Some biological aspects of honey bee drones reared under organic and non-organic agriculture

Abstract

Five biological characteristics of honey bee drones were investigated under the influence of organic farming in comparison with non-organic ones. For this purpose, 10 honey bee colonies were established in each of the areas of 2.1 Hectare. The organic one was isolated from the other by 17.2 km. Each area was cultivated with Chamomile (Matricaria chamomilla), one under organic and the other under non-organic farming, for two seasons. As criteria for this study, amount of sealed drones brood produced, drone longevity, number of sperms in drones, percentage of drone maturity, and number of sperms in mated queens were chosen. The amount of sealed drone brood was higher in non-organic areas than organic ones, but a significant increase in the longevity of drones reared under organic farming was registered. Concerning reproductive futures, and although the number of sperms per million (mil.) was higher in newly emerged drones reared under non-organic farming, it began to decrease more significantly at 8 and 14 days in drones reared under non-organic than those reared under organic ones. Concerning the percentage of mature drones, the results showed a significant increase in drones reared under non-organic conditions at 14 days, but an insignificant increase at 8 days in comparison to drones reared under organic ones. For both groups, the percentage of mature drones of 14 days drones was significantly higher than those of 8 days. Lastly, the number of sperms in the spermatheca of queen mated with drones reared under organic farming was significantly higher than those reared under non-organic conditions. The results were discussed in the light of some biological aspects of drones.