Migrating Giant Honey Bees (Apis dorsata) Congregate Annually at Stopover Site in Thailand

Abstract

Giant honey bees (Apis dorsata) of southern Asia are vital honey producers and pollinators of cultivated crops and wild plants. They are known to migrate seasonally up to 200 km. It has been assumed their migrations occur stepwise, with stops for rest and foraging, but bivouacking bees have rarely been seen by scientists. Here I report discovery of a site in northern Thailand where bivouacs appeared in large congregations during the wet seasons of 2009 and 2010. The bivouac congregation stopover site is a small mango orchard along the Pai River. Bivouacs rested in branches of mango and other tree species in the immediate vicinity. Departures were preceded by dances indicating approximate direction and apparently, distance of flights. Such consistent stopover sites likely occur throughout southern Asia and may support critical, vulnerable stages in the life history of giant honey bees that must be conserved for populations of the species to survive.

Novel diagnostic tools for Asian (Apis cerana) and European (Apis mellifera) honey authentication

“…However, the genus Apis comprises eight more species, all indigenous to Asia, including two dwarf bees, two giant bees and four cavity-nesting bees (Radloff, Hepburn, & Engel, 2011). Behavioural limitations of the dwarf and giant honeybees, particularly their practice of open-air nesting and seasonal migrations, prevent them from being kept commercially by man (FAO, 1990;Robinson, 2012). In contrast, the honeybee species that naturally nest inside cavities can be kept in man-made hives, enabling the colonies to be manipulated for long periods and also being moved between places for foraging.…”

Changing pollinator communities along a disturbance gradient in the Sundarbans mangrove forest: a case study onAcanthus ilicifoliusandAvicennia officinalis

“…The giant honeybee (A. dorsata) was the major pollinator for both species in every site with a sharp increase from the village towards the forest interior. Although A. dorsata was reported to be a vital pollinator for both cultivated crops and wild plants (Robinson, 2012), they usually forage in more abundant flower resources (Punchihewa et al, 1985) and may be a poorer competitor than the other two Apis species (Koeniger and Vorwohl, 1979). Studies showed that our three honey bee species compete for food, with A. florea and A. cerana being the stronger competitors than A. dorsata, and this competition can be avoided by differentiation of foraging (Koeniger & Vorwohl, 1979).…”

Full Issue

“…In this case, interspecific competition resulted in reduced fledging rates and breeding density of Gouldian Finches (Brazill-Boast et al 2011. Although differences in competitive strength can result in the exclusion of weaker competitors from high-quality habitat (Kempenaers and Dhondt 1991, Robinson andTerborgh 1995, Martin andEadie 1999), sustained competition for cavity resources appears to be relatively common among cavity-nesters with similar body sizes (e.g., Slagsvold 1975, Meek andRobertson 1994). Competitors for nest cavities employ strategies to reduce the degree of competition or to change the balance of competitive strength through subtle shifts in cavity selection (e.g., Robles and Martin 2013) or early timing of breeding (Wiebe 2003).…”

“…Counts of migrating animals are typically collected as hourly or daily counts of the number of individuals migrating past a count site (Farmer et al 2007, Findlay et al 2011, as the number of individuals using a count site during migratory stopover (Francis and Hussell 1998, Robinson 2012, McGowan 2015, or as the number of individuals collected injured or dead following collisions with man-made structures (Loss et al 2014, Beston et al 2015. Population trends extrapolated from counts of migrating individuals have shown general correspondence with breeding surveys Hussell 1998, Farmer et al 2007) and provide an important contribution to the identification of research and management priorities that can lead to the improved assessment and conservation of populations (Machtans andThogmartin 2014, McGowan 2015).…”