SICAMM Foundation is sad to report the recent and tragic death of two long-standing friends and colleagues, Prof. Alexey Nikolenko and Prof. Alexandr Poskryakov who were responsible for and inspired much of the leading research on the dark European honey bee in Russia.

Prof. Alexey Nikolenko was scheduled to speak in the SICAMM lecture series on Wednesday February 9, 2022. He had intended to cover the Perfection of the defense system of the dark European honey bee Apis mellifera mellifera, a talk based on a paper where Prof. Alexandr Poskryakov was also a co-author. As an act of remembrance, no talk will be held on that evening.

Professor Alexey Nikolenko

In Ufa on November 7, 2021, Prof. Alexey Nikolenko passed away following complications caused by coronavirus infection. An outstanding scientist, he was head of the Laboratory of Biochemistry of Insect Adaptability at the Institute of Biochemistry and Genetics of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences. He died in the prime of his creative powers at the age of 57.

Alexey Nikolenko founded the Ufa School of Genetics and Biochemistry in the field of beekeeping, and was the founder of genetic and biochemical bee research in Russia. Thanks to his initiative, Russian studies began on the genetic marker based selection of the dark forest bee, Apis mellifera mellifera, together with studies of the problems of hybridization and pure-bredness of aboriginal populations of bees. Much of his research was devoted to diseases of honey bees, the genetic structure of populations, and the hybridization of the dark forest bee Apis mellifera mellifera.

Alexey Nikolenko was one of the inspirers and founders of the Altyn Solok organization, a popularizer of the isolated breeding of pure-bred bee populations in the Republic of Bashkortostan in Russia. He authored over 300 scientific papers, articles and monographs on beekeeping, biochemistry, and population genetics of bees in Russian and English.

Alexey Nikolenko was the ideological inspirer and supporter of all projects related to beekeeping in Russia to study the dark forest bee, Apis mellifera mellifera. He organized and held the annual conference “Pchelich” with the participation of beekeepers and scientists from all over Russia and foreign countries. Colleagues note that he was distinguished by a principled assessment and a keen interest in the results, a practical orientation in his work, and direct contact with beekeepers. He was a versatile, principled, and honest person; and a generator of new ideas. Thanks to his support and active participation, successes were achieved in pure-bred regionalized bee breeding in Russia. Under his leadership, 20 Candidate of Sciences (Ph.D.) and 3 Doctor of Sciences (Sc.D.) were defended.

Professor Alexandr Poskryakov

In Ufa on October 5, 2021, after a long illness caused by coronavirus infection, Prof. Alexandr Poskryakov, famous scientist and a senior researcher at the Laboratory of Biochemistry of Insect Adaptability at the Institute of Biochemistry and Genetics of the Ufa Federal Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences, passed away. He died a little before he was 63 years old.

Prof. Alexandr Poskryakov was the first and main assistant to Professor Alexey Nikolenko. He developed and delivered genetic and biochemical methods for laboratory research on bees, which are still used by his young colleagues. He was an excellent methodologist, and developed and registered several inventions. For many years, he studied the physicochemical properties of honey from the dark forest bee, Apis mellifera mellifera, as well as wild Burzyan bees. A lot of his research was also devoted to bee diseases, the genetic structure of populations, and hybridization of the dark forest bee, Apis melliferamellifera. He authored over 250 scientific works, including articles and monographs on beekeeping, biochemistry, and population genetics of bees in Russian and English.

Alexandr Poskryakov was the founder of comparative studies of the mechanisms of adaptation of Apis mellifera mellifera in Russia. He organized and annually took part in the “Pchelich” conference with the participation of beekeepers and scientists from all over Russia and foreign countries. Colleagues remembered him as a kind, pleasant, and cheerful person. His keen interest in research results, practical orientation in his work, and sincere communication with colleagues left a bright, sunny memory in the hearts of his colleagues at the institute. He was a versatile, kind, and honest person, and a generator of new ideas.

Final thoughts

Coronavirus has taken far too many people too soon. The premature deaths of Prof. Alexey Nikolenko and Prof. Alexandr Poskryakov are an irreparable loss for science and beekeeping throughout Russia and European countries. As great friends of the dark bee, they will be much missed by SICAMM Foundation, and our sincere condolences go to their friends and families.

With grateful thanks to Dr. Rustem Ilyasov, Vavilov Institute of General Genetics of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow for the text and photos.