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* The OLd Drone found this road kill on the internet highway using a
text search engine. I do believe that something was lost in the
translation as it is just a little hard to believe, skept'ic I must
bee....But since it is so close to April Fool's day I pass this gas to
my many beekeeping friends who are smart enough not to be fooled by BS
..or sometime the facts... ttul Andy-
Information Bulletin No.72
STINGLESS BEES DEVELOPED FOR POLLINATING FRUIT TREES
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February 13, 1996
Honeybees are often used in the pollination of such fruit-bearing
trees as apples and pears, but they pose a hazard to the fruit grower,
who risk being stung.
To eliminate this annoyance, researchers at the National Institute of
Animal Industry of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and
Fisheries, has succeeded in producing bees that cannot sting, and it
is hoped that they will resolve a longstanding sore point for fruit
growers.
Pollen Carrier
Pollination is an important part of a fruit-grower's task, and many
farmers still perform the task manually, climbing ladders and
crouching to pollinate each flower. To lighten this load, some have
begun harnessing honeybees as pollinators. As the bees fly around in
search of nectar, they carry pollen from one flower to another. Those
who are not used to handling the bees, though, are frequently stung,
and experienced beekeepers must be enlisted to release and recapture
the bees.
At the National Institute of Animal Industry, an attempt was made to
produce honeybees that would not sting by exposing them to gamma
waves. It was found in that if bee larvae were exposed to 30 grays of
radiation just before becoming pupae, 97% of the bees born had
deformed stingers. The typical stinger consists of two narrow needles
encased in a sheath, but in the mutant variety, the two needles were
separated from the sheath, destroying their ability to sting.
Of the 18 queen larvae that were exposed to radiation in the same way,
16 were born as no stingers.
Controlling Reproduction
The new varieties of both queen and worker bee showed no difference
other than in the stinger, and they otherwise appeared to behave
normally. This led researchers to believe that the exposure to
radiation had caused a genetic mutation in the bees. Researchers are
now working to determine how many larvae of stinger-less queens will
have the same trait and to establish a process by which the trait can
be genetically transmitted.
One concern is the impact the stinger-less bees will have on the
ecosystem if they breed with naturally occurring varieties. The mixing
of genetic strains can be prevented, researchers, believe, by simply
utilizing worker bees for pollination purposes, since they have no
reproductive capabilities and thus pose no threat that they will breed
with bees in the wild.
(The above article, edited by Japan Echo Inc., is based on domestic
Japanese news sources. It is offered for reference purposes and does
not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Japanese
Government.)
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~ QMPro 1.53 ~ ... Which a bee would choose to dream in.
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