가위벌과에 속하는 Coelioxys의미기록 2종 Coelioxys conoidea Illiger, 1806 와 Coelioxys formosicola Strand, 1913을 한국에서 처음으로 보 고한다. 본 종의 기재, 분포정보, 그리고 삽화를 제공한다.

Honey bee plays an important role in pollinating plants. Recently, however, declines in honey bee populations have been reported in many countries, and pesticides have been pointed out as one of the factors contributing to honey bee loss. To determine the effects of pesticides on honey bee behavior, we investigated the homing ability of honey bee exposed to four pesticides (acetamiprid, imidacloprid, fenitrothion, and carbaryl). In addition, the changes in expression levels of genes associated with ‘learning and memory’ (cGMP-dependent protein kinase foraging, Kruppel homolog 1, Adenlyate cyclase 3, Early growth response protein 1, Hormone receptor 38) were examined after pesticide treatment in forager bee. The four pesticides tested in this study generally reduced the homing ability of foragers. In the examination of gene expression, learning and memory-related genes were induced by the exposure to acetamiprid, imidacloprid, and carbaryl, whereas fenitrothion decreased the expression of these genes in honey bee. Although further studies are needed, this suggests that pesticides may have negative effects on honey bee behavior and behavior-related gene expression.

Halictidae 전 세계적으로 3,500종 이상 발견된 큰 그룹이며 사람들의 땀에 이끌리는 특성을 보여 Sweat bee라는 이름으로 불린다. 이번 연 구에서는 꼬마꽃벌과에 속하는 Halictus hedini hedini Blüthgen, 1934을 한국에서 처음으로 보고한다. 본 종의 기재, 분포정보, 그리고 삽화를 제공 한다.

등검은말벌은 우리나라 뿐 아니라 유럽지역에 침입한 꿀벌의 중요한 포식해충이다. 양봉가들이 살충제를 활용하여 밀도 억제를 시도하고 있으나 아직까지 실현가능하고 과학적 방법과 적용 가능성이 정형화되지 않았다. 본 연구는 양봉가들이 주로 사용하는 살충제를 가지고, 등검은 말벌의 유충과 성충의 살충율과 반응 패턴을 조사하였다. Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, Carbosulfan은 처리 후 30분 내 70% 이상의 살충률을 보 였으며, Bifenthrin, Cartap hydrochloride의 상대적으로 살충률이 낮았다. Clothianidin, Dinotefuran, Carbosulfan의 반수치사약량(LD50)은 각 0.29, 0.65, 2.21 μg/bee이었다. 5령 유충에 대한 24시간 간격으로 3회 연속 섭식 처리를 했을 때, 2일이후에 약효가 나타났고 72시간 후에는 모두 70% 이상 살충률을 보였다. 등검은말벌의 반수치사약량은 양봉꿀벌의 것보다 10-100배 더 높았다. 향후 이 살충제를 말벌 방제에 이용할 수 있을지 추가적 검토가 필요하다.

Bee pollen is a valuable apitherapeutic product and has been known to have diverse biological activities, including antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and even anticancer activity. However, its effect on the immune system is not well studied and is rather controversial. This study intended to elucidate the biological activity of bee pollen on immunity. For this purpose, we used lyophilized bee pollen after wet grinding, which shows increased extraction of bioactive components and enhanced biological activity. First, lyophilized bee pollen after wet grinding significantly increased the proliferation of splenocytes isolated from normal mice. On the other hand, lyophilized bee pollen after wet grinding dose-dependently reversed splenocyte proliferation by concanavalin A or lipopolysaccharide. To clarify the activity of bee pollen on immunity lyophilized bee pollen after wet grinding was administered daily to mice for five weeks and isolated splenocytes. In this study, there was no significant difference in the population of immune cells and the size of spleen between bee pollen- and sterile water-treated groups. However, proliferation of splenocyte isolated from bee pollen-administered animals was boosted by both concanavalin A and lipopolysaccharide. Finally, kaempferol, a well-known flavonoid from bee pollen, dose-dependently increased splenocyte proliferation by both Con A and LPS. On the other hand, naringenin, another flavonoid in the bee pollen, dose-dependently inhibited the proliferation of splenocytes by Con A and LPS. Together, these data indicate that bee pollen may be able to prime the immunity to boost immune reaction after inflammation.

South Korea experienced a significant decline in honey bee populations starting in 2021, which continued for two years until the winter of 2022. To investigate the potential causes of this decline, we conducted a virome analysis, considering viruses as possible culprits. Samples were collected during two periods: April-May 2022 and May-June 2023. From libraries contsructed from their total RNA, we secured a total of 25 raw FASTQ files by high-throughput sequencing. In the honey bees collected in 2022, we identified eight previously unreported honey bee viruses including Lake Sinai viruses, one novel honey bee-related virus, and one novel plant-related virus. In the subsequent sampling in 2023, we found that most of the viruses identified in 2022 were still present. Additionally, the novel honey bee virus reported in 2022 was also found in the 2023 collections, along with three more honey bee-related novel viruses. Notably, numerous plant viruses were detected in honey bees collected during the flowering season. This analysis suggests that the viruses observed in South Korean honey bees are likely distributed nationwide. These findings provide fundamental data for future research on honey bee viruses in South Korea.

The honey bee, Apis mellifera, has a defense system, including detoxification, antioxidation, and immunity pathways, against external stimulation such as chemicals, stress, and pathogens. However, pesticides, particularly neonicotinoids and butenolids, have been recently reported to alter physiological changes in honey bee. In this study, we investigated the expression levels of eight genes categorized into detoxification (CYPQ3), antioxidation (CAT and SOD2), and immune system (Abaecin, Apidaecin, Defensin1, Defensin2, and Hymenoptaecin), in five tissues (Head, Thorax, Gut, Fat body, and Carcass) of honey bee treated with three pesticides (Acetamiprid, Imidacloprid, and Flupyradifurone) using quantitative real-time PCR. Gene expression patterns was varied depending on the type of pesticides and tissues. However, among eight genes, the expression levels of CYPQ3 was notably induced, but those of AMPs were generally reduced by all pesticides tested in this study in five tissues. These suggest that CYPQ3-mediated detoxification pathway is induced, but AMP-mediated immune system might be disrupted when honey bee is exposed to neonicotinoids and butenolid.

Pesticides are indispensable in contemporary agriculture but are mainly attributed to honey bee population decline. In order to understand the approximate physiological response to pesticides, honey bees were exposed to seven pesticides (Acetamiprid, Imidacloprid, Flupyradifurone, Carbaryl, Fenitrothion, Amitraz, and Bifenthrin), and expression changes of the genes categorized into four physiological functions (insecticide targets, immune-, detoxification-, and reactive oxygen species response-related gene) were analyzed in the head and abdomen of honey bee exposed to pesticides using quantitative PCR. Based on the heat map analysis, immune-related genes seem to be more up-regulated by pesticide exposure in head than abdomen. Among detoxification genes, only cytochrome P450 families were up-regulated in head. Interestingly, regardless of the insecticide target, expressions of Nicotinic acetylcholine receptor beta 1 and Acetylcholinesterase 1 were notably induced by pesticide exposure in head. Heat map analysis expressing the transcription profiles of various genes in the head and abdomen of the honey bee exposed to various pesticides can be used to diagnose pesticide damage in honey bees in the future.

The adult of honey bee, Apis mellifera, performs an age-dependent division of labor with nurse bees and foragers. Foragers fly outside the hive to collect pollen and nectar, while nurses feed and care for the larvae and queen inside the hive. Foragers are considered to be frequently exposed to agrochemicals, although nurses, stayed inside the hive, are potentially exposed to pesticides through application of miticides and pesticidecontaminated food provided by forager. Therefore, physiological effects of pesticides to nurses should be elucidated to understand the adverse effects of the chemicals on entire honey bee colony. In this study, we investigated the expression changes of the genes associated with labor division (task genes) and the nursing behavior of nurse bees fed four pesticides: acetamiprid (ACE), carbaryl (CB), imidacloprid (IMI), and fenitrothion (FEN). When nurses were exposed to ACE, IMI, and FEN, expression levels of task genes were up- and down-regulated, and their nursing behaviors were also suppressed and enhanced, respectively. CB did not alter the gene expression levels, however increased nursing behavior. These suggest the potential of pesticide that breaks the balance of labor distribution in honey bee colony.

The foraging behavior of honey bees can be attributed to the nutritional incentives they gain from their activities. Nevertheless, a persistent question has revolved around how the nutritional composition undergoes alterations during the process of converting pollen into bee bread. We embarked on a comprehensive investigation of nutritional shifts, spanning from fresh pollen to bee-pollen, pollen patties, and bee bread. Our research findings unveiled that pollen exhibited notably higher levels of individual amino acids, resulting in significantly elevated overall amino acid content compared to bee-collected pollen. While we provided pollen patty to the honey bee colony, initially, during the first 3 to 7 days, there were no substantial discrepancies in the total amino acid content between bee bread and the pollen patty. Intriguingly, unlike most amino acids, we detected a distinct pattern of higher proline content in bee bread compared to bee-pollen or the pollen patty. This shift in amino acid composition likely stems from the incorporation of nectar and other secretions during the bee bread-making process. Moreover, over a span of approximately 14 days within hive conditions, the amino acid content in bee bread increased. Conversely, in terms of fatty acid contents, they were found to be lower in bee bread than those in the pollen patty, with no significant temporal differences observed. Regarding mineral content, bee bread, in general, contained fewer minerals than bee pollen and pollen patties. In conclusion, the transformation of pollen into bee bread involves dynamic alterations in nutrient contents, influenced by both intrinsic bee-related factors and external factors within the hive environment.

2022년 3월12일 제천시의 발표(구체화)에 따르면 제천지역 내 양봉 농가를 대상으로 꿀벌생육실태를 확인한 결과 전체 벌통에서 절반 수준의 꿀벌이 사라진 것을 확인하였다. 이는 이전부터 국내 남부에서 진행되어 오던 꿀벌집단실종 현상의 한계선이 지구온난화로 인해 북쪽으로 이동하고 있다고 언론에서 집중 조명된 적이 있다. 이러한 현상이 과연 한반도 온난화에 의한 것인지의 여부를 파악하고자 원인분석 및 실험을 진행하였다. 먼저 꿀벌실종이 일어난 연도와 달을 중심으로 제천지역내의 기온, 일교차, 강수, 일조량 등 다양한 환경조건 중 예전 과 비교하여 급격한 변화가 일어난 요인을 조사하였으며 이러한 급격한 변화가 일어나는 요인이 꿀벌의 집단실 종에 미칠 수 있는 가능성을 분석하였다. 다른 요인분석으로 미국, 유럽 등에서 꿀벌실종의 주요 원인으로 주목받 고 있는 네오니코티노이드계(Neonicotinoids) 살충제를 이용해 꿀벌에 미치는 영향을 실험하였으며, 생존한계 농도를 측정하였다. 또한 국내 살충제의 연도별 사용량을 간접 비교함으로써 꿀벌실종의 주요요인을 찾고자 하였다. 분석결과 충북제천 꿀벌의 실종은 기온의 상승보다는 일조량이 큰 영향을 미친 것으로 보이며, 향후 일조량에 따른 벌집내부의 온도변화 및 꿀벌의 활동성 변화에 초점을 맞추어 꿀벌실종에 대한 장기적인 상관관 계를 살펴보아야 할 것으로 생각된다.