Some of these I've done, but I'd love to see others try them as well.
Entomology Research Ideas:
Research questions for European Honey Bees:
(note, all of these could be expanded to include differences in various European races but would probably be most useful on common Italian bees first)
CELL SIZE:
(some links on the concepts, experiences of beekeepers and research on the web)
<http://www.beesource.com/pov/lusby/index.htm>
<http://www.beesource.com/eob/4dot9/index.htm>
<http://www.internode.net/HoneyBee/Misc/CellCount.htm> <http://www.internode.net/HoneyBee/Misc/CellCount.htm>
<http://www.csl.gov.uk/science/organ/environ/bee/varroa/ModellingBiologicalApproaches.pdf>
<http://www.geocities.com/usbwrangler/index.html>
<http://wave.prohosting.com/clay2720/>
<http://www.beesource.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000050.html>
<http://www.beesource.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000008.html>
<http://www.bee-l.com/biobeefiles/4.9plastic/index.htm>
<http://www.beesource.com/ubb/Forum13/HTML/000086.html>
Questions to answer:
What sizes of cells do the bees build naturally and how do they use them? This requires several shakedowns to give the bees an opportunity to regress first and to document that natural regression. This would be BEST done by raising them in a box hive where they can space the combs the way they want. It could be combined with the next question of spacing. Bees may build different sized cells depending on the spacing of the combs. So using frames might interfere with accurate results.
What is the natural spacing of honey comb and brood comb and drone comb? (1 3/8", 1 1/4"?) Again, you will have to let the bees build what they want in a box or some kind of hive where there are no frames or starter strips. I've done it by putting 1 x 2’s up against each other for the lid on top of a standard Langstroth box. This is just to allow you to remove a 1 x 2 and not have to break all of the comb. Could use ONE blank starter strip of wax to get the combs to run the same as the length of the boards so that the chance of getting the combs on the bars increases. You can also tip the box up on end to get into the combs. Basically after the bees have filled out the box you would run the bees out (I smoked and drummed them but you could use bee go) and then cut each comb out and document what kind of comb it is (worker brood, drone brood, honey, pollen etc. and distribution of cell size), and what distance the center of this comb is from the adjacent combs. Also how thick the comb is. You can tie the brood comb removed into frames and give it to a hive to hatch and smash the honey comb and strain it. The bees, of course would have to be regressed to natural size for this to be valid information on what bees naturally do. But documenting each stage of regression is useful information.
What is the natural orientation of the cells (the “Y” on the bottom of the cell)? (Housel Positioning? Center combs?) <http://www.beesource.com/pov/lusby/housel.htm> This could be combined with the above two experiments.
If you space the combs closer or further does it give the bees clues how to use the comb? E.g. does wider spaced comb get built as larger cells and used for honey? Does narrow spacing cause them to build smaller cells?
Do the sizes being built by natural sized bees, change over the progression of the seasons? Some beekeepers have observed that the bees seem to prefer to build small cells for worker brood in the spring and larger cells for worker brood in the fall.
Do the sizes being used for particular purpose change over the progression of the seasons? (some small cell and top bar beekeepers have observed a preference by the queen for small cells to lay in in the spring and larger cells in the fall)
What are the capping times. For different sized cells. Does a quicker capping time reduce Varroa?
What are the emergence times for worker and drone brood for various cell sizes? 5.4mm 4.9mm 4.85mm 4.8mm
What is the preference of the Varroa for various cell sizes? 6.5mm (drone) 5.8mm (7/11) 5.4mm ("standard" worker) 4.9mm (Dadant small cell) 4.85mm (Dee's small cell) 4.8mm (African standard worker)
What is the preference of the Varroa for latter capping times?
Does the Varroa home in on cell size or on pheromones given off by the drone or worker brood. In other words, is the preference that Varroa have for drones bases only on cell size or other pheromones or a combination of both? Could use a laying worker to test this or graft drone brood into worker cells and visa versa.
How much effect on Varroa reproduction is due to shorter emergence?
How much effect on Varroa reproduction is due to lack of room to find a mate inside the cell?
How much smaller are the spiracles on small cell bees? How does this affect Tracheal mites.
HONEY AS FEED:
Honey Effects on Nosema incidence:
What is the research on less Nosema?
Is less Nosema due to pH? (try raising pH on sugar syrup to see if this is the main reason)
Is it due to other nutrients? (proteins in small amounts, trace minerals etc)
What is there in dark honey that is not in light honey (since it reduces Nosema more than light honey)
Honey Effects on Brood diseases (AFB, EFB, CB, SB etc.)
Is there more resistance to AFB, EFB, CB, SB etc. when using honey?
Does the acid in honey inhibit the microorganisms at all? Does the lack of it in sugar syrup encourage the microorganisms at all?
Are there any other factors that inhibit the microorganisms?
Does using honey INCREASE any of these diseases?
Does it encourage any of these microorganisms or does it in any way speed up the activation of spores of any?
GENETICS:
What genetic expressions have a positive effect on fighting or preventing Varroa mites? What can be bred for or, better yet what ones can we isolate the exact gene for them?
1) Guard behavior where the infested bee is not allowed in (ERIK ÖSTERLUND) <http://www.beesource.com/pov/osterlund/abjmar2001.htm>
2) Hygienic behavior where the bees open infested cells and clean them out.
3) Suppressed Mite Reproduction where the mites are in the cells but fail to successfully reproduce. Is there a chemical that inhibits their success or are these just small cell bees or some other mechanism?
4) Grooming behavior. Bees that knock off the mites by grooming themselves and each other more. I have observed the "get it off me dance" and attempts at grooming. They often fail with the mite jumping to the bee doing the grooming.
6) Early capping where less mites get in the cell. Early emergence where the mites get less chance to reproduce. (this is probably at least partially controlled by cell size, but possibly also by genetics)
7) Bees that attract the Varroa more to the drone cells and less to workers because of pheromones etc. and therefore sustaining less damage to the workers.
8) Less robbing. Robbing hives dying from mites is a source of mites in any hive.
9) Immune system. Can the bees provide antibodies to the mites? Dogs do and if they have the genetic problem that they don't produce antibodies, they always have bad mite infestations.
10) Dusting behavior. I have observed bees rolling in soy flour or grain dust seemingly to carry more pollen. What if this dislodges mites? Powdered sugar research would tend to show it could, but do the bees purposefully do this? Would providing soy flour, powdered sugar or other inert dust in the hive help with this?
11) The ability to survive heavy infestations (as opposed to any behavior or qualities that reduce the number of mites). Some bees I have observed are heavily infested, yet they survive. Maybe they have a good immune system to keep them from dying from secondary infections?
EFFECT OF EQUIPMENT ON MITES:
Screened bottom boards should be used in all of these.
Does forcing bees through an excluder dislodge any mites? Would putting one on the bottom board prevent swarms and dislodge mites into the SBB?
Does forcing bees through a pollen trap dislodge any mites?
Does having a middle entrance prevent dislodged mites from hitching a ride on the next bee to come along?
Does a slatted rack significantly decrease the effectiveness of a SBB? How about the ones like Betterbee has with the slats directly under the frames?
OTHER RESEARCH:
What purpose (if any) do drones serve in the hive? (other than the obvious use as mates)
Warm brood?
Sound an alarm?
Boost morale?
Natural Varroa Magnets so the workers don’t get damaged? (if small cell makes workers less interesting)
How do open SBBs affect (interfere with or enhance) natural ventilation? I have heard that Varroa mites reproduce faster when the hive is cooler. From the research I've seen, more Varroa are dislodges when the temps in the hive are higher. (of course too high kills the bees and collapses the comb).
What purpose (if any) do subcastes (larger and smaller bees in the hive) serve? Do they make more subcastes at different times (more large in the fall and small in the spring has been observed but not documented except on a small scale)
Does bee size affect wintering? Is this why they raise larger bees in the fall to overwinter?
Do larger and smaller bees extend the number of flowers that can be utilized?
Topic: What do you want to know MOST about beekeeping? (Read 3536 times)