Meeting Abstract
Honeybee (Apis mellifera) populations have been reported to be in decline, the cause of which is not fully known or understood, but the phenomenon has been termed colony collapse disorder (CCD). CCD is characterized as the sudden disappearance of the colony by the worker bees. The awareness of CCD is becoming more widespread due to the help of scientists, corporations, and everyday people warning of the effects of disappearing bee populations which are being felt in both economic and private sectors of human life. By investigating how honeybee populations and their overall immune function change over time post-establishment in a new area from their origin site, we can create a more complete picture of stress responses in honeybees. This idea comes from the assumption and growing body of evidence that supports the idea that immune function and overall health are related to the frequency of CCD. We quantified the immunology of two newly established colonies by measuring protein concentration and prophenoloxidase activity in honeybee hemolymph. Hemolymph was collected twice a week post-relocation and preserved to run later analysis on, including measuring protein concentrations and immune pathways such as the prophenoloxidase pathway and potentially catalase or phenoloxidase. Preliminary results show that colonies went through what appeared to be an “adjustment” period post-establishment in a new area. We believe this to be the case from seeing fluctuations in measured protein concentrations represented as “spikes,” or sharp changes in gathered data between collection days, especially the first few weeks where the colony was establishing itself. Other observational data shows that the colonies would become more agitated on days before or of heavy rainfall which was believed to add more stress to individual bees.
