.13 milliseconds, or
2,300 times faster than the blink of an eye. A research team at the
University of California, Berkeley, calculated the kinematics of the
trap-jaw ant’s mandible strikes with the help of advances in
high-speed videography.
The jaws, used to capture prey and to defend the ant from harm,
accelerate at 100,000 times the force of gravity, with each jaw
generating forces exceeding 300 times the insect’s body weight. The
ants in the study had body masses ranging from 12.1 to 14.9
milligrams. The researchers believe that the truly relevant number
here is not the incredible mandible closing speed, but the
acceleration that is most impressive. The acceleration is huge
relative to the tiny mass of the mandibles. The mandibles are
operating in the outer known limits in biology in terms of speed and
acceleration.
The researchers acknowledged that falcons can dive as fast as 300
miles per hour, but say that the raptors must start from very high
altitudes and get a boost from the force of gravity to reach those
speeds. In comparison, animals such as trap-jaw ants and mantis
shrimp (which formerly held the record for swiftest strike in the
animal world) utilize energy stored within their own bodies. The
mandibles of the trap-jaw ant, for instance, are held cocked by a
pair of huge, contracting muscles in the head. The muscles are
sprung when their corresponding latches, each on a shield-like plate
called the clypeus, are triggered.
Having this latch system is critical in obtaining the explosive
speeds. In general, muscles aren’t good at generating fast
movements. As an example, if a person were to throw an arrow, it
wouldn’t get very far. But by using a crossbow, elastic energy is
stored in the bow, and a latch releases the stored energy almost
instantaneously. As a result, the arrow shoots out very fast and
goes much farther. That’s exactly what really fast organisms are
doing.
It’s no wonder, then, that the trap jaw ants can launch themselves
into the air with a mere snap of their jaws, achieving heights up to
8.3 centimetres and horizontal distances up to 39.6 centimetres.
ARTICLES Back to top
Bees and Rotating Hives (Part 5 of 5)
Ian now concludes his fascinating 5 part look at bees and rotating
hives. I think that the whole series has been excellent, so thanks
Ian and tell us more as soon as you can.
A problem now exists however concerning the two experiments with
vertical magnetic fields due to the deviation of comb alignment
being in one case 70 degrees, and in the other 90. Before proceeding
further it would appear advisable to reconsider this situation to
see whether some rational explanation may be forthcoming.
From the site diagram below, the position, and relative angles,
regarding compass alignments, are shown and it is apparent that hive
6-4, provisioned with a swarm and a vertical magnetic field on the
14th June 04, is positioned 20 degrees East of North to hive 1-4,
established 15th June 04. Arrangement shown in pink.
 |
Winding the clock forward by one year, Rotating hive 8-5 established
23rd May 05 would be influenced by the arrival of hive 10-5 on the
25th May 05 together with a vertical magnetic field. Arrangement
shown in green.
These two hives are in a direct North-South alignment. One might
from this infer that the angles between hives 6-4 and 1-4 and
between hives 8-5 and 10-5 relative to a North - South alignment
might, in some way, influence the degree of comb deviation. If this
were the case hive 1-4 would require to be aware of the position of
hive 6-4, which is possible due to the location of the magnet, but
hive 6-4 would then require to be aware of hive 1-4.
One is confronted with a seemingly illogical phenomena where
particles, or in this case hives, appear to communicate with each
other and be aware of each others presence, as in Quantum physics.
This is no more than two inanimate objects being mutually attracted
to each other as demonstrated by gravity, which to me is a most
difficult thing to understand, let alone explain, without taking
into consideration the rotating mass of an atom.
No matter, let us continue to enjoy the free beauties of Nature by
further study of the bee.
RECIPE OF THE MONTH Back to top
A couple of weeks ago I had a heart operation
and during the various tests preceding the operation I had numerous
test leads stuck to sticky pads on my body. The pain when they
pulled the pads off was of course awful, yet some people actually
pay to have this torture. This brings us to this month’s recipe
which is for depilatory waxes and creams. Make them up and by using
them, at least you won’t have to pay!
Depilatory waxes are made using various proportions of resins,
beeswax and oils.
To obtain a low melting point near 40 to 45 0C, honey is sometimes
included. No
other ingredients are essential for this mixture. The liquefied
waxes are
applied in a thin film on the skin and covered with a strip of
muslin cloth
pressed firmly to the skin. When cooled, the skin is pulled taut and
the cloth
strip is pulled against the direction of hair growth.
A French patent describes aromatic oils and resins added to beeswax
as
analgesics or perfumes and triethanolamine as an emulsifier. The
final mixture
is spread on a siliconized paper.
Depilatory Wax.
According to Anon (1965) it consists of the following (in parts by
weight):
20 Beeswax
1 Benzoin
170 Resin
0.5 Lemongrass oil
90 Vegetable oil
1 Tolu balsam
Depilatory cream
Ingredients (in parts by volume):
42 Rosin
37 Beeswax
6 Carnauba wax
15 Mineral oil (white petrolatum)
perfume
Melt the beeswax and the carnauba wax and mix in the resins and oil.
When cooled
to below 400C add the other ingredients. If preservatives and
antioxidants are not used, the cream has a limited life. If you do
use them and they are heat stable, they can also be mixed earlier
HISTORICAL NOTE Back to top
The historical note for this month looks at a
time when beekeepers and bee ‘scientists’ or observers were just
beginning to discover the true nature of the bees, but hadn’t quite
got it yet. The Rev. William Cotton in his letter to cottagers (Part
2) talks about raising a queen in this passage and it seems that he
almost has it right when he quotes Francoise Huber – but not quite.
‘Francoise Huber, whom I shall call’ King of the Bees’ proved quite
plainly that the Bees have the power of breeding up a new queen out
of the egg of a common worker; he found that if he took away the
queen from a hive in which there were grubs, not above three days
old, the bees are able to turn a working grub into a queen, as soon
as they find out the loss of the old. They pull together the six
cells, which abut upon that which contains the young grub intended
for their future queen: on this ruin they build a royal palace,
quite different in shape. The long cells are the nurseries.
I do not believe they pour the queen’s food in upon her, as I have
told you they do that on which worker grubs live and grow. And why?
If they did so, it would run out again; for the queen’s nursery is
like a bottle hanging with its mouth downwards: so when she wants
food, she cries for it; and there is, I have no doubt, some kind
nurse always ready to give it to her’.
POEM OF THE MONTH Back to top
This month’s poem is very short and simple.
But when you really think about it, it says so much.
While honey lies in every flower, no doubt,
It takes a Bee to get the Honey out.
Arthur Guthernon,
A Poet’s Proverbs
DATES FOR YOUR DIARY Back to top
Saturday 3rd March 2007 -
West Sussex Beekeepers Association Beekeeping Convention. Venue:
Lodge Hill Conference Centre, Watersfield, Pulborough, West Sussex.
Main Speakers, Rev Stephen Palmer, Michael Badger and Richard Ball
plus a choice of attending four from a total of ten workshops.
Further details from John Hunt on 01903 815655 or email
john_bateman_hunt@hotmail.com
Tuesday 24th, Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th July 2007
- New Forest & Hampshire County Show.
The New Forest & Hampshire County Show is the highlight of Hampshire’s
social calendar featuring all the attractions that have made it so popular for
the best part of a century, bringing traditional country pursuits, new
exhibitions and demonstrations to this unique event. Put the dates in your
diary now.
There is a full range of horse and livestock competitions plus a rabbit section,
cage birds, and honey bees. The Countryside area features woodland
activities and demonstrations of rural sports, plus terrier and ferret racing.
Other favourites include the horticultural marquee featuring many nationally
acclaimed flower entries, and the Southern National Vegetable Association
Championships.
With over 600 trade stands there is a wide choice of stalls to visit many
offering goods never to be found in the shops, including antiques, crafts, and
the best of Hampshire food and produce.
We also have the Forest Fun Factory arena, a haven for children with all day
entertainment. These are just a few of the many attractions you will find at this
year’s show – you will be spoilt for choice.
A pay as you go shuttle bus service runs from Brockenhurst mainline station
right into the showground, so let the train take the strain.
Discounted tickets available on line at
www.newforestshow.co.uk or on the
credit card hotline 01590 622409 from June 1st 2007.
Additional information
Show opens 08.15 to 1800
Web site full of information – www.newforestshow.co.uk
Full Title is New Forest & Hampshire County Show.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH Back to top
In this issue we have reported on how
neuropeptides control brain activity and hence, our behaviours and
that understanding the roles these peptides play in the life of a
honey bee assists researchers in understanding the roles they play
in their human counterparts. Well this has all been thought about
before now as we can see in the following quote: so who said this?
‘The human race, in its intellectual life, is organised like the
bees: the masculine soul is a worker, sexually atrophied, and
essentially dedicated to impersonal and universal arts; the feminine
is a queen, infinitely fertile, omnipresent in its brooding
industry, but passive and abounding in intuitions without method and
passions without justice.’
Last month’s quote came from William Blake in his ‘Proverbs from
Hell’
Editor: David Cramp
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