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Beekeeping and Pollination Biology

Course developers

Replaced course

LauZ5166 [GLAU5169] Beekeeping and Pollination Biology

Course abstract

During the study course, students are acquainted with actual issues on beekeeping and apiary, on precise technologies in beekeeping, on biology of pollination, on diversity, biology and ecology of wild bees and other anthophilous insects and on usage of pollinators in plant protection.

Learning outcomes and their assessment

Knowledge on subspecies of honeybee and their usage in purposeful beekeeping and pollination; on diversity of wild bees and other anthophilous insects; on biology and ecology of plant pollination. Practical work, independent work, tests
Skills to identify subspecies of honeybee and taxa of wild pollinators; to diagnose diseases of honeybee and pests of beekeeping. Practical and laboratory work, independent work, tests
Competences on usage of honeybee in beekeeping; on usage of domesticated pollinators in plant protection practice; on precise technologies of agriculture in beekeeping. Practical and laboratory work, independent work, tests

Course Content(Calendar)

1. Phylogenesis of the honeybee; colony and its composition. Morphological and anatomical differences of individuals. Sensory organs, locomotion. Characteristics of subspecies. 2 h
2. Breeding of the honeybee, its genetic fundamentals, methods (selection, hybridization, and inbreeding) and organization. Types of insemination of queens - natural, instrumental. Assessment of quality and productivity of queens. Breeding process in beekeeping. 4 h
3. Purposeful methods in beekeeping to obtain/produce particular products: honey, pollen, propolis, royal jelly, bee venom, vax, package bees, breeding of queens, pollination services, urban beekeeping. Types of hives, equipment and tools for different methods of beekeeping. 6 h
4. Feed base of the honeybee; choice of feed and its impact on colony during its different stages. 4 h
5. Economically most important parasitic and nonparasitic diseases of the honeybee and pests of beekeeping. Diagnostics, prevention and limitation. 6 h
6. Fauna and ecology of bees in Latvia. Superfamily of bees (Apoidea): mining bees (Andrenidae), plasterer bees (Colletidae), sweat bees (Halictidae), mason bees (Megachilidae), melittid bees (Melittidae). Other anthophilous insects: hoverflies (Syrphidae), Darwin wasps (Ichneumonidae) etc., their role in plant pollination. Ecosystem services in pollination of cultivated plants. 9 h
7. Usage of domesticated pollinators in plant protection. Entomovectoring. 4 h
8. Biology and ecology of pollination. Abiotic and biotic pollination. Classification of plants and flowers depending on type of pollination. Practical aspects of pollination. Natural attractants for pollinators: colour, shape and odour of flowers, nectar and pheromones. 9 h
9. Impact of environmental factors on interactions between plants and pollinators. Climate changes and plant pollination. Artificial pollination technologies for plant. 4 h
10. Precise technologies and methods of agriculture in beekeeping. Decision support systems in beekeeping and pollination, their practical application. 8 h

Topics of practical works and laboratory works:
Identification of subspecies of the honeybee (morphometrically);
Diagnostics of diseases of the honeybee;
Analyses of the origin of honey (melissopalinology);
Quality analyses of honey and/or other products of beekeeping;
Identification of wild bees and other anthophilous insects.
Identification of flower bud organogenesis

Requirements for awarding credit points

Exam, consisting of 4 parts: 1) on beekeeping; 2) the fauna and diversity of Latvian pollinators and the use of cultivated pollinators in plant protection; 3) plant pollination biology and 4) precision technologies in beekeeping.

All parts must be passed. The cumulative exam grade is formed as an average weighted grade from all parts.

Description of the organization and tasks of students’ independent work

Preparation for lessons according to the topic, preparatory tests and independent works, studies and analysis of scientific literature.

Criteria for Evaluating Learning Outcomes

Assessment of test papers:
In part 1 – beekeeping. Students must complete 2 tests (1st test topic 1 and 2 – 10 questions, 2nd test topic 4, 5 – 10 questions). The answers to the questions are considered correct if the concepts are explained and described in the text. Each test is considered successfully passed if at least 50% of questions answered correctly. Scoring - each question is one (1) point.
In the 2nd part – the fauna and diversity of Latvian pollinators, and the use of cultivated pollinators in plant protection (topics No. 6 and No. 7). Students must complete a test consisting of 50 questions. The test is considered successfully passed if the student has answered at least 40% of the questions correctly. The test grade corresponds to the percentage of correct answers (for example, if 80% of the questions are answered correctly in the test, then the grade is 8).
In the 3rd part – pollination – the independent work is prepared on the topic given by the teaching staff in relation to plant pollination. Must be prepared in 15 min. a long presentation and must defend it publicly. Assessment (in ten-point scale) of the oral report consists of organization of content, presentation skills, usage of professional terminology, quality of visual materials, quality of sources of literature, usage of references, compliance with time limit.
In the 4th part – precise technologies of beekeeping - the tasks given by the teaching staff must be completed. The part is graded with "Passed".

Compulsory reading

1. Dade H.A. 1994. Anatomy and dissection of the honeybee. Cardiff : International Bee Research Association, p 158
2. The hive and the honey bee : a new book on beekeeping which continues the tradition of “Langstroth on the hive and the honeybee”. 1992. Ed. Graham J.M. Hmilton, Illinois: Dadant & Sons, p 1324
3. Delaplane S.K., Mayer D.F. (2000). Crop pollination by bees. CABI Publising Nev York, 333.lpp
4. Abrol D.P. (2012). Pollination Biology: Biodiversity Conservation and Agricultural Production. Springer. 792 p. DOI 10.1007/978-94-007-1942-2
5. Delaplane K.S., Mayer D.F. 2000. Crop pollination by bees. Oxon: CABI Publishing, 344 p.

Further reading

1. Breeding the Honeybee. A Contribution to the Science of Beebreeding. 1987. Brother Adam. Northern bee books. Mytholmroyd : Hebden Bridge. p 118
2. The Hive and the Honey Bee. 2015. Ed. Graham J.M. Hmilton, Illinois: Dadant & Sons. Publisher of the American bee Journal, p 1057
3. Koeniger G., Koeniger N., Ellis J., Connor L. 2014. Mating biology of Honey bees (Apis mellifera). Michigan: Wicwas Press LLC, p 155
4. Stell I. 2012. Understanding Bee Anatomy: a full colour guide. The catford Press, p 199
5. Puusepp L., Koff T. (2014). Pollen analysis of honey from the Baltic region, Estonia. Grana No. 53(1), p. 54-61.
6. Kjohl M., Nielsen A., Stenseth N.Ch. 2011. Potential effects of climate change on crop pollination. Rome: FAO of the United Nations, 38 p.
7. Dimiņš F. (2006). Medus kvalitātes novērtēšanas rādītāji. Promocijas darba kopsavilkums inženierzinātņu zinātniskā grāda iegūšanai pārtikas zinātnē. Latvijas Lauksaimniecības universitāte. Jelgava. 35 lpp.

Periodicals and other sources

Apidologie. Official journal of the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA) and Deutschen Imkerbundes e.V. (D.I.B.). (Online). URL: https://link.springer.com/journal/13592
[skatīts 29.11.2019.].

Notes

Academical Higher Education Master’s Study Program “Agriculture”, Specialization – Field-Crop Cultivation and Horticulture