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Context: The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted a conditional license for a vaccine for honeybees to curb American foulbrood (AFB), a fatal bacterial disease for the insect.

Details:

About the disease:

• AFB is caused by the spore-forming bacterium Paenibacillus larvae.
• It is not a stress-related disease and can infect the strongest to the weakest colony in an apiary.
• Heavy infections can affect most of the brood, severely weakening the colony and eventually killing it. 
• The disease cannot be cured, meaning that the destruction of infected colonies and hives or irradiation of infected material is the only way to manage AFB. 
• The bacteria Melissococcus plutoniuscauses another similar disease, European foulbrood. However, the incidence of EFB is generally higher when the colony is under stress. 

About the vaccine:

• The vaccine technology exposes queen bees to inactive (ie, “dead”) bacteria, which enables the larvae hatched in the hive to resist infection. 
• The vaccine is mixed in queen candy — the primary food source for both the queen bees and the attendant bees living in cages. 
• Worker bees consume the vaccine with the queen candy, which is then digested and transferred to the glands that produce the royal jelly.
• Worker bees then feed the royal jelly containing the vaccine to the queen bee.
• The queen digests the royal jelly and the vaccine is transferred to her ovaries. She is then released into the hive.
• The vaccine gets transferred to the developing eggs. The developing larvae get vaccinated and are more immune to infection as they hatch.

Apiculture market:

• The apiculture market is estimated to register a CAGR of 4.3% during the period 2020–25, with Asia–Pacific as the dominant producer.
• The Indian apiculture market size is expected to reach a value of Rs 33,128 million by 2024, expanding at a CAGR of nearly 12% by 2024.
• India is the sixth major natural honey exporting country.
• During 2019–20, the recorded export of natural honey was 59,536.75 MT for Rs 633.82 crore. The major export destinations were USA, Saudi Arab, Canada, and Qatar.

Bees in India:

• Six species of bees of commercial importance are found in India:
  • Apis dorsata (Rock bee),
  • Himalayan species (Apis laboriosa),
  • Apis cerana indica (Indian hive bee),
  • Apis florea (dwarf bee),
  • Apis mellifera (European or Italian bee), and
  • Tetragonula iridipennis (Dammer or stingless bee).
• Rock bees are aggressive and cannot be maintained but are harvested from the wild.
• Honey from dwarf bees is also harvested from the wild as these are nomadic and produce very small yields.
• Native Apis cerana and Apis mellifera introduced from the temperate zone are more amenable to culturing in artificial bee boxes.
• Dammer bees can be domesticated and are important factors in the pollination of various crops but produce little hone
• Two of these are domesticated, Apis cerana(oriental honey bee) and Apis mellifera (European honey bee), and the other two are wild, Apis dorsata (giant/rock honey bee) and Apis florea (dwarf honey bee).
• Bees play a crucial role in pollination.
• Oilseeds, orchard crops, legumes, vegetables, timber trees and ornamental flowers are some of the major crops that benefit from bee pollination.
• An organized and tech-driven bee-farming sector is an excellent initiative for generating employment opportunities, with skill-building projects.
• It will also help attain Sustainable Development Goals 1 (No Poverty), 2 (Zero Hunger), 3 (Good Health and Well-Being), and 15 (Biodiversity and Vibrant Ecosystem).

Social life in Apis (Honey Bee) :

• Apis (Honey bee) of Class - Insecta, Order - Hymenoptera, is a social insect living in colonies of 35,000 to 50,000 or more individuals of the same species in an integrated manner.
• The honey bees live in a highly organized colony wherein a perfect corporate life under strict discipline is exhibited.
• The colonies of honey bees are perennial and show polymorphism.
• A good colony of bees has about fifty thousand individuals consisting mainly of three castes :
  • Queen or fertile female
  • Drones or fertile males and
  • Workers or sterile females

Queen:

• The queen is the only fertile female in a colony or hive, having immensely developed ovaries, shorter mouth parts and sting.
• She is elongated, 15-20 mm long and is easily distinguished by her longer, tapering abdomen, short legs and wings.
• The queen arises from a fertilized egg and larva specially fed on royal jelly.
• She alone lays about 1,000 or more eggs per day and up to about 15,00,000 eggs during her lifetime of about five years.
• She is the mother of almost all the members of the hive.

 Drones:

• These develop parthenogenetically from the unfertilized eggs laid by the queen.
• There are usually 200 drones in a typical colony, about 10%, depending upon the season of the year.
• They are intermediate in size, 15-17 mm long, but considerably stouter and broader.
• They possess very large compound eyes, and small mandibles, and lack wax-producing glands, pollen-collecting apparatus and sting.
• They exist only to mate with the queen of their own hive or some other colony.

 If not fed by the workers, they will die.

They live for about 5 weeks only.

 Workers:

• Workers are diploid, sterile females.
• Their number in a colony exceeds 90% of the total population.
• The body of a worker bee is densely covered with bristles having lateral barbs.
• It is the smallest member of the colony. It is about 12-15 mm in size.
• They live for only 4-6 weeks and perform almost all functions.

Caste Determination:

• In honey bees, caste determination depends on genetics and nutrition.
• Males are haploid and develop parthenogenetically from unfertilized eggs. Their larvae are fed bee bread only.
• Queen and Workers are diploid females.
• The larvae which are fed on royal jelly only, develop into Queens
• Those fed on bee bread develop into Workers.

Importance of Bees in the Ecosystem:

• Biodiversity: As pollinators, bees play a part in every aspect of the ecosystem. They support the growth of trees, flowers, and other plants, which serve as food and shelter for creatures large and small. Bees contribute to complex, interconnected ecosystems that allow a diverse number of different species to co-exist.
• Wildlife Habitats: Bees are known for their elaborate hives, but they also help build homes for millions of other insects and animals. Their role as pollinators is vital in the growth of tropical forests, savannah woodlands, and temperate deciduous forests. Many tree species, like willows and poplars, couldn’t grow without pollinators like bees.
• Food Source: Bees produce honey to feed their coloniesduring the cold winter months. Humans have harvested honey for thousands of years, but we aren’t the only ones who consider it a sweet snack. Critters like birds, racoons, opossums, and insects will raid beehives for a taste of nutritious honey (and bee larvae). Bees themselves are also a part of the food chain. At least 24 species of bird, including the blackbird, ruby-throated hummingbird, and starling, prey on bees.
• Wild Plant Growth: It’s not just farm-grown fruits and vegetables that rely on pollinators to thrive. Many species of wild plants depend on insect pollinators as well. Bees are responsible for the production of many seeds, nuts, berries, and fruit, which serve as a vital food source for wild animals.
• Pollination: To germinate, plants require the transfer of pollen from the male part of the flower (the anther) to the female part (the stigma). As bees move from flower to flower in search of nectar, they leave behind grains of pollen on the sticky surface, allowing plants to grow and produce food.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/wildlife-biodiversity/world-s-first-vaccine-for-honeybees-gets-conditional-nod-in-us-86970