Role of Thermoregulation by Nestmates on the Development Time of Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Queens

Abstract

Worker honey bees, Apis mellifera L., in queenless colonies constructed emergency queen cells on the periphery of the brood area on a comb when ambient temperatures were high, and in the center of the comb when ambient temperatures were low. Queen cells in the center of the hive's broodnest were maintained at significantly higher temperatures and had a greater chance of emerging than queen cells located on the periphery. Temperatures around cells from which queens emerged fluctuated by 25°C. The average temperatures around cells from which queens emerged were 32.3–34.9°C; lower averages occurred during the winter trials. Queens took an average of 15.4–17.4 d to develop. The central brood area of a colony had a significantly higher temperature with a narrower range than around any queen cell. The base temperature for degree-day accumulation during the postcapping interval for the queenline in this study was 20.9°C, and queens required an average of 98.1 DD20.9 (range, 80.0–115 DD20.9) to complete the postcapping stage.