• Current Research on Agriculture and Life Sciences
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• 제32권4호
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• pp.171-174
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• 2014

Agriculture in Bangladesh is slowly transforming to the production of high-value fruit and vegetable crops to satisfy the nutrient requirements of their large size population, and this transformation is creating new challenges as regards improving and maintaining the productivity and crop quality. The country has a declining trend of insect pollinators due to habitat loss, land use changes, monoculture-dominated agriculture, and the excessive and indiscriminate use of pesticides. Such pollinator deficiencies can cause reduced yields, thereby threatening the subsistence of marginal farmers. In Bangladesh, growers enjoy free pollination services from the naturally occurring insect populations. While honeybees pollinate mustard, onions, and melons, many other hymenopterans, coleopterans, hemipterans, dipterans, and thysanopterans also visit the crop fields, making these insects significant for the food security, environment, and economy of the nation. Therefore, attention should be given to public policy, research, and human resource development that promotes knowledge and appreciation of the conservation and utilization of insect pollinators.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• 제22권2호
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• pp.29-37
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• 2011

Commercially managed bees are available for pollination services and are used in large commercial fields, small gardens, or enclosures such as greenhouses and screen houses. This paper describes the current status and agricultural utilization of commercially managed bumblebees as well as bumblebee rearing techniques in Korea. We surveyed the use rate and number of bumblebees for the pollination of 10 major horticultural crops and fruit trees in Korea; in 2009, the use rates were approximately 7.9% and 2.8%, respectively. The use number of bumblebees as pollinators was more than 64,345 colonies, which included 51,400 colonies for 10 major horticultural crops and 12,945 colonies for 10 major fruit trees in 2009. The value of bumblebees as pollinators in 2009 in Korea was estimated at more than 5,100,000,000 won. We also describe feeding, rearing room conditions, colony initiation, mating and diapause breaks to establish year-round mass rearing techniques of the bumblebee Bombus ignitus.

• 스마트미디어저널
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• 제11권5호
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• pp.38-47
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• 2022

Honey is one of the most significant ingredients in conventional food production in different regions of the world. Honey is commonly used as an ingredient in ethnic food. Beekeeping is performed in various locations as part of the local food culture and an occupation related to pollinator production. It is important to conduct beekeeping so that it generates food culture and helps regulate the regional environment in an integrated manner in preserving and improving local food culture. This study analyzes different types of environmental factors of a smart bee farm. The major goal of this study is to determine the best prediction model between the linear regression model (LM) and the support vector regression model (SVR) based on the environmental factors of a smart bee farm. The performance of prediction models is measured by R² value, root mean squared error (RMSE), and mean absolute error (MAE). From all analysis reports, the best prediction model is the support vector regression model (SVR) with a low coefficient of variation, and the R² values for Farm inside temperature, bee box inside temperature, and Farm inside humidity are 0.97, 0.96, and 0.44.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• 제48권1호
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• pp.48-58
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• 2024

Reports of a global decline in pollinator populations, especially mason bees, have raised concerns regarding the maintenance of pollination interactions. Although addressing local factors causing bee decline is a potential mitigation strategy at the landscape scale, regional rates and high-latitude threats to bee diversity are unclear. We investigated the distribution of mason bees (Osmia. spp. (O. pedicornis, O. corniforns, O. taurus, and O. satoi) and measured species richness and species ratios at regional, latitudinal, and altitudinal scales. We examined the association between bee species richness and three putative environmental conditions: high-low, altitude-dependent, and latitude-dependent. The species richness of the O. pedicornis bee was the highest and it was found between latitudes 35° and 37°, and at 500-600 m in both the northern and southern hemispheres, showing an inverse latitudinal gradient of bee species richness in South Korea. Mason bee species richness and global climate are important predictors of flowering plant diversity. Climate change threatens bee and vascular plant diversity; however, the overlap between bee abundance and plant diversity can be improved by employing suitable conservation strategies.

• Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology
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• 제33권11호
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• pp.1495-1505
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• 2023

The western honeybee Apis mellifera L., a vital crop pollinator and producer of honey and royal jelly, faces numerous threats including diseases, chemicals, and mite infestations, causing widespread concern. While extensive research has explored the link between gut microbiota and their hosts. However, the impact of Varroa destructor infestation remains understudied. In this study, we employed massive parallel amplicon sequencing assays to examine the diversity and structure of gut microbial communities in adult bee groups, comparing healthy (NG) and Varroa-infested (VG) samples. Additionally, we analyzed Varroa-infested hives to assess the whole body of larvae. Our results indicated a notable prevalence of the genus Bombella in larvae and the genera Gillamella, unidentified Lactobacillaceae, and Snodgrassella in adult bees. However, no statistically significant difference was observed between NG and VG. Furthermore, our PICRUSt analysis demonstrated distinct KEGG classification patterns between larval and adult bee groups, with larvae displaying a higher abundance of genes involved in cofactor and vitamin production. Notably, despite the complex nature of the honeybee bacterial community, methanogens were found to be present in low abundance in the honeybee microbiota.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• 제18권1호
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• pp.41-48
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• 2009

The large bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, indigenous to Europe and used extensively for high-value crop pollination, has been artificially introduced in several parts of the world. Here we show the interspecific hybridization between bumblebee species, B. terrestris and B. ignitus, under laboratory conditions. The mating and oviposition percentages of the interspecific hybridization of a B. terrestris queen with a B. ignitus male were higher than those of the intraspecific mating of B. ignitus. Furthermore, the competitive copulation experiment indicated that the mating of B. ignitus males with B. terrestris queens was 1.8-fold more frequent than with B. ignitus queens. The interspecific hybridization of a B. ignitus queen with a B. terrestris male produced either B. ignitus workers or the B. ignitus male phenotype, and the hybridization of a B. terrestris queen with a B. ignitus male produced B. terrestris males. Genetic tests using a portion of the mitochondrial COI gene for the parent and hybrid phenotypes indicated that mitochondrial DNA in the interspecific hybridization was maternally inherited. Our results indicated that interspecific hybridization occurred between B. ignitus and B. terrestris, which suggests that the hybridization will have a negative impact of competition and genetic pollution of native bumblebees.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• 제16권2호
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• pp.75-86
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• 2008

In order to understand geographic genetic variation and relationship among populations of the mason bee (Osmia cornifrons Radoszkowsky), which is used as pollinator for apple tree, we sequenced a portion of mitochondrial (mt) COI gene, which corresponds to "DNA Barcode" region (658 bp) from 81 O. cornifrons individuals collected over eight localities in Korea. The sequence data revealed overall moderate to low genetic diversity within species, with a maximum sequence divergence of 0.76%. Geographically, two haplotypes (BAROC01 and BAROC02) were widespread with a frequency of 82.7%, whereas several haplotypes were found in a locality as a single individual, suggesting that haplotype distribution can be summarized as coexistence of a few widespread haplotypes and several regionally restricted haplotypes. Overall, high rate of per generation female migration (Nm=$1.1{\sim}$infinite) and low level of geographic subdivision ($F_{ST}=0{\sim}0.315$) among localities were characteristic. Although two populations (p < 0.026) were genetically subdivided from the remaining localities, no clear polarity was observed. Taken together, the nature of genetic divergence of the mason bee populations is characterized as one that possessing moderate to low genetic diversity, high gene flow, and wide spread haplotypes with ahigh frequency, concordant with the capability of dispersal in connection with the lack of historical biogeographic barriers.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
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• 제23권1호
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• pp.167-174
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• 2011

The large bumblebee $Bombus$ $terrestris$, indigenous to Europe and adjacent areas and used extensively for high-value crop pollination, has been artificially introduced to several parts of the world. Here we show the occurrence of interspecific hybridization between the bumblebee species $B.$ $hypocrita$ $sapporoensia$ and $B.$ $terrestris$ under laboratory conditions. The mating and oviposition percentages resulting from the interspecific hybridization of a $B.$ $terrestris$ queen with a $B.$ $h.$ $sapporoensis$ male were higher than those resulting from the intraspecific mating of $B.$ $h.$ $sapporoensis$. Furthermore, a competitive copulation experiment indicated that the mating of $B.$ $h.$ $sapporoensis$ males with $B.$ $terrestris$ queens was 1.2-fold more frequent than the mating of these males with $B.$ $h.$ $sapporoensis$ queens. The interspecific hybridization of a $B.$ $terrestris$ queen with a $B.$ $h.$ $sapporoensis$ male produced either $B.$ $terrestris$ workers or the $B.$ $terrestris$ male phenotype, and the hybridization of a $B.$ $h.$ $sapporoensis$ queen with a $B.$ $terrestris$ male produced $B.$ $h.$ $sapporoensis$ males. Our results indicated that interspecific hybridization occurred between $B.$ $h.$ $sapporoensis$ and $B.$ $terrestris$. These results suggest that such hybridization will have a negative competitive impact and will cause genetic contamination of native bumblebees.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• 제45권4호
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• pp.305-312
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• 2021

Background: Butterflies make an important part for plant-pollinator guild. These are nectar feeder or occasionally pollen feeder and thus proboscis of the butterfly species are considered as one of the most important variable in relation to the collection of food from plants. In butterfly-plant association, nectar source is principally determined by quality of nectar, corolla length, and nectar quantity. For the butterfly, nectar uptake is determined by proboscis length because flowers with long corolla restrict butterfly species containing shorter proboscis. Empirical studies proved that butterfly species with high wing loading visit clustered flowers and species with low wing loading confined their visit to solitary or less nectar rich flowers. The present study tries to investigate the flower preference of butterfly species from Lycaenidae family having very short proboscis, lower body length, lower body weight and wing span than the most species belonging from Nymphalidae, Pieridae, Papilionidae, and Hesperiidae. Results: Butterflies with shorter proboscis cannot access nectar from deeper flower. Although they mainly visit on less deeper flower to sucking nectar, butterflies with high wing loading visits clustered flowers to fulfill their energy requirements. In this study, we demonstrated flower choice of seven butterfly species belonging to Lycanidiae family. The proboscis length maintains a positive relationship with body length and body weight. Body length maintains a positive relationship with body weight and wing span. Wing span indicate a strong positive relationship with body weight. This study proved that these seven butterfly species namely Castalius rosimon (CRN), Taracus nara (TNA), Zizinia otis (ZOT), Zizula hylax (ZHY), Jamides celeno (JCE), Chilades laius (CLA), and Psuedozizeeria maha (PMA) visit frequently in Tridax procumbens (TPR), Ocimum americanum (OAM) and Syndrella nodiflora (SNO). The species do not visit Lantana camara (LCA) and Catharanthus roseus (CRO) plants. Conclusion: The present study proved that butterfly species visits frequently in Tridax procumbens (TPR), Ocimum americanum (OAM) but less frequently in Syndrella nodiflora (SNO). So, that study determined the butterfly species helps in pollination of these herbs that in turn helps the conservation of these butterfly species.

• Journal of Ecology and Environment
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• 제45권3호
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• pp.130-142
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• 2021

Background: Climate change is occurring rapidly around the world, and is predicted to have a large impact on biodiversity. Various studies have shown that climate change can alter the geographical distribution of wild bees. As climate change affects the species distribution and causes range shift, the degree of range shift and the quality of the habitats are becoming more important for securing the species diversity. In addition, those pollinator insects are contributing not only to shaping the natural ecosystem but also to increased crop production. The distributional and habitat quality changes of wild bees are of utmost importance in the climate change era. This study aims to investigate the impact of climate change on distributional and habitat quality changes of five wild bees in northwestern regions of Iran under two representative concentration pathway scenarios (RCP 4.5 and RCP 8.5). We used species distribution models to predict the potential range shift of these species in the year 2070. Result: The effects of climate change on different species are different, and the increase in temperature mainly expands the distribution ranges of wild bees, except for one species that is estimated to have a reduced potential range. Therefore, the increase in temperature would force wild bees to shift to higher latitudes. There was also significant uncertainty in the use of different models and the number of environmental layers employed in the modeling of habitat suitability. Conclusion: The increase in temperature caused the expansion of species distribution and wider areas would be available to the studied species in the future. However, not all of this possible range may include high-quality habitats, and wild bees may limit their niche to suitable habitats. On the other hand, the movement of species to higher latitudes will cause a mismatch between farms and suitable areas for wild bees, and as a result, farmers will face a shortage of pollination from wild bees. We suggest that farmers in these areas be aware of the effects of climate change on agricultural production and consider the use of managed bees in the future.