Abstract
Natural reproduction of honeybees occurs in zones called drone congregation areas (DCA), visited by drones (males) and queens of several colonies. These are open areas, protected from the wind by a high vegetation cover and are very common near an apiary. Until now, no DCA had been reported in Argentina. We first determined the flight activity of drones, watching the entrance and exit to the hives from 8:00 to 18:00. We found two peaks of flight activity: from 11:00 to 12:00 and from 15:00 to 17:30. To find a DCA, we tracked the movement of drones using helium-filled balloons and kites. Each contact point of drones in the bait was georeferenced with a GPS to determine the path to a DCA. We report the first DCA in northern Argentina, near an apiary that breeds queen bees, in Alberdi, Tucumán (ARG). This study is important because it implements a method for monitoring DCAs, which is useful to study the health and genetic structure and diversity of Apis mellifera L., as well as for apiculture, because it provides a tool for beekeepers that could help preserve regional ecotypes through reproductive planning for bees.
Highlights
Las ACZ son clave para la supervivencia de las abejas, pues permiten la reunión de una gran variedad de zánganos y reinas de la zona que se aparean generando la variabilidad genética necesaria en los apiarios para resistir cambios ambientales
Efectividad de las reinas debido a que: 1- las reinas pueden ser fecundadas hasta por ~30 zánganos, aumentando la diversidad genética y longevidad en la colmena, 2- esta poliandria incrementaría la resistencia a enfermedades y parásitos y 3- se incrementaría la producción de la colmena
Summary
La reproducción natural de las abejas melíferas ocurre en zonas denominadas áreas de congregación de zánganos (ACZ), visitadas por machos, denominados zánganos, y reinas integrantes de varias colonias. En Apis mellifera L., la evidencia de poliandria muestra que una reina es fertilizada por menos de 12 zánganos en los "parques de fecundación", este método genera grandes pérdidas por enjambrazón.
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