A scientific note on the distribution of Africanized honey bees and Varroa destructor in feral honey bee populations in California

摘要

Feral honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) must establish their colonies relatively close to water in hot, arid environments because foraging honey bee workers must collect and ferry water from sites located within a few kilometers of their hives (Visscher et al., 1996; Atmowidjojo et al., 1997). In the deserts of the southwestern United States, hundreds of artificial water sources (guzzlers) have been developed to provide water for bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) and other wildlife (Rosenstock et al., 1999). We used these water sources as sampling stations for characterizing changes in the genetic diversity of feral honey bee populations during the introduction and spread of Varroa destructor Anderson & Trueman and Africanized honey bees into southern California. From June to September of 1995 to 1997, we collected honey bee workers as they were imbibing water from three guzzlers in Anza-Borrego Desert State Park (ABDSP) and two guzzlers in the Mojave National Preserve (MNP). All of these sites were located >10 km from managed colonies. Bee-lining techniques were used to estimate the minimum number of colonies collecting water at that source because different flight vectors represented honey bees traveling to and from different colonies (Wenner et al., 1992). The rugged mountainous terrain prevented us from locating most of the colonies since we frequently lost sight of flight paths as honey bees flew across canyons. We collected honey bees from all of the colonies that we located in ABDSP, including those that occupied Nasanov-baited swarm traps placed in 1995 and 1996. We did not place any swarm traps or locate any colonies in MNP.