Social insects

Excuse me, for maybe a stupid question,but how do your relatives or neighbors feel about this? I very vividly imagined the picture of stinging insects living on my balcony.

From my experience, only the study of parasites from the genus Nosema of the insects themselves, unfortunately, did not hold....

and how do you, by the way, with this parasite-often get sick???

Dzanat
Well, as you know, there are no stupid questions, there are not very good answers
But I'll try again.
As for honeybees, they do not fly to the balconies of neighbors, and do not sting anyone. Their food interests are on flowering plants, and I keep the breed non-aggressive. Yes, and bees usually bite when they are on the opposite side of the tap, waiting for them to go. But on the balcony it is not possible for me or the neighbors At least for a few years no one has been bitten but one bee, well, except for me is it
Public wasps like to roam the kitchens, but I don't keep wasps now. In general, I was interested, for the "average" house we have about 2 nests of public wasps from the genus Vespula and about 15 nests of Polistes. So externally, wasps are insects that thrive in cities, and a single settlement on the balcony does not greatly affect their number.
And they also do not attack "just like that", even when they are near the nest.
And bumblebees are generally very peaceful, they do not tend to be aggressive at all, even when dismantling their nests.
So public insects on the balcony are not much more dangerous than a dog in an apartment.

Egil
I didn't specifically find out if they were suffering from nosema, but so far there were no external signs. In general, it seems to me that nozema has a strong influence on melifera, since there is a long active wintering period, because according to the description (Diseases and pests of honey bees, reference book), it is the wintering bees that suffer most from infestation. And there it is also indicated about the influence of the composition of honey on the development of nosema. I feed my own people sugar to eliminate honeydew.
And it seems to me that nosema does not have any significant influence on the development of wasp and bumblebee families. Although they probably don't have N. apis, and maybe the path is different here. In general, it is interesting how it really is.
Do you study nosema within the framework of A. melifera diseases or in general?

I study N. bombi isolates in Poland and from greenhouses - there are bumblebees imported from Israel, to understand whether natural N. bombi differs from imported ones and whether it is more pathogenic for local bumblebees...

And N. apis only as an object for finding new markers

Well, in general, I just do public correspondence, although not the content, but the behavior. But, of course, you have to keep them A couple of times I grew bumblebee nests from a queen caught in the spring. I can confirm that bumblebees are very peaceful, probably the most peaceful of our social activists. True, aggressiveness is very dependent on the size of the nest.

to Egil
At the 3rd International Congress on Social Insects in St. Petersburg in August, there were several works on N. bombi. There was a separate symposium on diseases and it was dominated by N. bombi. If you are interested, I can send you the abstract titles when I return to Moscow.

This year I also tried to raise from captured females, but it didn't work out. I used to take an already formed nest in the early summer. What kind of view did you take?
Aggressiveness in addition to the number of individuals is very dependent on the species. There are those that even when a natural nest is opened by the population of about 200 individuals allow them to "go headfirst" inside the nest, and there are those who mainly live in surface nests, which are chased for long distances when the nest is destroyed. For example, B. muscorum.
But even among the operating systems there are not so aggressive ones. For example, I once found a nest of V. rufa, quite peaceful. And the hornets were much calmer than P. germnica.
And you are engaged in behavior, in what way? Relationships of individuals in the nest? What family are you researching?

Egil
Does nosema have a significant impact on the development of bumblebee families? And what are the most affected individuals, the oviparous female, workers or females that go to winter quarters?
Or do you study only at the microbiological level?

It is very difficult to grow a nest from a captured female. First, the vast majority of them are infected with all sorts of diseases and parasites (the same Nosema bombi), so you need to catch at least 20 pieces. Secondly, they need to be provided with suitable conditions (t~28, dark). Third, they are subject to stress and need to be handled very carefully (change feeders in red light, etc.). And finally, pollen. It should be fresh, soft (not last year's). I used to set up pollen traps in the apiary and get the pollen "first-hand" . And many,many other things. In general, it's hard. Now you can buy a ready-made nest, they are grown for pollination in greenhouses. I had lucorum and terrestris nests. It is believed that striped bumblebees are most suitable for growing. Red-nosed birds (derhamellus, lapidarius) are the least suitable.
I am engaged in orientation when foraging and returning to the nest. I study bumblebees and wasps. I work in a group, also trying to understand the behavior in the nest, but there is such a swamp!

Yes, I read about the fact that many queens are infected, but there was advice to catch the very first ones when the flight just started. I caught two terrestris, planted in corton boxes, in a dark place, a ball of pollen mixed with honey+a bowl of liquid sugar syrup. One female was restless, and did not take root. The second began to consume food, lived already pohoezhe before the development of the ovaries, as it began to build a "bowl". but then she died. Probably the infection can still that. Pollen of course was last year's, then there were no bees. This year they arrived, if they overwinter, I will also put a catcher.
And I would have bought a ready-made one if I knew where it was available, it's very interesting to watch them.

I noticed something interesting: bees and wasps always return to the nest at once, they don't confuse balconies. But bumblebees always confuse balconies. Somewhere in three balconies before the desired one, it already starts to fly, and so on in each balcony until it finds it.
I also wonder why the German wasps do not have a mass familiarization flight, because there, in principle, many young ones are also born immediately, and it is necessary to get acquainted with the position of the nest somehow?
And I also have a question that I have been asking for a long time: does the OS have a way to transmit information about properties and distance to the feed object?

If you lived in Moscow, I would tell you where to buy a nest, but this pleasure is not cheap - a uterus+10 workers cost about$100-150.

About balconies-bumblebees can climb into other people's nests and steal honey there. I've heard a lot about it, and I've seen it myself many times. Maybe the study of balconies is related to this? Or, if they (the balconies) are very similar, then perhaps the bumblebees are just confused. Nest orientation is quite a complex process. It is difficult to say, this must be specially observed.

As far as I know, they don't have any information about wasps (by the way, many scientists are not sure that bees also give information about the distance to the feed, because smell plays a big role there). But there are observations (so far only observations) that wasps can fly in small groups and jointly find food sources. In any case, the question is very interesting.

This post was edited by Bolivar - 02.10.2005 17: 17

Well, in bees, it seems that data about the source of food is transmitted not only by smell. I have in the literature descriptions of experiments where sugar syrup was used, and there is a well-known effect in practice, when bees of two different breeds, packed into one family, are very confused in the honey collection, since each breed has a different dance. According to the data I've read, the geometric information is used by bees to navigate to the place where the food source is located, and then they are guided by the smell, if there is one.

About wasps, they have slightly different food interests. For larvae, they catch insects and generally collect all sorts of "meat" food. Here it may be superfluous to report a high concentration of feed, since first this food is not stored, and then such concentrations are rare. But these sweets collect huge concentrations of wasps, especially in the fall, and it seems to be for small periods of time. So I'm wondering if there's any transmission of information here.

Well, in bees, it seems that data about the source of food is transmitted not only by smell. I have in the literature descriptions of experiments where sugar syrup was used, and there is a well-known effect in practice, when bees of two different breeds, packed into one family, are very confused in the honey collection, since each breed has a different dance. According to the data I've read, the geometric information is used by bees to navigate to the place where the food source is located, and then they are guided by the smell, if there is one.

I didn't say it was just by smell, of course. Frisch was not given the Nobel Prize for nothing. This is just a mixed process, as you wrote - first the direction, and then the smell. And all this is very dependent on the distance to the feed.

And where can these works be found on the Internet? This is a very interesting question...
sealor:
Once I had an aspen nest on my balcony (if I'm not mistaken, Vespa vulgiris) - a small one - wasps within fifty veins. They were quite docile until I took too much advantage of them and almost petted them sitting on the combs - they didn't like it very much. They founded the nest two years in a row, but, in my opinion, interestingly, in the winter it remained in the closet where there was a nest of 3-4 wasps. Did the workers also spend the winter? However, our winters are warm - rarely less than 0 degrees...

Bolivar
Regarding feed, I read somewhere that wasp larvae secrete a sweet liquid that workers feed on. From this, it seems, we can conclude that the wasps so pounce on sugar in the fall, because by this time there are practically no larvae. Is this correct? I tried to apply a match to the larva, and it secreted a drop of liquid, but what is it, it's something from the enzymes can be..
Thank you for the link, if I find these works, I will read them.

RudoyAndrey
About the nest, it was hardly Vespula vulgaris, it has such a nest that you can't see the honeycombs, you can't stroke the wasps. It was you who obviously had polists on the balcony, they have a single honeycomb without a shell attached with cells facing down. Individuals in size and general appearance are indistinguishable from queens and workers. Yes, and there is information that in addition to queens, other individuals can lay eggs that are not fertilized, of course.
Their aggressiveness is not high, but if you stroke them, of course they will not meow in response
And indeed, I very often met several female polistov wintering under the nests or nearby, but these are not workers anymore, although they may have been for some time. This is already the uterus. They can easily tolerate -20 and below.
And in vespula nests, the queens do not overwinter for certain reasons.

The image shows a hundred polistovs built in the steppe, on the stem of a plant., and wasps on it.

This post was edited by sealor - 03.10.2005 21: 31

Pictures:
  pb.jpg — (35.64к) 03.10.2005 — 17.10.2005

Bolivar
Here's another question about bees. And what do they think now about the mechanism of determining the uterine cell for fertilized and" drone " eggs? I am familiar with all the numerous "early" versions, I am of the opinion that the uterus "measures" the cell, either with its legs, or with its antennae, or something else, but in no case is this connected with the pressure on the abdomen in the bee cell. Have there been any more precise studies?

Yes, it seems that we are talking about polists, they are quite peaceful and their honeycombs are open. By the way, Lydia Rusina, Head of the Department of Zoology at Kherson State University, is a very good specialist who deals with polysters.
And unfertilized eggs can also be laid by workers, if the female has died. Wasps, bees, bumblebees-all do this. Winter is exclusively fertilized females, all the rest die.

Yes, wasp larvae secrete a sugary liquid (I can't say the exact composition), but of course it's not enough to feed the wasps. That's right, a delicacy. And the sweet wasps will always fly. Another thing is how strong this motivation is, it already depends on the stage of development of the nest.

Sealor, you're right about measuring the cell with your feet, I think so too. The fact is that to lay unfertilized eggs in drone cells, the uterus must receive an incentive that prevents the release of sperm from the vas deferens. It has been shown that it receives this stimulus when examining the drone cell with the front pair of legs. With their help, the uterus, apparently, is able to distinguish the diameter of the drone cell from the diameter of the queen cell or bee cell.

I didn't search for Reznikova's work on the Internet, so I don't know where. Her name is Zhanna Ilyinichna, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor at Novosibirsk State University. Her latest book, Animal and Human Intelligence and Language: Fundamentals of Cognitive Ethology , is very interesting and well written. I recommend you to buy it. Some of her experiences are also described there.

And unfertilized eggs can also be laid by workers, if the female has died. Wasps, bees, bumblebees-all do this. Winter is exclusively fertilized females, all the rest die.

And what is known about the reliability of seemingly occurring cases of worker bees laying eggs from which females developed? I have seen references to such cases in the old literature.

Another interesting question, and you know a very interesting effect from my point of view, which I called the "effect of maintaining aggressiveness", and it manifests itself in this:
If you open, for example, a bumblebee nest of B. terrestris, and cause a defensive reaction, and then catch aggressive individuals in a box, and after a while release them in another place, they will try to sting and attack.

And what is known about the reliability of seemingly occurring cases of worker bees laying eggs from which females developed? I have seen references to such cases in the old literature.

I've also heard about it, but I can't say for sure, I need to talk to the beekeepers. I don't really understand how this can happen, because only males come out of unfertilized eggs.

Regarding parthenogenetic females, I found such information in the book "Diseases and pests of honey bees", about the possibility of developing a female from an unfertilized egg by exposure to high or low temperatures, they write referring to Tryasko, 1975.
How this can come up, I can not imagine myself in detail, but here it is just amazing that bees have parthenogenetically born males.


But as for maintaining aggressiveness, it's not all simple. I kept bumblebees in a matchbox for up to half an hour, and the aggressiveness persisted. And what is meant by stress? Bumblebee attacks actively only when protecting the nest, if you put it in a box from the flower, even if you don't shake it much, then later, when it is released, it will simply fly away. That is, there is not a simple anxiety and irritation, but the preservation of aggressiveness.

In my opinion, there is nothing surprising - males are haploid, and females are diploid. Accordingly, a fertilized egg is diploid, and an unfertilized egg is haploid. If there are still females from unfertilized eggs, then these eggs are diploid, and there can be no other way. Apparently, there is some error in meiosis.

About being aggressive. It's one thing to catch a bumblebee on a flower when it's calm. Another thing is at the nest, in an excited state. To this is added the stress of capture, which is always there, especially when the box/jar is shaken. Therefore, it does not take long. I think that if you keep an aggressive bumblebee in a dark box for about an hour, it will calm down. Still, half an hour is not enough IMHO. There is no special "effect"here. Although, of course, it is better to test this experimentally. But is it necessary?

Drones aren't all that simple. There are diploid drones, this is a fact. That is, males grow out of diploid eggs. As I understand it, it was proved that under the influence of phys. however, it was haploid eggs from drone bees, which in the control developed into drones, that produced females after treatment.

I want to test this effect, but this year it would not have worked, I did not find a single nest. This year in general on bumblebees was not very. Next season maybe.

Oh, in the sense of eggs from the same drones, but part of the honeycomb was exposed to temperatures, and part remained in the nest for control

Well, actually, as for the possibility of restoring the integrity of the nest due to the possible hatching of the uterus from drones, then in natural conditions bees have only two most likely opportunities to remain without a uterus, and its fetal eggs and larvae, from which it would hatch. This is if they lose their uterus in the winter or the swarm loses its uterus. But in these cases, even if the uterus was removed in this way, it is useless. Bees will simply die sooner, even if such a queen is fertilized and begins to lay eggs.

In general, diploid males are possible if they are homozygous for all alleles, but haploid females - only with violations in meiosis, I don't see any other options If this happens, then this is more of a "glitch" than a "feature"

Hello, people, I'm from Kazakhstan, my name is Askhat, I have 8 years of experience in the study of wasps-polistov,German wasps, common, middle, Saxon, crossbreeds between them, as well as on honeybees, it's a pity that there is no practical knowledge on bumblebees(because there is nowhere to take them), but I know the theory perfectly,a little bit about ants!

As for diploid males, this is often the case with closely related crosses, but haploid females can quite realistically be bred by an African (Cape) bee breed, which is a special feature - worker bees have more egg tubes than their European relatives, since, secondly, they are more primitive,aggressive,they have (apparently) in their ovaries eggs that double your set and the family is saved.

About medium-sized wasps, these are large wasps, each working wasp is the size of the uterus of an ordinary wasp, they like to build a nest in the open air, another difference, their nest is longer,rougher, the shell is a whole leaf, inside 6 tiers maximum, their number is small, about 150-200 individuals.If you want to know more, write to me and I will answer.


guys, it would be nice to make a chat,(and if there is one, I don't see it)

I didn't read all the messages. It is interesting to have bumblebees at home, but I don't know what to do, etc.too. Of course, I want to keep it not because of my love for keeping insects, but for the sake of getting a medic (I don't need much). And bumblebees are interesting creatures. So tell me pliiz how to organize such a pleasure?

bro, bumblebees do not store enough honey,it is difficult to buy them, because it is hard to reach, but you can try it,and yet, bumblebees do not store honey for the winter!

2RippeR Indeed, bumblebee honey stocks are small, and families are small. Besides, the question is how to withdraw it. You can make a nest just for observation, it is always interesting and useful. Read this topic - the main issues are covered there.

Just to seize honey from bumblebees living in artificial conditions is not difficult. This is done with the help of a straw, which is used to drink the juice. In the evening, honey is drunk with a straw and instead of honey, a sugar solution or liquefied bee honey is poured into the cells with the same straw. In one nest of a horse bumblebee in the evening approx. a tablespoon of honey or a little more. Honey bumblebee delicious!

This post was edited by sealor - 07/16/2006 10: 23

It is a pity that bumblebee farming is not developed in Kazakhstan...

I meant that there is no industrial way, like bees. A straw, of course, you can drink, I did in experiments to stimulate their work. But so much fuss for the sake of an insignificant amount of honey... IMHO ovchinka dressing is not worth it.

has anyone ever obtained royal jelly?

No, of course, keeping bumblebees for the sake of honey is a mockery of them! I didn't drink honey from them every night, I tried it a few times and that's all.
And if you want to keep it not because of the love of insects, then in my opinion the best way is to keep an n-liter jar of honey in the kitchen

guys, I need chitso practical help, how do I attract a bumblebee queen for nesting in the spring?

http://bronzovka.narod.ru/glava06_1.html
I think it's hard to find a better way with natural settlement. A short conclusion - it is necessary to bury the boxes, and always with a "bumblebee", otherwise the females may not justify the nest if there is a nest chamber immediately. After all, many species are used to settling in the cells of mice, where there is a long passage, and even more than one. But such species as lapidarius and horse prefer to settle directly under rocks or in a pile of leaves. And moss is generally on the surface, more than once found.

True, bumblebees generally like the smell of mice, so it would be nice to put herbs from the mouse's nest in the box.
In general, it is easier to catch a few females in early spring, when they are just emerging and keep them in cages.

listen, will mouse fur (pieces)attract them?

I think so.