Honeybee Research Compendium 2007...This Compendium reflects the major research themes associated...

August 2007

Honeybee Research Compendium 2007

07-139 HBE Research Compendium.i1 1 30/08/2007 2:22:47 PM

© 2007 Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. All rights reserved.

SBN 1 74151 275 1 ISSN 1440-6845

Honeybee Research Compendium – August 2007 Publication No. 07/139 Project No. AGL-7A

The information contained in this publication is intended for general use to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the development of sustainable regions. You must not rely on any information contained in this publication without taking specialist advice relevant to your particular circumstances.

While reasonable care has been taken in preparing this publication to ensure that information is true and correct, the Commonwealth of Australia gives no assurance as to the accuracy of any information in this publication.

The Commonwealth of Australia, the Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation (RIRDC), the authors or contributors expressly disclaim, to the maximum extent permitted by law, all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any act or omission, or for any consequences of any such act or omission, made in reliance on the contents of this publication, whether or not caused by any negligence on the part of the Commonwealth of Australia, RIRDC, the authors or contributors.

The Commonwealth of Australia does not necessarily endorse the views in this publication.

This publication is copyright. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, all other rights are reserved. However, wide dissemination is encouraged. Requests and inquiries concerning reproduction and rights should be addressed to the RIRDC Publications Manager on phone 02 6271 4165.

In submitting this report, the researcher has agreed to RIRDC publishing this material in its edited form.

RIRDC Contact Details

Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation Level 2, 15 National Circuit BARTON ACT 2600 PO Box 4776 KINGSTON ACT 2604

Phone: 02 6271 4100 Fax: 02 6271 4199 Email: [email protected] Web: http://www.rirdc.gov.au

Published in August 2007 Printed by Union Offset Printing, Canberra


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Foreword

Effective communication of research results enhances adoption and ensures the best returns from investment in R&D. In developing the Honeybee Five-year Plan 2007–12 a wide range of industry participants were consulted, including beekeepers, pollinators, industry leaders and researchers. Part of this process included asking the industry to identify ways to increase effective communication of research outcomes amongst industry players.

Through this process, the industry requested that a ‘plain English’ Compendium of RIRDC’s recent honeybee research be published, and this document is the result of that request. It outlines the valuable work completed by the RIRDC Honeybee R&D Program between July 1999 and June 2007 and is an important tool in the dissemination of research results.

This Compendium reflects the major research themes associated with the Honeybee R&D Plan covering disease and pests, bee husbandry and management, nutrition, resource access, pollination, off-farm issues such as controlling the crystallisation of honey and communication and extension.

It provides easy to read information to assist apiarists, the honey industry and the general public understand the purpose of the research completed by the Program, the outcomes of each project, the research implications for the industry, the key benefits for commercial apiarists and how to contact the researchers to access further information.

Research and development is pointless on its own unless it is communicated convincingly to a receptive audience of those who are active in the industry. For this reason the Honeybee R&D Plan sets a specific research objective for tackling extension, communication and capacity building and it is through this objective that the 2007 research compendium has been funded.

This project was funded from industry revenue which is matched by funds provided by the Australian Government.

The publication is an addition to RIRDC’s diverse range of over 1600 research publications and forms part of our Honeybee R&D program, which aims to improve the productivity and profitability of the Australian beekeeping industry.

Most of our publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through our website:

• downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/Index.htm• purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop

Peter O’Brien Managing Director Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation


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Abbreviations

AHBIC Australian Honeybee Industry Council

RIRDC Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation

AcknowledgementsThe authors wish to acknowledge the assistance of RIRDC and the researchers with their review of draft articles.


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Contents

Foreword iii

Abbreviations iv

Acknowledgements iv

Introduction 1

DiseaseandPests 2 Using Good Bacteria to Control Chalkbrood Disease 2 Clarification of Varroa Reproduction – First Stage of a Possible New Control Method 3 Small Hive Beetle – Freezing Them Out of Australian Hives? 5 Small Hive Beetle – Insecticide in Bee Proof Traps 7 Small Hive Beetle – Targeting the In-Ground Stage 9 Literature Review and Survey of Nosema apis in Australia 11 Lessons for Australia – New Zealand Experience with Pests and Diseases 13 Development of Treatment Options for European Foulbrood 15 Evaluating Alternative Antibiotics for Control of European Foulbrood Disease 17 American Foulbrood Control – Has Resistance Emerged to Oxytetracycline? 19

BeeHusbandryandManagement 20 Drone Honeybee Semen Production 20

Nutrition 22 Review of Honeybee Nutrition Research and Practices 22 Predicting the Productivity of Honeybees from the Nutritional Value of Pollen 23 ‘Fat Bees/Skinny Bees’ – Honeybee Nutrition in Australia 25 Winter Supplementary Feeding Not Successful 27 The Effect of High and Low Fat Pollens on Honeybee Longevity 29 Development of a Pollen Substitute to Meet the Nutritional Needs of Honeybees 32

Resources 34 Natural Resource Database for the South Australian Apiary Industry 34 The Effect of Logging on Nectar Production in NSW Forests 36 Securing Long-Term Floral Resources for the Honeybee Industry 38 Long-Term Flowering Patterns of South-East Australian Melliferous Honeys 40

PollinationResearch 41 Valuing Honeybee Pollination 41

Off-FarmIssues 43 High-Power Ultrasound for Control of Honey Crystallisation 43 Antioxidants as Health and Nutritional Components of Australian Floral Honeys 45 An Investigation into the Therapeutic Properties of Honey 46

CommunicationandExtension 48

Five-year Plan for Honeybee R&D 2007–12 48 Commercial Beekeeping in Australia – An Update 50


Leatherwood flowers


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Honeybee R&D Plan 2007 – 2012

RIRDCShaping the future

HBE R&D Plan 2007-2012 Covers.in2 2 3/04/2007 5:36:02 PM

Introduction

In developing the Five Year Plan for the RIRDC Honeybee Program 2007-12, a wide range of industry participants were consulted, including beekeepers, pollinators, industry leaders and researchers.

At a workshop held in Launceston in July 2006 (at the Australian Honeybee Industry Council’s Annual Conference), participants were asked to list key priorities for the industry over the next five years and identify ways to increase effective communication of research outcomes amongst industry players. Industry priorities were identified and incorporated in the resultant Five Year Plan.

In promoting outcomes of the current program, the industry requested that a ‘plain English’ Compendium of RIRDC’s recent research be published. This document is the result of that request.

The ‘plain English’ Compendium has been set up to reflect the major research themes associated with the Honeybee R&D Plan 2002 to 2006 and research summaries are presented in the following order.

• Diseases and pests• Bee husbandry and management• Nutrition• Genetics• Resources• Pollination research• Off-farm issues• Communication and extension

Additional information on each research project is available from the researcher or the RIRDC website – www.rirdc.gov.au

The RIRDC Honeybee R&D Plan 2007–2012 is available from RIRDC (RIRDC Publication number 07/056). It can be viewed on our website at: http://www.rirdc.gov.au/programs/hb.html


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Dr Murali NayuduSchool of Botany and Zoology, ANU.

In a Single Frame• The project has identified natural

bacteria found in the gut of Australian honeybees that can attack the Chalkbrood fungal pathogen.

• Bacteria have been isolated and characterised and their feasibility as a non-chemical disease control agent is currently being determined.

Research PurposeThe project set out to find natural bacteria that are found in the gut of Australian honeybees that could be used to control the Chalkbrood fungus. The bacteria that are most effective in controlling Chalkbrood have been isolated and characterised. Currently they are being tested to see if they can be developed as a biological control agent to cost effectively reduce the disease’s impact.

Good bacteria, it was argued could be added to the gut of honeybees in the same way as good bacteria, that assist with human digestion, are ingested through yoghurt or dietary capsules.

Success Achieved and Project Next StepsThis project was the first time the role of good bacteria in the gut of Australian honeybees had been studied. It builds on the highly regarded research work of Margaret Hilton, the first honours student to work on this project at the Australian National University. Margaret’s work showed that some bacteria in the gut of honeybees produce gluconic acid agents that can inhibit the Chalkbrood fungus. Up until this time, bacteria studied in honeybees had been mainly limited to US and European work in isolating pathogenic or bad bacteria.

The project has found that there is a strong link between the number and diversity of bacteria in the gut of bees and whether there is Chalkbrood disease in the hive. Furthermore, the project has identified a large number of species of good Australian bacteria that can inhibit the Chalkbrood fungus. The project has studied good bacteria in hives from apiaries in all Australian states.

The project is using two types of honeybee feeding in experiments to control chalkbrood. Initial experiments with pure anti-fungal agent gluconic acid added to sugar solution suggests that Chalkbrood disease can be reduced through this type of feeding. As gluconic acid is already present in honey there is no potential for a residue problem. The testing of a second method using dietary supplements containing beneficial bacteria (a ‘probiotics’ approach) is also planned.

DiseaseandPestsUsingGoodBacteriatoControlChalkbroodDisease

Figure1. Inhibition of chalkbrood by Australian bee bacteria: The top agar plate shows normal growth of the chalkboard fungus. The bottom left plate shows strong inhibition of chalkbrood by a Klebsiella species of bacteria. The bottom right plate shows good inhibition by a strain of Pseudomonas bacteria.

Benefits to Commercial ApiaristsChalkbrood is the most significant fungal disease of bees in Australia and at the present time it has very limited, difficult and expensive means of control. Chalkbrood leads to reduced production of honey and thus has an economic impact on the commercial honeybee industry.

If an effective Chalkbrood control method based on the addition of a natural anti-fungal agent or good bacteria can be found then beekeepers will not have to worry about untoward chemical residues in their honey from Chalkbrood treatment. The project offers a major environmental and social benefit, as the beekeeping industry would be promoting a natural (non-chemical) method for control of diseases. Furthermore this approach has the potential to treat other economically significant diseases of bees.

Further InformationThe project commenced in January 2002 and is due for completion in June 2008.

Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting Dr Murali Nayudu at the ANU.

RIRDC Project: ANU-58A ‘Biological Control of Chalkbrood by Anti-fungal Bacterial Symbionts of Bees’

Contact: Dr Murali NayuduSchool of Botany and Zoology Faculty of Science, Australian National University ACT 0200

Phone: 02 6125 3643 Email: [email protected]


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ClarificationofVarroaReproduction–FirstStageofaPossibleNewControlMethod

Denis AndersonCSIRO Entomology, Canberra.

In a Single FrameThis research project is the first stage of a program aimed at developing varroa resistant honeybees (Apis mellifera). If successful, this would safeguard the Australian honeybee industry against the devastating effects of a possible varroa mite incursion.

The project has developed a method, using a light microscope-based tissue section technique, to differentiate body tissues of the mite, such as nerves, fat bodies, ovary and muscle tissue. The next stage is to develop a model of the mite’s reproductive system. This will greatly enhance the chances of then discovering the bee signal that triggers egg laying by the Varroa destructor mite in honeybee larvae after their cells are capped; and finally modifying the bee signal to produce varroa resistant bees.

Why the Research was CompletedThe varroa mite, Varroa destructor, is the most serious pest of the honeybee, Apis mellifera, and has now spread globally except for Australia. If this mite became established in Australia, we would lose our competitive advantage, and beekeepers would suffer considerable economic hardship by having to use expensive acaricides and other control measures. The threat of a varroa mite incursion is real and while every effort must be made to prevent an incursion in Australia, there must also be a strategy to combat the pest in the event of an incursion occurring.

Dr Denis Anderson and his team at CSIRO Entomology are undertaking this project as part of their wider research strategy to develop varroa resistant honeybees.

Understanding the Host- Parasite InteractionsThe varroa story is a fascinating one, which is told in detail in this research report. In brief, mites of the genus Varroa are indigenous parasites on Asian honeybees, now

Figure 1. A Varroa mite on a honeybee pupa

known as Apis cerana. They are not harmful to this particular bee and were first discovered in Indonesia in 1904.

For many years it was thought that there was just one species of the mite, V. jacobsoni. After European honeybees, A. mellifera, were introduced into Asia, the varroa mite soon shifted host to the introduced bee, with devastating consequences. The mite was vectored out of Asia, first into Europe and then to other parts of the world, including New Zealand. Australia is the only major honey producing country that is free of the pest.

Recent research has revealed that there are at least 23 genotypes of the mite which is a parasite on A. cerana. These are classified into two distinct species – V. jacobsoni and the larger V. destructor. Only two of the eight genotypes of V. destructor found on the Asian honeybee, A. cerana, are known to be a pest of A. mellifera because they can reproduce on the larvae of this bee. These are the Korean and Japanese genotypes of V. destructor. These two genotypes apparently recognise a signal released by A. mellifera larvae that triggers these mites to produce offspring on the larvae in the capped cells. All other

genotypes of the varroa mite fail to recognise that signal, do not lay eggs and hence are harmless to A. mellifera. Herein lies a possible defence mechanism against the destructive genotypes of the varroa mite. If the nature of the signal can be found, there is a good chance that common honeybees could be bred that do not release the signal which is invariably chemical in nature. But finding the signal is a difficult task and requires a strategic approach. This involves fully understanding the mite’s reproductive mechanism and why some genotypes respond to the signal and others don’t.

Towards Understanding Varroa Mite ReproductionThe reason why all but two of the genotypes of Varroa cannot reproduce on A. mellifera lies in the way these genotypes have evolved on their own particular host genotype of A. cerana. In brief, all female varroa mites only reproduce on capped drone brood of A. cerana. The mites are vulnerable to attack by worker bees, and the females spend most of their life in the intersegmental spaces on adult bees or inside capped drone brood cells. The female mite will only leave the intersegmental space if she detects a brood pheromone that tells her she is directly above a susceptible open


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drone brood cell. She then drops off into the cell containing the prepupae and burrows down into the brood food at the bottom of the cell, which is then capped by worker bees. When the bee larvae has consumed the brood food, the female mite moves onto the larvae and lays its eggs – first an unfertilised egg which becomes a male, and then up to five other fertilised eggs which become female mites.

Varroa mites show this same pattern of behaviour inside A. mellifera colonies. However, after entering brood cells prior to capping, only the Japan and Korean genotypes of V. destructor subsequently recognise the “begin egg laying” signal from A. mellifera. The freshly capped brood cells must send a signal that triggers the mite into egg laying and the sequence of eggs. This signal is almost certainly a chemical that interacts with the mite’s receptor.

The key to controlling V. destructor is to identify the nature of this chemical signal. Once this is

discovered, various approaches can be taken to produce varroa resistant bees that do not release the chemical signal.

Research AimsLittle is known of the varroa mite’s reproductive process. The aim of this first stage project was to find a procedure that could differentiate the different internal body tissues of the female varroa mite. Following this, a second stage project will aim to develop a model of the varroa mite’s reproductive system. This will enable a more direct approach to finding the signal that triggers the mite’s reproductive system in the third stage. This will also include finding a way to produce varroa resistant bees.

Research OutcomesThe researchers were able to successfully develop a tissue sectioning technique which clearly differentiates nerve, fat body, ovary and muscle tissue for both V. jacobsoni and V. destructor. In a related collaborative research project,

the photographs of cross sections of the mites were used to construct 3-D models of the mite’s internal organs and tissues. This will help in the development of a model of mite reproduction (stage 2) that will pinpoint the time when varroa mite reproduction is first initiated after females enter susceptible brood bee cells.

ImplicationsMuch hard work will be needed in subsequent stages to find the signal responsible for initiating mite reproduction and to produce varroa resistant honeybees which avoid releasing the signal.

If this overall research strategy is successful, it will have major implications for honeybee industries in all countries. New markets will immediately open for Australian bred queen bees which produce varroa resistant colonies and Australian beekeepers will avoid the devastating effects of a varroa incursion should it occur.

Further Information This project was completed in May 2006, and the subsequent stages are under way. Further information on this important research program can be obtained from the author Dr Denis Anderson.

RIRDC Project: CSE-87A ‘Clarification of Varroa Reproduction – First Stage of a Possible New Control Method’ Publication No. 06/007.

Contact: Dr Denis Anderson CSIRO Entomology PO Box 1700 Canberra ACT 2601 Phone: 02 6246 4148 Email: [email protected]


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SmallHiveBeetle–FreezingThemOutofAustralianHives?

Figure 1. Extreme hive infestation showing both maggots and adult Small Hive Beetle.

Source : www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/small_hive_beetle.htm

Figure 2. Showing relative size of Small Hive Beetle and honeybee.

Source: www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/small_hive_beetle.htm

Figure 3. Close up of Small Hive Beetle adult.


Figure 1. Extreme hive infestation showing both maggots and adult Small Hive Beetle.

Source : www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/small_hive_beetle.htm

Figure 2. Showing relative size of Small Hive Beetle and honeybee.


Figure 3. Close up of Small Hive Beetle adult.


Figure 1 (left). Extreme hive infestation showing both maggots and adult Small Hive BeetleFigure 2 (Right). Showing relative size of Small Hive Beetle and honeybee.Figure 3. (Bottom left). Close up of Small Hive Beetle adult.Source: www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/small_hive_beetle.htm

Dr Garry LevotNSW Department of Primary Industries

In a Single Frame• Storage of comb at cold or freezing

temperatures can be effective in disinfesting bee boxes and other material of Small Hive Beetles.

• However, lack of access to freezers and the protracted time needed to kill larvae in cool rooms may make temperature manipulation an impractical option.

Why the Research was Completed The objective of the study was to develop hive disinfestation procedures involving chilling/freezing of hives/supers to control Small Hive Beetle.

The Small Hive BeetleSmall Hive Beetle, Aethina tumida has the potential to cause apiarists significant economic losses by damaging wax comb, by spoiling stored honey, pollen and brood and by causing bees to abandon hives. An extreme Small Hive Beetle infestation is shown in Figure 1.

Small Hive Beetle is still in the expansion phase of its establishment in Australia having been found here in 2002. It is currently present in NSW and Queensland and has recently been found in Victoria. Small Hive Beetle is a native of South Africa where it causes little damage and is present in the US where it causes major losses in apiaries in 15 East Coast states. Worldwide honeybee industries are monitoring for the presence of this pest of economic significance.

The adult beetle, which is the stage most commonly seen, is black or dark brown, ovoid in outline and about 5–7 mm long. In general, the adult beetles are about one third the size of a worker honeybee (see

Figure 2). The Small Hive Beetle has clearly clubbed antennae (Figure 3). The adult beetles lay small elongate whitish eggs in clumps in beehives. The eggs are smaller than honeybee eggs but similar in shape and colour (www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/small_hive_beetle.htm).

The larvae grow to 10–13 mm long; are cigar shaped and pale whitish cream. Their most distinctive feature is the presence of two rows of short spines along the centre of the back, with the last two projecting beyond the rear end of the larva. When fully grown, the larvae enter the soil in front of and beneath the hive to pupate (www.moraybeekeepers.co.uk/small_hive_beetle.htm)

The ResearchEradication of Small Hive Beetle is not feasible but control aimed at eradication from individual hives should be attainable. Insect development is temperature dependent with warm temperatures favouring growth and cold temperatures inhibiting development.

The use of hive chilling/freezing, it was proposed, may offer a practical alternative to insecticide use for killing adult and immature beetles and poses no residue risk for produce.

Before this research the time

required to kill Small Hive Beetle eggs, larvae and adults subjected to freezer or cold room temperatures was not known.

A laboratory colony of Small Hive Beetle was established at Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute. All life-stages were transferred to refrigerated cool rooms (max. 4o C) or freezers (max. <0oC) and stored for varying periods of time to determine a temperature/time combination that would kill Small Hive Beetle. Similar experiments were conducted with infested boxes of stored comb.

Results Achieved Small Hive Beetle can be raised in laboratory conditions. Large numbers can be reared at low cost. At 29oC the life cycle of the beetle takes as little as 28 days but may extend to 60 days.

All life-stages of the Small Hive Beetle are susceptible to cold temperatures. Exposure to freezing temperatures for one hour is deadly to all life stages. Up to eight days exposure to cool room temperatures (0-4oC) was required to kill all life-stages.

Storage of stored comb at cold or freezing temperatures can be effective in disinfesting bee boxes and other material of Small Hive Beetles. However, lack of access to


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freezers and the long time needed to kill larvae in cool rooms may make temperature an impractical option for Small Hive Beetle control.

The ‘So What’ for Commercial ApiaristsThe research did not produce a practical Small Hive Beetle control method. However, it was established that cool rooms may be used to protect stored comb from Small Hive Beetle infestation or to limit damage done to infested comb. Research effort has now switched to chemical control methods and this effort is detailed in accompanying articles.

Further Information Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting Dr Garry Levot NSW DPI. The research was completed between April 2003 and October 2005.

RIRDC Project: DAN-215A ‘Temperature Manipulation to Control Small Hive Beetle’

Contact: Dr Garry Levot NSW Department of Primary Industries Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute Phone: 02 4640 6333 Email: [email protected]


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SmallHiveBeetle–InsecticideinBeeProofTraps

Figure 1. Small Hive Beetle Adults and, inset, larvae (maggots) Source: Dr Garry Levot, Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute

Dr Garry LevotNSW Department of Primary Industries.

In a Single Frame• NSW Department of Primary

Industries has developed a safe and effective Small Hive Beetle trap with built in insecticide.

• There are patents pending for the trap in Australia, USA, Canada and New Zealand but at this stage a manufacturer for the product cannot be found.

Why the Research is Being Completed The objective of the research was to identify the best insecticide to control Small Hive Beetle and develop a ready to use delivery mechanism (harbourage or trap). The delivery mechanism needed to be safe for bees and not result in honey chemical contamination.

Small Hive Beetle has become a pest of economic significance to the honeybee industry since its establishment in Australia in 2002. Figure 1 shows Small Hive beetle adults and larvae (maggots).

The Research and the Results AchievedPhase one of the research identified fipronil as the best of a range of seven insecticides tested for Small Hive Beetle control. Fipronil is highly effective in killing Small Hive Beetle, does not vaporise and has relatively low water solubility. A prototype refuge trap for Small Hive Beetle was developed based on corrugated cardboard with an aluminium foil coating to prevent bee attack. The trap was placed on the bottom of infested hives and was actively sought out by beetles.

This prototype Mk I fipronil-treated trap (Figure 2) was laboratory tested and achieved a 99% control of Small Hive Beetle adults within seven days

when a single trap was placed inside boxes of stored comb.

Residue analysis of honey collected while the prototype trap was in place inside active bee hives indicated that low residues and bee deaths could result if bees gained access to the insecticide treated cardboard core but that neither was likely if bees were excluded.

Field trials using a Mk II harbourage reduced beetle numbers by between 86% and 93% but the Mk II harbourage was still insufficiently robust to exclude bees.

Phase two of the project aimed to work with plastics manufacturers to produce a strong, tamperproof, ready to use housing for the insecticide treated cardboard. The final design plastic trap is shown in Figure 3.

The final plastic trap has proved to be both safe for bees and effective

in controlling Small Hive Beetle. A honey residue trial conducted according to the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) Guideline 28 Residues in Honey demonstrated that use of the device results in a mean total fiprole residue in honey of <1 part per billion. Efficacy tests with the plastic trap are currently underway but it is hoped that kill rates greater than 85% within one month of placement will again be achieved.

Although provision of an effective control strategy for Australian beekeepers was the primary aim of the research there are potential markets in other parts of the world, particularly the USA. As such the NSW DPI and RIRDC have patents pending in Australia, USA, Canada and New Zealand. Current oil based traps on sale in the USA, and used by some Australian


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beekeepers, have proved to be of limited effect.

The ‘So What’ for Commercial ApiaristsIn February 2007 the NSW DPI advertised in the press for a company willing to commercialise the trap and received no interest. Such is the perceived market size for a ‘bee product’ and the perceived exposure to risk of a product containing an insecticide being used in hives.

Unless an organisation will register and manufacture the trap it may not become commercially available to beekeepers.

Figure 2 The Mk I fipronil-treated trap

Figure 3 The final design plastic trap

Further Information Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting Dr Garry Levot NSW DPI. The project is due for completion in June 2007.

RIRDC Project: DAN-216A Insecticidal Control Small Hive Beetle’

Contact: Dr Garry Levot NSW Department of Primary Industries Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute

Phone: 02 4640 6333 Email: [email protected]


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SmallHiveBeetle–TargetingtheIn-GroundStage

Robert Spooner-HartUniversity of Western Sydney.

In a Single Frame• The life cycle of the Small Hive

Beetle means that it is vulnerable to destruction when its larval (grub) stage drops out of the hive and buries itself in surrounding soil to pupate.

• A non chemical way of controlling Small Hive Beetle may be to destroy its pupae in the soil surrounding hives using a drench made from its natural enemies (nematode worms and/or fungus).

Why the Research is Being Completed The objective of the study as to complete laboratory tests using insect parasites (nematode worms and fungi) to assess their effectiveness against the larval (grub) and pupal (‘cocoon’) stages of the Small Hive Beetle.

If shown to be successful, the tests would also generate preliminary data for the development of soil drenches. Development of actual soil drenches would be attempted in future projects.

The life-cycle of the Small Hive Beetle, including ‘in-ground’ stages is shown in Figure 1.

The Small Hive Beetle is a pest of economic significance to Australian beekeepers.

The ResearchThe major outcome from the research would be a safe and environmentally acceptable alternative to insecticides for control of Small Hive Beetle out of the hive and around apiaries.

These biological control products, based on the natural enemies of Small Hive Beetle, if proved to be successful, will be easily accessible to industry for commercialisation as they have already been developed

Figure 1. The life-cycle of the small hive beetle. Source: Irish Agriculture and Food Development Authority: www.teagasc.ie/oakpark/bru/bru-hivebeetle.htm

and registered in Australia for use against other beetle species.

Use of the most likely fungus (Metarhizium anisopliae) carries the added benefit of having been successfully evaluated in the USA as a biological control for Varroa mite.

This project, therefore, also provides valuable industry knowledge and experience with a biological control agent suitable for use on Varroa should an incursion occur in Australia.

Results Achieved At the completion of this project (November 2007) the industry will be provided with a commercially available biological control agent for field evaluation and registration against Small Hive Beetle.

The ‘So What’ for Commercial ApiaristsA ‘natural’ or biological control for Small Hive Beetle for use outside the hive would provide an additional alternative in-hive chemical control, and without the use of a synthetic pesticide.


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Figure 2 The Entomopathogenic nematodes (round worms) are well known for their efficacy in biological control systems. They are specific to insects and mites and can only multiply in their host. They are minuscule worms. Their efficacy is due to specific bacteria that produce a toxin with strong insecticidal activity, liberated during the host invasion process. Source: www.novagrica.com/articles_list.asp?e_cat_ser

Figure 3 Entomopathogenic fungi attach to the external body surface of insects. Under suitable conditions the spores germinate and colonise the insect. After some time the insect is killed by fungal toxins. Source: www.uvm.edu/~entlab/Fungus.html

Further Information Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting Associate Professor Robert Spooner-Hart, University of Western Sydney. This project is expected to be completed by November 2007.

RIRDC Project: UWS-22A ‘Sustainable Control of Small Hive Beetle Through Targeting In-Ground Stages’

Contact: Associate Professor Robert Spooner-Hart Centre for Plant and Food Sciences University of Western Sydney Phone: 02 4570 1429 Email: [email protected]


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LiteratureReviewandSurveyofNosema apisinAustralia

Figure 1. Nosema apis spores

Michael Hornitzky,NSW Department of Primary Industries

In a Single FrameNosema is a serious disease of honeybees. It is caused by the microsporidian parasite, Nosema apis and can significantly limit honey production and pollination efficiency in years when infestation levels are high. The disease is hard to detect in commercial beehives as there are no obvious disease signs and little is known of the prevalence of the disease in Australia.

This project undertook a comprehensive review of the literature on the disease and, importantly, conducted surveys over three years 2004 to 2006 to discover the extent and severity of the disease, and how different management practices influenced its severity.

The parasite was detected in all apiaries examined over the three years, indicating that it is widespread in bees in Australia. Management practices associated with low infestation levels include no shifting or manipulating of hives during winter, and packing them down tightly during the winter. Hives that had abundant honey when placed in almond orchards were also observed to be associated with low infestation levels.

Background to the ProjectNosema apis is a microsporidian of adult honeybees that, in large numbers, causes significant production losses in hives through adverse effects on adult bee longevity, queen bees, brood rearing, pollen collection and other bee biochemistry and behaviour. Generally, the honeybee colony can tolerate a low to medium incidence of nosema. It is most likely to cause problems in hives in autumn or spring.

A key feature of the disease is that it is very hard to detect under commercial conditions with no classical signs of infection. Hence, in many cases, unless there is heavy infestation of hives with apparent loss of productivity, the disease goes largely undetected. Even if there is heavy infestation there is no sure way to confirm infection except by microscopy of diseased bees. Where

the disease is diagnosed in its late stages, the antibiotic fumagillin is useful in controlling the disease but its use is restricted because of residue problems. Other than this there is no real control for nosema except through better hive management.

Aims of the ProjectGiven the general lack of information of this important disease, the researchers set out to first conduct a thorough literature review of the topic. This provided information on the effects of the disease, current control methods and laboratory diagnoses. Also, the aim was to provide beekeepers with the knowledge of how to detect and monitor nosema in their hives.

The other main objective of the project was to find out more about the prevalence of the disease, and what management practices were associated with high and low infestations.

The Way the Research was ConductedA review of the literature revealed how little is known about the prevalence of this disease. For this reason a survey of 800 hives owned by 20 beekeepers was carried out in 2004 in the Robinvale region of Victoria. The bees were being

used to pollinate almond trees and originated from Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia. The results of this work were published by RIRDC in 2005. They indicated a high incidence of nosema and prompted the researchers to undertake additional survey work on the same apiaries that were used in the 2004 survey. Each beekeeper was also asked to complete a questionnaire relating to his or her management practices in each of the three years.

Some Key Findings and OutcomesThe survey of hives showed that in all three years, there was a broad range of infection levels indicating that this disease is widespread in bees in Australia. Spore counts in bee hives were quite variable and ranged from as high as 12 million per bee per apiary to as low as 10,000 (Figure 2). The proportion of infected hives in apiaries ranged from 100 percent to 2.5 percent. However, no severe losses of bees or hives were reported. The incidence results indicated that there are management practices and environmental conditions which influence the development of the disease and the level of infections in hives. Analysis of the questionnaire


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responses revealed that there are definite links between management practices, the flora which bees access and the severity of infection in hives.

Factors associated with low levels of nosema were found to be:

• packing hives down tight and not manipulating them during winter;

• not shifting bees during winter; and• having hives at least three quarters full of honey

when placed in almond orchards.Factors associated with high levels of nosema were:

• high levels of hive manipulation including taking off honey, checking brood and shifting bees;

• supplementary feeding;• hives with bees at reduced or stagnant strength

during almond pollination; and

• bees having access to spotted gum, although this did not apply to other floral species.

ImplicationsThe results of this research indicate that hive infestations of Nosema apis are common throughout many regions of Australia but that many beekeepers are unaware that their hives are infected. Bees heavily infected with nosema do not provide as good a pollination service as bees that have little or no infection. This applies particularly in almond orchards.

The way bees are managed, particularly over the winter months, has a significant influence on the severity of hive infestations. Beekeepers should avoid manipulating or moving hives wherever possible and should pack them down tightly during winter. Beekeepers can monitor the development of nosema by examining specimens under the microscope.

Nosema counts for each beekeeper for 2004, 2005 and 2006

0

2000000

4000000

6000000

8000000

10000000

12000000

14000000

1 3 5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23

Beekeeper number

Nos

ema

coun

ts

Spores/bee 2004 Spores/bee 2005Spores/bee 2006

Figure 2. Nosema counts for each beekeeper for the years 2004

Further Information Copies of published reports on this project can be obtained by contacting RIRDC directly or visiting its website. Additional information can also be obtained by contacting the principal researcher:

RIRDC Project: DAN-228A ‘Literature Review and Survey of Nosema apis in Australia’ Publication No. 05/055.

Contact: Dr. Michael Hornitzky NSW Department of Primary Industries Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute Private Mail Bag 8 CAMDEN NSW 2570 Phone: 02 4640 6311 Email: [email protected]


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LessonsforAustralia–NewZealandExperiencewithPestsandDiseases

Dr Doug SomervilleNSW Department of Primary Industries.

In a Single Frame• New Zealand (NZ) has been

unfortunate enough to be invaded by the Varroa mite, a highly destructive honeybee pest. Australia is ill prepared for a similar devastating invasion.

• The New Zealand industry, not government, manages its American Foulbrood (AFB) program. Industry self-management may be the future of honeybee disease control programs in our country.

• New Zealand has shown flair and originality in its pollination management systems, in the way it markets its honey, and in its ability to capture the public’s awareness and understanding of its industry. There is an opportunity for Australia to learn from this experience.

• It is hoped that exposure of the Australian industry to New Zealand’s recent successes and failures will better prepare us for an uncertain future.

Why the Research is being ConductedThe objective of the research was to provide the Australian beekeeping industry with the opportunity to learn from the recent successes and failures of the New Zealand industry. The research, which took the form of a field trip to New Zealand in March 2007 for nine industry representatives, was primarily focussed on the introduction of the exotic bee mite Varroa. The project also included research into pollination management systems, the New Zealand industry’s self-managed AFB control program and all other aspects of the New Zealand industry of value to the Australian beekeeper.

The Research and the Results AchievedThe March 2007 research trip to New Zealand included:

• Dr Doug Somerville, NSW DPI Senior Apiary Officer - responsible for research trip design and production of subsequent communication materials

• Dr Rob Manning, Australian applied research scientist with particular interest in pollination. Rob has the capacity to evaluate the science observed in New Zealand

• Des Cannon, Chair RIRDC Honeybee R&D Committee - Des will brief the RIRDC R&D Committee and ensure lessons learned are translated into appropriate research, development and extension investments

• six other industry representatives chosen on the basis of youth, willingness and capacity to communicate the findings of the study to the industry - they are Peter Barnes (Qld), Col Wilson (NSW), Peter McDonald (Vic), Ian Zadow (SA), Julian Wolfhagen (Tas) and Colin Fleay (WA).

The project included the development of a master presentation that will summarise the key points of the research trip. An industry representative who completed the field research will give the master presentation at each State honeybee industry conference.

The ‘So What’ for Apiarists in AustraliaIt is hoped that the New Zealand field research will increase national awareness of the impact of Varroa mites and heighten the need for surveillance within Australia. The project may also provide insight into how and why the NZ Quarantine system failed.

In most cases, Australian beekeepers have not seen a Varroa mite or experienced the impact of this major honeybee pest.

This study will use the networks of those included in the field research to communicate the NZ experience and increase the knowledge of the impact and management of mites across the Australian beekeeping industry.

Figure 2. Honeybee colony killed by Varroa mite. Varroa was discovered in New Zealand in April 2000


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A second outcome of the project of benefit to commercial beekeepers will be the opportunity to refocus the industry’s various state representatives on a national strategy to control and manage AFB. It is possible that in the future the Australian industry may be called upon to self-manage diseases such as AFB and at the current time we lack a national strategy or even clear direction for AFB management and control.

It is the intent of the study that the experiences and knowledge gained by Australian delegates in New Zealand will provide a kick-start for refocussing the Australian beekeeping industry on these two major international management problems.

Further Information Further information on the project is available from Dr Doug Somerville NSW DPI including a copy of the report and the PowerPoint presentation. The project is due for completion in August 2007.

RIRDC Project: DAN-251A ‘Lessons for the Australian Beekeeping Industry – The New Zealand Experience with Pests and Diseases’ Short Report No. 139.

Contact: Dr Doug Somerville NSW Department of Primary Industries PO Box 389, Goulburn NSW 2580 Phone: 02 4828 6619 Email: [email protected]


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DevelopmentofTreatmentOptionsforEuropeanFoulbrood

Figure 1. Honeybee larvae being raised in microlitre plates for alternative treatment options to control EFB. Source: Michael Hornitzky

Michael HornitzkyNSW Department of Primary Industries.

In a Single FrameEuropean foulbrood (EFB) is a bacterial disease of honeybee larvae, which causes significant economic losses to the honeybee industry worldwide. The antibiotic Oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC) is the only registered chemical in Australia, which can be used to control the disease. However, traces of OTC have been found as residue in honey and this can have serious adverse implications for domestic and particularly export sales of honey.

This project is looking at the use of eight fatty acids, which potentially could be used as alternatives to OTC in controlling EFB. Difficulties have previously been encountered because, in experimental hives, bees detect and eject diseased larvae. Larval assays, which overcome this problem have now been developed. Assessing the effectiveness of the fatty acids in controlling EFB is now proceeding.

The Research ProblemEuropean foulbrood (EFB) is caused by the organism, Melissococcus pluton, which infects honeybee larvae. High larval mortalities occur during heavy infections especially during spring when the larval population is expanding. It occurs in all states except Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

This disease is relatively poorly understood compared with American foulbrood, the other major bacterial disease of honeybees. It has been endemic in eastern Australia since the mid 1970s, and it is of some concern to the honeybee industry that the only antibiotic recommended and registered for the treatment of EFB is OTC. This has been in use for many years and so far, no resistance to it has been detected. Not only is this a potential problem in the future, but also OTC residues have been detected in Australian honey, which has tainted the image of honey as a healthy natural product. The United Kingdom is our largest export

market and has no tolerance for antibiotic residues. Exports found to have residues are rejected.

Previous research work has shown that certain fatty acids inhibit the growth of M.pluton under laboratory conditions. The honeybee industry would benefit greatly if fatty acids could be used in place of OTC to control EFB. These are non-toxic, environmentally sound, leave no residues, and indeed are actual foods, some being essential for growth and development. The challenge, therefore, is to see if certain fatty acids can be used to control EFB, which have infected honeybee larvae in experimental hives.

First, a practical research problem had to be solved. In experimental hives, bees detect and eject diseased larvae. This makes it difficult to test the effectiveness of different chemicals in controlling EFB. This ejection can be prevented by conducting experiments on laboratory-raised larvae which can be treated with alternative chemicals and their effectiveness studied.

Research Methods and Some Initial FindingsA first step was to develop a successful larval assay. Honeybee larvae were grafted into plastic microlitre plates and successfully raised to pupae stage by feeding a basic larval diet.

The next step was to make sure that the fatty acids used to treat EFB in subsequent experiments did not adversely affect the honeybee larvae. Larvae reared by the method developed in the first step were treated with increasing doses of the various fatty acids. Initial results have shown that treating the larvae with the fatty acid, lauric acid, had little effect on larval survival even when very high concentrations of lauric acid were used. In addition to lauric acid, the other fatty acids being tested are myristic, undecanoic, myristoleic, ricinoleic, ricinelaidic, 13,16,19-docosatrienoic and homo-y-linoleic acids. These are also being tested on honeybee larvae to eliminate any that have harmful effects on larvae.


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The researchers then needed to be able to infect the larval assays with M.pluton so that EFB could be induced under controlled laboratory conditions. They found that EFB can indeed be developed in larvae which are fed suspensions of other larvae which have EFB. Furthermore, they found that EFB can also be induced in larvae which are fed M.pluton cultures.

The stage is now set to undertake the main part of the research which is to test the effectiveness of the eight fatty acids in inhibiting or eliminating the growth of M.pluton on honey bee larvae.

ImplicationsThis research is still in progress, but to date, significant achievements have been made in developing the larval assays. It is now a relatively straight forward task to test the effectiveness of the eight fatty acids on inhibiting the development of

Figure 2. Honeybee larval cells (yellow) infected with European foulbrood. Source: Michael Hornitzky

Further Information This project commenced in August 2006 and is continuing. Further information on progress and findings to date can be obtained from:

RIRDC Project: DAN-245A ‘Development of Treatment Options for European Foulbrood’

Contact: Dr. Michael Hornitzky NSW Department of Primary Industries Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute Private Mail Bag 8 CAMDEN NSW 2570 Phone: 02 4640 6311 E-Mail: [email protected]

EFB in honey bee larvae. If these trials are successful, subsequent research will be needed to test the effectiveness of fatty acids in controlling EFB under commercial conditions.

The honeybee industry stands to gain substantially if certain fatty acids prove to be effective in controlling EFB. This will eliminate any residue problems in honey, and also reduce or eliminate dependence on OTC, and the potential for the bacteria to develop resistance to this antibiotic.


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EvaluatingAlternativeAntibioticsforControlofEuropeanFoulbroodDisease

Stephen Doughty, Joanne Luck and Russell GoodmanPrimary Industries Research Victoria (PIRVic) Knoxfield, Department of Primary Industries, Victoria.

In a Single FrameEuropean Foulbrood (EFB) bacterial disease of honeybees is a serious problem throughout eastern Australia. The only antibiotic licenced for the treatment of the disease is Oxytetracycline hydrochloride (OTC). However, excessive use of this antibiotic can result in long lasting residues in honey derived from treated hives. Detection of OTC residues in Australian honey exports particularly to the European Union could result in export rejections and hence have serious consequences for the Australian honeybee industry.

This project examined six alternative antibiotics that were effective in controlling the disease. Two, namely Ampicillin and Amoxicillin, had a short residue life and were selected as promising alternatives to OTC.

What is EFBEuropean Foulbrood Disease (EFB) is caused by the bacterium, Melissococcus pluton, and has been an endemic disease of honeybees throughout eastern Australia since the mid 1970’s. The bacterium infects the gut of larvae and heavy infestations increase larval mortality especially when bee colonies are under nutritional or temperature stress. The source of bacteria is thought to be mainly from contaminated nurse bees, or from bacteria left in cells from previous infections. Sometimes bee colonies are further weakened by secondary infections of other bacteria such as Paenibacillus alvei, Enterococcus faecalis, or Enterococcus faecium.

The symptoms and severity of the disease may be reduced by good beekeeping practices such as undertaking treatment at least eight to nine weeks prior to a honey flow, and ensuring a plentiful supply of nectar in spring to keep bee colonies healthy. In times of poor nectar

flows or when bee hives otherwise come under stress, antibiotic treatment may be necessary.

Treatment and the problem with residues

The antibiotic OTC is the only recommended and licensed treatment for this disease. A problem with its use, however, is that this antibiotic can leave residues in honey and other bee products if great care is not taken during treatment. Residues in honey can last for up to six to nine weeks following treatment and residue breakdown products have been identified indefinitely.

The United Kingdom is the largest market for Australian honey exports. This market requires a residue free product – as a member of the European Union, it does not license any antibiotics for the control of brood diseases. If residues in Australian honey exports were detected, exports would invariably be rejected. Hence, the impetus for this research was to find alternative therapeutic controls against EFB.

Research AimsThis research project set out to determine the potential of antibiotics, other than OTC to control the bacterial honeybee brood disease EFB. Potential candidates had to be effective in controlling the disease, but also had to quickly degrade and leave no residues in honey extracted from treated hives.

How the Research was CompletedFrom a large list of antibiotics registered for use by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority, six alternatives to OTC were finally chosen for testing. These were known to have rapid breakdown rates and

had the potential to be effective in controlling the EFB bacteria. They were tested for their effectiveness in stopping M. pluton growth in laboratory cultures. First, disc diffusion plate assays were used, and then liquid culture ‘minimum inhibitory concentration’ assays were used. These identified ampicillin as being highly effective against M. pluton with several other candidates, including amoxicillin, being equally as effective as OTC.

Two of the most promising candidates, ampicillin and amoxicillin, were further tested to ensure that they were not detrimental to the growth of honeybee larvae. Honeybee larvae known to be free of EFB were fed a synthetic larval diet supplemented, in turn, with the selected antibiotics and compared with OTC.

Finally, the candidate antibiotics and OTC were tested for their rate of degradation in antibiotic free honey. The researchers used a modified ‘minimum inhibitory concentration’ (MIC) technique with the M. pluton bacterium as the reporter. When the MIC value of an antibiotic sample was finally equal to the MIC value of water as the control, the antibiotic sample was regarded as having been completely degraded.

Some Key FindingsTwo antibiotics, ampicillin and amoxicillin, fitted the criteria of being effective against M. pluton and having a rapid breakdown rate. The former was especially effective against the bacteria, at least under the laboratory conditions of this research. None of the other four antibiotics tested showed any significant breakdown over a 21 day period. But ampicillin and amoxicillin showed that under long term testing, they degraded rapidly,


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with their effectiveness reducing to background honey levels over a 40 to 65 day period when stored at 35 degrees celsius.

These two antibiotics were also tested for any toxic effects on honeybees. There was some discrepancy between experiments but overall, the results showed that honeybee larvae reared in the laboratory suffered no ill effects from being fed a diet high in these two antibiotics.

Implications and Further WorkThese laboratory results have identified ampicillin and amoxicillin as two additional antibiotics that could potentially be used to control EFB under commercial conditions, and meet the requirement of having a rapid degradation rate. They have the advantage of being easily detectable even with quick, ‘kitchen bench’ type tests. And they are widely used in veterinary medicine so their physio-chemical behaviour is widely documented.

Disadvantages are that bacterial resistance could occur with extensive and widespread use, and these antibiotics are used in human medicine. This means that extensive exposure could cause reactions in susceptible people. Furthermore, misuse of these antibiotics could result in residues in the same way as the currently used OTC but to a lesser extent. Thus the risk of residue detection in honey products for export or domestic sales is lessened but not entirely eliminated.

Further work is required to test these two antibiotics under field conditions to see if the same protection is provided to beehives in EFB prone areas.

The researchers suggest, for the future, two further potentially promising lines of research to control EFB. One is the use of bacteriophages. These are viruses that infect bacteria and are highly

specific to their host bacteria. There have been some reports of the use of bacteriophage therapy to control American Foulbrood outbreaks. Bacteriophages leave no residues.

The other possibility may be to use what is known as quorum quenching. Many bacteria are able to sense the cell density of their populations. This ability (quorum sensing) is used as a sensor to control gene activation. Some bacteria can disrupt the quorum sensing of competing bacteria. This is referred to as quorum quenching and is done by emzymatic degradation of the signalling molecule. Quorum quenching could potentially be used in controlling EFB but it would mean that the signalling molecule of M.pluton would need to be found and a practical method for disrupting the signal developed.

Figure 1. A microscopic view of the M. pluton bacterium, showing its distinct ‘string of pearls’ growth

Further Information Further information on this project and on further developments can be obtained by contacting the principal researcher:

RIRDC Project: DAV-198A ‘Evaluating Alternative Antibiotics for Control of European Foulbrood Disease’ Publication No. 04/095.

Contact: Dr Stephen Doughty PIRVic Knoxfield Department of Primary Industries Private bag 15 Ferntree Gully Delivery Centre Victoria 3156 Phone: 03 9210 9222 Email: [email protected]


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AmericanFoulbroodControl–HasResistanceEmergedtoOxytetracycline?

Michael HornitzkyNSW Department of Primary Industries.

In a Single Frame• American foulbrood (AFB) is a major

bacterial honeybee disease. It has been controlled with Oxytetracycline (OTC) for five decades. However, in recent years OTC-resistant strains of bacteria have emerged in the US, Canada and Argentina.

• Although in Australia OTC is only used in Tasmania to treat AFB it is important for the Australian beekeeping industry to know whether Australian bees contain OTC-resistant bacteria strains and whether imported honey contains OTC-resistant bacteria.

Research PurposeThe presence of OTC-resistant bacteria in Australian bees will influence the choice of future control options for AFB. It is also possible that OTC-resistant bacteria may transfer this resistance to the

bacteria responsible for European foulbrood, another important bacterial disease of honeybees in Australia.

The Research ProcessThe aims of the study were to:

• acquire a range of the relevant bacteria from around Australia and determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of OTC to these samples

• determine the MIC of OTC to the bacteria samples obtained from imported honey and

• compare current OTC sensitivities to the MICs of samples collected in the late 1980s.

Results AchievedThe study has demonstrated that bacteria responsible for American foulbrood isolated from Australian

sources are very sensitive to OTC and that no resistance to OTC appears to have developed over the past 15/16 years. Most bacteria from imported honey had higher minimum inhibitory concentrations for OTC than Australian bacteria but were still very sensitive to OTC. This indicates that honey imported from Argentina has not been a significant source of OTC-resistant bacteria.

Research ImplicationsThe research is good news for Tasmanian beekeepers that use OTC for the control of American foulbrood. OTC remains effective. On the mainland American foulbrood is controlled by incinerating infested hives or the gamma irradiation of infected hive material after the bees have been destroyed.

Further Information This project commenced in August 2006 and is continuing. Further information on progress and findings to date can be obtained from:

RIRDC Project: DAN-219A ‘The sensitivity of Paenibacillus larvae isolates (AFB) to oxytetracycline’ Publication No. 05/021.

Contact: Dr. Michael Hornitzky NSW Department of Primary Industries Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute Private Mail Bag 8 CAMDEN NSW 2570 Phone: 02 4640 6311 E-Mail: [email protected]


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BeeHusbandryandManagementDroneHoneybeeSemenProduction

John RhodesNSW Department of Primary Industries

In a Single FrameCommercial beekeepers sometimes experience problems with young queen bees not being accepted during introduction, being superseded within a short period of time after introduction, or performing poorly following introduction and acceptance. These problems produce an economic cost to the beekeeper from weakened colonies resulting in reduced honey production or unsuitability of the hive for pollination purposes. Previous research has suggested that poor queen bee performance following introduction may be associated with the queen bee having low numbers of sperm in her spermatheca following mating. Low sperm counts in queen bees following mating may be due to low numbers of drones at the mating area, low quality of the drones present, or a combination of both factors.

This research project is investigating drone semen quality based on the influence of factors such as drone age, breeding line and the season in which drones were reared.

Results from initial experiments using manual eversion of drones for collecting semen samples showed significant differences between breeding lines for the per cent of drones producing semen, the volume of semen produced per drone and the number of sperm produced per drone. Later experiments using a dissection of seminal vesicles to provide the semen sample have not supported the results obtained from using the manual eversion method for semen sample collection.

The Research ProblemThe productivity of a hive depends greatly on how the queen bee performs. Beekeepers can suffer considerable economic losses if newly introduced queen bees are rejected or do not perform well. In such cases colonies are weakened and it is often difficult to re-queen such hives resulting in loss of honey production or hives being unsuitable for pollination purposes. Some standard commercial queen bee management practices, such as the age at which queen bees are introduced into established colonies result in unacceptably high losses of queen bees in commercial hives.

Previous research suggests that one

of the reasons for a newly mated queen bee performing poorly is that it has low numbers of sperm in its spermatheca. Careful examination of the queen bees used in previous research revealed that they were of a high physical standard suggesting that the problem of poor mating may be due to the numbers and/or quality of the drones present at the mating areas.

Under natural conditions, bee colonies mostly produce virgin queen bees at times of swarming which coincides with the production of drones. Under commercial queen bee rearing conditions, queen bee producers manipulate their bee colonies to produce large numbers of queen bees between August and April in eastern Australia. However, there is little information available on the numbers or quality of drones available for mating or if differences in drone quality occur during this time. What is known is that large numbers of high quality drones can only be produced in hives provided with adequate protein nutrition.

The key questions addressed in this research are how drone quality varies over the period August to April and

how the age of drones affects sperm production and quality.

Research AimsThe researchers wanted to find out the main factors that determine a good productive drone measured principally in terms of high sperm production, and conversely, those factors contributing to poor performance by drones.

The first key objective was to determine the effects of drone age and stage of the season on the quality of semen produced by the drones.

In early experiments on the effects of breeding lines on drone quality, the researchers found that the greatest differences between lines were for the number of drones producing semen at the endophallus after manual eversion, semen volume and sperm numbers per drone. Sperm viability and motility were examined.

A further key aim was to find out how drone age and stage of the season affected the composition of semen, particularly fatty acid and amino acid content.

The final objective was to determine

Figure 1. A drone which has been manually everted showing a film of pink-brown semen at the end of the endophallus


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the efficiency of manual eversion of drones for presenting available semen for collection.

Research MethodsThe drones used in these experiments were from four unrelated lines of Italian race queen bees obtained from commercial queen bee breeders. For the initial experiments all semen samples were collected using manual eversion of each drone followed by collection of semen in a syringe tip using a standard Artificial Insemination apparatus. All hives were managed in a similar manner to drone mother colonies in commercial queen bee breeding apiaries. The hives were fed with a protein supplement and sugar syrup when required.

To study the effect of stage of the season on drone performance, drones were reared at three times during the year representing approximately spring, summer and autumn drones. For each ‘season’ category, three age groups or different stages of maturity of drones were sampled at 14, 21 and 35 days of age. Each sample contained about 30 drones. Additional drones were caught at 14, 21 and 35 days of age for each season for analyses of amino acid and fatty acid composition of semen.

Experiments commenced in 2007 have examined semen volume and sperm counts from drones from four breeding lines using a dissection of the seminal vesicles from each drone as the method for collecting semen samples.

Some Initial FindingsInitial results indicated that there were significant differences in semen characteristics measured between the four lines of drone bees. These differences included the proportion of drones from each breeding line producing semen at the endophallus, semen volume per drone and sperm number per drone. No significant difference was identified between

Further Information This project is nearing completion. Further information can be obtained from the principal researcher.

RIRDC Project: DAN-205A ‘Drone Honeybee Semen Production’

Contact: Mr. John Rhodes New South Wales Department of Primary Industries 4 Marsden Park Road, Calala, Tamworth, NSW 2340 Email: [email protected]

breeding lines for sperm viability and sperm motility per drone. Sperm viability and sperm motility was high and considered satisfactory. Differences in the amounts of amino acids and fatty acids in drones of different ages and for different seasons have been identified.

Current experiments examining sperm counts from drones where the seminal vesicles have been dissected from each drone are providing results which do not support results for sperm counts using the manual eversion method for semen collection.

ImplicationsUnsuccessful re-queening programs by commercial honey producers and those providing a commercial

pollination service can be very expensive. Also at stake is the reputation of the queen bee breeder producing the queen bees.

This research project is examining factors considered important in producing commercially reared queen bees which have a high number of sperm in their spermatheca following mating. Once the young queen is successfully introduced into its hive, sufficient numbers of sperm stored in the queen`s spermatheca is one of the important factors contributing to increasing the amount of time the queen remains active in the hive before being superseded. This provides an increased economic benefit to the beekeeper.

Figure 2 (above). Testes, seminal vesicles (pink), and mucous glands (white) dissected from a mature age drone

Figure 3 (left). Sperm viability. Live sperm stained green and dead sperm stained red


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NutritionReviewofHoneybeeNutritionResearchandPractices

Dr John BlackJohn L Black Consulting

In a Single FrameThis review identified the current status of knowledge on the nutrition of honeybees and how this knowledge can be applied to improve the focus of research and the practice of honey production in Australia.

Research PurposeThe purpose of this research was to:

• review all honeybee nutritioneview all honeybee nutrition research and relate this research to its practical application by beekeepers

• develop an integrated frameworkdevelop an integrated framework for honeybee nutrition research in Australia

• provide a scientific reportprovide a scientific report on the work undertaken and recommend a program of honeybee nutrition research for RIRDC.

The review was commissioned by RIRDC to identify the current status of knowledge on the nutrition of honeybees and how this knowledge could be applied to improve the focus of research and the practice of honey production in Australia.

Poor nutrition is frequently associated with the use of eucalyptus species, which often have high nectar flows, but small quantities of pollen. Colonies working eucalyptus species for several weeks can show reduced vitality, a decline in queen egg laying capacity, reduced bee numbers, small bees at emergence, reduced lifespan and increased susceptibility to diseases.

The Research ProcessA thorough review of the literature published on honeybee nutrition over the last century was conducted along with a review of past and current RIRDC funded bee nutrition projects. The major

aspects of honeybee productivity affected by nutrition were identified and an integrated research program for RIRDC funding suggested. The recommended research program was revised following a two-day Honeybee R&D Advisory Committee meeting at the Australian National University on 5 and 6 May 2004.

Results AchievedSources of nutrients obtained by honeybees, factors affecting the attractiveness of pollens and variation in the digestibility of nutrients within pollens were assessed. The effects of nutrition status of honeybees on growth and body composition, development, reproduction, sex ratio of eggs and resistance to disease were quantified.

Requirements for growth and reproduction of honeybees within a colony were determined for energy in the form of glucose, protein, essential amino acids, essential fatty acids, minerals and vitamins.

Specifications for a pollen substitute were suggested including substances to be avoided because of their toxicity to honeybees. The most important factors affecting the profitability of the bee industry were identified and an integrated research program recommended in order of priority to:

• develop an effective,develop an effective, economically viable pollen substitute

• refine recommendations forrefine recommendations for effective feeding of sugar supplements including estimates of the amount of sugar needed to change bee numbers over specified time periods, feeding methods, concentrations and preservation procedures

• investigate the feasibility of usinginvestigate the feasibility of using

Grey Ironbark flowers

technologies such as historical climate records and satellite photography for forecasting future floral resources

• continue development of NIRcontinue development of NIR technology for identifying the nutritional value of pollens.

• develop effective methods fordevelop effective methods for identifying the early onset of the ‘skinny bee’ syndrome under laboratory and field conditions.

Research ImplicationsA prioritised integrated research program with milestones and resource needs was provided to the RIRDC Honeybee Advisory Committee for funding considerations. The nutrition research program conforms to the current R&D Plan.

Further Information Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting Dr John Black. The research was completed in May 2005.

RIRDC Project: JLB-2A ‘Review of Honeybee Nutrition Research and Practices’. Publication No. 06/052.

Contact: Dr John Black John L Black Consulting Locked Bag 21 Warrimoo, NSW 2774 Phone: 02 4753 6231 Email: [email protected]


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PredictingtheProductivityofHoneybeesfromtheNutritionalValueofPollen

Ian Wallis and William FoleyAustralian National University.

In a Single FrameBetter nutrition means healthier bees and more honey production. Bees get energy from nectar and most nutrients from pollen, but the chemical composition of pollen varies enormously.

Beekeepers need a quick and cheap way of assessing the nutritional value of pollen so that they can supplement those nutrients considered limiting to improve bee productivity and honey production.

This research has developed a quick, cheap method of assessing the nutrient composition of pollen and of bees, using near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS).

The Problem and Research AimsHoneybees live mainly on nectar and pollen. Nectar supplies energy while pollen provides bees with nutrients such as essential amino acids and fatty acids, vitamins and minerals. The higher the nutritional quality of the pollen collected by bees, the greater the chances of healthier and more productive bees. But the chemical composition of pollens varies enormously. The problem is that all too little is known about pollen nutrient availability or the proportion of the total nutrients in pollen that bees extract, absorb and metabolise. Although a fair bit is known about the nutrient requirements of bees, how much they eat, and the composition of the pollens they gather we know relatively little about how individual pollens and mixtures of pollens influence the nutritional status of bees, hive productivity and honey production.

Laboratory studies using small colonies can be used to assess the nutritional composition of various pollens and how these influence bee attributes such as food intake, body size, brood rearing, longevity and hive productivity. These are time consuming and expensive, and

require many expensive chemical analyses. This approach is not practical from the commercial viewpoint of the honeybee industry. What beekeepers need is a quick, cheap method of assessing the nutritional composition of the pollen their bees are collecting and, if necessary, supplementing any nutrient deficiencies. This is standard practice in other industries such as the poultry industry.

The aim of this research project was to develop a novel, inexpensive way of assessing the nutritional composition of the pollen and the key attributes of the bees that eat the pollen. It used the spectra of the pollen and bees captured with near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) and related these to conventional bioassay results done in the laboratory.

How NIRS WorksNear infrared spectroscopy uses an optical instrument – a spectrophotometer – to measure the reflected light (in the near infrared region of the spectrum) from a particular sample of interest. Each substance reflects wavelengths of particular frequencies, which can be detected by the instrument. In an analogous way the human eye (instrument) detects say a red object, because that object reflects

wavelengths in the red part of the white light spectrum.

Then by matching the particular spectrum from a sample with the chemical composition of that sample, determined by conventional laboratory methods, the chemical composition of other samples of the same substance can be inferred from NIRS information alone.

How the Research was CompletedThe researchers adopted a two-stage approach. The first was to see if the characters of interest in samples of pollen and bees could be predicted from spectra of the samples using NIRS. Spectra for each of 50-100 samples of bees or pollen were obtained and each sample was analysed for nitrogen, amino acids and fat content using conventional laboratory methods. Using standard statistical methods, equations were then developed which related the results from conventional laboratory analyses to the NIRS results). For any subsequent samples, these equations could then be used to predict the value of characters of interest from the NIRS readings of those samples. Thus, within minutes, the amino acid, nitrogen and fat content of samples could be determined with a high degree of accuracy. Using conventional


24

methods, analyses of samples would take days and be very expensive.

The second approach was to obtain spectra of 45 pollen samples, which were then fed to bees. The bees were subsequently measured for various characters such as head mass, ability to raise eggs to sealed brood and so on. Equations were then developed which related important bee characteristics to the spectra of the pollen fed to the bees (and hence the particular nutritional characteristics of the pollen). From these equations, one should be able to predict how bees will perform, given particular pollens.

Research OutcomesFrom the models developed (an example is shown in Figure 1), the nitrogen and amino acid content of pollen samples and the nitrogen content of larvae, pupae and adult bees can be accurately determined using NIRS. Reasonably good determinations of the fat content of pollen samples can also be made.

The results also provide circumstantial evidence that fatty acids degrade in stored pollen.

The most important research outcome, however, was a clear demonstration that the NIRS technique can be used to predict how a particular pollen will influence bees. That is, how bees, in terms of their size, body composition, and ability to raise eggs to sealed brood, are influenced by particular pollens or mixtures of pollens.

Implications for Commercial BeekeepersMany intensive rural industries such as the poultry or pig industries, routinely use information on the nutritional value of feeds to determine supplementary feeding programs to maximise production and profitability. The honeybee industry is in a more difficult situation and, being a small industry,

it cannot afford the expensive nutritional studies that would normally be required.

The results of this research have important implications for how beekeepers can provide better nutritional management of their beehives. The composition of pollen or pollen mixtures and of bees can now be obtained quickly and cheaply. In addition, with some refining of bee bioassays, it will be possible to predict bee attributes and productivity from the measured nutritional value of pollen. Armed with this information, beekeepers will be able to manipulate the hive’s nutritional status by supplementary feeding those nutrients, which are limiting.

More research is needed, however, to refine the approach and move from

the research phase to commercial conditions. First, additional bioassays with bees need to be conducted. Certain bee characteristics were able to be related to pollen composition but refinements are needed in other areas. For example, methods need to be refined that relate ability to rear brood to measured pollen quality. Similarly, the link between nutrient intake and bee longevity needs to be further investigated. Furthermore, the bees used in these experiments originated in strong hives under a high plane of nutrition. A further step would be to measure the size and body composition of larvae, pupae and bees from commercial hives over a wide range of nutritional conditions. Further research should also attempt to relate the nutritional attributes of pollen and body composition of bees to honey production.

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Figure 1. The validation of the prediction equation for the essential amino acid, threonine

Further Information The results of this research were published in December 2006. Further information on the project can be obtained from RIRDC or by contacting the principal researchers;

RIRDC Project: ANU-57A ‘Predicting the Productivity of Honeybees from the Nutritional Value of Pollen’

Contact: Dr Ian Wallis or Professor William Foley School of Botany and Zoology Australian National University, Canberra ACT Phone: 02 6215 2058 Fax: 02 6215 5573 Email: [email protected] or [email protected]


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Figure 1. RIRDC Project No. DAN-186A, Publication No 05/054

‘FatBees/SkinnyBees’–HoneybeeNutritioninAustralia

Dr Doug SomervilleNSW Department of Primary Industries.

In a Single Frame• The project reports on the nutritional

value of pollen from a large number of Australian floral species and clearly lays out methods to assess the nutritional status for honeybees as well as practical case studies and techniques for nutritional management.

• The author makes the case for supplementary feeding with sugar syrup on the Australian mainland as a regular management practice.

Research PurposeThe purpose of this project was to prepare an easily read manual for beekeepers on honeybee nutrition. Honeybee nutrition information was drawn from past RIRDC publications, literature searches and Australian case studies including the author’s own research.

Research OutcomesThe project resulted in a comprehensive publication on honeybee nutrition for Australian beekeepers. The publication provides information on known essential chemical requirements of honeybees including nectar and pollen.

Pollens with a protein level around 25% or greater have been recognised as excellent quality pollens and those less than 20% have been described as poor quality.

Australia has had more pollens analysed than any other country, and for the first time all of the profiles of the analysis are presented, representing 183 species.

There is some evidence that the pollens of the same genus, i.e. closely related plants, exhibit similar nutritional values in regards to pollen chemical composition.

Implications for Commercial ApiaristsLack of nectar or stored honey presents beekeepers with various sets of problems. These scenarios are discussed with the most appropriate course of action. Likewise, lack of pollen or poor quality pollen creates its own set of problems, often exacerbated by the stimulus of a nectar flow. How to recognise the need to provide a pollen supplement and the circumstances that may lead a beekeeper to invest in this practice are discussed.

Some facts about honeybee nutrition include:• nectar flows stimulate hygienic

behaviour (eg removal of dead or dying adults)

• total protein intake is what should be considered rather than the chemical properties of individual pollens

• fats in pollen act as strong attractants to foraging bees, although increasing concentrations in pollen limit brood rearing

• vitamins are very unstable and deteriorate in stored pollen;

• principal cause of winter losses is starvation, not cold.

Pollination services and queen rearing present their own sets of management issues in relation to supplementary feeding and managing nutritional stress. Stimulating colonies in both circumstances with strategic application of supplements can be very beneficial. Lack of fresh pollen has a major negative effect on the rearing of drones.

The means of preparing and feeding sugar and pollen supplements are presented in different chapters. A great deal of attention is given to the emerging science of pollen

supplements as well as the better understood process of sugar syrup feeding. Sugar syrup feeding is a commonly practised management tool in many countries and while that is not the case on the Australian mainland, it is practised in the State of Tasmania.

The content of this manual should provide most beekeepers with enough information to seriously consider providing sugar syrup to bees in the future as a means of manipulating bee behaviour. As the costs and returns of beekeeping change, the option of sugar syrup feeding may prove to be an alternative to moving apiaries further afield in search of breeding conditions.

Forty-four case studies of beekeepers from every state in Australia and two from New Zealand are provided as examples of what is being practised by commercial beekeepers. They are not necessarily getting it right, but by trial and error, are improving the way they manage bees and ultimately improving the profitability of their beekeeping enterprise.


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Further Information The project commenced in January 2000 and was completed in April 2005.

Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting Dr Doug Somerville NSW DPI.

RIRDC Project: DAN-186A Production of a publication on honeybee nutrition in Australia – ‘Fat bees/skinny bees’ Publication No. 05/054.

Contact: Dr Doug Somerville NSW Department of Primary Industries Telephone: 02 4828 6619 Email: [email protected]

Feeding sugar syrup to cell raising colony – note bar of cells in centre. Source: Fat Bees Skinny Bees, Page 16.


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WinterSupplementaryFeedingNotSuccessful

Figure 1. Shows bees cleaning up the last of the pollen supplement on a tray placed on top bars of frames under the hive lid.

Dr Doug SomervilleNSW Department of Primary Industries

In a Single Frame• Autumn preparation and management

is vital to ensure a populous colony of bees is maintained through winter and early spring.

• The results of this research did not support ‘costly’ winter supplementary feeding.

Why the Research was CompletedThe objective of the study was to provide evidence of the effectiveness of supplementary feeding of honeybee colonies to achieve a population increase. Trials were conducted in the winters of 2003 and 2004.

Feed Supplements UsedThe 2003 trial was conducted to provide evidence that supplementary feeding honeybee colonies will increase bee populations prior to their use in pollination of almond crops in mid August. Three supplementary feeding treatments were used. They were: sugar syrup, a pollen supplement and a combination of both. These treatments were compared to a no supplementary feed ‘control’. Supplementary feeding of pollen is shown in Figure 1 below.

The 2004 trial was carried out on a winter flowering, pollen-deficient Mugga ironbark nectar flow to provide evidence that colony populations could be maintained in an area with not enough pollen using pollen supplements. Again three treatments and a no treatment ‘control’ were used. This time the treatments were bee collected pollen, soy flour and a mix of soy flour (50%), pollen (25%) and yeast (25%). A supplementary project was established to test the attractiveness

of a range of soy flour products. A soy flour feeding station, with wire placed over the drums to protect the soy from sheep and other animals is shown in Figure 2.

Results Achieved – 2003Results from the 2003 trial were not clear-cut and there were significant differences between apiaries regardless of their treatments. This meant that local weather and food availability was affecting trials results.

For example colonies that had access to a flowering canola crop after almond pollination produced twice as much brood as those who did not. The number of bees per hive were not significantly different.

Furthermore, there was no difference in the crude protein levels of the pupae between treatments. Under the conditions prevailing there was no benefit from any of the treatments over the no treatment ‘control’.

There was strong evidence that any benefit from the various supplements provided to the colonies was overridden by the adult bee disease Nosema apis. This disease is known to reduce the life span of adult bees and thus suppresses a population increase when nectar and pollen conditions are suitable for the colony’s growth.

Results Achieved – 2004The results from the 2004 trial provided evidence that all three supplementary feed preparations had some benefit with a ranking of pollen, then a soy flour/pollen/yeast mix then soy flour.

One of the ‘control’ groups, that is, the population without supplementary feeding produced more honey than one apiary that did

receive supplements. Therefore the benefit was not uniform across the experiment.

In addition there was a significant spread in the results for each treatment, suggesting that the responses from individual colonies is highly variable given the same set of circumstances.

Nosema disease was not a factor in 2004. Soy flour appeared to be more attractive to bees when provided in bulk containers than when placed in trays under the lids of each beehive – see Figure 2.

The ‘So What’ for Commercial ApiaristsEssentially, the 2003 trial failed to provide a strategy for apiarists to artificially increase populations of bees over the winter period for the southeast regions of Australia.

If colonies are required to have a certain population in late winter or early spring, then management strategies must be implemented during the autumn period prior to winter. This will give sufficient time to expand the population of the colonies to the required size with little or no management activity to the colonies during the winter period. In the event of imminent starvation, sugar supplementation in


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Further Information Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting Dr Doug Somerville NSW DPI. The project was completed in October 2005.

RIRDC Project: DAN-214A ‘Nutrition field trial to maximise colony population’

RIRDC Project: DAN-186A Production of a publication on honeybee nutrition in Australia – ‘Fat bees/skinny bees’ Publication No. 05/054.

Contact: Dr Doug Somerville NSW Department of Primary Industries Telephone: 02 4828 6619 Email: [email protected]

Figure 2. Comparing the attractiveness of three types/sources of soy flour in bulk feeders.

the form of dry sugar rather than syrup may be preferable.

The 2004 winter trial was aimed at pollen supplements when nectar was not a limiting factor. While pollen on its own as a supplement was the most attractive substance, the cost benefit of the exercise was questionable. In the case of the trial, the additional honey yield did not justify the investment in supplementary feeding of pollen. The 2004 trial finds that there may be a benefit to providing pollen if colonies are to be maintained for pollination services particularly for the late winter and early spring period. The trial also supported autumn preparation of a winter nectar flow, as a large percentage of the colonies in both apiaries in the trial declined in number of bees in winter even with pollen and nectar available.

A Calculator is a Beekeeper’s Most Important ToolBeekeepers should carefully consider the economics of supplementary feeding of honeybees and provide controls (i.e. no supplementary feeding benchmarks) in any future feeding strategies that they may adopt. Only by this approach of measuring a production increase, compared against a control, will individual beekeeping managers become confident that supplementary feeding, under certain circumstances, is economically beneficial. The results of this research did not support ‘costly’ supplementary feeding through winter.


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TheEffectofHighandLowFatPollensonHoneybeeLongevity

Rob ManningWestern Australian Department of Agriculture and Food.

In a Single FrameWe have very limited information on the dietary needs of honeybees for fats or lipids or on how bees respond to different lipid levels in their diet. Yet eucalypts are the main source of food for foraging bees but eucalypt pollen generally has a very low fat content.

In this project, caged bees were fed various diets of redgum pollen enhanced with linoleic and oleic acids, sugars, and soya bean and lupin flours. Bees lived longest when fed on redgum pollen only. Bees fed sugar had the shortest life. The addition of the fatty acids to the pollen caused significant differences in longevity, which decreased when concentrations of oleic acid and linoleic acid were increased above 2% and 6% respectively. Soya bean flour did not improve longevity and, linoleic acid did not accumulate in the bodies of bees fed on this diet.

Our Scant Knowledge of Bee Requirements for FatsFat is a general term referring to lipid which is composed of fatty acids, sterols and phospholipids. Many are essential to bee health.

European honeybees have evolved on plant species much different from Australia’s native plants particularly eucalypts, which are the main source of food for foraging bees in Australia. Eucalypt pollens generally have a very low fat level, around 1 to 2 percent, much lower than the pollens of most plant species used for beekeeping in Europe. Also, pollens in North America average above 5 percent fat.

Fats in pollen consumed by bees play an important role in the structural integrity and function of cellular membranes of insects, and may be a strong attractant to foraging bees. Some fatty acids may also exhibit antimicrobial activity.

While considerable research has been done on protein and energy requirements of bees, we know little about the dietary needs of

honeybees for fats, with the possible exception of cholesterol. The little work that has been done on how bee longevity responds to diets with different fat concentrations, has shown inconclusive results. But there is some evidence that the effects of different pollens on longevity are correlated to the amount of pollen protein consumed.

When natural supplies of pollen and nectar are scarce, beekeepers often supply substitute sources of protein and lipid. Soya bean flour is often used but its use can run the risk of having traces of genetically-modified (GM) soya bean detected in honey. This raises consumer concerns in some importing countries. Lupin flour is a locally grown and a potential substitute

for soya bean flour, especially in Western Australia.

Research Aims and MethodsThis project set out to discover how bees respond to basic redgum (Corymbia calophylla) pollen diets supplemented with different concentrations of linoleic acid and oleic acid. These fatty acids are common in all pollens in Australian plants.

Soya bean and lupin flours with high, medium and low fat contents, as well as a basic sugar diet were also tested.

The main bee physiological responses measured were longevity, hypopharyngeal gland development and the body composition of bees.

Figure 1. Measuring honeybee longevity in cage experiments


30

In all some 22 diets were tested.

The three responses measured are all very important for honey production. Longevity of worker bees is one of the main factors influencing honey production. The hypopharyngeal gland in the head of young worker bees is well developed and responsible for the synthesis of a protein rich substance called royal jelly. This and the jelly from nurse bees is rapidly distributed throughout the hive to larvae, drones and the queen bee. The body composition of bees relates directly to the general health of the hive and production of honey.

Newly emerged honeybees were confined in cages (with around 1400 bees in each) and fed the various diets. Longevity, hypopharyngeal gland development and body composition with the gut removed were measured.

Key Research FindingsHoneybees that were fed diets of only redgum pollen had the greatest longevity of all the 22 diets tested. Thus the addition of the fatty acid supplements had no positive effect on bee longevity. Bees fed a pure sugar diet had the shortest life-span.

The addition of oleic acid to the basic redgum pollen diet in concentrations of greater than 2 per cent caused bee longevity to decrease, a poor head weight response (hypopharyngeal gland development) and a failure of the queen to lay eggs. The supplementation of the basic pollen diet with linoleic acid in concentrations greater than 6 per cent had a similar response. In both cases it was found that as the concentrations of fatty acids increased in the diets, total consumption of the diet decreased.

The level of fat in the in the diets of soya bean flour had little or no influence on bee longevity, head weight or egg laying by the queen.

The bees fed this diet also failed to accumulate linoleic acid in their bodies, unlike bees fed pollen diets. Adding pollen to the soya bean flour diet improved longevity.

Bees fed the lupin flour diet also failed to accumulate linoleic acid and there was no response by way of increased head weights even when pollen was added up to a level of 30 per cent of the diet. In contrast to the results for the soya bean diets, the lupin flour diet caused an increase in bee mortality. Also, for all flour diets, manganese was poorly accumulated compared with diets of pollen.

Bees fed sugar diets increased body fat but linoleic acid was not accumulated.

Implications for the Honeybee IndustrySince Australian eucalypt pollens are low in lipids by world standards, it was thought that enhancing eucalyptus pollen with fatty acids would improve honeybee longevity and by implication, honey production. The outcomes of this research cast real doubts on this hypothesis. The results also show that when the fatty acids, linoleic and oleic acid, are added to pollen diets they have a detrimental effect on bees when included in concentrations above certain, relatively low threshold concentrations.

The use of soya bean flour as a supplement during times of low pollen and nectar flows is

Figure 2. Cages of bees were fed different diets including distilled water and 50% sugar solution. Diets were placed into test tubes inserted into the side of cages


31

widespread in the honeybee industry. The results from this research suggest that much more research work is needed to find out the basic parameters of bee responses to fat supplements before we have a clear understanding of the nutritional value of supplements of this type to honeybees and the industry.

Cox proportional Hazards Model

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Figure 3. A Cox Proportional Hazard model of 22 diets with upper and lower 95% confidence limits. The comparison diet used was crushed and irradiated redgum pollen (cRG). The hazard ratio of a diet is the increased risk of dying by being fed that diet compared to a different diet, the higher the ratio, the higher the risk. Diet codes are given in Tables 1 & 2. Source: Manning et al. Australian Journal of Entomology (2007) 46, 263-269.

Further Information This research project was completed in October 2006. Readers can find out more about this research project and about this topic in general by contacting RIRDC or the main researcher:

RIRDC Project: DAW-105A ‘The Effect of High and Low Fat Pollens on Honeybee Longevity’

Contact: Robert Manning Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food Phone: 08 9368 3567 Email: [email protected]


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DevelopmentofaPollenSubstitutetoMeettheNutritionalNeedsofHoneybees

Dr John BlackJohn L Black Consulting.

In a Single FrameBeekeepers in Australia are experiencing declining access to floral resources through exclusion to some national parks, drought and other factors. As a means of developing alternative sources of pollen, the RIRDC Honeybee Advisory Committee has put a high priority on the development of pollen substitutes. This research project addresses this issue.

This research, which is still in progress, is developing effective pollen substitutes that are attractive to bees, meet the nutritional requirements of honeybee colonies and are economically viable.

Background to the ResearchThis research project is an integral part of a wider research program on honeybee nutrition. It is specifically aimed at developing a pollen substitute that is attractive to bees and could be used to provide all the nutrients required to maintain healthy honeybee colonies.

At times pollen, which is essential for providing protein, minerals and vitamins to honeybees, is in short supply. This can occur even when there are abundant nectar flows. Also at certain times of the year, such as late winter, beekeepers would like to strengthen their bee colonies so that they are in a good, healthy condition for placement in orchards for pollination.

Natural sources of pollen are often in short supply at these times. A low cost pollen substitute would be of considerable benefit to beekeepers.

Any pollen substitute would need to be attractive to honeybees, meet the nutritional requirements of honeybee colonies, and be economically attractive to beekeepers.

Determining the requirements of honeybee colonies for individual amino acids, fatty acids, cholesterol,

specific minerals and vitamins, and carbohydrates as well as determining other substances toxic to bees was an essential prerequisite to the study. A review and evaluation of the literature in a previous project specified the nutrient requirements of honeybees in greater detail than had been achieved before and has enabled the precise formulation of potential pollen substitutes.

Research Methods and ApproachesThere are several phases to the research, which is still in progress.

As a first step the pollen substitute must be attractive to honeybees. Attractiveness of pollen to honeybees depends on yellow colour, presence of specific lipid extracts and size of particles. The initial research being taken is to study the preference of foraging bees for a range of lipid based substances which could be added to a pollen substitute to ensure it is attractive to honeybees.

The range of substances being considered for preference testing with honeybees include several oil extracts such as avocado, lavender, olive, sesame, almond, blended vegetable, linseed, orange, canola, fish, rose, macadamia, peanut and evening primrose oils. The substances are being applied to a low fat pollen and the relative attractiveness determined by comparing the results with those from Western Australian redgum pollen. This work is being conducted by Rob Manning from the Western Australian Department of Agriculture and Food.

Attractiveness is being determined by measuring the consumption of material containing a constant proportion of the oils, as well as the

number of bees attracted to each ‘feed pellet’ over a specific time interval.

The next step is the identification of ingredients that meet the nutritional needs of honeybees and are not toxic to them. A mineral and vitamin mixture to meet the requirements of honeybee colonies has been manufactured in collaboration with a commercial feed manufacturer.

A range of pollen substitutes are to be formulated using these ingredients combined with the most promising attractants from step one. Fifteen protein sources from eggs, milk, blood, lupins, soybeans, canola, and micro-algae, have been procured for incorporation into the pollen substitute mixtures. They will be tested for their relative effects on colony growth and brood rearing.

In a third step, the most promising pollen substitutes will be evaluated in field experiments. Again, attractiveness, amount consumed and changes in colony numbers and vitality will be measured against a control using Western Australian redgum pollen.

Where pollen substitutes compare favourably with redgum pollen, manufacturing specifications will be developed and promoted in the honeybee industry.

Progress and Some Initial FindingsThis project is in its early stages. A literature review of factors determining the attractiveness of pollen or artificial pollen substitutes to foraging bees has been completed and a range of pollen substitute mixtures prepared for testing. The results are currently being analysed to identify those substances most attractive to honeybees.


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An appropriate mineral and vitamin mix has been manufactured and a wide range of protein sources obtained. Several pollen substitute mixes are to be prepared and their suitability for colony growth and brood rearing will be evaluated.

Implications for BeekeepersOver the past few years, beekeepers in Australia have experienced reduced access to floral resources through drought and several other factors. They would gain considerable benefits if this project is successful in developing pollen substitutes which could be readily manufactured and made available to beekeepers at a reasonable cost.

The feeding of pollen substitutes, in conjunction with the feeding of sugar syrup, should enable beekeepers to maintain honeybee colonies during periods of either nectar or pollen scarcity. This should significantly enhance the productivity of honeybee colonies during subsequent periods when natural floral resources become more abundant. Hives used for orchard pollination, which are supplementary fed during winter, should also be much more vigorous in spring and provide a better pollination service.

Further Information This research project commenced in July 2006 and is not due to be completed until November 2009. More information on it can be obtained by contacting the principal researcher:

RIRDC Project: JLB-4A ‘Development of a pollen substitute meeting the nutritional needs of honeybees’

Contact: Dr John Black John L Black Consulting Locked Bag 21 Warrimoo NSW 2774 Phone: 02 4753 6231 Email: [email protected]


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ResourcesNaturalResourceDatabasefortheSouthAustralianApiaryIndustry

David C. Paton and Emma L. CrossfieldUniversity of Adelaide

In a Single FrameThis project identified the major floral resources used by South Australian apiarists and recorded the information in a suitable electronic form.

Research PurposePrior to this project there had been no detailed survey to identify the key floral resources used by the beekeeping industry in South Australia. Such information is important for regional planning particularly with respect to protecting floral assets and maintaining access for beekeepers to these assets.

The Research ProcessThe primary method of collecting data for this project was by a questionnaire that was distributed to 216 beekeepers that had registered at least 40 hives in South Australia. Each beekeeper was asked to answer a series of questions about their beekeeping operations. These included providing details of the locations that they used for their bees, the times of the year that these sites were used, the number of hives placed at each site and the main floral resources that were being used at each site.

The initial response to the questionnaire was poor (<30%) and additional data were collected by interviewing individual beekeepers willing to be included. Beekeepers were also asked to identify potential threats or changes to the floral resources that they used.

Results AchievedBased on the responses of 103 beekeepers, at least 118 plant species were identified as providing important floral resources to beekeepers in South Australia.

Figure 1. Salvation Jane/Pattersons Curse (Echium plantagineum)

Figure 2. South Australian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon)


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Some 69 of these were native species (mainly various eucalypts), 27 were introduced plants (mainly agricultural weeds) and 22 were crop plants.

The most important and widespread resources were Salvation Jane/Pattersons Curse (Echium plantagineum, Figure 1) and South Australian Blue Gum (Eucalyptus leucoxylon, Figure 2) being recorded as important resources at 26% and 25% of the 750 or so locations listed by South Australian beekeepers. Other widespread key plants included lucerne (14%), Eucalyptus diversifolia (14%), and Eucalyptus camaldulensis (14%).

Of the plants listed as being important to beekeepers, most of the crop and introduced plant species were reliable producers from one year to the next. Many of the native plants, particularly various eucalypts did not flower or provide reliable resources every year.

The major factors listed as reducing resource availability for the industry were dieback of eucalypts, grazing of understory, more frequent dry conditions in recent years and a reduction in

agricultural weeds associated with a shift from grazing to cropping. Shifts in the types of crops and to more intensive agriculture were also issues. Vegetation clearance was an issue but not in the past ten years. Examination of individual beekeepers’ production records supported some of these changes in resource use and some native species such as Pink or Hill Gum Eucalyptus fasciculosa which were significant components of honey production from the 1960s to the 1980s were now minor contributors, suggesting widespread decline for some native plant species.

Research ImplicationsMore detailed assessments and monitoring of the health and vigour of many of the key floral resources used by beekeepers in South Australia, particularly Pink Gun Eucalyptus fasciculosa, is warranted to better track changes in resource availability.

Since approximately half of South Australia’s registered beekeepers did not contribute to this survey some caution is required before assuming that the above surveys have captured all of the key resources used by South Australian apiarists.

Further Information Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting David Paton or Emma Crossfield at the University of Adelaide. The research was completed in July 2003.

RIRDC Project: DEH-1A ‘Natural Resource Database for the South Australian Apiary Industry’ Publication No. 04/089.

Contact: David C. Paton and Emma L. Crossfield School of Earth & Environmental Sciences University of Adelaide SA 5005 Phone: 08 8303 4742 Email: david.paton @adelaide.edu.au or [email protected]


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TheEffectofLoggingonNectarProductioninNSWForests

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Figure 2.1: Map of south coast region showing spotted gum Corymbia maculata and grey ironbark Eucalyptus paniculata study sites.

Figure 1. Map of New South Wales south coast region showing spotted gum (Corymbia maculata) and grey ironbark (Eucalyptus paniculata) study sites. Source: NSW State Forests

Dr Brad LawNSW Department of Primary Industries.

In a Single Frame• Even though Forests NSW retain some

nectar producing trees when logging, it is not known how much nectar production capacity remains or how quickly it recovers.

• This research aimed to address this lack of knowledge so that the nectar resource in forests can be better managed for honey production and native wildlife.

Why the Research was CompletedThe objective of the study was to quantify the impact on nectar production of logging. Two eucalypt species - Spotted Gum and Grey Ironbark were studied. The project study area was the south coast of NSW and is shown in Figure 1

By measuring nectar production in different tree sizes in forests under different stages of regeneration it was hoped that a better understanding of the impact of logging on honey production could be developed.

The ResearchState forests provide the major honey resource for the beekeeping industry in NSW. While Forests NSW have a number of management practices already in place to retain nectar-producing trees during logging operations, there is no information on how much nectar is produced by retaining trees or young trees re-growing after logging, even though these trees produce flowers.This information is highly relevant to the careful management of natural resources in State forests, especially so that beekeepers can continue to access this resource.Beekeepers consider, for example, that Grey Ironbark produces very little nectar before it is 20 years old.

As part of this research Spotted Gum and Grey Ironbark nectar has been measured at replicate south coast sites from each of three logging histories (recently logged, mid-age regrowth and mature forest). At each site eight trees are measured – four large and four small. A cherry picker or crane is used to access eucalypt flowers (Figure 2). Eucalypt nectar is measured in flowers bagged overnight to determine nectar production and on un-bagged flowers in the late afternoon and early morning to determine nectar availability at each of these times. The method is sufficiently robust to

permit statistically valid conclusions being made.

The study has examined Spotted Gum nectar production in a poor flowering year (2003) and a prolific one (2005). Nectar measurements from over 2,000 Spotted Gum flowers have been databased and analysed statistically.

Grey Ironbark flowers in the State Forest study area were measured over three consecutive years from 2004-2006.

The researchers have also collected data on honey production in 2005 from beekeepers with site permits surrounding the study areas.


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Results Achieved Nectar production per flower in Spotted Gum was not affected by logging history nor tree size. When scaled up to the forest stand, mature forest with large trees and many more flowers produced almost 10 times as much sugar per ha as recently logged forest, with regrowth being intermediate. However, at the compartment scale, the difference between mature forest and recently logged forest was reduced to a factor of two times when the extent of areas left unlogged under current logging practices was considered.

More importantly, nectar was not a limiting resource in 2005 as extensive flowering was recorded across the south coast. At this time, beekeepers reported honey yields (54 – 83 kg/hive over seven months of flowering) above the typical range for the south coast of NSW. Also, honey productivity was comparable across the three different logging histories. This is contrary to the views expressed by some beekeepers that small trees in recently logged forest do not produce much nectar. Flowers measured in 2003 provided a strong contrast with few trees in flower. Virtually unmeasurable quantities of nectar were present in flowers after 0930 h due to nectarivores, especially birds and honeybees, concentrating their foraging on the few stands of flowering trees. Beekeepers reported that hive bees were not producing honey under these conditions.

Results for Grey Ironbark showed similarities to Spotted Gum with regard to the impact of logging, but the species differed markedly in other aspects of nectar production.

Environmental correlates of nectar production per flower in grey ironbark were primarily related to the negative effects of drought, whereas for spotted gum nectar production was most consistently related to weather conditions

Figure 2 Mobile crane placing exclusion bags on the canopy to permit the measuring of nectar production.

Table 1. Spotted Gum and Grey Ironbark Research Project Flowering HistoryResearch Year Spotted Gum Grey Ironbark

2003 Poor flowering followed by extensive flower budding in spring

Poor budding

2004 Poor flowering but well budded Poor flowering in late summer2005 Burst into flower, a major flowering event Flowered moderately well in winter/Spring2006 Little flowering, trees carry capsules and seed Good, but localised flowering in early summer

Source: Honeybee Research Report 2006

that were unfavourable to foliage production (especially colder than average mornings regardless of rainfall or after warmer mornings if rainfall in the previous month was below average).

The ‘So What’ for Commercial ApiaristsThrough contact with regional forestry officers this project has led to a greater recognition of eucalypt nectar as a valuable forest resource.

Understanding logging impacts provides a scientific basis for assessing the effectiveness of current management prescriptions.

The project has generated widespread interest from beekeepers, foresters and the public. An article appeared in the Sydney Morning Herald about the research on 28 June 2006.

The results of this study will help to integrate beekeeping with forest management and thus promote sustainability and accessibility.

It is recommended, however, that improved communication is needed between apiarists and foresters and that it would be valuable to establish formal guidelines on the management of apiary sites and the nectar resource in forests.

Figure 3 Spotted gum flowers.

Further Information Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting Dr Brad Law, Forest Science Centre, Science and Research, NSW Department of Primary Industries. The project was completed in April 2007.

RIRDC Project: SFN-2A ‘The Effects of Logging on Nectar Production in NSW Forests’ (RIRDC Publication Number 07/138) Contact: Dr Brad Law Forest Sciences Centre, Science and Research NSW Department of Primary Industries BEECROFT NSW 2119 Phone: 02 9872 0162 Email: [email protected]


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SecuringLong-TermFloralResourcesfortheHoneybeeIndustry

David PatonUniversity of Adelaide

In a Single FrameLandscapes in Australia are changing as are floral resources for beekeepers. This project is documenting the use and importance of native plants in different landscapes to commercial beekeepers and also identifying deficiencies in the resource base where they exist.

The information is being used to help maintain healthy and productive trees from a beekeeper perspective and to assist revegetation and restoration programs to enhance biodiversity and broaden the scope of, and secure food sources for honeybees. The project is also aimed at changing community attitudes towards the value of paddock trees and native vegetation in general.

Why the Project is Being UndertakenOver many years there has been extensive clearance of native vegetation in Australia and this has eroded the floral resources available to beekeepers. In addition, state governments have significantly increased the areas under national parks and in several cases, beekeepers have been excluded. In short, the native floral resources available to beekeepers have been declining, and together with global warming this trend is likely to continue.

Community attitudes are changing slowly and large-scale land clearing has now stopped or significantly declined in most states. Programs such as those under the Natural Heritage Trust, and regional Natural Resource Management Plans are slowly undertaking restoration and revegetation activities. However, most re-vegetation programs consist of planting relatively few tree species, often at high density. These may not provide adequate floral resources for beekeepers. The lack of a suitable mix of understorey plants that provide pollen may further erode the value of tree plantings

and revegetation projects to the honeybee industry. There are also many extensively cleared landscapes with isolated large trees but very few associated young replacement trees. Numerous large trees will die in the years ahead, again with consequent losses of floral resources for beekeepers. These trees in paddocks and along roadsides appear more susceptible to loss of condition due to changes in environmental conditions compared with bushland trees.

Much more information is needed on the value of revegetation and restoration programs to the honeybee industry and how these may be modified to achieve biodiversity goals but at the same time provide better floral resources to the honeybee industry. This requires a detailed understanding of how floral resources and the production of nectar and pollen change under different environmental conditions, and how these resources are used by honeybees.

Project AimsThis project sets out to better document the use and importance of native plants in different landscapes to commercial beekeepers. Particular emphasis has been placed on woodland eucalypt species. The landscapes of interest include native bushland, open paddocks with isolated trees, and revegetation areas. Specifically, the project will assess or establish:

• the relative importance to the honeybee industry, of scattered trees in paddocks, trees in natural bushland, and trees in revegetation areas

• how trees in different landscapes or in different conditions differ in floral resource production

• the sources and location of pollen exploited by honeybees in rural landscapes

• competition between honeybees and other fauna for floral resources

• a simple method for scoring tree condition and flowering. This will enable beekeepers to monitor changes in the floral resources they access over time.

The project will result in several research publications and user-friendly documents detailing the outcomes of this research. These aim to stimulate changes in the way revegetation and biodiversity programs are implemented so that they meet key requirements of the beekeeping industry while still achieving the aims of these programs. The project will also focus on changing community attitudes about the value and importance of maintaining paddock trees and native vegetation in general.

How the Research is Being Carried Out The project area is the Mount Lofty region of South Australia which is an important source of floral resources for beekeepers in the state. The Natural Resource Management Plan for this region is also committed to the implementation of large-scale habitat re-establishment and restoration. Four sites within this region have been chosen for detailed study and measurement of resource availability. The project involves:

• mapping floral resources within a 2km radius of an apiary in each site, using aerial photographs and GPS mapping to located key plant species available to the beekeeper

• scoring the condition of individual trees and flowering


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levels of key species, in conjunction with participating beekeepers

• measuring the nectar and pollen production of individual trees;

• assessing the use of floral resources by honeybees and other fauna

• identifying plants providing pollen to honeybees during honeybee occupation of a site

• establishing long term monitoring programs by seeking the co-operation of beekeepers committed to scoring the condition and floral production of individually marked trees on an annual basis.

This project started in mid 2004 and was nearing completion in June 2007.

Some Research OutcomesEucalypt species show different annual flowering patterns, depending on the nature of the season. For example, Eucalyptus leucoxylon in all the study sites flowered extensively in the spring of 2004, and was a key floral resource for bees throughout the Mount Lofty Ranges in that year. Similar flowering patterns were observed for trees in paddocks, in bushland or in re-vegetation plantings.

Flowering in 2005, a drought year, however, was quite subdued with less than half the trees producing flowers. This pattern was consistent across all study sites, irrespective of whether trees were isolated in paddocks, in native bushland or in re-vegetation plantings.

In 2006, flowering was again extensive, showing similar patterns to those observed in 2004. In nearly all locations, significant quantities of nectar remained unexploited by bees or other fauna (birds) in 2006. Nectar production on a per flower basis was similar in all three years, so the abundance of nectar was not due to the plant’s adjusting

nectar production, but due to a lack of birds. This is an important finding for the honeybee industry for it indicates that commercial loads of honeybees do not deprive other fauna of floral resources when there are these nectar flows. Hence beekeepers have a strong case not to be excluded from floral resources at such times.

Not all native tree species showed flowering patterns similar to Eucalyptus leucoxylon. For example, E. angulosa flowered well in 2005 and again in 2007 but produced few flowers in 2006. Other species of eucalypt (for example E. cosmophylla

– Figure 1) flowered well in 2006–07.

ImplicationsOverall, the observations suggest that key floral resources used by beekeepers in South Australia are vulnerable to ambient conditions. It follows that the beekeeping industry also will be vulnerable to progressive climate change.

The results of this work have direct implications for the design and nature of re-vegetation programs. These programs should include species that provide good pollen and nectar for bees, but also species that are good for biodiversity and rehabilitation.

Figure 1. Bees on Eucalyptus cosmophylla flowers

Further Information More information on the research outcomes of this project can be obtained by contacting the principal researcher. This project is due to be completed in July 2007.

RIRDC Project: UA-66A ‘Securing long-term floral resources for the honeybee industry’ Contact: Associate Professor David Paton School of Earth and Environmental Sciences Benham Building University of Adelaide Adelaide SA 5005 Phone: 08 8303 4742 Email: [email protected]


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Long-TermFloweringPatternsofSouth-EastAustralianMelliferousHoneys

Figure 1. Eucryphia

Dr Maria GibsonDeakin University

In a Single FrameThe objectives of the study were to:

• determine the long-term flowering patterns of southeast Australian Melliferous flora - Eucalypts, Banksias and Eucryphia species (representative Eucryphia shown in Figure 1)

• investigate pollen-related bee nutrition

• investigate occurrence of ‘toxic’ nectar in Victorian eucalypts

• compile a written, accessible record of anecdotal information sourced from highly experienced apiarists

• investigate Bogong moth (Agrotis infusa) visitation, logging and their effects on nectar production

The Research ProcessThe project was primarily designed to access the knowledge of long-term flowering patterns of native honey flora held by apiarists with at least thirty years experience. The information held by experienced beekeepers has wide-reaching implications for apiculture, ecological management and Australia’s cultural heritage so it was important to have an accessible written record of the information. The project was made more urgent as younger generations are resisting tradition by moving away from beekeeping, thereby risking the permanent loss of this largely unrecorded knowledge.

Results AchievedFace-to-face interviews with apiarists yielded a large volume of long-term data relating principally to Eucalyptus, Banksia and Eucryphia species.

Data related to other topics identified as important to the industry has also been collected, such as the effects of timber harvesting and Bogong Moth visitation on honey production.

Investigation of nectar fermentation is continuing after interviews indicated that this could cause high honeybee mortality and a drastic decline in honey production. The interviews identified the melliferous species most likely to elicit such a dramatic response and the possible factors triggering the response. Experiments are being conducted to determine the yeast and alcohol content of nectar of selected species over their flowering period. Alcohol was found in the nectar of Eucalyptus wandoo in 2006 and three yeasts were identified: Candida pulcherrima, Candida sake and Rhodotorula glutinis.

Research ImplicationsThe project has:

• made a significant contribution to melliferous resource data and recorded knowledge

• identified critical sites supporting key melliferous species and made a case for their ongoing preservation and access by beekeepers

• provided a guide for future changes to Regional Forestry Agreements

• provided information to enable apiarists to predict when and where ‘toxic’ nectar will occur with positive implications for industry competitiveness

• identified factors relating to variation in flowering and nectar production, which enable predictive resource management

• increased beneficial collaboration between apiarists and scientists

• made the information generated available via publications, seminars and conferences.

Further Information Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting Dr Maria Gibson at Deakin University. The project was completed in May 2007.

RIRDC Project: UD-3A ‘Long-Term Flowering Patterns of South-East Australian Melliferous Flora’ Contact: Dr Maria Gibson Deakin University Phone: 03 9251 7466 Email: [email protected]


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PollinationResearchValuingHoneybeePollination

Managed honeybee

Paid pollinationservices

Incidental pollination

Feral honeybee

Incidental pollination

Increases in valuedue to:� increase in yield� increase in quality

Direct welfare impact:� depends on effect of increase in production

on price� depends on elasticity of demand and supply� depends on impact of quality on demand and

hence price

Increases in valuedue to:� increase in yield� possible quality

impact

Indirect welfare impact (multiplier effects):� increase in agricultural production� increase in demand for agricultural services

Value depends on honeybeepollination dependence andpresence of other pollinators

Value depends on next bestalternative to incidentalhoneybee pollination� purchase pollination

services� lower yields� produce different product

Figure 1. Economic benefits attributable to honeybee pollination services

Jenny Gordon and Lee DavisCentre for International Economics, Canberra.

In A Single Frame

This report was commissioned to update estimates made by Gill in 1989, which put the value of the honeybee pollination services to Australian agriculture as between $0.6 and $1.2 billion. This estimate reflects the cost to Australian agriculture of a sudden and complete loss of honeybee pollination services.

In this study, expanding the number of crops included in the impact estimates to 35 (previously 27) and allowing for adjustments in exports and imports the loss to Australian producers and consumers of the affected crops, the value was estimated to be $1.7 billion in 1999-2000. In addition, the decline in the value of agricultural production would be $1.6 billion putting 9,500 jobs at risk. The flow-on impacts of this magnitude of shock to the Australian economy are also potentially high with an additional $2 billion loss in surplus and 11,000 jobs.

BackgroundThe honeybee industry produces a diverse range of valuable commodities including honey, beeswax, propolis and royal jelly, with a contribution to GDP estimated to be around $60 million. This contribution is small, however, compared to the importance to Australian agriculture of the pollination services provided by the industry. Around 65 per cent of Australian crops are estimated to be dependent to some extent on honeybees for pollination.

The economic benefit attributed to honeybee pollination is outlined in Figure 1. If these services are disrupted or threatened by, for example, the exotic mite Varroa destructor currently present in New Zealand, the Australian beekeeping industry and many Australian agricultural industries will be in a position of significant economic loss.

Valuation of honeybee pollination services will allow identification of what is potentially being put at risk should Australia’s honeybee populations be threatened. Knowing the value of honeybee pollination services will allow, via use of a cost–benefit framework, insight into the cost–effective level of resources to be devoted to preventing the spread of exotic mites to Australia. Such information is central to informed policy making.

Research MethodologyThis study updated and improved on Gill’s methodology by including 35 crops and allowing for the adjustments that would occur in the import and export markets to such a shock. The downstream impacts on the processing distribution and retailing industries were also assessed, as were the potential for loss of jobs. A multiplier approach

is used to assess what the flow-on impact of such a major loss of agricultural production would be for the Australian economy. The study highlighted some problems with the methodology that attributes the total value of production to just one of the essential inputs. To assess the impact over the adjustment period, models to assess the impact with different capacities of farmers to adjust out of the honeybee pollination dependent crops were utilised. As expected the costs are highest where farmers have few other options and opportunities and must suffer a considerable decline in income before adjusting.

Key Findings and OutcomesThe estimated value of the cost to Australia of a sudden and complete loss of honeybee pollination services was $2.1 billion in 1999-2000. Allowing for import and export


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adjustment this value was reduced to $1.7 billion. The downstream impacts of this were an additional loss of $1.6 billion and a loss of 9,500 jobs. Allowing for adjustment over time, the costs range from $1.2 billion a year if farmers suffer a 25 per cent fall in income before they adjust, to $100 million a year if income falls by more than 5 per cent.

The estimate of $1.7 billion may look high compared to the value of horticulture, which in 1999-2000 was $3.8 billion. However, this figure reflects the cost to Australia if farmers were unable to adjust to loss of pollination services, as would be the case of a sudden disease outbreak. With such an outbreak, not only would growers of honeybee dependent crops and pastures suffer, but so too would Australian consumers with the sudden and sometimes complete decline in the availability of many fresh fruits and nuts, some major vegetables, and not to mention honey. The capacity to import many of the products that would be affected is limited due to quarantine restrictions and prices for what remained would be driven up to the detriment of the consumer.

In addition to the direct effect on the industries relying on the agricultural inputs, flow-on effects could result in an additional $2 billion loss in industry output and 11,000 jobs following the loss of all honeybee pollination services. These latter losses do not persist over time as unutilised resources will move to

other industries in the longer term. They do however have significant implications for regions with high shares of honeybee dependent crops.

Research ImplicationsThe report demonstrates that a loss of the honeybee pollination services would see a major restructuring of agriculture in Australia, and to the extent that the value of an essential ingredient should be attributed to the value of the whole, honeybee pollination services make a major contribution to Australian agriculture.

Exotic incursions of honeybee diseases would be the most likely cause of a sudden decline in honeybee populations and hence pollination services. Under such circumstances, it is likely that a market for pollination services would develop rapidly in the heavily honeybee dependent industries, lowering the impact largely to production losses while honeybee producers expand supply to meet the demand for pollination services.

This study points to the need to better understand the potential for the development of commercial pollination services, which is an alternative approach for ‘valuing’ honeybee pollination. Constraints on honeybee producers to expand the industry and provide such services will limit their capacity to respond to demand and result in higher costs imposed on agriculture should an exotic disease incursion arise.

Further Information Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting Dr Jenny Gordon, Centre for International Economics, Canberra. The project was completed in July 2002.

RIRDC Project: CIE-15A ‘Valuing Honeybee Pollination’ Publication No. 03/077. Contact Dr Jenny Gordon Centre for International Economics, GPO Box 2203 CANBERRA ACT 2601 Phone: (02) 6248 6699 Email: [email protected]


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Off-FarmIssuesHigh-PowerUltrasoundforControlofHoneyCrystallisation

Dr Bruce D’ArcyThe University of Queensland

In a Single FrameSome types of honey crystallise or turn ‘candy’ when they are stored under certain conditions. Honey processors or beekeepers currently apply a heat treatment to re-liquify naturally crystallised or candied honey prior to sale. But this treatment can reduce the quality of the honey, particularly its flavour.

This project has successfully developed an ultrasound technology in the laboratory to liquefy candied honey, producing a better product for sale, and at a lower treatment cost. Honey treated with ultrasound is more stable to subsequent crystallisation on storage. This work should now proceed to trials under commercial conditions.

Attempts to improve the quality and consistency of commercial creamed honey using ultrasound were not successful.

Candied Honey is a Problem for Honey PackersCandied honey is a solid, naturally granulated or crystallised honey that forms in cold weather due to crystallisation of a substance D-glucose monohydrate in the honey. Different types of honey ‘candy’ at different rates but such honey is generally rejected by consumers. Honey packers and also beekeepers apply a heat treatment to the honey to re-liquefy the honey before sale. But this adds to production costs and the quality of the honey is adversely affected.

Candied honey is different from honey marketed as ‘creamed honey’. The latter is also opaque but has a creamy spreadable texture. Crystallisation is fine grained and induced by processing which also involves ‘whipping’ the honey. While candied honey is a problem for the honey industry, creamed honey is not, it being a processed type of honey. An issue worthy of investigation, however is whether the quality of creamed honey can be improved by treating it with ultrasound.

Sonotrode

The Aims of this ResearchThis research project set out to see if an ultrasound technique could be developed in the laboratory which solved the problem of candied honey more cheaply and without affecting honey quality. The technique needed to have direct commercial application.A second aim was to use ultrasound as a way of producing a better and more consistent quality of creamed honey that would have commercial application with lower production costs.

How the Research was Completed and Key ResultsUltrasound is produced by an instrument called a sonotrode. Three sizes of this instrument were available to the researchers in the laboratory and a first step was to determine which size, a 7 mm,

12 mm or a 40 mm diameter sonotrode best liquefied candied honey. For each size of sonotrode input energy, treatment time and power measurements were recorded during treatment of candied honey samples.

The key finding of this first step was that a 40 mm sonotrode operated at an amplitude of 12 um best liquified candied honey on a laboratory scale. This gave the shortest treatment time and lowest increase in honey temperature, both desirable outcomes for any treatment.

The next step was to determine the least energy input required to liquify the candied honey. Salvation Jane or Patterson’s Curse candied honey was treated with six different levels of ultrasound input energy using the 40 mm sonotrode. The treated samples were then analysed for three important parameters recognised as influencing the quality of honey. These were the levels of hydroxymethylfurfural (HMF), diastase, and invertase. Lower levels of HMF are generally associated with better tasting honey.

The researchers found that, using the preferred sonotrode a 70,000 joule ultrasound energy treatment can be used to completely liquify candied honey in about 7.4 minutes, without it adversely affecting honey quality. The minimum energy input

Figure 1. Ultrasound equipment setup


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needed to completely liquify the candied honey was equivalent to 1.26 kWh per 10 kg of honey.

The third stage of the research was to determine the effects of ultrasound treatment, relative to conventional heat treatment, on the stability of re-liquified honey with respect to subsequent crystallisation during storage. This is a common problem faced by honey packers especially in cold weather. Using a microscope, the researchers monitored ultrasound and heat treated honey samples kept at 14 degrees C for signs of re-crystallisation. They found that ultrasound treatment delays crystallisation in storage more than conventional heat treatment. There were also some differences in the microscopic crystallisation process although the reasons for this are not clear.

Hence, not only is ultrasound treatment a better and more efficient way to liquify candied honey, compared with conventional heat treatments, but the end product is also better and more stable to subsequent crystallisation on storage.

Ultrasound Does Not Improve Creamed Honey Production The aim of this part of the research was to see if ultrasound treatment would improve the quality or ‘creaminess’ and spreadability of commercial creamed honey. Creamed honey was produced in the laboratory from various honey blends using a process (called the Dyce method) which mirrored that used in commercial honey packing establishments. Samples of this laboratory produced creamed honey were then treated with ultrasound and resulting crystallined structures and other parameters compared with untreated creamed honey.

It was found that the crystal contents of treated and untreated creamed honey samples were similar. Hence treatment of conventionally produced creamed honey did not really improve the quality of the product.

Conditioning Creamed Honey Improved SpreadibilityOften creamed honey is subject to a conditioning process prior to its sale to supermarkets. The creamed honey is stored for several days at 30°C. The researchers found that

this process dissolves some of the D-glucose monohydrate crystals, softens the creamed honey and increases its spreadability.

Research Implications and Next StepsThe results of this research have direct commercial implications. An ultrasound technique can be used to treat candied honey to produce a better quality product which is more stable during subsequent storage. Furthermore, the process uses less energy and is less expensive. The next step is to trial the process under commercial conditions. A pilot-scale ultrasound processing system needs to be developed in conjunction with an ultrasound equipment manufacturer. If these pilot trials are successful the industry should widely adopt the ultrasound technology to produce better quality honey involving reduced energy costs.

Beekeepers and honey packers, now, can also better understand the process of conditioning creamed honey prior to sale and why this is important in producing a good and consistent product.

Further Information This project was completed in November 2006. Further information on it can be obtained by contacting RIRDC or the principal researcher:

RIRDC Project: UQ-101A ‘ High powered ultrasound for candied liquid honey liquefaction and controlled creamed honey crystallisa’ Contact: Dr Bruce D’Arcy School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences The University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland 4072 Phone: 07 3346 9190 Email: B.D’[email protected]


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AntioxidantsasHealthandNutritionalComponentsofAustralianFloralHoneys

Figure 1. Results produced from this study will enable the further marketing of honey as a healthy and nutritious food to the Australian food industry and consumers

Dr Bruce D’ArcyThe University of Queensland.

In a Single Frame• Antioxidants such as flavonoids and

polyphenols are thought to play an important role in human health.

• The project examined flavonoids and polyphenols in three honey types – Yapunyah, Leatherwood and Salvation Jane.

• Amongst the Yapunyah, Leatherwood and Salvation Jane honeys, Leatherwood honey has approximately 2-3 times the concentration of total flavonoids/phenolic acids than the other two honeys.

• The study will allow the further marketing of honey as a healthy and nutritious food.

Research PurposeThe objectives of the study were to extract and identify antioxidant flavonoids and other polyphenols from three species-specific floral types of Australian honey, namely Yapunyah, Leatherwood and Salvation Jane.

Polyphenols in foods are thought to play important roles in human health such as cancer prevention, and anti-inflammatory, radical scavenging and antioxidative activities. The most important classes of antioxidant polyphenols are the flavonoids and phenolic acids.

It is these substances in tea, wine, fruits and vegetables that are most responsible for the antioxidant characteristics, and thus the healthy image of these foods. However, little data exists on these components in Australian floral honeys, hence the need for the study.

The Research ProcessThe research activities involved two stages:1. A method for the extraction

of antioxidant flavonoids and phenolic acids from honey using resin was optimised, and recovery studies undertaken.

2. Identification and quantification of honey flavonoids and other phenols was done using high performance liquid chromatography and other tools.

Results AchievedAmongst the Yapunyah, Leatherwood and Salvation Jane honeys, Leatherwood honey has approximately two to three times the concentration of total flavonoids/phenolic acids than the other two honeys. This was also the case for the volatile compound concentration, with Leatherwood honey containing a larger number and range of volatiles and in much higher concentrations than other Australian floral honeys.

Research ImplicationsThe implications of this study are that since only three floral honey types were studied, a detailed comparison between floral types, to determine which Australian honey type has the highest concentrations of antioxidant flavonoids and phenolic acids, is not possible at this time.

The scientific data generated during this project on the identity and concentration of antioxidant flavonoids and phenolic acids in Australian honey will enable the further marketing of honey as a healthy and nutritious food to the Australian food industry and consumers, in addition to its use as a sweetener.

Further Information Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting Bruce D’Arcy at the University of Queensland. The research was completed in November 2003.

RIRDC Project: UQ-102A ‘Antioxidants as Health and Nutritional Components of Australian Floral Honeys’ Publication No. 05/040. Contact: Dr Bruce D’Arcy School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences The University of Queensland Brisbane Queensland 4072 Phone: 07 3346 9190 Email: B.D’[email protected]


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AnInvestigationintotheTherapeuticPropertiesofHoney

Dee Carter and Shona BlairUniversity of Sydney

In a Single FrameSome types of honey are now being used as medicinal products to treat wounds, burns, ulcers and other similar ailments. Clinical tests have shown that certain honeys not only have anti-microbial properties, but also are able to stimulate the healing process. Products such as Medihoney in Australia and certain brands of Manuka Honey in New Zealand are registered as medicinal products.

This research is aimed at ongoing screening of Australian honeys for their therapeutic properties, and to build on previous work on the anti-microbial and healing properties of honey. Of the 458 honeys tested so far, 60 per cent have been found to have clinically relevant activity. Of these, one third were found to be highly active as anti-microbial agents.

Why this Research is Being UndertakenThroughout history, honey has been used in therapeutic applications but in Western medicine it has largely been dismissed as ‘alternative’.

Honey is known to have therapeutic properties and the Australian honey industry is now keen to promote honey in this light. For example, Jelly bush honey, derived from bees feeding on a Leptospermum species, a native plant with small waxy flowers, became the first Australian honey to be registered as a therapeutic agent. Medihoney, produced by Capilano, was registered in 1999 as a medicinal honey product. There are several other smaller suppliers of medicinal honey.

In several other countries with different cultures, honey is used as a therapeutic agent, but there is little in the way of organised marketing of these products and international trade in them is small. A possible exception is New Zealand where Manuka Honey is gaining acceptance domestically and in overseas markets.

Figure 1. Phenol equivalence assay showing zones of inhibition produced by honey samples

Because of Australia’s unique flora, the Australian honeybee industry is in a strong position to produce, promote and export certain types of honey as therapeutic products. These honeys not only have anti-microbial properties, but also contain substances that actually stimulate the wound healing process.

There are many different types of honey produced in Australia but little is known about their relative therapeutic properties. Furthermore, there is little information on how different honeys retard different pathogens, or the processes by which certain honeys promote healing. Finally, there is the issue of convincing the medical profession that honey has a role in conventional medicine. The fact that there are no reported cases of pathogens developing a resistance to medicinal honey should act to strengthen honey’s position relative to widely used antibiotics in the treatment

of wounds. This research addresses these issues.

Research AimsThe overall objective of this study is to increase the use and acceptance of honey as a therapeutic agent in conventional medicine. It aims to conduct an ongoing screen of Australian honeys for their therapeutic properties and to do further work on the anti-microbial and wound healing properties of honey. Some types of honey have been shown to be effective against aerobic bacteria of significance in wounds. This research will go further and investigate honey’s effectiveness in retarding or killing anaerobic bacteria, pathogenic yeasts and fungal dermatophytes. The way honey acts synergistically with human macrophage cells to eliminate pathogens from wounds and enhance the healing of wounds is also being investigated.


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Methods UsedBee keepers from around Australia have supplied the researchers with 458 samples of honey. Standardised microbiological tests to determine the activity of these honeys are conducted by incorporating Staphylococcus aureus, a common skin and wound pathogen, into molten growth media. This is poured into flat plastic plates, and wells are cut into the solidified media and filled with the test samples of honey. The zones of inhibited growth are recorded and compared with control samples of phenol, a highly toxic organic compound. Anti-bacterial activity is expressed as a percentage equivalent of the anti-bacterial activity of phenol. The same test can be also used to assess the activity of honey against other species of bacteria and pathogenic yeasts.

The effect of honey on biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus is also being investigated. Using standardised microbiological methods various concentrations of antibacterial honey are combined with the bacteria, and biofilm development is measured using a spectrophotometric assay. The effects of honey on the interaction between human immune cells and bacteria are also being studied. Salmonella bacteria are added to human macrophage cells grown in tissue cultures . These suspensions are then exposed to honey. The ability of the macrophage cells to engulf the bacteria, and the release of immunologically active chemicals by the macrophage cells, is assessed.

Some Key FindingsScreening of Australian honeys has so far resulted in the testing of 458 honey samples for their anti-bacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus. The results are summarised in table 1. Honey samples from around Australia have been entered into a comprehensive database.

Table 1. Results of Screening Australian Honeys for Antibacterial Activity

Type of anti-bacterial activity

No. of samples

(%) of samples

Low to undetectable: 0–10% phenol equivalent

181 39

Clinically relevant, moderately active:10-20% phenol equivalent

186 41

Clinically relevant, highly active: above 20% phenol equivalent

91 20

Total 458 100

From previous work it appears that there are several properties of honey produced by the Apis honeybee that give it its antibacterial characteristics. Particularly important is the production of hydrogen peroxide, formed when honey interacts with oxygen by the action of a bee-derived enzyme, glucose oxidase. The low water content of honey, its relatively high acidity and the inclusion of uncharacterised compounds from floral sources such as Leptospermum also contribute to its anti-microbial activity. The significant antimicrobial activity found in most of the Australian honeys tested (apart from those derived from Leptospermum species) can be attributed to the production of hydrogen peroxide. Interestingly, several honey samples from Australian native bees have non-peroxide activity that appears unlikely to be derived from Leptospermum plants.

Work on biofilm formation by Staphylococcus aureus has shown that the ability of the test organism to form biofilms is significantly reduced at honey concentrations as low as 1 per cent. The effect of honey on biofilm formation by S. aureus is shown in figure 1. The two strains of S. aureus tested were significantly more susceptible to honey than to a sugar syrup control. The researchers are undertaking further minimum inhibitory concentration tests on other aerobic organisms such as Pseudomonas

aeruginosa and anaerobic organisms such as Peptostreptococcus, Propionibacterium and Bacteroides species, often found in wounds or bone infections.

Preliminary results from studies on the effect of honey on mammalian cells show that honey stimulates the release of tumour necrosis factor alpha from these cells. This cytokine plays a significant role in the inflammatory response and other mechanisms involved in wound healing. This indicates that honey interacts with cells of the immune system and stimulates the production of immunoactive molecules, which may explain the ability of honey to promote wound healing.

Wide publication of the results of this research may warm the medical profession to the treatment of wounds and ulcers with honey. As well as better patient outcomes, the increased honey use may reduce the need for antibiotics and thereby lessen the problems of growing antibiotic resistance.

Further Information This research work is still in progress and is not due to be completed until September 2008. Further information can be obtained from the principal researcher:

RIRDC Project: US-128A ‘An Investigation into the Therapeutic Properties of Honey’ Contact: Dr Dee Carter School of Molecular and Microbial Biosciences Building G08 University of Sydney Sydney NSW 2006 Phone: 02 9351 5383 Email: [email protected]


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CommunicationandExtensionFive-yearPlanforHoneybeeR&D200�–12:Top Focus is Disease and Pest Control

Figure 1. Risk Assessment of the Australian Honeybee Industry (CIE 2005)

Michael ClarkeAgEconPlus Pty Ltd

In a Single Frame• The current five-year R&D plan

proposes to invest more than $600,000 per annum across six key industry and market-focused objectives.

• The Australian honeybee industry has decided to allocate the largest share of available R&D funds to pest and disease control.

How and Why an R&D Plan was PreparedThe purpose of this research was to prepare a five-year R&D plan to provide investment direction for honeybee industry research levies and Australian Government matching funds for the period 2007 through to 2012.

Honeybee research has developed progressively since the mid 1980s and each five-year plan reflects the priorities of the industry at its time of development. This plan builds on the achievements of past investment plans.

The goal of the current plan is: ‘To improve the productivity, sustainability and profitability of the Australian beekeeping industry through the organisation, funding and management of a research, development and extension program that is both stakeholder and market focussed’.

The 2007-2012 plan identifies six key objectives for the R&D investments to be made on behalf of the industry and Australian Government. Associated with each objective is a set of strategies to be followed in pursuing each objective and a set of performance indicators to give guidance as to how the program can be assessed as it progresses. An indicative share of R&D budget has also been proposed for each plan objective in

order to guide investment priorities.

The plan was prepared in consultation with RIRDC’s Honeybee Research and Development Advisory Committee. The development of the Plan received inputs from apiarists, packers/marketers, resource managements, researchers and the regulatory and extension communities during the period June to August 2006. Stakeholder input included surveying of the industry at the NSW, Victorian, Western Australian, South Australian and Queensland state conferences and at the National Conferences of the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council, Launceston, Tasmania on

11 July 2006.

Plan preparation was informed by a review of the Australian Honeybee Industry completed by the Centre for International Economics (CIE 2005) that included a comprehensive risk assessment of the industry (Figure 1).

Investment PrioritiesPlan objectives that drive the 2007-2012 R&D program along with expected share of the program budget are:

1. Pest and disease protectionPest and disease protection – to be prepared for exotic pest and disease incursion before it occurs; to prevent the establishment of exotic pests and diseases


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of economic significance; and to control endemic pests and diseases that impact on beekeeper profitability (45%)

2. Productivity enhancementProductivity enhancement to lift beekeeper income – to encourage a culture of constant improvement in bee husbandry and management; to provide an across the board lift to industry productivity; and to focus productivity improvement on bee genetics, best management practices and industry benchmarking (15%)

3. Resource access security andResource access security and knowledge – to ensure ongoing access to native forests on public lands; to win back a share of native forest access lost in previous resource allocation decisions; to better understand the native floral resource on which the industry depends; and to address the implications of climate change on the Australian apiary industry (10%)

4. Pollination researchPollination research – to better understand the cost and value of pollination services provided by beekeepers; and to generate industry value through shared learning with crop producers, especially the Australian almond industry (10%)

5. Income diversification includingIncome diversification including new product development – to provide a major boost to packaged bee sales, an area of strong competitive advantage for the Australian industry; and to develop new Australian apiary products which represent secondary niche opportunities (10%)

6. Extension, communication andExtension, communication and capacity building – to improve industry performance through the adoption of relevant R&D project outcomes and beekeeper participation in vocational training; to educate the public and policy makers on the economic contribution made by the honeybee industry; and to build capacity in the Australian honeybee industry by encouraging the next generation of industry leaders and researchers (10%).

Program budget allocations are flexible and will be guided by the Honeybee R&D Committee.

The plan reflects the current state of the industry – a supply limited producer of a suite of quality products with issues in productivity, resource access and pest and disease management.

Further Information Further information on the project is available from the RIRDC website or by contacting Michael Clarke at AgEconPlus. The plan was launched in April 2007.

RIRDC Project: AGL-4A ‘Five year plan for the HBE program’ Publication No. 07/056. Contact: Michael Clarke AgEconPlus Pty Ltd Phone: 02 9817 5888 Email: [email protected]


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CommercialBeekeepinginAustralia–AnUpdate

Frederick BeneckeTurramurra, NSW

In a Single FrameThis report is an updated version of an earlier publication with the same title released in 2003. It provides a good overview of the Australian commercial beekeeping industry and describes the physical and cultural environment in which beekeeping is undertaken, the main floral resources accessed and principal production methods. Different segments of the industry, including pollination and queen bee production are described.

This publication provides a valuable historical perspective on beekeeping in Australia and is an excellent reference source for anyone with an interest in this industry.

A Brief BackgroundBeekeeping practices in Australia have developed to meet our unique conditions of climate and floral resources. European honeybees, Apis melifera, were first introduced into Australia in 1822 and since then the industry has expanded to over 600 000 hives. This is a relatively small rural industry but one that has survived the vagaries of changing climatic conditions, declining access to floral resources, changing market conditions and a range of pests and diseases.

The Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation has long held the view that the history, practices and culture of this unique industry are well worth recording and has been pleased to fund the preparation of this useful publication. The high demand for it has prompted the original version to be updated and widely distributed.

Industry OverviewAustralia produces about 30,000 tonnes of honey a year, with about 25-30% being exported in normal years. The commercial sector of the industry comprises a small number of professional beekeepers who derive most of their income from beekeeping and produce most of the

honey. There is a large number of part time or ‘hobby’ beekeepers with only a few hives. Less than 5% of registered beekeepers in Queensland and New South Wales own about half of the registered hives in these states.

The principal honey producing region of Australia stretches from central Victoria to southern Queensland. New South Wales accounts for over 40 per cent of honey production and the number of hives in Australia (Table 1). Table 1. Proportion of honey production and average production per hive by state

State Proportion of national honey production (%)

Average production per productive hive

(kg)NSW 41.0 77.9QLD 9.7 56.6SA 14.0 83.7TAS 4.4 80.3VIC 23.0 91.6WA 7.5 99.6

Source: ABS

In addition to the main business of honey production, there is a strong queen bee breeding industry and a slowly growing paid pollination sector servicing especially the almond industry.

The Resource Base is DecliningThe success of this industry relies on beekeepers having continuous access to areas of native vegetation particularly eucalypts. Exotic weeds and to a lesser extent, a range of agricultural crops are also important as sources of forage for honeybees. For several reasons all these resources have been declining over past decades. Past and continuing land clearing has removed vast areas of native forests. Remnant native vegetation is increasingly

Figure 1. Commercial Beekeeping in Australia. RIRDC Pub. No. 07/059

being locked up in conservation areas, many of which are deemed not accessible to beekeepers. Also, there are concerted efforts to control a range of exotic weeds, which is also limiting the forage base for honeybees.

On the positive side, there is an increasing trend to plant more native trees through several government programs and private investments in hardwood plantations.

Nutrition, Hive Management and EquipmentTwo chapters comprehensively deal with management practices in the industry, including nutrition, handling of hives and equipment used.

Successful operations require that beekeepers have a comprehensive knowledge of the flowering habits and distribution of a wide range of native flora. Most commercial beekeepers travel long distances to access native flora at flowering times. Beekeepers therefore need to retain large numbers of apiary sites spread across vast areas.

Beekeepers are paying much greater


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attention to bee nutrition, following the findings of substantial research in this area, most of it having been funded by RIRDC. Supplementary feeding is becoming more common, particularly the practice of feeding sugar syrup. Feeding protein supplements is not as common yet, but recent research work is demonstrating the value of this practice at certain times.

The importance of maintaining continuous supplies of water is now well understood by beekeepers. Increasing attention is being paid to management practices to minimise the spread of pests and diseases, and also to maintain high quality standards throughout the industry. The industry has adopted ‘B-Qual’, a nationwide quality assurance scheme that involves an independently audited food safety program. An environmental management systems approach is also being considered by the industry.

PollinationRecent studies have highlighted the invaluable service provided by honeybees in pollinating plants, particularly those of agricultural significance. The value of bees as pollinators has been estimated at around $1.8 billion.

Growth of the almond industry has increased the demand for paid pollination services. In 2006, beekeepers earned $3.5 million in pollination fees from almond growers alone. But this segment of the industry, although growing, is still small. For many beekeepers, pollination is a risky diversion from their core business of honey production. Also, a significant technical challenge is to produce hives with strong colonies at blossom time.

Queen Bees and Packaged BeesMost commercial beekeepers buy queen bees and queen cells in addition to rearing their own

Further Information Copies of this report and the original version of it can be obtained by contacting RIRDC. Alternatively, further information on any aspects of the industry discussed in this report can be obtained by contacting the author:

RIRDC Project: FSB-2A ‘Commercial Beekeeping in Australia’ Publication No. 07/059. Contact: Mr. Frederick Benecke 8/20 The Chase Road Turramurra NSW 2074 Phone: 02 94872828 Email: [email protected]

queens. Queen bee breeding is a specialized occupation that has been growing relatively slowly. This sector of the industry is concentrated in the region stretching from the mid coast of New South Wales to south-eastern Queensland.

A small but growing export trade in queen bees and packaged bees exists, and there is potential for this to develop strongly in the future. Because of its freedom from varroa mite, Australia is in a commanding position to supply top quality queen bees and packaged bees to overseas markets. North America is the principal destination.

A genetic improvement program is now underway. This includes selection from within the domestic gene pool as well as importing superior genetic stock for inclusion in breeding programs.

Diseases and PestsAustralia is the only major honey producing country in the world to be free of varroa mite, which is probably the most devastating pest of honeybees. But the industry does suffer from several other serious pests and diseases. The most serious diseases are American foulbrood (AFB), European foul brood (EFB), Chalkbrood, Nosema, Sacbrood, while the most important pests are Wax Moth, and Small Hive Beetle. Lesser pests include cane toads, ants, the Bee Louse and the Rainbow Bee Eater but appropriate management can generally control these.

AFB is the worst endemic disease, not so much because of loss of hives but rather because the disease is difficult and expensive to control and stop from spreading. This and the other diseases and pests are discussed in detail, providing a handy reference to them and what the industry is doing to control them.

The most important exotic pests are the mites – Varroa, Acarine and Tropilaelaps.


The Rural Industries Research & Development Corporation Level 2

15 National Circuit BARTON ACT 2600

Phone: 02 6271 4100 Fax: 02 6272 4199

Email: [email protected] Web: www.rirdc.gov.au

This publication can be downloaded from our website: www.rirdc.gov.au

This Compendium reflects the major research themes associated with RIRDC’s Honeybee R&D Program covering disease and pests, bee husbandry and management, nutrition, resource access, pollination, off-farm issues such as controlling the crystallisation of honey and communication and extension.

It provides easy to read information to help apiarists, the honey industry and the general public to understand the purpose of the research completed by the Program, the outcomes of each project, the research implications for the industry, the key benefits for commercial apiarists and how to contact the researchers to access further information.

This report is an addition to RIRDC’s diverse range of over 1600 research publications and forms part of our Honeybee R&D program which aims to improve the productivity and profitability of the Australian beekeeping industry.

Most of our publications are available for viewing, downloading or purchasing online through our website:• downloads at www.rirdc.gov.au/reports/Index.htm• purchases at www.rirdc.gov.au/eshop

Honeybee Research Compendium 2007

Edited by AgEconPlus Pty. Publication number 07/139


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