Том 8, №1

Until mid 1800 Apis mellifera mellifera, the black bee, was the absolutely dominant bee in Sweden. It is well adopted for the climate with long winters. It can fly at somewhat lower temperature and uses less food during the winter than other races. Unfortunately, a massive import of Ligustica and Carnica led to hybridisation of the black bee. The hybrid between mellifera and Carnica does not differ much in colour from a pure Mellifera but has a temperament that is bad. It was therefore said that the Mellifera was an aggressive bee and it lost its popularity. In 1990 a project started for saving the Mellifera bee. A message was sent to the bee-keepers asking them if they believed they had pure Mellifera in their hives. Around 150 persons gave a positive answer and were asked to send samples of their bees. By using morphological values 10 colonies were considered pure. Over the years some more colonies were found that seem to be pure. By using mtDNA we can see 30 different lines. The main characteristics used in the selection are colour and wing pattern where we look mostly at cubital index and the discoidal angle. To secure pure mating we have some islands and remote areas where only Mellifera exists but apart from that artificial insemination is also used. The Swedish government and WWF supported the project at the start but without the efforts from enthusiastic bee-keepers it would have failed.

For over 40 years A. mellifera mellifera L. has been a protected species in Poland. All the present time, we are running protection programmes, with small changes, naturally. The programmes encompass 4 lines of A. m. mellifera L.: Augustowska, Kampinoska, Północna (North), Asta. All lines are covered by similar protection programmes (based on the leading apiary and co-operating apiaries), however only the Augustowska and Kampinoska lines are kept in a system of preservation regions where there are bans on introducting any other colonies.

All projects connected with funding for the Black Bee Protection Programmes were completed in 2013. Their implementation in an unchanged form was prolonged for the year 2014. For the years 2015-2020, conservation of black bees is anticipated within the scientific project: “Fundamental research for biological development in animal production”.

The SICAMM (International Association for the Protection of the European Dark Bee) 13th biennial and Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders’ Association (BIBBA) 50th Anniversary joint conference at Llangollen, North Wales, was held in September, 2014. BIBBA had already sketched out two parallel streams of lectures, one for beginners, the other for more advanced beekeepers, then SICAMM joined in with another packed programme of international speakers from across Europe. This time it included two Russian scientists, one Czech, two from Latvia and eminent representatives from the Netherlands and Spain. With over 40 lectures and three lecture streams running in parallel I could attend only a selection of what was on offer. The saving grace was a good interval for moving between halls and I hardly heard an adverse comment.

The main objective of the research was to determine the overall health of bees that inhabit the wild beehives and logs located in Polish northeastern Forest Districts. The study was conducted in August 2015 in Augustow Forest District (1 wild beehive and 9 logs), Suprasl Forest District (3 wild beehives), Maskulinskie Forest District (1 log). In the samples with PCR methods (according to the OIE) and using specific primers species of Nosema spp. and the type of virus (ABPV, CBPV and DWV) were determined,

the presence of american foulbrood AFB and V. destructor in brood and in bees were detected. In the collected material there were not found anatomical and developmental anomalies in worker bees indicating the pathognomonic symptoms of diseases (eg. paralysis, weight loss, etc.) or the presence of american foulbrood (AFB) in brood. However there were found V. destructor in five tested objects, and carried by this mite the virus of deformed wings DWV in four objects. It was also ascertained the presence of infection with a pathogenic fungus N. ceranae in two objects. Because of pioneering character of research it should be continued in the future.

The main objective of the research was to evaluate the microbiological quality of 10 honeys from Belorus collected from beekeepers in the area of Grodno. The study was conducted in 2013 at the Apiculture Division of Warsaw University of Life Sciences-SGGW. The aim of the research was the count of total number of microorganisms, count of the genus Bacillus spp., and also yeasts and molds. An assessment of microbial count in honey was made with the use of three methods: submerged culture, surface culture and spiral plate to select the best of them. Furthermore were tested selected physicochemical properties such as pH, water content and water activity. The presence of Bacillus spp., yeasts and molds, and the total number of microorganisms was found in all honeys. It was also ascertained that the appropriate method for testing the microbiological quality of honey is the classic submerged method. Tested honeys proved to be a good value. Most of the studied parameters was in the standards or were on the borders. All honeys were characterized by low pH (range 3.08-3.42), while the water activity (0.622 - 0.538 aw) and a water content (16.7-21.7%) was adequate to hinder the microbial growth.

Application of bio-information technology and analysis techniques is necessary for creation of a new generation of diagnostics. Establishment of such tests requires a new approach to selective parts calculations and selection of reagents. Example, presented in this work, allows being more effective on the way in identifying of retroviruses and analysis of their genomes. The use of this diagnosticum in practice found a high degree of infection of tribal and private apiaries in the Ryazan region.

I had kept bees in frame hives for four years when I started to experiment with foundationless comb in them. That got me interested in foundationless beekeeping generally and a friend drew my attention to the Warré hive. I built half a dozen of them in 2006 hand have since switched most of my production beekeeping to the Warré hive. Here, I share with you what has been for me a particularly enjoyable nine seasons of beekeeping with the hive. This article is in two parts: the first on the principles and the second on the practice.

With the growing realization that original, locally adapted bees compared to hybrids or introduced subspecies have an advantage, the desire for protected areas for those local breeds receives further support and encouragement. In this publication we report on the status of the Dark Bee Apis mellifera mellifera, (Amm), in Switzerland and about efforts which are being executed to maintain this local race (subspecies) and ecotype.

Breeding honey bees (Apis mellifera) for physiological resistance to diseases is a highly desirable and environmentally safe approach to increasing colony survival. Selection of desirable traits is a critical element of any breeding program. In this study we investigate whether honey bee stocks differ in the level of physiological resistance to chalkbrood disease caused by Ascosphaera apis, one of the major fungal pathogens of the honey bee. The level of brood resistance to systemic mycoses caused by the fungus was determined by the survival of larvae in in vitro bioassays.

Our results showed that there was no statistical difference in individual resistance to chalkbrood disease among the three honey bee stocks (Russian, Carniolan, VSH) tested in this study. Furthermore, activation of classical immunity and cellular stress responses did not influence the fate of infected individuals, indicating that activation of the individual physiological responses may not be the primary mechanism of protection against this fungal disease. Rather, behavioral responses by adult bees, as reported previously, are likely the primary mechanism providing resistance at the colony level.