Apitoxin harvest affects population development but not the hygienic behavior of African-derived honey bees

Abstract

Apitoxin harvest affects population development but not the hygienic behavior of African-derived honey bees IntroductionApitoxin is a product that bees can offer to humans, the word originating from the Latin apis (bee) and toxikon (venom.) This substance is produced by the acid glands of worker bees, and characterized as being clear, colorless, and highly soluble in water (Cruz-Landim & Abdalla, 2002).Apitoxin toxicity is attributed to three proteic components: enzymes (phospholipase A2 and hyaluronidase), large peptides (melittin, apamin, and mast cell degranulating [MCD] peptide) and small molecules (peptides and biogenic amines), all substances that show pharmacological and allergenic activities. The allergenic factors are antigenic proteins such as phospholipases, hyaluronidases, lipases, and phosphatases, that are injected during the sting, and which initiate immune responses in hypersensitive individuals (Cardoso et al., 2009).While the apitoxin can cause allergic and hypersensitivity reactions, small doses and fractions of its purified AbstractThe biological properties of apitoxin have prompted its production for use in human and animal health applications. However, the apitoxin harvest triggers a defense reaction in honeybee colonies, which includes the release of alarm pheromones (isopentyl acetate and 2-heptanone), which cause stress and could cause behavioral changes that influence the routine activities of the colony. Considering the lack of data in the literature describing the effects of the prolonged harvesting of apitoxin, the present study conducted over a period of one year, aimed to investigate whether the apitoxin harvest influences population development and hygienic behavior of African-derived Apis mellifera (L.). We observed that apitoxin harvest affected the uncapped brood area of the colonies during the months of April, May, and June, and affected the capped brood area in July. The hygienic behavior of the colonies was not affected. Furthermore, we observed that during the study year, there was loss by abandonment of nine of the colonies subjected to apitoxin harvesting. We conclude that under the conditions of this study, the apitoxin harvest can negatively influence the development of the colony population during certain times of the year, without affecting the hygienic behavior of the colonies.

Apitoxin harvest impairs hypopharyngeal gland structure in Apis mellifera honey bees

“…Thus, this study shows that this practice has a negative effect on the development of the gland, even considering that the period during which the colonies was stressed was short (1 h per month) this is in accordance with results reported by Modanesi et al (2015). Onari et al (2016) showed that the apitoxin harvest impairs the population development of the colonies, also evidencing the negative effects of this management.…”