The Process and Outcome of the Africanization of Honey Bees in Mexico: Lessons and Future Directions

Guzmán-Novoa, Ernesto; Morfin, Nuria; Mora, Alvaro De la; Macías-Macías, José Octavio; Tapia-González, José María; Contreras-Escareño, Francisca; Medina-Flores, Carlos Aurelio; Correa-Benítez, Adriana; Quezada‐Euán, José Javier G.

doi:10.3389/fevo.2020.608091

Cited by 28 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 121 publications

(149 reference statements)

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“…The results of this study add to the notion of Africanized bee resistance to V. destructor parasitism, which has been documented in a number of studies [ 32 , 34 , 35 , 38 , 39 , 59 , 60 ]. The higher relative resistance of Africanized bees to V. destructor is apparently due in part to a lower attractiveness of Africanized bee brood to being parasitized by the mite [ 34 ], to lower rates of reproduction of the mite in the brood of Africanized bees [ 40 , 61 , 62 ], to frequent colony swarming and evasion [ 63 ], or to greater expression of mechanisms of social immunity such as hygienic and grooming behavior, compared to bees of European descent [ 33 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 42 , 64 , 65 , 66 ]. It is possible that natural selection has favored the evolution of these traits to a greater extent in Africanized bee populations than in European bee populations, particularly because colonies of Africanized bees have not been subjected to chemical treatments against the mite at the intensity that European bee colonies have.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genotype, but Not Climate, Affects the Resistance of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) to Viral Infections and to the Mite Varroa destructor

Ramos-Cuellar

Mora

Contreras-Escareño

et al. 2022

Veterinary Sciences

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This study was conducted to analyze the effect of genotype and climate on the resistance of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies to parasitic and viral diseases. The prevalence and intensity of parasitism by Varroa destructor, or infection by Nosema spp., and four honey bee viruses were determined in 365 colonies of predominantly European or African ancestry (descendants of A. m. scutellata) in subtropical and temperate regions of Mexico. Varroa destructor was the most prevalent parasite (95%), whilst N. ceranae was the least prevalent parasite (15%). Deformed wing virus (DWV) and black queen cell virus (BQCV) were the only viruses detected, at frequencies of 38% and 66%, respectively. Varroa destructor was significantly more prevalent in colonies of European ancestry (p < 0.05), and the intensity of parasitism by V. destructor or infection by DWV and BQCV was also significantly higher in colonies of European descent than in African descent colonies (p < 0.01), although no genotype–parasite associations were found for N. ceranae. Additionally, significant and positive correlations were found between V. destructor and DWV levels, and the abundance of these pathogens was negatively correlated with the African ancestry of colonies (p < 0.01). However, there were no significant effects of environment on parasitism or infection intensity for the colonies of both genotypes. Therefore, it is concluded that the genotype of honey bee colonies, but not climate, influences their resistance to DWV, BQCV, and V. destructor.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genotype, but Not Climate, Affects the Resistance of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) to Viral Infections and to the Mite Varroa destructor

Ramos-Cuellar

Mora

Contreras-Escareño

et al. 2022

Veterinary Sciences

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“…mellifera in the continent of the Americas since the 60´s of the last century began in Nicaragua more than 3 decades ago. The abundant flora of the country and a mostly rustic beekeeping with little intervention from beekeepers, helped honeybees with African characteristics to reproduce easily, especially, when colonies of feral bee populations formed part of the stock managed by beekeepers [ 18 , 26 ]. Table 1 shows that there are significant differences between the sample zones in terms of defensiveness, the origin of the hive, replacement of the queen and the origin of the same.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This single character compared to multivariate analysis showed to be the best criterion to identify Africanization (at p<0.1 level no misidentification) with the overall average of the forewing length of an Africanized bee colony = 8.87 mm and = 9.20 for European bees [ 25 ]. Even assuming that this technique provides only preliminary results [ 19 ] and that it is unsuitable for identifying subspecies, it does indicate the probability that a colony is Africanized [ 26 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We hypothesize that honeybee population from Nicaragua are mainly composed of Africanized bees, due to rustic apiculture management, where beekeepers capture feral swarms in order to introduce these colonies into their apiaries and furthermore, the practice to exchange frequently combs with brood from strong hives to reinforce weak hives [ 26 , 32 , 33 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Africanized honeybee population (Apis mellifera L.) in Nicaragua: Forewing length and mitotype lineages

et al. 2022

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Various subspecies of Apis mellifera L. were introduced to Central America since colonization 500 years ago. Hybridization increased with the entrance of the Africanized bee in Nicaragua in 1984. Rustic beekeeping activities and numerous feral swarms define the genetic pattern, reflected in phenotypic heterogeneity and remarkable differences in the behaviour of the bee colonies, especially the nest defence. Due to these facts, the question emerge about the degree of Africanization of honeybee colonies in Nicaragua. In this study, we identified Africanized honeybee colonies based on the single character "mean forewing length" and we corroborated our results by determining mitotypes using mtDNA analysis. Morphometric and genetic approaches were realized in three different geographical zones of Nicaragua and related to beehive characteristics and management. Worker bee samples were taken from the inside of 146 hives from 26 apiaries. Abdominal colour as phenotypic character was the first examination, followed by measurement of 1460 right forewings to determine corresponding probability of Africanization. More than 60% of the beehives showed phenotypic heterogeneity and mean forewing length of 8.74 mm (SD 0.16 mm) indicated a high degree of Africanization. Those results provided a selection of 96 worker bees to perform PCR of two worker bees per hive. For mitochondrial DNA analysis 14 samples from sentinel apiaries were added. Three from 61 beehives presented bees with different mtDNA. Throughout, three mitotypes of the African (A) lineage were detected; one mitotype is still unidentified. Mitotype A1 A. mellifera iberiensis was represented by 88 bees and mitotype A4 A. mellifera scutellata by 21 bees. Phylogenetic analysis confirmed the PCR findings. No associations were found between mitotypes, forewing length, beehive characteristics and management. A high degree of Africanization in A. mellifera colonies represented by two predominating mitotypes from the A lineage, prevail in Neotropical Nicaragua, with mitotype A4 predominating at higher altitudes.

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“…The apparent decline of stingless bee populations is also likely to have been reinforced by contemporary anthropogenic environmental change and more recently and to an extent that still remains to be investigated, to the competition with Africanized honey bees spreading in the wild from 1986 onwards 9,10 . By contrast, beekeeping with Apis mellifera in Mesoamerica has grown signi cantly; Mexico is currently the 6th largest honey producing country in the world 11 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Honey compositional convergence and the parallel domestication of social bees

Noiset

Cabirol

Rojas-Oropeza

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Honey collection evolved from sheer honey hunting to the parallel and independent domestication of different species of bees in various parts of the world. In this study, we investigate the extent to which the compositional convergence in Apis and stingless bee honeys has driven independently the domestication of different bee species in Mesoamerica, (Mexico) and Eurasia (Thailand) by using a sampling design that combines state-of-the-art honey profiling using H1 NMR spectroscopy with the collection of honeys from both domesticated and non-domesticated bee species. Our results show that, irrespective of the region of the world considered, domesticated stingless bees produce honey whose compositional profiles converge with those of the domesticated Apis species. Our results provide evidence for the first time that the search for natural sweeteners in the environment by our ancestors led to the parallel and independent domestication of social bees producing honeys with convergent compositional profile.

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The Process and Outcome of the Africanization of Honey Bees in Mexico: Lessons and Future Directions

Cited by 28 publications

References 121 publications

Genotype, but Not Climate, Affects the Resistance of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) to Viral Infections and to the Mite Varroa destructor

Genotype, but Not Climate, Affects the Resistance of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) to Viral Infections and to the Mite Varroa destructor

Africanized honeybee population (Apis mellifera L.) in Nicaragua: Forewing length and mitotype lineages

Honey compositional convergence and the parallel domestication of social bees

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