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        <title>Frontiers in Bee Science | Bee Physiology section | New and Recent Articles</title>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/bee-science/sections/bee-physiology</link>
        <description>RSS Feed for Bee Physiology section in the Frontiers in Bee Science journal | New and Recent Articles</description>
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        <pubDate>2026-05-13T05:48:44.644+00:00</pubDate>
        <ttl>60</ttl>
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        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2026.1781526</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2026.1781526</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Editorial: Women in bee science]]></title>
        <pubdate>2026-02-05T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Editorial</category>
        <author>Susan E. Fahrbach</author><author>Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca</author><author>Patrícia Nunes-Silva</author><author>Helen M. Wallace</author>
        <description></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2025.1654032</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2025.1654032</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Dancing on the edge: honey bee recruitment networks are sparse and affected by individuality in waggle dance behavior]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-09-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Laura C. McHenry</author><author>Roger Schürch</author><author>Lindsay E. Johnson</author><author>Bradley D. Ohlinger</author><author>Margaret J. Couvillon</author>
        <description><![CDATA[Social network analysis is increasingly and fruitfully applied to study the collective structure and function of animal societies across space and time. Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are a particularly tractable model system that is rich in social relationships and dynamics. Despite the rich body of literature describing the social life of the honey bee, including the famous waggle dance by which foragers recruit nestmates to profitable resources, relatively little is known about the networks that arise from waggle dance communication. Here we conducted a field experiment with fully-marked experimental colonies (N = 2 colonies, 3,000 bees each) to characterize the honey bee waggle dance recruitment network structure and function. Particularly, we studied network density, burstiness in waggle dance bouts, and the effect of individuality in waggle dance communication behavior on network structure. We simulated a maximally-efficient honey bee recruitment network using a deterministic susceptible-infected model. Then we used this simulated network as an upper bound for network density to calculate the proportion of successful recruitment events in observed networks compared to the simulated maximal network. Next, we characterized the burstiness, or temporal distribution, of waggle dance bouts. Finally, we tested whether inter-bee differences, or individuality, in waggle dance communication affected the recruitment network structure. We found that (1) real recruitment networks are sparse, with each individual recruiting up to 3.5% as many nestmates as predicted by the simulated maximal network; (2) individual bees danced steadily, not in bursts, and (3) that individuality in waggle dance calibrations was positively associated with successful recruitment and thus the propagation of the recruitment network (p = 0.008). Our results offer the first empirical and biologically-informed descriptive statistics for honey bee waggle dance networks and may be informative in the parameterization of bio-inspired computing models.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2025.1572680</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2025.1572680</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Editorial: Biology of giant honeybees]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-03-13T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Editorial</category>
        <author>Gard W. Otis</author><author>Willard S. Robinson</author><author>Axel Brockmann</author><author>Gerald Kastberger</author>
        <description></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1411720</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1411720</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Never lose sight of enemies: giant honeybees perceive troublemakers even in mass flight mode—a case study]]></title>
        <pubdate>2025-01-30T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Gerald Kastberger</author><author>Martin Ebner</author><author>Thomas Hötzl</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This case study investigates the social behavior of the giant honeybee (Apis dorsata) during mass flight activity (MFA), a critical aspect of colony functioning. This evolutionarily ancient species builds its nests on trees, cliffs, or man-made structures. A colony periodically transitions from a semi-quiescent state to MFA mode, typically up to four times a day for 5–10 min. During MFA, the colony undergoes a profound reorganization of roles, and its defense capabilities are temporarily lost as the top layer of the bee curtain peels off, making the colony less responsive to external threats. This period is thought to result in a temporary “blindness” to disturbances, increasing vulnerability. To investigate this, the study analyzes three episodes from a larger data set, each consisting of over 60,000 video frames and 4,000 infrared images, with a focus on the MFA phase. The colony was exposed to a wasp dummy designed to simulate a real threat, triggering shimmering waves when the bees were in a quiescent state. This setup allowed the study to assess how the colony's defensive readiness fluctuates during MFA. Each episode included up to 20 experimental sessions, in which the colony's responses to the wasp stimulus and the unstimulated situation were examined. Data were collected from five 11 × 11 cm quadrants on the nest surface. Thermal data were analyzed in conjunction with motion activity data from previous studies to understand the temporal and spatial dynamics of motion–heat coupling during MFA. Results show that the mouth zone of the nest acts as a command center for coordinating MFAs. Despite its temporary vulnerability during MFA, the colony can still detect and respond to external threats, although with reduced defense capabilities. This case study highlights the complex behavioral and physiological processes involved in MFA in A. dorsata and sheds light on the extent to which the colony maintains some level of defense capability despite the agitation that occurs during nest restructuring. Only for a short period of approximately 1 min is it virtually paralyzed by the external stimulation, showing signs of social thanatosis.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1385640</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1385640</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Socio-ecological surveys of Apis dorsata in the mountains of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, Western Ghats, India]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-12-12T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Shiny Mariam Rehel</author><author>Mahadesha Basavegowda</author><author>Justinraj Thankiyan</author><author>Pratim Roy</author>
        <description><![CDATA[This paper provides insights into the ecology and conservation of Apis dorsata (Giant Honey Bee) which are integral to the ecology and livelihoods of those living in the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR). Rather than directly comparing nest densities across regions and seasons, our study integrates scientific approaches with Indigenous knowledge to examine changes in nest locations, nesting behaviors, and seasonal patterns across three decades. Social surveys indicate that there has been a decline in wild colony populations over the past 10–20 years. This underscores the critical role of sacred sites and protected areas in conserving Apis dorsata populations. This research aims to inform future conservation strategies and policy frameworks, highlighting the value of interdisciplinary approaches in understanding and preserving wild bee species.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1379952</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1379952</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Taxonomic revision and identification keys for the giant honey bees]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-07-26T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Nyaton Kitnya</author><author>Axel Brockmann</author><author>Gard W. Otis</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionThe taxonomy and phylogeny of the giant honey bees (Apis; subgenus Megapis) remain controversial and unresolved. The species boundaries within the subgenus are unclear, and some species that are recognized on the basis of genetic differences lack supporting morphological characteristics. Two species are now well accepted: Apis dorsata Fabricius, 1793, of tropical regions of Asia, and Apis laboriosa Moore et al., 1871, an inhabitant of the foothills of the Himalayas and neighboring mountain ranges. In addition, researchers have suggested that the two allopatric populations of giant honey bees that inhabit Sulawesi, Indonesia (Apis binghami Cockerell, 1906) and the oceanic Philippine islands (Apis breviligula Maa, 1953), as well as the South Indian form also deserve species status. We evaluated morphological characters of all of these taxa in order to revise the taxonomy of the subgenus.MethodsWe conducted a taxonomic study based on morphological characters of Megapis from throughout Asia. In addition, we created taxonomic keys to workers and drones for the giant honey bee species that we recognize.ResultsOur study confirms that A. laboriosa is a distinct species based on numerous morphological characters. Moreover, A. dorsata of mainland Asia differs from the two island taxa based on coloration, ocellus size, and the spacing of compound eyes and ocelli. We found no evidence that breviligula of the Philippines has a distinctively short tongue. Moreover, we detected only one minor character (the shape of sternum 5) that differed statistically between bees from Sulawesi and the Philippines. We conclude that the bees from these islands represent a single morphological species, A. binghami, with two subspecies, A. b. binghami and A. b. breviligula. A. dorsata from the Andaman Islands are smaller than but conspecific with dorsata of mainland Asia. We found no morphological autapomorphies in the giant honey bees of southern India that are known to differ in mtDNA from A. dorsata from elsewhere in mainland Asia.DiscussionOur morphological examination of Megapis specimens firmly supports three species of giant honey bees: A. laboriosa, A. dorsata, and A. binghami. More detailed examination of specimens is required to reconcile our three morphological species with the five clades that have been identified with genetic analyses.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1374852</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1374852</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The distribution of Apis laboriosa revisited: range extensions, biogeographic affinities, and species distribution modelling]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-07-22T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Gard W. Otis</author><author>Man-Juan Huang</author><author>Nyaton Kitnya</author><author>Umer Ayyaz Aslam Sheikh</author><author>Abu ul Hassan Faiz</author><author>Chinh H. Phung</author><author>Natapot Warrit</author><author>Yan-Qiong Peng</author><author>Xin Zhou</author><author>Hlaing Min Oo</author><author>Namoona Acharya</author><author>Kedar Devkota</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionApis laboriosa, the Himalayan giant honeybee, inhabits the foothills of Himalaya and neighboring mountainous regions. Here we revise its distribution in light of recent reports and discoveries, review the ecozones it inhabits, and reassess its likely distribution through species distribution modeling.MethodsWe revised the range map for A. laboriosa by mapping locality records from various sources: refereed research publications, museum specimens, records with identifiable images of bees in publicly available databases, personal observations of the authors, and photos/videos and their coordinates submitted to the authors by honey-hunters, beekeepers, and extension workers. We then used that map to determine the ecozones in which the species occurs. The geographical coordinates of the data localities were used to estimate the potential suitable areas for the bee with MaxEnt modeling.ResultsOur research filled in several previously identified gaps in the distribution of A. laboriosa: in western Nepal; mountainous regions of Myanmar, northwestern Thailand, and northern Laos; several river valleys in Xizang and Yunnan, China; and northeastern Pakistan. Over most of its range this bee species primarily occupies subtropical broadleaf forests with strong Himalayan affinities. However, in the western part of its range it extends into zones dominated by conifers. The sites where A. laboriosa has been recorded closely match the predicted range of the species. Two variables, mean temperature of the coldest quarter and temperature seasonality, contributed most (76%) to the species distribution model.DiscussionApis laboriosa has a more extensive distribution in the foothills of the Himalaya and neighboring mountainous regions than has been previously recognized. The range now extends from longitude 74.4°–105.9°E, a linear distance of 3300 km, and from latitude 19.2°N–34.8°N. We have documented nesting on tree branches in northern Vietnam. Future research is warranted on its elevational migrations along river valleys, population differentiation, and ecological role as a pollinator in the different ecological zones it inhabits.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1366287</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2024.1366287</link>
        <title><![CDATA[The effect of land cover on the foraging behavior and pollen in the honey of the giant bee Apis dorsata in Sumatra]]></title>
        <pubdate>2024-04-05T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>Rika Raffiudin</author><author>Meis Dyahastuti</author><author>Rahmia Nugraha</author><author>Tiara Sayusti</author><author>Nina Ratna Djuita</author><author>Erik Suwananda</author><author>Vera Allvioningrum</author><author>Reza Mardhony</author><author>Siria Biagioni</author><author>Christina Ani Setyaningsih</author><author>Lilik Budi Prasetyo</author><author>Windra Priawandiputra</author><author>Tri Atmowidi</author><author>Asmadi Saad</author><author>Hermann Behling</author>
        <description><![CDATA[IntroductionApis dorsata, the common bee pollinator in tropical forests, is experiencing a population decrease due to several anthropogenic factors that lead to land cover changes and habitat loss. Land cover changes may alter their resource supply and foraging behavior. Our study aimed to determine foraging behavior and botanical origin using pollen of A. dorsata honey in two land cover types: plantationdominated landscape (PL) in Kampar (Riau) and forest-agriculture-dominated landscape (FL) in Kerinci (Jambi) Sumatra, Indonesia.MethodsWe observed two colonies of A. dorsata flight direction and flight activities in each land cover from 9 am–3pm. Honey was harvested from both nests of A. dorsata and the pollen in the honey was analyzed using acetolysis procedure. Vegetation analysis in both locations was conducted based on the flight directions of the giant honey bees.ResultsThe foraging data of A. dorsata showed a difference in the total number of bees between these two land cover types. The number of bees flying out and returning to the nest was higher in Kerinci than in Kampar, while high morning foraging activities were recorded in both land cover types. Furthermore, the foraging activity of the colonies in the PL landscape, i.e., flying out and returning to the nest with and without pollen, decreased at noon. The palynological results of the honey showed that in the PL landscape, pollen diversity was very low and mainly consisted of Elaeis gueneensis pollen (97%). Meanwhile, pollen types and concentrations were much higher in the FL than in the PL.DiscussionThis result suggests that A. dorsata exhibits a more varied foraging behavior in a diverse and heterogeneous landscape in Kerinci compared to a plantation-dominated habitat in Kampar.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2023.1251714</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2023.1251714</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Possible functions of ecdysone signaling reiteratively used in the adult honey bee brain]]></title>
        <pubdate>2023-09-27T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Mini Review</category>
        <author>Yasuhiro Matsumura</author><author>Hiroki Kohno</author><author>Takeo Kubo</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The European honey bee is a model organism for investigating the molecular and neural bases of the brain underlying social behaviors. Mushroom bodies (MBs) are a higher-order center of memory, learning, and sensory integration in insect brains, and honey bee MBs are a model to study adult neuronal plasticity. In the honey bee, MBs comprise three Class I Kenyon cell (KC) subtypes: large-, middle-, and small-type KCs, which are distinguished based on the size and localization of their somata, and gene expression profiles. One of the unique characteristics of honey bee MBs is that genes for ecdysone signaling are expressed in a spatially and temporarily regulated manner in the adult brain, suggesting that they play a role in the functional specialization of each KC subtype and behavioral control. A recent study reported that the transcription factor Mblk-1/E93, which functions downstream of ecdysone signaling during metamorphosis, targets genes involved in synaptic plasticity underlying memory and learning ability in the adult honey bee brain. On the other hand, the ecdysone receptor (EcR), which is expressed in small-type KCs in the MBs, was reported to target genes involved in lipid metabolism in the brain during foraging flight. The target genes for Mblk-1 and EcR in the adult brains differed from those during metamorphosis, implying that the reiterative use of some transcription factors involved in ecdysone signaling, such as EcR and Mblk-1, has contributed to the acquisition of novel MB functions in Aculeata species, including the honey bee.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2023.1219991</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2023.1219991</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Altered synaptic organization in the mushroom bodies of honey bees exposed as foragers to the pesticide fipronil]]></title>
        <pubdate>2023-08-11T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Original Research</category>
        <author>James J. Privitt</author><author>Byron N. Van Nest</author><author>Susan E. Fahrbach</author>
        <description><![CDATA[The pesticide fipronil is a GABA receptor antagonist that induces hyperexcitability in the insect nervous system. Its use is controversial because unintentional fipronil exposure may contribute to the ongoing global decline of pollinator populations. Sublethal doses of fipronil have been tentatively linked to reduced colony fitness and impaired learning in the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. The mushroom bodies, insect brain centers important for association learning and memory, contain fipronil-sensitive receptors and may therefore be directly affected by this pesticide. We investigated the synaptic organization of the mushroom bodies in worker honey bees exposed to fipronil using immunolabeling for a pre-synaptic marker and laser scanning confocal microscopy. Exposure of honey bee foragers to fipronil at a feasible field-realistic (1 ppb) concentration decreased the estimated density of immunolabeled microglomerular synaptic complexes in the lip and collar neuropil regions of the mushroom bodies. Effects were also evident after lower (0.1 ppb) and higher (4 ppb) exposures. Other indicators of synaptic organization (bouton number, surface area) were altered by exposure to fipronil in a dose-dependent fashion. These results indicate that sublethal doses of fipronil can result in atypical synaptic organization in the mushroom bodies of honey bees and suggest a mechanism by which fipronil, through perturbation of mushroom body-dependent functions, might diminish honey bee colony survival.]]></description>
      </item><item>
        <guid isPermaLink="true">https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2023.1129283</guid>
        <link>https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frbee.2023.1129283</link>
        <title><![CDATA[Specialty grand challenge – Building a 21st century community of bee physiologists to tackle 21st century challenges to bee thriving]]></title>
        <pubdate>2023-01-26T00:00:00Z</pubdate>
        <category>Specialty Grand Challenge</category>
        <author>Susan E. Fahrbach</author>
        <description></description>
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