pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

The Life Span and Levels of Oxidative Stress in Foragers Between Feral and Managed Honey Bee Colonies - PubMed

  • ️Sat Jan 01 2022

The Life Span and Levels of Oxidative Stress in Foragers Between Feral and Managed Honey Bee Colonies

Kilea Ward et al. J Insect Sci. 2022.

Abstract

Molecular damage caused by oxidative stress may lead to organismal aging and result in acute mortality to organisms. Thus, oxidative stress resistance and longevity are closely linked. Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are the most important managed pollinator in agriculture, but the long-term survival of honey bees is seriously threatened. Feral honey bee colonies can be used as natural resources to improve honey bee health. One question we ask here is whether feral honey bees are stress resistant or survive longer than managed bee populations. More work is needed to determine the impact of oxidative stress on honey bee health and survival. In this study, we used paired colony designs to compare the life span of worker bees (foragers) between feral and managed colonies and their levels of oxidative stress. Each pair of colonies shared similar foraging resources. The results indicated that foragers in feral colonies had longer survival times and life spans than those in managed colonies. The levels of oxidative stress from lipid damage content in feral colonies were higher than those in managed colonies, indicating that they used a tolerance mechanism rather than a repair mechanism to survive. Our study provides new insights into a colony difference in the physiology and oxidative stress resistance of feral honey bees compared with managed colony stocks.

Keywords: feral; lipid damage; pollinator; protein damage; survival.

© The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.

A paired colony design was carried out by matching a feral colony (F) with a managed colony (M) within a 3.2 km (2 mile) radius. Managed colonies were maintained by beekeepers following normal beekeeping practices. Feral colonies were in the natural habitat of tree cavities.

Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.

A Kaplan–Meier plot for six groups associated with colony survival, three feral (F1,2,3) and three managed colonies (M1,2,3). The paired colonies (F1–M1, F2–M2, and F3–M3) were within a 3.2 km (2 mi) radius. The life span of bees in the feral colonies was significantly longer than that of bees in the managed colonies (Kaplan–Meier survival test S(t), P < 0.001). The x-axis shows the life span in days, and the y-axis shows the percentage of survival (0–100%). N = 120. Individuals were collected per colony (χ 2 = 6.48, P < 0.001).

Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.

(A) Comparison of the oxidative stress biomarker malondialdehyde (MDA) between feral and managed colonies. Numbers below the box plots indicate the total number of bees tested. P = 0.027. (B) Boxplots to show the levels of lipid damage from each location (Fa, Fairborn; Ce, Cedarville; Be, Bellefontaine) as paired colonies (F, feral; M, managed).

Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.

(A) Comparison of the protein carbonyl levels in box plots between feral and managed colonies. The numbers below indicate the total number of bees tested for each category. P > 0.05 (N.S., nonsignificant). (B) Boxplots to show the levels of protein damage from each location (Fa, Fairborn; Ce, Cedarville; Be, Bellefontaine) as paired colonies (F, feral; M, managed).

Similar articles

Cited by

References

    1. Aizen, M. A., and Harder L. D.. . 2009. The global stock of domesticated honey bees is growing slower than agricultural demand for pollination. Curr. Biol. 19: 915–918. - PubMed
    1. Alburaki, M., Smith K. D., Adamczyk J., and Karim S.. . 2019. Interplay between Selenium, selenoprotein genes, and oxidative stress in honey bee Apis mellifera L. J. Insect Physiol. 117: 103891. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Anderson, D., and Trueman J.. . 2000. Varroa jacobsoni (Acari: Varroidae) is more than one species. Exp. Appl. Acarol. 24: 165–189. - PubMed
    1. Appler, R. H., Frank S. D., and Tarpy D. R.. . 2015. Within-colony variation in the immunocompetency of managed and feral honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in different urban landscapes. Insects 6: 912–925. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Arking, R. 2006. Biology of aging: observations and principles. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

MeSH terms