A short test evaluating larval attractiveness of honey bees toVarroa jacobsoni

Abstract

SUMMARYA controlled experiment which utilized a larval transfer (grafting) technique was used to evaluate attractiveness of larvae from four different stocks of honey bees (Apis mellifera) to Varroa jacobsoni. The stocks of honey bees were: ARS-Y-C-1 (A. m. carnica, from Yugoslavia), Hastings (A. m. carnica, from Canada), an F1 hybrid between ARS-Y-C-1 and Hastings, and a Louisiana stock. Newly hatched larvae (target larvae) from each test stock were grafted into an area at the centre of a brood frame occupying 8 rows of 20 cells (160 cells). After larval transfer, each brood frame containing target larvae was introduced into a Varroa-infested colony. Inspection of the frames 2 weeks later showed that ARS-Y-C-1 pupae were less frequently infested than Hastings and Louisiana pupae (20% vs. 36% and 40%), while the infestation rate of the hybrids was intermediate (29%). The stocks did not differ in other parameters of Varroa infestation (mite load per infested pupa, number of females per infested pupa, numbe...