Premio Nacional de Entomología 2020 a Tesis Doctoral de Rubén Medina Hernández, egresado del Doctorado del Posgrado Institucional UADY en que participa el Departamento de Apicultura Tropical

Guzman-Novoa E, Morfin N, De la Mora A, Macías-Macías JO, Tapia-González JM, Contreras-Escareño F, Medina-Flores CA, Correa-Benítez A and Quezada-Euán JJG (2020) The Process and Outcome of the Africanization of Honey Bees in Mexico: Lessons and Future Directions. Front. Ecol. Evol. 8:608091.                doi: 10.3389/fevo.2020.608091 

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Abstract

 The Africanization of honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) in the Americas is among the most extensive insect invasions in the world, with large-scale effects on the economy and ecology of a whole continent. Africanized honey bees (AHBs) are a distinctive lineage of A. mellifera, resulting of the extensive admixture between African subspecies (A. m. scutellata and A.m. adansonii) with resident European stocks of honey bees introduced into the Americas. Despite its great importance, to date, the outcome of Africanization of honey bees has not been evaluated in detail. In this article we use the case of Mexico, one of the top beekeeping countries in the world, to assess the effects of Africanization of honey bees and its outcome. There is evidence of African genes in honey bee populations across Mexico, with prevalence in the tropical areas and less
so in temperate ones. The Africanization of honey bees resulted in lower honey yields per hive in temperate climates of Mexico, but this has not been assessed in the tropical regions. Mexico’s total honey production and exports at the start of the Africanization process decreased, but today, they have partially rebounded and have remained stable. As in all countries where Africanization has occurred, the defensive behavior of honey bees in Mexico increased but notably, stinging incidents involving humans have been relatively insignificant (0.23 fatalities per million people). Ecologically, AHBs seem to have posed limited impact on the native apifauna and have contributed to pollination of major economic crops, but more studies are needed to evaluate the overall effect. AHBs can be potentially more resistant to parasites and diseases and worth of note is that AHBs in Mexico resulted in a new generation of beekeepers that propelled management and selective breeding. In general, the evidence suggests that the Africanization of honey
bees in Mexico has had a less severe impact than originally predicted. We suggest some lines for future directions that may help to better understand the effects, make sustainable use and ameliorate the negative characteristics of AHBs.

DIPLOMADO MELIPONICULTURA 2020

EL DÍA 1 DE JULIO HEMOS INICIADO EL DIPLOMADO EN MELIPONICULTURA EN LINEA SESIÓN 2020- DAMOS LA BIENVENIDA A NUESTROS PARTICIPANTES DE MEXICO, EUA, CANADA, NICARAGUA Y ECUADOR. BIENVENIDOS!!!!

 

DIA INTERNACIONAL DE LAS ABEJAS 2020

ESTE AÑO EN PARTICULAR SERÁ RECORDADO POR MUCHAS GENERACIONES. UN CAMBIO ABRUPTO A NUESTRO ESTILO DE VIDA QUE TRASTORNÓ AL MUNDO ENTERO. DE TODO ESTO, ALGO QUEDA MUY CLARO Y CON MAYOR CERTEZA, RESPETAR LA NATURALEZA Y PRESERVARLA SERÁ DETERMINANTE PARA NUESTRO PROPIO FUTURO COMO ESPECIE.

FELIZ DÍA DE LAS ABEJAS 2020!!!!

Poot-Baez V., Medina-Hernández R., Medina-Peralta S., Quezada-Euán J.J.G. (2020)Intranidal temperature and body size of Africanized honey bees under heatwaves (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Apidologie  51:382–390. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-019-00725-5

Abstract
It is generally accepted that temperate subspecies of honey bees can maintain stable temperatures inside their nests; however, little information is available on the cooling ability of tropical honey bees and the effect of high environmental temperatures on individuals. In this study, we registered temperatures in the brood area of strong- and medium-populated colonies of Africanized honey bees during heatwaves (maximum environmental temperature 44 °C) between April and May in the tropical Yucatán Peninsula of México. To evaluate the effect on colonies, we compared the body size of workers produced under high temperatures in the field and siblings produced at stable 34–35 °C laboratory conditions. We found that in the field, temperatures of the brood nest in both types of colony can increase above 36 °C during the hottest part of the day, especially in less strong colonies. Workers produced in the field were significantly smaller, compared to those reared in the lab at stable temperatures. This is a first study reporting body size reduction in honey bees as a consequence of possible thermoregulation disruption during heatwaves. We discuss our results considering potential effects of heat stress to Africanized honey bee colonies and tropical beekeeping.

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