Biological activities of bombolitins from Bombus ardens, B. consobrinus, B. terrestris and B. ussurensis (bombolitinsA, C, T and U, respectively) were examined using hemolytic, anti-microbial, anti-fungal and anti-tumor activity assays.Among the four bombolitins tested, bombolitin T showed the highest hemolytic and anti-tumor activities. All bombolitinsexhibited strong anti-microbial and anti-fungal activities, and bombolitin A specifically possessed the highest anti-microbialactivity against the Gram-negative bacteria Escherichia coli. Circular dichroism spectrometry analysis revealed that allfour bombolitins had over 61.7% and 45.5% of α-helicity in 30 mM sodium dodecyl sulfate and 50% trifluoroethanolbuffers, respectively, which form lipid-membrane-mimicking environments. Bombolitin T showed the lowest IC50 valuesof 8.5 μM and 8.8 μM against SK-OV-3 and NIH-OVCAR-3 cell lines, respectively, after 72 h of treatment, but itsrelative hemolytic activity at a concentration of 200 μM was 2.3-fold higher than that of 0.1% Triton X-100. Thisstudy provides new information on the biological and molecular properties of venom peptides of bumblebees. However,further studies on reducing cytotoxicity of bombolitins are needed for designing selective anti-tumor peptides.

To increase the fruit quality and productivity of the apricot, 2 species of insects, Apis mellifer, and Bombus terrestris were used for pollination in apricot field in Yeongcheon province. This study was conducted using 3 kinds of methods for pollination effect, natural condition, net-house treatment and control method. Also this experiment carried out in 2 places, vinyl-house and field condition. In case of field treatment of Apis mellifera, heating lamp experiment was added in net-house to find out the reason for harmful efficacy of low temperature early in the spring. Species of apricot, Mangum, was used in this experiment. A number of foraging activity of Apis mellifera and Bombus terrestris in vinyl-house showed higher than in field condition. But after stoping heating, showed low efficacy after showing peak in 1 PM. In field, Apis mellifera showed peak of foraging activity from 1 to 3PM, heating lamp experiment of field condition showed peak in 3 PM and then lowest tendency to evening suddenly. The fruit set rate of Apis mellifera and Bombus terrestris in vinyl-house showed higher with 92% and 89% respectively than control with 83%. In field, heating lamp treatment of Apis melliferawas was highest with 28% compared to Bombus terrestris with 25% and control with 15%. This results suppose that apricot in field was to be harmed by low temperature and frost in blooming time early in spring

The large bumblebee, Bombusterrestris, indigenous to Europe and adjacent area, and used extensively for high-value crop pollination, has been artificially introduced to several parts of the world. Here we show the interspecific hybridization between the bumblebee species, B.hypocrita sapporoensis and B.terrestris, under laboratory conditions. The mating and oviposition percentages resulting from the interspecific hybridization of a B.terrestris queen with a B. h. sapporoensis male were higher than those resulting from the intraspecific mating of B. h. sapporoensis. Furthermore, a competitive copulation experiment indicated that the mating of B. h. sapporoensis males with B.terrestris queens was 1.2-fold more frequent than the mating of these males with B. h. sapporoensis queens. The interspecific hybridization of a B.terrestris queen with a B. h. sapporoensis male produced either B.terrestris workers or the B.terrestris male phenotype, and the hybridization of a B. h. sapporoensis queen with a B.terrestris male produced B. h. sapporoensis males. Our results indicated that interspecific hybridization occurred between B. h. sapporoensis and B.terrestris. The results suggests that such hybridization will have a negative competitive impact and will cause genetic contamination of native bumblebees.

To increase the fruit quality of the Japanese apricot, 3 species of insects, Apis mellifera, Bombus terrestris and Osmia cornifrons were used for pollination in Japanese apricot field in Jinju and Sancheong province. And also economical effect for crops of Japanese apricot fruit pollinated with same insect was analyzed. This study was also conducted using 3 kinds of methods for pollination effect, natural condition, net-house and control method. Because blooming period of Japanese apricot was different from the other fruit tree(Blooming time of Japanese apricot shows always in the middle of the March), foraging behavior of insects used in this examination showed different tendency each other. Especially O. cornifrons was not adapted to wind and lower temperature compared with A. mellifera and B. terrestris in this field condition. Rate of fruit set pollinated with A. mellifera and B. terrestris was showed 14.9% and 13% respectively. But O. cornifrons was lower than another 2 kinds of insects with 6% of fruit setting rate. Total rate of fruit set of Japanese apricot showed lower tendency compared with other kinds of fruit tree with under 30%. Quality of fruit pollinated with A. mellifera and B. terrestris showed higher than O. cornifrons in natural field condition in fruit weight. Economical income of Japanese apricot fruit producted by A. mellifera showed highest with 185% of benefit effect, and B. terrestris with 143% compared with natural field condition.

Bumblebees are widely used to pollinate crops in greenhouses and fields. Here, we investigated whether different wake-up treatments during a short period of 1-3 days just before indoor rearing has any effects on oviposition and colony development of CO2-treated Bombus ignitus queens and artificially hibernated B. terrestris queens The wake-up regimes were defined as 16L for 1 day (16L-1), 16L per day for 3 days (16L-3), 24L for 1 day (24L-1), or 24D for 1 day (24D-1). Among these wake-up treatments, the oviposition rate and preoviposition period of B. ignitus queens reared at 24L-1 were 16.7-25.1% higher and 1.0-3.5 days shorter than other wake-up treatments. B. terrestris queens reared at 24L-1 also showed the best results for egg-laying characteristics, which were 8.9-18.8% higher for oviposition and 0.6-3.5 days shorter for preovipostion period than other wake-up treatments. Furthermore, B. terrestris queens reared at 24L-1 were 17.5% and 13.8% higher in rate of colony foundation and queen production, respectively, than other wake-up treatments. These results show that the most favorable wake-up treatment just before rearing for egg-laying and colony developmental characteristics of B. ignitus and B. terrestris queens was 24L-1. Overall, our findings indicate that a wake-up treatment just before rearing was effective for colony initiation and colony development of bumblebee queens.

Bumblebees are important pollinators in greenhouse and have colonized all parts of the World. In Korea, the value of bumblebees is increasing as pollinator. However, the more recent use of reared colonies may ultimately allow pathogens to spread to peripheral areas for bumblebees. Generally, bumblebees are hosts to a large number of parasites which are mites, flies, protozoa, fungi, virus and bacteria. For most of these, very little is known about their effects against host insect, epidemiology or evolutionary ecology. So, we report pathogenic bacteria isolated from Bombus terrestris and B. ignitus at first time in Korea. Bacillus fusiformis and Klebsiella oxytoca are isolated from B. terrestris and confirmed with 16S rRNA gene nucleotide comparison in NCBI genebank. Pathogenicity of B. fusiformis was 35~40% against B. terrestris. Pantoea dispersa and K. oxytoca are isolated from B. ignitus and confirmed with 16S rRNA gene nucleotide comparison in NCBI genebank. Pathogenicity of these species were 35~40% against B. ignitus. These pathogenicity are considered as low-level.

The large bumblebee, Bombus terrestris, which is indigenous to Europe and is used extensively for high-value crop pollination, has been artificially introduced throughout the world. Here we show the interspecific cross-mating between bumblebee species, B. terrestris and B. ignitus under laboratory conditions. The mating and oviposition rates of interspecific cross-mating of B. terrestris queen with B. ignitus male are higher than those of intraspecific matings of B. ignitus. Furthermore, the competitive copulation experiment indicates that cross-mating of a B. ignitus male with B. terrestris queen is 1.8-fold more frequent than with a B. ignitus queen. The cross-mated B. ignitus queen with B. terrestris male produced B. ignitus workers and B. ignitus male offspring, and the cross-mated B. terrestris queen with B. ignitus male produced both B. terrestris males and B. ignitus male offspring. The genetic tests using a portion of the mitochondrial COI gene for the parent and hybrid offspring indicate that mitochondrial DNA was maternally inherited. Our results indicate that interspecific cross-mating occurred between B. ignitus and B. terrestris, which suggests that the cross-mating is not an exclusive force against the negative impact of competition and genetic contamination on native bumblebees.

비 휴면 개체를 계대 선발하기 위하여 인공월동이나 CO2 처리 등과 같은 인위적인 휴면처리를 하지 않은 서양뒤영벌(Bombus terrestris) 여왕벌의 산란과 봉군발육 특성을 CO2 처리한 여왕벌과 비교하여 조사하였다. 산란율은 비 휴면 처리구에서 90.9%로 CO2 처리구 보다 높게 나타났으며, 첫산란 소요일수는 20.6일로 CO2 처리구 보다 길게 나타나 효율측면에서 다소 다른 경향을 보였다. 성충의 우화율은 일벌과 여왕벌의 출현에 있어서 비 휴면 처리구가 CO2 처리구보다 각각 50마리, 34마리로 높은 경향을 보였다. 계속해서 비 휴면처리 1세대 여왕벌에서 우화한 2세대 여왕벌과 CO2 처리구에서 우화한 2세대 여왕벌을 비 휴면 공시충으로 처리하여 산란율과 봉군특성을 조사하였다. 앞선 1세대 비 휴면 처리구에서 우화한 여왕벌의 산란율과 첫산란소요일수가 각각 66.0%와 23.7일로 1세대 처리구에서 우화한 여왕벌과 비교하여 효율이 낮게 나타났다. 성충 출현율과 출현수에 있어서도 1세대 비휴면 처리구에서 우화한 여왕벌이 산란한 봉군에서 각각 일벌과 여왕벌 28.0%, 8.0%, 14.8마리, 2.0마리로 처리구보다 효율이 현저히 떨어지는 것을 알 수 있었다. 이와 같은 결과는 1세대 뒤영벌의 경우 CO2처리구보다 오히려 비 휴면처리구가 산란특성 과 봉군발육에서 다소 우수한 경향을 보여 경제적 효율이 높은 것으로 판단되었지만, 그 이후의 2세대에서는 모든 조사항목에서 효율이 현저히 떨어지는 것으로 나타났다. 여왕벌 생존율에 있어서도 같은 경향으로 1세대 비 휴면 처리구가 CO2 처리구보다 시기별로 생존율이 낮아 대량증식을 위한 여왕벌의 계대사육에 있어서 휴면처리 효율은 매우 높은 것으로 판단된다.

토종 호박벌(Bombusignitus)과 수입 서양뒤영벌(B. terrestris)의 냉장온도별 생존율과 실내사육에 의한 봉세발달을 비교 조사하였다. -2.5, 0, 2.5, 5등 4종류 냉장온도 중 호박벌과 서양뒤영벌 모두 2.5에서 생존율이 가장 높았으며, 냉장 3개월까지는 호박벌이, 냉장 4개월째는 서양뒤영벌의 생존율이 다소 높게 나타났다. 한산가스처리로 휴면을 타파한 여왕별의 봉세발달을 조사한 결과, 산란율은 호박벌이 72.5%로 서양뒤명벌보다 6.1% 높았고, 산란전기간도 17.4일로 7.4일 빨랐다. 일벌이 50마리 될 때까지의 봉군형성소요일수, 수벌 및 여왕벌출현소요일수 또한 호박벌이 각각 62.8일, 66.4일, 63.0일로 서양뒤명벌보다 2.1-29.5일 빨리 출현하였다. 그러나 일벌출현소요일수는 28.6일과 28.4일로 차이가 없었다. 반면에 우수봉군의 지표가 되는 봉군형성률 및 신여왕벌출현봉군율은 서양뒤영벌이 각각 14.2%, 13.6%로서 호박벌보다 3.8-5.7배 높게 나타났다. 성충출현수 역시, 서양뒤영벌이 일벌 104.2 마리, 수벌 317.9 마리, 여왕벌 27.1 마리로 호박벌보다 1.1-1.8배 많아 봉세 발달은 서양뒤영벌이 우수한 것으로 나타났다.