Nosema disease caused by microsporidia which belongs to fungi is a major cause of honey production loss and is worldwide in distribution. The most common method of nosema disease controlling is the application of the fumagillin. It is an antibiotic derived from the fungus Aspergillus fumigates. It has been used for many years to treat microsporidiosis caused by Nosema in honeybees. However, Fumagillin does not kill Nosema spores, and has rapidly deteriorating potency after application, resulting in only partial and temporary anti-Nosema effect, since new bees emerge constantly in a colony, and re-application is required several times a year. Also it is no longer practised for the associated risk of honey contamination. In this study we compare the effect in spore reduction of Cordyceps militaris extract(CMX) and of fumagillin. Three weekly administrations of CMX showed a noticeable decrease in the number of spores infecting the honey bee intestines, without negative effects for adults and comb health. Therefore this product could play an important role in prevention and reduction of nosema disease without risks of honey with antibiotics.

This study was conducted to establish the optimized protocol for cytoplasm isolation of bee pollen. Data of biochemical parameters and amino acid profiles were obtained from acorn pollen grains treated with pulverization or lyophilization. Contents of moisture, ash, crude protein and crude fat of acorn pollen were 11.7%, 2.6%, 24.1% and 11.8%, respectively. After pulverizing, content of crude protein was decreased to 23.8% while crude fat was 22.5% which means 90% increase. Also content of crude protein was increased to 26.5% in case of the lyophilized pollen. Amino acids such as aspartic acid, glutamic acid, leucine and arginine were extensively found in acorn pollen while histidine, methionine and cystine were infrequent. The pulverized pollen was increased by 2.6% in the total amino acid percentage while the lyophilized pollen increased by 11.8% compared to the untreated pollen.

Most Korean beekeepers have moved from south to north of Korea to collect nectar from black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) flowers for 2 months. This provided a valuable opportunity to sample bees originating from diverse areas in one location. We initiated a survey of honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies on the blooming period of Acacia to determine the prevalence of Nosema apis and black queen cell virus (BQCV) in 2013. Nosema causes significant losses in population size of honeybees. Sixteenth hives were sampled for this study. Bees were collected on the 4th and 13th of May, 2013. Nosema spore counts ranged from zero to 1,948,333 spores per bee. The average number of nosema spores per bee was calculated to be 450,000. Approximately 94% of the apiaries examined were infected with nosema, based on the presence of spores in the flowering period of Acacia. Also nosema is thought to be associated with black queen cell virus. RT-PCR analysis shows that BQCV infection rate was 100%. This indicates that nosema and BQCV is the predominant species affecting honeybee colonies.

The average life expectancy has continuously increased with the development of medicine. However, Some of men have been suffered from the insufficient secretion of testosterone causing by physical factors, social and psychological factors. Testosterone is an essential steroid hormone controlling male reproductive function. Alternative medicines in plants, fungi, and insects have been studied to enhance sexuality. In the present study, we determined the effect of an acorn pollen and Cordyceps militaris fruiting body on testosterone concentration in Sprague-Dawley rats. Eighteen rats per group were housed to regular diet or diet supplemented with acorn pollen powder or fruiting body power for 4 weeks. Serum was collected from 6 rats per group. Results showed that changes of the body weight, food and water intake of the rats were not observed in this study. However, acorn pollen powder and Cordyceps militaris fruiting body significantly stimulated testosterone production (p < 0.05) compared to the control, respectively. Hence, it suggests that acorn pollen or Cordyceps militaris fruiting body might be developed as a complementary medicine to improve sexual hormones.

Deformed wing virus (DWV) of honeybees (Apis mellifera) is closely associated with characteristic wing deformities, abdominal bloating, paralysis, and rapid mortality of emerging adult bees. Here, we report for the first time the occurrence of DWV-infected bumble bees (Bombus terrestris). For the present study, the detection of DWV virus from the adult bumble bee, death adult bumble bee, mail bumble bee, pupa and larva to the infection cycle was investigated in the same colony. Using specific RT-PCR protocols for the detection of DWV followed by sequencing of the PCR products we could demonstrate that the bumble bees were indeed infected with DWV. The virus was detected from diseased insects, and its partial DWV gene was cloned and sequenced. The partial DWV gene encoding the polyprotein is 711-nt of 235 amino acid residues. The deduced nucleotide sequence of the polyprotein partial gene of DWV showed 96.9%, 96.2%, 96.8%, and 96.5% homology to other structure polyprotein partial gene of DWV, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis further conformed that the deduced nucleotide sequence of the polyprotein partial gene of DWV divided to the outside tree. We describe the first time that presence of Deformed wing virus(DWV) from bumble bee(Bombus terrestris) in korea using RT-PCR.

We report for the first time the occurrence of DWV-infected bumble bees (Bombus ignitus). For the present study, the detection of DWV virus from the female and male bumble bee was investigated in the same colony. The Deformed wing virus (DWV) of honeybee (Apis mellifera) is closely associated with characteristic wing deformities, abdominal bloating, paralysis, and rapid mortality of emerging adult bees. Using specific RT-PCR protocols for the detection of DWV followed by sequencing of the PCR products we could demonstrate that the bumble bees were indeed infected with DWV. The virus was detected from Bombus ignitus, and its partial DWV gene was cloned and sequenced. The partial DWV gene encoding the polyprotein is 711-nt of 235 amino acid residues. The deduced nucleotide sequence of the polyprotein partial gene of DWV showed 96.9%, 96.2%, 96.8%, and 96.5% homology to other structure polyprotein partial gene of DWV from insects, respectively. Phylogenetic analysis further conformed that the deduced nucleotide sequence of the polyprotein partial gene of DWV divided to the outside tree. We describe the first time that presence of Deformed wing virus(DWV) from bumble bee(Bombus terrestris) in korea using RT-PCR.

The traditional use of insects as food continues to be widespread in tropical and subtropical countries and to provide significant nutritional, economic and ecological benefits for rural communities. Specially, Bee brood serves as a food source to humans in many countries although limited data exists concerning its nutrient composition. Bee brood (pupa and larvae) were analyzed for Carbohydrate, Saturated fatty acid, Cholesterol, protein, fat, fiber, minerals, and vitamins. Bee brood was high in protein(46.4%～46.73%), fat(18.84%～ 20.75%),carbohydrate(24.66 %～35.79 %), Folic acid(222.30 ㎍/100g), and vitamins. Differentially, folic acid had been contained by high density in pupa of drone. While low in iron, bee brood was a good source of folic acid, and carbohydrate. The fat was composed mostly of saturated and mono-unsaturated fatty acids. The present data suggest bee brood to be an excellent source of many valuable nutrients including energy, amino acids, many essential minerals, and B-vitamins. These data suggest bee brood could be a valuable source of nutrients to various populations.