A Method for Distinctly Marking Honey Bees,Apis mellifera, Originating from Multiple Apiary Locations

Abstract

Inexpensive and non-intrusive marking methods are essential to track natural behavior of insects for biological experiments. An inexpensive, easy to construct, and easy to install bee marking device is described in this paper. The device is mounted at the entrance of a standard honey bee Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) hive and is fitted with a removable tube that dispenses a powdered marker. Marking devices were installed on 80 honey bee colonies distributed in nine separate apiaries. Each device held a tube containing one of five colored fluorescent powders, or a combination of a fluorescent powder (either green or magenta) plus one of two protein powders, resulting in nine unique marks. The powdered protein markers included egg albumin from dry chicken egg whites and casein from dry powdered milk. The efficacy of the marking procedure for each of the unique markers was assessed on honey bees exiting each apiary. Each bee was examined, first by visual inspection for the presence of colored fluorescent powder and then by egg albumin and milk casein specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA). Data indicated that all five of the colored fluorescent powders and both of the protein powders were effective honey bee markers. However, the fluorescent powders consistently yielded more reliable marks than the protein powders. In general, there was less than a 1% chance of obtaining a false positive colored or protein-marked bee, but the chance of obtaining a false negative marked bee was higher for “protein-marked” bees.

Método de marcaje masivo de abejas Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) para estudios ecoetológicos

“…Esto es particularmente relevante en ambientes en donde la humedad relativa es elevada y provoca la aglomeración rápida de polvos, imposibilitando su paso a través de los poros de la tela dispensadora. Por el tipo de materiales usados, el dispositivo que se presenta en este manuscrito es más económico y de más fácil construcción que los desarrollados por otros autores (Hagler et al 2011, Martin et al 2006, Vélez 2005. Además que demostramos que las sustancias que usamos para marcar no afectaron significativamente la conducta ni la supervivencia de las abejas marcadas, aspecto esencial que se tiene que comprobar para asegurar que los datos obtenidos estén libres de sesgo.…”

“…El marcaje individual se basa en la aplicación de etiquetas numeradas o de pinturas que permitan la identificación de un individuo específico dentro de un grupo (Vélez 2005), como en estudios conductuales realizados con la abeja Scaptotrigona mexicana (Sán-chez & Vandame 2012). El marcaje masivo consiste en el uso de polvos y/o pinturas aplicadas simultáneamente a un grupo de insectos, por lo que no es posible distinguirlos individualmente (Hagler et al 2011), como en estudios de captura y recaptura con mosquitos (Ciota et al 2012). En este manuscrito describimos un dispositivo usado con éxito para el marcaje masivo de abejas Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758 (Hymenoptera: Apidae) que se fija fácilmente a la piquera de una colmena comercial y que marca el tórax con pintura líquida, a diferencia de los dispositivos de marcaje masivo descritos hasta ahora que se basan en la aplicación de polvos fluorescentes.…”

Evaluating the efficacy of two insect detection methods with Riptortus pedestris (Hemiptera: Alydidae): portable harmonic radar system and fluorescent marking system

“…Although fluorescent marking system has been employed when monitoring multiple insect species, Rice et al . were the first to evaluate and demonstrate the potential of a handheld laser in detection of fluorescent‐marked insects from a long distance . Nevertheless, although the results by Rice et al .…”

“…Fluorescent marking has been used to observe and study the behavior and dispersal of a large number of insects such as mosquitoes and bees because it is easy to access and apply to large groups of insects . Traditional pairing of fluorescent marking with ultraviolet (UV) lamps is labor‐intensive and inefficient when target animals have high mobility due to its short range of illumination .…”

Administering and Detecting Protein Marks on Arthropods for Dispersal Research

“…Moreover, Hagler et al 8,27 showed that honey bees can self-mark with egg white and bovine milk dry powders as they exit through a protein dispenser placed at the entrance of a hive ( Figure 3D). Perhaps the most creative use of the protein marking involved targeting cow pats with egg whites using a jet sprayer 28 .…”