Due to its multifunctional and complex role in the honey bee colony functioning and health (construction material allowing food storage, brood rearing, thermoregulation, mediation in chemical and mechanical communication, substrate for pathogens, toxins and waste), Apis mellifera beeswax has been widely studied over the last five decades. This is supported by a comprehensive set of scientific reports covering different aspects of beeswax research. In this article, we present an overview of the methods for studying chemical, biological, constructional, and quality aspects of beeswax. We provide a detailed description of the methods for investigating wax scales, comb construction and growth pattern, cell properties, chemical composition of beeswax using different analytical tools, as well as the analytical procedures for provenancing beeswax and beeswax-derived compounds based on the hydrogen isotope ratio (IRMS). Along with classical physico-chemical and sensory analysis, we describe more precise and accurate methods for detection of adulterants in beeswax (GC-MS and FTIR-ATR). Moreover, we present methods for studying the influence of beeswax (comb foundation) adulteration on comb construction. Analytical protocols for determining the pesticide residues using different chromatographic and spectroscopic techniques are also described. As beeswax is an agent of high risk for the transmission of bee diseases, we present methods for detection of pathogens in beeswax. To ensure the reproducibility of experiments and results, we present best practice approaches and detailed protocols for all methods described, as well as their advantages and disadvantages.

We investigated a focus of highly endemic Echinococcus multilocularis infection to assess persistence of high endemicity in rural rodents, explore potential for parasite transmission to domestic carnivores, and assess (serologically) putative exposure versus infection frequency in inhabitants of the region. From spring 1993 to spring 1998, the prevalence of E. multilocularis in rodents was 9% to 39% for Arvicola terrestris and 10% to 21% for Microtus arvalis. From June 1996 to October 1997, 6 (7%) of 86 feral dogs and 1 of 33 cats living close to the region tested positive for intestinal E. multilocularis infection. Testing included egg detection by coproscopy, antigen detection by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and specific parasite DNA amplification by polymerase chain reaction. Thus, the presence of infected domestic carnivores can increase E. multilocularis exposure risk in humans. A seroepidemiologic survey of 2,943 blood donors in the area used specific Em2-ELISA. Comparative statistical analyses of seroprevalence and clinical incidence showed an increase in Em2-seroprevalence from 1986 and 1996-97 but no increase in clinical incidence of alveolar hydatid disease.

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When hoarding food in an experimental arena (ø = 2.20 m), golden hamsters tend to return along a direct path from the food source at the centre of the arena to their peripherally located nest. Under infra-red light the animals' homing behaviour is exclusively controlled by 'internal' cues which have been generated during the outward journey to the feeding place. The paper examines the limitations on the registration and computation of directional cues which originate from an active or a passive outgoing trip. The compensation of the angular component of the outward journey was examined by inducing the subjects to walk (actively) around the centre of the arena, or by rotating the animals (passively) on a platform which contained the food source. The greater the number of rotations, the less precise the homing performance. After three to five active rotations, and after two to three passive rotations of 360°, the animals ceased to yield significant homing vectors. Unidirectional rotations induced a systematic ipsidirectional bias, an indication of undercornpensation; no bias was observed after rotations which occurred in equal extents in both directions. Special importance was given to the compensation for passive translations. The experiments involved either the shift of the subjects from their nest exit to an unfamiliar, adjacent arena, or the combination of an active and a passive outward leg during the outward journey to the centre of the animals' own arena. During their return to the nest, either the hamsters did not take into account at all the direction of the passive translation, or if they did, the compensation was only limited. These results are discussed in relation to the animals' capacity to assess 1) an active outward journey through the availability of different categories of self generated cues, and 2) a passive outward journey predominantly on the basis of vestibular signals. A final series of experiments showed that under certain conditions, the hamsters commit systematic homing errors which can be attributed to their failure to initiate the registration and computation of path dependent cues at the right instant in time and space

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