Absconding in honeybees ( Apis mellifera ) in relation to queen status and mode of worker reproduction

Abstract

We investigated absconding frequency and latency in queenright and queenless honeybee colonies in thelytokous Apis mellifera capensis, arrhenotokous Apis mellifera scutellata and their natural thelytokous hybrids. There was no significant difference in frequency of absconding among any of the queenright colonies. Absconding was significantly greater in thelytokous queenless colonies than in the queenless arrhenotokous ones. Latency to absconding did not differ among the three groups of queenright colonies nor between the queenright and queenless colonies of A.m. capensis and A.m. scutellata. There were significant differences in latency between queenright and queenless hybrids and significant differences in latency among the three groups of queenless colonies. Among queenless colonies, A.m. capensis absconded twice as readily as did A. m. scutellata and the hybrids were intermediate. Afterabsconding events include the fates of the absconding colony as well as nestmates left behind. One group of orphaned nestmates of A. m. capensis amalgamated with another queenright colony. In the case of A. m. scutellata either drones were produced or the residual queenless colony was joined by a queenless thelytokous group, subsequently reared a queen and then absconded. Differences in the rate and degree of ovarial development indicate that queenless thelytokous workers have the physiological capacity for reproduction, a trait that contributes to colony fitness.