Weakened, Colony

Text from LaLone et al. (2017) Weight of evidence evaluation of a network of adverse outcome pathways linking activaiton of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in honey bees to colony death. Science of the Total Environment 584-585, 751-775:

"The characteristics evaluated to determine the strength/health of honey bee colonies, include adequate numbers of adult bees, presence of sealed and open brood, adequate amounts of stored pollen, nectar and sealed honey, the absence of pests and disease, and the presence of a queen that lays eggs in consistent and tight patterns, with limited eggless cells (Sagili and Burgett, 2011). If the colony is weakened by any one (or a combination) of these factors for an extended period, a critical point can be reached that will lead to colony failure. Through honey bee population dynamics models, it has been demonstrated that loss of foragers leading to precocious foraging of young bees may restore the overall foraging capacity, but the brood rearing capacity of the colony might be reduced (Khoury et al., 2011). Further, as noted above, precocious foragers are less effective and resilient, causing the forager death rate to increase. The model predicts that sustained forager losses that reduce the force by two-thirds would place a colony at risk for failure (Khoury et al., 2011). Additionally, proper brood rearing is essential to the development of healthy adult bees."

Text from Table 2 in  LaLone et al. (2017) Weight of evidence evaluation of a network of adverse outcome pathways linking activaiton of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in honey bees to colony death. Science of the Total Environment 584-585, 751-775:

"• Count number of adult bees, presence of sealed and open brood, assess amount of food stores by visual method or by weighing, assess presence/absence of pests and disease, evaluate egg laying patterns of queen • Brood care behavior can be evaluated by filming the brood nest and then recording nursing frequency, total nursing period per hour, and average duration of nursing episodes for individual cells • Cannibalism of brood can be detected by mapping eggs, larvae and pupae present on brood frames and noting developmental stages for each individual, then inspecting daily for missing larvae • Assess health of bee: dry weight, muscle development, protein content"

LaLone, C.A., Villeneuve, D.L., Wu-Smart, J., Milsk, R.Y., Sappington, K., Garber, K.V., Housenger, J. and Ankley, G.T., 2017. Weight of evidence evaluation of a network of adverse outcome pathways linking activation of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor in honey bees to colony death. STOTEN. 584-585, 751-775.

Sagili, R.R., Burgett, D.M., 2011. Evaluating honey bee colonies for pollination: a guide for commercial growers and beekeepers. A Pacific Northwest Extension Publication. vol. 623, pp. 1–8.

Khoury, D.S.,Myerscough,M.R., Barron, A.B., 2011. A quantitativemodel of honey bee colony population dynamics. PLoS One 6 (4), e18491.