Blister (oil) beetles, family Meloidae, are distributed throughout the world except for New Zealand, Antarctica and most Polynesian islands. They are characterized by their complex biology including hypermetamorphosis and diapause. The present review discusses the embryonic development of several meloid species belonging to various genera. Concerning the postembryonic development, this work rev...

There is clear evidence for global and unsustainable high losses of the managed Western honey bee, Apis mellifera, colonies raising major concerns about sustainability pollination services food security. Here, we address a conflicting selection scenario in workers to better understand life-history trade-offs underlying colony losses. Due developmental plasticity, annual fluctuations pressures r...

Megachile rotundata (F.), a gregarious, cavity-nesting, leaf-cutting bee, is used throughoutNorthAmerica for the pollination of alfalfa,Medicago sativaL., seed crops.We examined the inßuence of various temperature regimes on development, survival, emergence, and longevity in both nondiapausing and diapausing forms of this species. In general, development rates increased with increasing constant...

Elevated winter losses of managed honeybee colonies are a major concern, but the underlying mechanisms remain controversial. Among the suspects are the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, the microsporidian Nosema ceranae, and associated viruses. Here we hypothesize that pathogens reduce the life expectancy of winter bees, thereby constituting a proximate mechanism for colony losses. A monitoring...

Climate change affects the abundance, distribution and activity of natural enemies that are important for suppressing herbivore crop pests. Moreover, higher mean temperatures and increased frequency of climatic extremes are expected to induce different responses across trophic levels, potentially disrupting predator-prey interactions. Using field observations, we examined the response of an aph...

The purpose of this review was to examine sport officials’ motivation and passion to become and remain a referee in today’s sport climate. There are endless accounts of misconduct towards officials from participants, coaches, parents and fans. This review examined the research evidence that explained why officials continue to work in their sport and tried to determine what motivations were fact...

Human lifespan is positively correlated with childhood intelligence, as measured by psychometric (IQ) tests. The strength of this correlation is similar to the negative effect that smoking has on the life course. This result suggests that people who perform well on psychometric tests in childhood may remain healthier and live longer. The correlation, however, is debated: is it caused exclusivel...

Background: Due to its nutrient content, a variety of spoilage microorganisms can grow in bee pollen, especially when handling practices are not appropriate. So, this survey was designed to assess the physicochemical and microbiological properties of bee pollen collected from Bulgaria. Methods: In June 2014, 13 fresh and 19 dried bee pollen samples were collected from Bulgaria. Water activity ...

The potency of various bee antigens including bee venom, several whole bee body extracts and fractions of bee venom was studied using the RAST inhibition method. As compared to whole bee body extract, bee venom was a much more potent inhibitor of both bee venom and whole body RAST, suggesting that venom has a greater capacity to bind specific bee IgE antibodies. Whole body extracts also varied ...

acute bee paralysis virus (abpv) is a small single stranded rna virus recently classified within the family dicistroviridae, genus cripavirus. here, we describe the first study of abpv in unhealthy bee colonies, which has been an unusual loss in adult bee population and significant honey bee mortality during the year. the aim of this study was evaluation of abpv infection in honey bee colonies ...