Do Honeybees get Diabetes?

[HJBee]

I was asked this at work today, which I think was serious. I would love one of you super intelligent types to give me an answer, as I said I would ask!

[fatshark]

No pancreas ... so no insulin. Perhaps they get type 1 diabetes? However they do have insulin-like peptides and insulin (or insulin-like) receptors which are differentially expressed (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022191008000772) in workers and queens. I suspect this represents conservation of a signalling pathway rather than having any relevance to diabetes.

So, I suspect the answer is no ... but Gavin will be along in a minute with the correct answer :rolleyes:

PS Bees also have an Insulin Receptor Substrate gene which, if switched off (or at least down regulated), makes the bee search for more protein-rich forage (http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1000896) i.e. pollen rather than nectar. Again, this reflects the fact that insulin-like compounds control a number of metabolic processes in a wide range of organisms, rather than indicating that bees have all the equivalent components found in humans that are - when not working properly - associated with diabetes.

[gavin]

. ... but Gavin will be along in a minute with the correct answer :rolleyes:

Aye, right!

Does elevated haemolymph sugar make any difference in an insect?

I'd love to see a bee doing a thumb prick test for sugar.

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[HJBee]

Thanks Fatshark. This particular person will think twice before asking such a question tongue in cheek again! And I learned something too!!

[gavin]

Anyway, who are you calling 'super-intelligent'?! If only you knew ....

As long as the bees stay off the deep-fried Mars Bars, they'll be fine. I wonder if anyone has seen Scottish honey a funny shade of brown rather than the blue they're seeing in France?

[Bumble]

I'd love to see a bee doing a thumb prick test for sugar.

Thumbs?

Would a knee do? They've got half a dozen to choose from.