Widespread exploitation of the honeybee by early Neolithic farmers

Roffet‐Salque, Mélanie; Regert, Martine; Evershed, Richard P.; Outram, Alan K.; Cramp, Lucy J E; Decavallas, Orestes; Dunne, Julie; Gerbault, Pascale; Mileto, Simona; Mirabaud, Sigrid; Pääkkönen, Mirva; Smyth, Jessica; Šoberl, Lucija; Whelton, Helen L.

doi:10.1038/nature18451

Cited by 37 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Documented ancient beepeople interactions include honey hunting dating back to the Stone Age for the honey bee Apis mellifera in Europe (Roffet-Salque et al 2015), more than 2 000 years of keeping the honey bee Apis cerana in Asia (Crane 1995), and beekeeping reaching back to at least pre-Columbian times for stingless bees (Melipona beechii) in Mayan Mexico (Quezada-Euán 2018). Bees also appear in many religious scriptures and are found within mythology, cosmology and iconography (Fijn 2014;Roffet-Salque et al 2015;Potts et al 2016a;Quezada-Euán 2018). Beeswax from culturally significant sugarbag bees (Tetragonula spp.)…”

Section: Bees People and The Planetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development

Patel

Pauli

Biggs

et al. 2020

Ambio

129

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Reductions in global bee populations are threatening the pollination benefits to both the planet and people. Whilst the contribution of bee pollination in promoting sustainable development goals through food security and biodiversity is widely acknowledged, a range of other benefits provided by bees has yet to be fully recognised. We explore the contributions of bees towards achieving the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Our insights suggest that bees potentially contribute towards 15 of the 17 SDGs and a minimum of 30 SDG targets. We identify common themes in which bees play an essential role, and suggest that improved understanding of bee contributions to sustainable development is crucial for ensuring viable bee systems.

show abstract

Section: Bees People and The Planetmentioning

confidence: 99%

Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development

Patel

Pauli

Biggs

et al. 2020

Ambio

129

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…This is no coincidence. Humans have exploited honey bees for honey and beeswax since at least the Neolithic period (Dams & Dams, 1977;Roffet-Salque et al, 2015) and have long marveled at their complex social organization (Seeley, 2010;von Frisch, 1967). It is the contribution of honey bees to crop pollination, however, that makes them invaluable.…”

Section: The Importance Of Beesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Imidacloprid impairs performance on a model flower handling task in bumblebees (Bombus impatiens)

2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bumblebees exposed to neonicotinoid pesticides collect less pollen on foraging trips. Exposed bumblebees are also slower to learn to handle flowers, which may account for reduced pollen collection. It is unclear, however, why neonicotinoid exposure slows learning to handle flowers. I investigated the effect of imidacloprid, a neonicotinoid pesticide, on bumblebee motor learning using a lab model of flower handling. Bumblebees learned to invert inside a narrow tube and lift a petal-shaped barrier to reach a reward chamber. Imidacloprid-exposed bumblebees showed a dose-dependent delay to solve the task, which resulted from reduced switching between behavioural strategies and a subsequent delay in use of the successful strategy. This effect was consistent in colonies exposed at 10 but not 2.6 ppb, suggesting a variable effect on individuals at lower doses. These results help to explain why exposed bumblebees are slow to learn to handle flowers and collect less pollen on foraging trips.

show abstract

“…Humans began harvesting wax and honey from honey bee colonies at least 9000 years ago [104,105]. They originally scavenged these products from wild nests [89,104,105]. However, the demand for honey outgrew its natural availability as human populations became larger and sedentary [106].…”

Section: Domestication History Traits and Pathway Of Apis Melliferamentioning

confidence: 99%

Insects: The Disregarded Domestication Histories

Lecocq¹

2019

Animal Domestication

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Domestication has irrevocably impacted human evolution. The domestication process/ pathways have been the focus of abundant research for plants and vertebrates. Advances in genetics and archeology have allowed tremendous progresses in the understanding of domestication for these organisms. In contrast, insects' domestication has comparatively received far less attention to date. Yet, insects are the most common animal group on Earth and provide many valuable ecosystem services to humans. Therefore, the aims of this chapter are (i) to provide an overview of main ancient and recent insect domestication histories and (ii) to reread them by the light of the domestication process, pathways, triggers, and consequences observed in other animal species. Some of the considered species (i.e., silkworm and honey bee) have been chosen because they are among the few insects commonly acknowledged as domesticated, while others allow illustrating alternative domestication patterns. The overview of current literature shows similar humandirected pathway and domestication syndrome (e.g., increased tameness, decreased aggressiveness, modified reproduction) between several insect species.

show abstract

Widespread exploitation of the honeybee by early Neolithic farmers

Cited by 37 publications

References 0 publications

Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development

Why bees are critical for achieving sustainable development

Imidacloprid impairs performance on a model flower handling task in bumblebees (Bombus impatiens)

Insects: The Disregarded Domestication Histories

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About