Progress 04/15/17 to 04/14/21
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences for this reporting period where the academic peer community and the apicultural practioners, as main stakeholders. We have extended the scope of our investigation and target audience internationally with partners in Israel, Canada, and Europe. Changes/Problems:Research need to continue and new funding is being pursued. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The postdoctoral research Kaira Wagoner continued to play a central role in this project and was further trained in practical and theoretical approaches, particularly in regards to large-scale field studies. In turn, she mentored two undergraduate students (Shaun Pitts and Emily Jordon) and a graduate student (Phoebe Snyder) on studies of honey bee hygienic behavior. Her professional development included entrepreneurial skills training, opportunities to co-teach classes and outreach events, extensive networking with local and global partners, and publication of patents and research results. Based on results from this project Kaira Wagoner and Phoebe Snyder cofounded the start-up company Optera LLP (https://directory.ncbiotech.org/company/optera-llp), leading to their participation in Regional and National NSF I-Corps programs. Additional training was also provided to the other group members of the Rueppell lab (1 postdoc, 3 graduate students, and 4 undergraduate students), as well as the Spivak lab through discussions and direct exposure to this research project. Training and professional development were also provided by the Millar lab to postdocs Dr. Ren Roepke and Dr. Jan Bello, as well as PhD student Kyle Arriola in chemical ecology. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results from this work have been presented at local, national, and international scientific conferences, as well as direct outreach talks to beekeepers including presentations for 1 statewide and 12 countywide beekeeping associations. Three peer-reviewed publications have been produced to further disseminate the results of the scientific efforts, the fourth is currently under review. Collaborations with the company Veto-Pharma in France, the Arista Bee Foundation in the Netherlands, the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Development Commission in Canada, and the USDA Baton Rouge lab have led to four Material Transfer Agreements, and continued research and development related to the UBO assay. Three patents related to this work have also been published. After founding the start-up company Optera, Kaira Wagoner and Phoebe Snyder participated in regional and National NSF I-Corps programs, completing a total of 133 customer discovery interviews and 58 online surveys of beekeepers, queen breeders, and honey bee researchers from 14 countries and 25 US states. Interviews included members of the Bee Informed Partnership tech transfer team, as well as some of the largest breeders and beekeepers in the United States and Canada. At the end of each interview, UBO research results were described, and participant feedback was recorded. The PI serves on the NAPPC Honey Bee Health Task Force and continues to promote the development of the BeeMD program for beekeepers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Unhealthy brood odors (UBOs) of interest Z10-C33, Z8-C31, Z8-C17, and Z6-C15 were analyzed foractivity via GC-EAD. Results indicated that the more volatile compounds Z8-C17, and Z6-C15 elicited antennal responses while larger compounds did not. Inability to measure a response to larger compounds was likely due to their non-volatility, resulting in compound condensationandlack of contact between the compound and the antennae. Cuticular extract from Varroa-infested honey bee brood was analyzed for qualitative and quantitative chemical content via GCMS. The extract was fractionated, eluted, analyzed using GCMS, and derivatized withto form the corresponding epoxides. This analysis confirmed the presence of previously identified compounds and enabled us to identify the double-bond location of prominent isomers for two additional chemical compounds of interest, C27 and C25.This is consistent with our proposed model of hygienic behavior in which volatile compounds attract hygienic workers to a general area, where problem cells are identified by nurses upon detection of non-volatile compounds on or after perforation of wax caps of cells containing unhealthy brood. The experimental compounds Z10-C33, Z8-C31, Z8-C17, and Z6-C15 and control compounds Z16-C32, Z15-C30, Z7-C17, and Z7-C15 were synthesizedand field-tested for individual and combined bioactivity. Briefly, we showed that the application of synthetic Z10-C33, Z8-C31, Z8-C17, and Z6-C15 onto brood and brood cell caps significantly increased hygienic behavior compared to application of similarly structured hydrocarbon controls Z16-C32, Z15-C30, Z7-C17, and Z7-C15. We also demonstrated significant positive correlations between colony-level hygienic responses to experimental compounds and the freeze-killed brood assay. Dilution series evaluating the relationship between individual UBO compounds and hygienic behavior were performed, however due to high variance and testing of colonies that were primarily hygienic, we are collecting data from additional colonies before pursuing publication. While direct contact of UBOs to capped brood triggers hygienic response, our initial attempts at inducing uncapping using volatiles placed inside a colony (but not directly applied to cell caps) were not successful. However, colony exposure to UBOs did affect short term hygienic response to subsequent encounters with the same UBOs, and experiments are currently underway to test whether UBO-induced behavioral immune priming can improve honey bee colony Varroa-resistance. We developed a tool to quantify colony hygienic response to a Varroa-specific chemical stimulus and tested the hypothesis that hygienic response to unhealthy brood odors (UBOs) could serve as an improved tool for predicting colony-level Varroa resistance. Briefly, we applied 0.5mL of a hexane solution containing 2.5 mg each Z10-C33, Z8-C31, Z8-C17, and Z6-C15 to a small circular region ofcapped, non-emerging honey bee brood cells, and quantified total hygienic response (uncapping or removal) after 2 hr. Results support our hypothesis by showing that a rapid, two-hour assay in which colony hygienic response to capped brood cells treated with a mixture of UBOs can be used to predict honey bee colony mite infestation, mite removal, and overwintering success. Furthermore, colony response to the UBO assay served as a more accurate predictor of colony Varroa resistance than response to a mixture of similarly-structured control chemicals, response to the FKB assay, or removal of experimentally introduced mites. This suggests that the UBO assay may serve as an improved tool for identification of Varroa-resistant honey bee colonies, and therefore may facilitate improved selective breeding of Varroa-resistant honey bees, and improved management decisions. August phoretic mites were significantly lower for colonies that scored high on UBO (F1,56=23.8, p<0.001) and FKB (F1,63=6.4, p=0.014) assays. UBO and FKB assay responses were significantly positively correlated butVarroa infestations only differed significantly between colonies in the low UBO/low FKB category, and colonies in the high UBO/low FKB (p=0.029), and high UBO/high FKB (p=0.009) categories, using the practical threshold models for both assays. Mean percent removal of experimentally introduced mites was significantly higher for colonies that scored high on a) June UBO (F48, 1=12.9, p=0.001) and b) FKB assays (F34, 1=6.6, p=0.015) than for low-scoring colonies. Overwintering survival was significantly higher for colonies that scored high on the UBO assay (F32, 1=6.6, p=0.015). There was no evidence that overwintering survival differed for colonies that scored high and low on the FKB assay (F33, 1=2.5, p=0.12). Our research results have been shared extensively with beekeepers, breeders, researchers, and tech transfer teams. Despite substantial interest and multiple requests for collaboration from these entities, we have temporarily limited the use and testing of the UBO assay to research-based institutions due to the need for development of an improved delivery system. Current research partnerships include Veto-Pharma in France, the Arista Bee Foundation in the Netherlands, the Saskatchewan Beekeepers Development Commission in Canada, and the USDA Baton Rouge lab. We are currently testing existing products (drug delivery devices manufactured by H&T PressPart in the United Kingdom) and developing novel delivery system prototypes through partnerships formed with North Carolina's Small Business and Technology Development Center (SBTDC) and Western Carolina University's Rapid Center for Engineering and TechnologyResearch and Development. Our current goal is to have an improved delivery system ready for research and commercial use by Summer 2022. Once an improved delivery system is available we will expand testing and use of the UBO assay within and beyond research-based entities.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
AMIRI E., LE K., VEGA-MELENDEZ C., STRAND M.K., TARPY D.R., RUEPPELL O. (2020) Egg-size plasticity in Apis mellifera: honey bee queens alter egg size in response to both genetic and environmental factors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology, 33(4): 534-543.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
WAGONER K.M., MILLAR J., SCHAL C., RUEPPELL O. (2020) Cuticular pheromones stimulate hygienic behavior in the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Scientific Reports, 10: 7132.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
BARRS K.R., ANI M.O., EVERSMAN K.K., ROWELL J.T., WAGONER K.M., RUEPPELL O. (2021) Time-accuracy trade-off and task partitioning of hygienic behavior among honey bee (Apis mellifera) workers. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 75:12
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Spivak M, Danka RG. 2020. Perspectives on hygienic behavior in Apis mellifera and other social insects. Apidologie DOI: 10.1007/s13592-020-00784-z
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
M. Spivak: Honey bee breeding for disease and mite resistance. Indiana Bee School (virtual)
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
M. Spivak: Honey bee breeding for disease and mite resistance. MN Honey Producers Assoc.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
M. Spivak: Honey bee breeding for disease and mite resistance. Colorado State Beekeeping Association.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
M. Spivak: Honey bee hygienic behavior. Plymouth Co. Massachusetts Beekeeping Assoc.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
M. Spivak: Honey bee hygienic behavior. TheBeekeeper.org Australia, On-line educational platform.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
M. Spivak: Honey bee social immunity: hygienic behavior and propolis collection. Sommerset UK Beekeeping Association
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
RUEPPELL, O. Understanding Stress Responses to Improve the Health of Honey Bees. Departmental Seminar, North Carolina State University, NC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
RUEPPELL, O. The honey bee ovary the obscure and the obvious& Departmental Seminar, York University, Toronto, ON.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
RUEPPELL, O. Honey Bee Viruses (and Queens). Integrated Pest Management Workshop of the Alberta Bekeepers Commission, online.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
WAGONER K., SPIVAK M., MILLAR J., SCHAL C., RUEPPELL O. Brood hygiene-eliciting signal as a tool for assaying honey bee colony pest and disease-resistance. American Bee Research Conference, online.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
WAGONER K., SPIVAK M., MILLAR J., SCHAL C., RUEPPELL O. Brood hygiene-eliciting signal as a tool for determining honey bee colony pest and disease-resistance. Annual Meeting of the Entomological Society of America, online.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
SNYDER P., RUEPPELL O., The impact of honey bee group size on hygienic behavior performance. 16th Annual Student and Postdoc Symposium of the Southern Appalachian Honey Bee Research Consortium, Boone, NC.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2021
Citation:
Wagoner, K., J. G. Millar, J. Keller, J. Bello, P. Waiker, C. Schal, M. Spivak, and O. Rueppell. 2021. Hygiene-eliciting pheromones as a tool for assaying honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colony resistance to Varroa (Mesostigmata: Varroidae). In revision for Journal of Insect Science.
|
Progress 04/15/19 to 04/14/20
Outputs
Target Audience:Target audiences for this reporting period where the academic peer community and the apicultural practioners, as main stakeholders. We have also been communicating our findings to industry (Veto Pharma) for discussion of product development. Changes/Problems:The field trials of our cuticular hydrocarbon mixture hygiene assay have revealed some inconsistencies and we need to identify the environmental, social, and apicultural factors that influence the outcome or our assay. We plan on performing the corresponding experiments and further assay optimization (composition and dosage) in the next field season (spring/summer 2020). What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The postdoctoral research Kaira Wagoner continued to play a central role in this project and was further trained in practical and theoretical approaches, particularly in regards to large-scale field studies. In turn, she mentored two undergraduate students (Shaun Pitts and Emily Jordon) and a graduate student (Phoebe Snyder) on studies of honey bee hygienic behavior. Her professional development included opportunities to co-teach classes and outreach evens, as well as encouragement to publish her results and networking with local and global partners. Additional training was also provided to the other group members of the Rueppell lab (1 postdoc, 3 graduate students, and 4 undergraduate students), as well as the Spivak lab through discussions and direct exposure to this research project. Training and professional development were also provided by the Millar lab to postdocsDr. René Roepke and Dr. Jan Bello, as well as PhD studentKyle Arriola in chemical ecology. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been presented at local, national, and international scientific conferences, as well as direct outreach talks to beekeepers. Two publications were produced to further disseminate the results of the scientific efforts. The PI serves on the NAPPC Honey Bee Health Task Force and continues to promote the development of the BeeMD program for beekeepers. Negotiations with Veto-Pharma have led to a Material Transfer Agreement and commercial testing is expected to begin this season. One patent application has been granted. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?The first set of field trials revealed that the chemical assay to trigger hygienic is not yet consistent enough for practical application by the beekeepers. We seek to address this problem by two different research avenues In the future. One the one hand, we seek to understand which external test conditions interfere with the assay. Candidates that need to be addressed are weather and food availibility, as well as hive management and colony demography. On the other hand, we will try to optimize the chemical mixture and dosage by testing dose-response curves, subtractive bioassays, and new applicator design. We will continue to inform the scientific and stakehold communities about our results to and educate them about the importance of hygienic behavior and selective breeding as sustainable beekeeping communities. However, we can only initiate the major extension effort to promote our hygienic breeding assay after an optimal, consistent, and relevant hygienic assay has been developed. Our plan is to reach this point by the end of 2020, so that the following months can be spent on publication and extension efforts.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The experimental mix of four hydrocarbon compounds that was established in the previous reporting period as a tool for colony selection and assessment was synthesized at a larger scale to enable three independent field trials of the hygienic assay based on this mix . Specifically, the relation of the assay score to Varroa mite level and to Varroa mite removal behavior were assessed. In brief, these assays yielded mixed results and follow-up studies are required to study why not all predicted relationships were found. Likely explanations are Varroa mite treatments during the study, strong weather fluctuations during assay performance, or heterogeneity of responses among honey bee genotypes. The first field study was performed in colonies in the UNCG apiary and involved testing single components versus the 4-compound mixture. Assays of only one compound, the previously identified tritriacontene, showed a significant relation to mite levels and mite removal behavior, and the mixture assay proved most accurate at predicting mite levels and removal. However, these relations did not hold across seasons, even though we demonstrated high repeatebility of our mixture assay itself. In a real-world beekeeping operation (Vass, NC), the predicted relation between this mixture assay and mite levels and removal was not found, but the collaborating beekeeper did not provide sufficient information to identify a potentially confounding cause. The third experiment involved a large experimental population of hives in MN: the extreme high and low responders of the mixture assay were compared in detail, and differences in mite removal, recapping behavior, and learning of the cuticular hydrocarbons could be demonstrated between the two experimental groups. These studies also demonstrated that honey bees are capable of learning, distinguishing, and memorizing our experimental and control mixes of cuticular hydrocarbons, but did not reveal a relation of the assay scores to mite levels (due to very low overall mite levels), or the size and productivity of the colonies.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Brood signals as the basis for an improved selection tool for hygienic honey bees. Kaira Wagoner, Marla Spivak, Shaun Pitts, Emily Jordon, Jocelyn Millar, Jan Bello, Coby Schal, Olav Rueppell. Apimondia, 2019. Montreal, Canada.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
WAGONER K., SPIVAK M., PITTS S., JORDON E., MILLAR J., BELLO J., SCHAL C., RUEPPELL O., Brood chemicals as a new selection tool for hygienic behavior against Varroa? COLOSS conference, Montreal, Canada.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
RUEPPELL, O. Integrative Studies of Honey Bee Biology and Health. Departmental Seminar, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
- Type:
Other
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
RUEPPELL, O., Managing the Disease Triangle: Varroa-Virus-Honeybee. Workshop by the Alberta Beekeeping Commission, Leduc, Canada.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Wagoner KM, Millar JG, Schal C, Rueppell O. Cuticular pheromones stimulate hygienic behavior in the honey bee (Apis mellifera). Submitted to "Scientific Reports".
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Submitted
Year Published:
2020
Citation:
Barrs KR, Ani MO, Eversman KK, Rowell JT, Wagoner KM, Rueppell O. Task Partitioning Improves Efficiency of Hygienic Behavior in Honey Bees (Apis mellifera). Submitted to "Animal Behavior".
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Spivak M. Breeding for Disease and Mite Resistance. Apimondia International Bee Conference, Montreal, Canada.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Spivak M. Socialized Medicine in Honey Bee Colonies. University of Missouri, Department of Biology CV Riley Lecture Series.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Spivak M. Honey Bee Social Immunity. International Union for the Study of Social Insects, European Section, (Keynote).
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Spivak M. Breeding Bees for Disease and Mite Resistance. Minnesota Hobby Beekeeping Association. MN.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Accepted
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
Spivak M. Research Update. Minnesota Honey Producers Association, Fargo, ND.
|
Progress 04/15/18 to 04/14/19
Outputs
Target Audience:Most of our intermediate results obtained in this period were disseminated to fellow academic researchers during conferences. We also presented our findings to our ultimate target audience, the beekeeping community in outreach talks and beekeeper conferences, such as the Meeting of the Eastern Apicultural Society 2018. Changes/Problems:Encouraged by our successes, we have decided to omit further analytical searches for additional compounds that might induce hygienic behavior. However, another research group (Fanny Mondet and Yves LeConte from France) have reported a set of 5 unrelated compounds with similar biological activity. A collaborative agreement will be sought to synergize our efforts with this group. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The postdoctoral research Kaira Wagoner continued to play a central role in this project and was further trained in practical and theoretical approaches in chemical ecology and apiculture, as well as general scientific methods, data analysis, and interpretation. In turn, she was given the opportunity to teach and mentor undergraduate students, including a team of three undergraduate students (Omar Ani, Kimberlyn Eversman, and Katherine Barrs) that participated in an interdisciplinary, NSF-funded REU project. Kaira Wagoner was also encouraged to present her results at national and international conferences to seek out networking opportunities and she was mentored by the PI during the development of a grant proposal (which unfortunately did not get funded). How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated through multiple conference presentations and direct outreach talks to the beekeepers (see products). One of the two publications is open access to encourage distribution to the beekeepers. In addition, we are in negotiations with Veto-Pharma to further commercialize the spray product and bring a practical solution to the beekeepers. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Larger-scale field trials under realistic beekeeping conditions are required. One concern is that the hygiene-inducing signals may depend on genotype and/or environment and therefore comparative studies under different circumstances and involving different bee stocks are necessary. We will also work on extension and further dissemination of our results.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
In-vitro assays for better experimental access using gel capsules were tested, as well as EAG analysis of the response to the different compounds. Both proved ineffective. New synthesis paradigms for the needed cuticular hydrocarbons were established and successfully realized, allowing the testing of pure and mixed compounds in the hive. Across hives of different genetic stocks in our apiary a newly developed hygienic assay using a mix of our compounds proved to be an effective predictor of mite levels and mite removal in these hives. In fact, this novel assay outperformed the commonly used freeze kill brood assay and might serve as a novel selection tool. In addition, detailed behavioral observations and theoretical analyses of hygienic behavior have led to novel insights how hygienic behavior can be improved to combat Varroa mites.
Publications
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
WAGONER K.M., SPIVAK M., RUEPPELL O. (2018) Brood affects hygienic behavior in the honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Journal of Economic Entomology, 111(6): 2520-2530.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
WAGONER K.M., SPIVAK M., HEFETZ A., REAMS T., RUEPPELL O. (2019) Varroa mites and Deformed Wing Virus elicit hygienic behavior in honey bees through stock-specific changes in brood cuticular hydrocarbons. Scientific Reports, 9: 8753.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
ANI M.O., BARRS K., EVERSMAN K., ROWELL J., RUEPPELL O., Does Division of Labor Increase the Efficiency of Hygienic Behavior in Apis mellifera? UNCG REU Symposium, Greensboro, NC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
WAGONER K.M., RUEPPELL O., Chemical communication and improved tools for hygienic selection in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. XVIII International Congress of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects, Guaruja, Brazil.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
WAGONER K., SPIVAK M., MILLAR J., SCHAL C., RUEPPELL O., Chemical Communication and improved tools for hygienic selection in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Eurbee 2018, Ghent, Belgium.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
ANI M.O., EVERSMAN K., BARRS K., ROWELL J., RUEPPELL O., Division of Labor Among Nurse Bees Increases Honey Bee Health: Experimental And Modeling Evidence. Council on Undergraduate Researchs REU Symposium, Alexandria, VA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
EVERSMAN K., BARRS K., ANI M.O., ROWELL J., RUEPPELL O., Division of Labor in Hygienic Behavior of Apis mellifera: Experimental Investigation to Simulation. NIMBioS Undergraduate Research Conference at the Interface of Biology and Mathematics, Knoxville, TN.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
BARRS K., EVERSMAN K., ANI M.O., RUEPPELL O., Hygienic Behavior and Subtask Specialization in Apis mellifera through Agent-Based Simulation in MATLAB. 7th Annual Kennesaw Mountain Undergraduate Mathematics Conference, Kennesaw, GA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
WAGONER K., BELLO J., MILLAR J., SPIVAK M., SCHAL C., RUEPPELL O. A novel assay for measuring honey bee hygiene, and predicting colony-level Varroa resistance. American Bee Research Conference. Tempe, AZ.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2019
Citation:
WAGONER K., SPIVAK M., MILLAR J., SCHAL C., RUEPPELL O., Chemical communication and improved tools for hygienic selection in the honey bee, Apis mellifera. Eastern Branch Entomological Society of America 90th Annual Meeting, Blacksburg, VA.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
RUEPPELL, O., Transmission dynamics of honey bee viruses and the queen. Eastern Apicultural Society Meeting, Hampton, VA.
|
Progress 04/15/17 to 04/14/18
Outputs
Target Audience:Most of our intermediate results obtained in this period were disseminated to fellow academic researchers during conferences. We also presented our findings to our ultimate target audience, the beekeeping community in outreach talks. Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?The postdoctoral researcher Kaira Wagoner was able to interact with all collaborating research groups and gained valuable insights from the expertise. She was able to perform most of the described experiments and honed her skills in apicultural research and chemical ecology. She mostly worked with her mentor and the PI of the project to plan the experiments and evaluate the data in one-on-one meetings. In the process of this research, she was able to work with, and train in turn, one undergraduate student through direct collaboration. One Master student (Taylor Reams) was able to conduct research and complete her thesis entitled "Examining the Factors Influencing Varroa destructor Host Selection of Apis mellifera Larvae". She wasalso directly trained by the PI and her thesis committee (including Christina Grozinger from Penn State as external evaluator) and Taylor also trained 2 further undergraduate students in turn through direct research involvement. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?The results have been disseminated through multiple conference presentations and direct outreach talks to the beekeepers (see products). One publication is in review and two more are in preparation. The PI has also created a new webpage (https://biology.uncg.edu/rueppell-lab/) in which this research and findings are disseminated. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?For the future, further experiments to test thehypothesis that multiple components are involved and that the exact composition is genotype-dependentare planned. A new collaboration with Dr. Danka from the USDA-Honey Bee Lab in Baton Rouge has been established. Moveover,practical optimization studies of an applicable tool will e performed and applied infield trials in unrelated beekeeping operations. Direct unbiased approaches, such as the GC-EAG coupled analysis of complete brood extract will be tried to complement the existing data.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The signal dubbed P32 that hadoriginally been suggested as a chemical signal to elicit hygienic behavior was confirmed to be tritriacontene Z-10-C33. New synthesis methods were established to synthesize this substance in quantities appropriate for field trials. These field trials were conducted and resulted in a significant increase in removal. Another substance (Z7-C15) was also found to elicit increased hygienic behavior, while control substances did not.However, no satisfactory efficacy was achieved by either compound and thus different application methods were tested. P32 application directly onto the larvae achieved the highest removal but is not useful as a practical application and also leads to the death of honey bee brood at higher concentrations. A technique using wax dummies andpreviously established to assay hygienic behavior was tested without success. Application to the individual cap of wax cells was established as labor intensive but potentially effective. Therefore, airbrushing the substance onto sections of capped frames was tested and adopted for subsequent experiments. However, the technique elicits not only uncapping, but also removal behavior, limiting its application as a treatment against Varroa in this form. Our results suggested that it might be useful as a selection tool and indeed the correlation with freeze-killed-brood assays was high (r=0.688, p = 0.014). Reanalysis of previous results found also that further substances (e.g., 8-hentriacontene) may have an impact, and that this might be depending on the honey bee genotype.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
REAMS T., ABAD F., BARAL S., RUEPPELL O., Hitching a ride with honey bees. UNCG Graduate Research Expo, Greensboro, NC.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
REAMS T., BARAL S., ABAD F., RUEPPELL O., The impact of visitation rate on Varroa destructor cell invasion. 14th Southern Appalachian Honey Bee Research Consortium, Winston-Salem, NC.
- Type:
Journal Articles
Status:
Under Review
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
Brood affects hygienic behavior in the honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae), In review at Journal of Economic Entomology.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
WAGONER K., RUEPPELL O., Chemical communication, hygienic behavior, and the development of improved selection tools for Varroa control in the honey bee Apis mellifera American Bee Research Conference, Reno, NV.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2018
Citation:
REAMS T., RUEPPELL O., Examining the factors influencing Varroa destructor host selection of Apis mellifera larvae American Bee Research Conference, Reno, NV.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Published
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
WAGONER K.M., RUEPPELL O., Chemical compounds that elicit hygienic behavior in the honey bee Apis mellifera. Entomology 2017, Denver, CO.
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