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1. Why is pollen an important part of the bee’s diet? What does it contain?

2. What happens to pollen grains when they enter the bee’s midgut?
3. Where is the peritrophic matrix inside of the bee? What is its function?
4. How do bees keep warm in the winter?.
5. What organ on the bee is used for hearing?

User Niklascp
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Answer: 1. Bees feed on and require both nectar and pollen. The nectar is for energy and the pollen provides protein and other nutrients. Most pollen is used by bees as larvae food, but bees also transfer it from plant-to-plant, providing the pollination services needed by plants and nature as a whole. Pollen contains 22,7% of protein on average, including 10,4% of essential amino acids such as methionine, lysine, threonine, histidine, leucine, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine, and tryptophan. These protein elements are life essential and the organism cannot synthesize them by itself.

2. Digestion of pollen grains takes place in the midgut intestine. Th cell walls of pollen grains are resistant to digestive enzymes, thus it is common for pollen grains to pass through the digestive tract and remain undigested. Th

digestion of pollen grains may vary between species.

3. The peritrophic matrix lining the midgut epithelium in insects constitutes an effective barrier against abrasive food particles, xenobiotics, toxins and pathogens. Pathogens like P. larvae entering the host through the gut first need to overcome this barrier. To better understand AFB pathogenesis, we analysed the fate of the peritrophic matrix in honey bee larvae during P. larvae infection. Using histochemical techniques, we first established that chitin is a major component of the honey bee larval peritrophic matrix. Rearing larvae on a diet containing a fluorochrome blocking formation of the peritrophic matrix or a bacterial endochitinase revealed that a fully formed peritrophic matrix is essential for larval survival. Larvae infected by P. larvae showed total degradation of the peritrophic matrix enabling the bacteria to directly attack the epithelial cells. Carbon source utilization tests confirmed that P. larvae is able to metabolize colloidal chitin. We propose that P. larvae degrades the peritrophic matrix to allow direct access of the bacteria or of bacterial toxins to the epithelium to prepare the breakthrough of the epithelial layer.

4. Honeybees have to stick together pretty closely to stay warm (and alive) in the winter. When temperatures in the winter drop below 50 °F (10 °C), honeybees retreat to their hives and form a winter cluster to keep warm—sort of like a giant three-month slumber party.

5. Behavioral experiments demonstrated that honey bees can hear near-field sounds by detecting air-particle movements with Johnston's organ (JO) located at the second segment (pedicel) of the antenna. This hearing mechanism is ideal for the followers located only millimeters away from a dancer.

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User Georg Ringer
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