Body mass of honey bee drones developing in constant and in changing temperatures

Krystyna Czekońska,Adam Tofilski

doi:10.1007/s13592-020-00738-5

Abstract

The body mass of honey bee (Apis mellifera) drones was investigated during a post-capping development under four temperature regimes: constant low temperature (32 °C), constant high temperature (35 °C), low temperature in the early stage followed by high temperature in the later stage, and high temperature in the early stage followed by low temperature in the later stage. The temperature regimes had significant influence on the drones’ body mass. The heaviest drones were obtained when the temperature was high at the early stage and low at the later stage of the post-capping period. The most lightweight drones occurred at constant high temperature. The body mass of drones was changing significantly over their adult life and was highest at the age of five days. After this age, the body mass tended to decrease until the end of life. These results suggest that the highest body mass of drones can be obtained by keeping them during the post-capping development in changing and not constant temperatures.

Highlights

One of the most important factors affecting the development of the honey bees (Apis mellifera ) is precise control of temperature in the nest (Seeley 2014; Abou-Shaara et al 2017)
The honey bee larvae have lower metabolism, and they are more susceptible to pesticides (Medrzycki et al 2010)
We have used four temperature regimes: constant low (32 °C) temperature, constant high (35 °C) temperature, low temperature in the early stage followed by high temperature in the later stage, and high temperature in the early stage followed by low temperature in the later stage

Summary

Introduction

One of the most important factors affecting the development of the honey bees (Apis mellifera ) is precise control of temperature in the nest (Seeley 2014; Abou-Shaara et al 2017). It is maintained in the brood area between 33 °C and 36 °C (Kleinhenz 2003; Jones and Oldroyd 2006; Seeley 2014). Workers reared at different temperatures differ in the age of their first flight, type of food collected, tasks performed, and frequency of waggle dancing (Becher et al 2009)

Methods

Results

Conclusion