Acceptance rate of Africanized honey bee larvae in hives maintained in the shade and under full sunlight in Northeast Brazil

Ricardo Gonçalves Santos,Daiana Da Silva Sombra,Lionel Segui Gonçalves,Herica Girlane Tertulino Domingos

doi:10.18378/aab.v4i2.4648

Ricardo Gonçalves Santos, Daiana Da Silva Sombra + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.18378/aab.v4i2.4648

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Abstract

In the Semiarid region of Northeast Brazil, adverse environmental conditions such as high radiation and temperature affect the balance of homeostasis of the colonies of Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). This research aimed to evaluate the rate of acceptance of Africanized honey bees larvae (Important stage of process of queen-rearing) in hives installed in the shade and under full sunlight in the semiarid climate of Northeastern Brazil. 10 colonies of honeybees (5 in the shade and 5 under full sunlight) were orphaned and prepared with young workers and food, having standardized biomass (equal population conditions) to receive frames containing 60-100 queen cell cups with larvae up to 24 hour-old. The acceptance percentage of transferred or grafted larvae to each colony was measured 72 hours after carrying out transfers and means were compared by the Student’s t-test at 5% probability. The colonies under shade conditions showed acceptance rate of 68.82 ± 17.03%, significantly higher (P = 0.0044) than the colonies subjected to direct sunlight with only 52.13 ± 16.29%. Thus, for the production of queens and royal jelly of Africanized honeybees in the semiarid climate of Northeast Brazil, it is strongly recommended the installation of apiaries in shady locations.

Highlights

Brazil has special characteristics of flora and climate, which associated with the presence of Africanized honeybees, give it a fabulous potential for beekeeping (FERREIRA et al, 2012)
Some reports have mentioned an apparent difficulty in the handling of this technique, mainly in the transference of young worker larvae into cell cups made of wax or plastic
The cups occupied by live larvae and filled with royal jelly were a general requirement for acceptance

Summary

Introduction

Brazil has special characteristics of flora and climate, which associated with the presence of Africanized honeybees, give it a fabulous potential for beekeeping (FERREIRA et al, 2012). The high temperatures resulting from the strong radiation of this region and the frequent drought are often limiting factors for the thermoregulation of the colonies (ALMEIDA, 2008), causing physiological and behavioral changes in the individuals, as the migratory behavior or absconding, that adversely affects the productive performance of the bee colonies (DOMINGOS & GONÇALVES, 2014). It is common among northeastern beekeepers the absence of the practice of queens replacement, activity that represents an important aspect of the honey productive chain (VILELA & PEREIRA, 2002, PEREIRA et al, 2013). This process is sensitive to the influence of climatic factors and if the ambient conditions are not good, the transferred larvae may not be accepted by the colonies

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