Subject: ARS NEWS --Misc.

From: [email-masked] (Adam Finkelstein)
Date: Mon, 18 Apr 1994 12:25:32 GMT

The following was taken from:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE
QUARTERLY REPORT OF SELECTED RESEARCH PROJECTS
JULY TO SEPTEMBER 1993
 
Dark-colored hives help protect bees against honeybee tracheal
mites.  That's because those nasty mites can't take the higher
temperatures inside the dark hives, which absorb more
sunlight.  In field and lab studies, a temperature of 102
degrees F didn't harm bees but killed the mites.  Tracheal
mites have caused the loss of 50,000 honey bee colonies each
year since 1988.  After a three-month study, researchers found
only one in 12 mite-infested colonies in dark hives still had
mites, while 10 of 12 colonies in white hives remained
infested.  Lab tests confirmed that exposure for 48 hours at
102 degrees F significantly cut populations of mite larvae and
eggs.  Scientists say the reason may be that when hive
temperatures rise, bees try to cool the hive by fanning their
wings.  This causes heat inside the bee to rise because of the
action of wing muscles located near the bee's breathing tubes,
where the mites live.  One recommendation from the study:  If
honeybees are being bred for tracheal mite resistance, they
should be kept in white hives or in the shade, so that heat
and other environmental effects do not mask genetic resistance
to the mites.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH SERVICE
QUARTERLY REPORT OF SELECTED RESEARCH PROJECTS
OCTOBER TO DECEMBER 1993
 
If crops could sport warmer flowers, bees and other insects
might spend more time pollinating them--resulting in higher
yields of fruits or seed grains.  That's the implication of
findings by ARS scientists who measured temperature
differences of up to 12 degrees F among some cocoa flowers. 
Pollinating bees were more active around warm flowers.  A
possible explanation is that those flowers may give off more
of the natural aromatic chemicals attractive to bees.  If the
floral heat differs among crop varieties, it may be possible
for plant breeders to select for the warmest trait when
developing new commercial crop varieties.
 
Sean Adams USDA Agricultural Reasearch Service Information Staff
[email-masked]
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