Mating Stations Research Articles

The Influence of Environmental Factors on Site Selection Augment Breeding Success in Honey Bees: An Insight of Honey Bee Genetic Resource Conservation.

Honey bee reproductive behavior involves a complicated mating system that embodies a number of factors, including environmental and human-induced factors. Controlled breeding in isolated mating stations is a prerequisite to maintain the genetic resources of honey bees through natural mating. The concept of controlled mating is a challenge in most beekeeping operations due to its low mating success rate. Therefore, a detailed investigation into the suitability of isolated mating stations is of interest. Thus, we bred two subspecies of honey bees (Apis cerana koreana and Apis mellifera L.) in isolated mating stations (island) from 2021 to 2023 and in an open breeding station in 2023. Our results demonstrate that the highest percentage of the mating success rate in isolated mating stations was recorded in the Wido Island, which had the highest percentage of bare land, coniferous forests, deciduous forests, fields, and mixed forests. The mating success rate was higher in the summer and spring for A. cerana and A. mellifera, respectively. The mating success rate was higher in open mating compared to controlled mating (Island) and did not vary between pure-breeding and cross-breeding lines. Our findings suggested that mating stations with mixed forest and fields are potential sites for the successful breeding of honey bees.

The Potential of Instrumental Insemination for Sustainable Honeybee Breeding.

Mating control is crucial in honeybee breeding and commonly guaranteed by bringing virgin queens to isolated mating stations (IMS) for their nuptial flights. However, most breeding programs struggle to provide sufficiently many IMS. Research institutions routinely perform instrumental insemination of honeybees, but its potential to substitute IMS in breeding programs has not been sufficiently studied. We performed stochastic simulations to compare instrumental insemination strategies and mating on IMS in terms of genetic progress and inbreeding development. We focused on the role of paternal generation intervals, which can be shortened to two years with instrumental insemination in comparison to three years when using IMS. After 70 years, instrumental insemination yielded up to 42% higher genetic gain than IMS strategies-particularly with few available mating sites. Inbreeding rates with instrumental insemination and IMS were comparable. When the paternal generation interval in instrumental insemination was stretched to three years, the number of drone producers required for sustainable breeding was reduced substantially. In contrast, when shortening the interval to two years, it yielded the highest generational inbreeding rates (up to 2.28%). Overall, instrumental insemination with drones from a single colony appears as a viable strategy for honeybee breeding and a promising alternative to IMS.

Remote Honey Bee Breeding Center in the Wido Island, the Republic of Korea

Queens of the honey bees (Apis mellifera and Apis cerana) are extremely polyandry and controlling their mating partners can be possible by having remote isolated mating stations (case study of the Wido Island in the Republic of Korea). This Island is some 14.6 ㎞ from the mainland, lacks indigenous honey bees, has an average size of about 11.72 ㎢, and suitable weather conditions for breeding during the months of May to September excluding the rainy month (July). It is an ideal position for mating of high-quality virgin queen bees with selected drones. Methods of the rearing virgin queen bees are presented and described on the numbers of pure bred colonies of honey bees. In summer 2021, 30 queen cells of Apis cerana were reared in the island while 25 cages of nuclei hives with honey bees and six drone populations of about 9,000 drones were shipped to the island for three mating sessions. Colonies were returned to the mainland three weeks after mating. Mating success was about 79% per mating session. The one-week interval between mating sessions was used to clean the island environment from aging drones. This information is vitally important to manage the controlled mating centers on remote islands because the Republic of Cameroon and Korea have islands that can be used by beekeepers as mating stations for breeding of the selected lines of honey bees.

Influence of model selection and data structure on the estimation of genetic parameters in honeybee populations.

Estimating genetic parameters of quantitative traits is a prerequisite for animal breeding. In honeybees, the genetic variance separates into queen and worker effects. However, under data paucity, parameter estimations that account for this peculiarity often yield implausible results. Consequently, simplified models that attribute all genetic contributions to either the queen (queen model) or the workers (worker model) are often used to estimate variance components in honeybees. However, the causes for estimations with the complete model (colony model) to fail and the consequences of simplified models for variance estimates are little understood. We newly developed the necessary theory to compare parameter estimates that were achieved by the colony model with those of the queen and worker models. Furthermore, we performed computer simulations to quantify the influence of model choice, estimation algorithm, true genetic parameters, rates of controlled mating, apiary sizes, and phenotype data completeness on the success of genetic parameter estimations. We found that successful estimations with the colony model were only possible if at least some of the queens mated controlled on mating stations. In that case, estimates were largely unbiased if more than 20% of the colonies had phenotype records. The simplified queen and worker models proved more stable and yielded plausible parameter estimates for almost all settings. Results obtained from these models were unbiased when mating was uncontrolled, but with controlled mating, the simplified models consistently overestimated heritabilities. This study elucidates the requirements for variance component estimation in honeybees and provides the theoretical groundwork for simplified honeybee models.

Simulation studies to optimize genomic selection in honey bees

BackgroundWith the completion of a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) chip for honey bees, the technical basis of genomic selection is laid. However, for its application in practice, methods to estimate genomic breeding values need to be adapted to the specificities of the genetics and breeding infrastructure of this species. Drone-producing queens (DPQ) are used for mating control, and usually, they head non-phenotyped colonies that will be placed on mating stations. Breeding queens (BQ) head colonies that are intended to be phenotyped and used to produce new queens. Our aim was to evaluate different breeding program designs for the initiation of genomic selection in honey bees.MethodsStochastic simulations were conducted to evaluate the quality of the estimated breeding values. We developed a variation of the genomic relationship matrix to include genotypes of DPQ and tested different sizes of the reference population. The results were used to estimate genetic gain in the initial selection cycle of a genomic breeding program. This program was run over six years, and different numbers of genotyped queens per year were considered. Resources could be allocated to increase the reference population, or to perform genomic preselection of BQ and/or DPQ.ResultsIncluding the genotypes of 5000 phenotyped BQ increased the accuracy of predictions of breeding values by up to 173%, depending on the size of the reference population and the trait considered. To initiate a breeding program, genotyping a minimum number of 1000 queens per year is required. In this case, genetic gain was highest when genomic preselection of DPQ was coupled with the genotyping of 10–20% of the phenotyped BQ. For maximum genetic gain per used genotype, more than 2500 genotyped queens per year and preselection of all BQ and DPQ are required.ConclusionsThis study shows that the first priority in a breeding program is to genotype phenotyped BQ to obtain a sufficiently large reference population, which allows successful genomic preselection of queens. To maximize genetic gain, DPQ should be preselected, and their genotypes included in the genomic relationship matrix. We suggest, that the developed methods for genomic prediction are suitable for implementation in genomic honey bee breeding programs.

The Italian National Beekeeping Registry (BDNA) as a Tool to Identify Areas Suitable for Controlled Mating of Honey Bees in Italy

Honey bee mating is difficult to control as it occurs in flight, several kilometers away from the hive of origin of both queens and drones. In recent years, there has been an increase in the introduction into Italy of queen bees and swarms originating from interracial crossings (especially those known as “Buckfast”), or belonging to non-native subspecies. Consequently, there is a strong need to establish areas suitable for controlled mating. The Italian national beekeeping registry (BDNA) has been recently set up to monitor the position of apiaries and movement of hives, with the purpose of economic and sanitary protection and improvement of bee heritage and food safety. The BDNA was, thus, deemed a suitable tool to explore the availability of areas that could be used as mating stations. Specific criteria, such as not be classified as wetlands, altitude below 1500 m a.s.l., distance of at least 6000 m from an apiary, and distance of at least 1500 m from the national terrestrial border, were selected for defining the mating stations. Furthermore, all the remaining Italian national territory was considered suitable for settlement of mating stations, including towns, industrial settlements, and roads. Based on these criteria, the following methodological framework was applied: (1) collection of the required data (i.e., apiaries coordinates, geospatial data on soil classification, geospatial data on terrain altitude, Italian boundary geospatial data); (2) calculation for the excluded areas according with the criteria listed above; (3) calculation of the mating areas by means of the difference between the entire Italian territory and the excluded areas. The database of BDNA was used to identify them. Appropriate databases and software were used to exclude the areas of the Italian national territory that did not fulfill the established criteria. In this paper, we report the procedure applied to identify on maps the areas suitable for controlled mating of queen bees in the Italian national territory based on data currently available in the BDNA.

The erroneous courtship hypothesis: do insects really engage in aerial wars of attrition?

Males of various flying insects perform conspicuous aerial interactions around their mating stations. The broadly accepted interpretation of their aerial interaction is a war of attrition, where two contestants perform costly displays, and the one that reaches its cost threshold earlier gives up. The implicit but important requirement in this model is that some forces that match the intensity of display of the two contestants are necessary, and failure to enforce matching allows foul contestants that delay or stop their display to avoid paying contest costs. In addition, wars of attrition require flying insects to distinguish the sex of flying conspecifics because their aerial interactions begin when intruders fly into the territory. We investigated past research on the behaviour of odonates and butterflies aiming to clarify whether the two prerequisites of wars of attrition are fulfilled: (1) contestants can inflict substantial costs on nondisplaying opponents and (2) contestants can discriminate the sex of flying conspecifics. In odonates, we found an abundance of evidence suggesting that contests involve physical attack and that the ability of sexual discrimination is sufficient. Therefore, wars of attrition may occur in territorial odonates. In butterflies, however, we could not find any evidence that the two prerequisites are filled. The aerial interactions of butterflies are better interpreted as courtship between sexually active males (the erroneous courtship hypothesis). Based on these results, we discuss future directions of research on the aerial contests of flying insects.

Estimating introgression in Apis mellifera siciliana populations: are the conservation islands really effective?

Abstract Apis mellifera siciliana is a honey bee subspecies prone to be conserved. Conservation measures include maintaining colonies on different islands to serve as parental lines for outcrossing. Molecular diversity and genetic structure of honey bees from Sicily (main island) and Vulcano and Filicudi (conservation islands) were analysed with mitochondrial and microsatellite markers to assess the efficacy of the ongoing conservation effort. Samples from continental Italy and Sardinia island were included for comparison. All the samples of the conservation islands were included in the African (A) evolutionary lineage, while western and northern (M) and eastern (C) European evolutionary lineages were also detected in colonies from the main island (17.1% and 22% respectively), thus highlighting introgression at the mitochondrial level. Nuclear data from conservation and main island populations were compared to evaluate the proportion of admixed honey bees. A higher level of hybridization was found in the central and eastern areas of Sicily main island. Our data describe the efficacy of the conservation islands, and suggest where and how to manage mating stations to further improve the present conservation strategy by recovering additional residual genetic variability of A. m. siciliana. We also propose the establishment of a European network of conservation islands to preserve honey bee subspecies and to implement research studies of adaptation to peculiar climatic conditions.

Efeitos ambientais sobre características reprodutivas em ovinos Santa Inês

O objetivo com esta pesquisa foi estudar efeitos ambientais sobre a prolificidade e a taxa de desmame em ovinos Santa Inês, por meio de modelos lineares generalizados. Foram utilizados dados do rebanho experimental de ovinos da raça Santa Inês, da Universidade Federal do Piauí, Campus Universitário Professora Cinobelina Elvas, em Bom Jesus-PI, no período de 2008 a 2010. Os efeitos ambientais estudados foram: ano de cobertura, Período de cobertura, Período de nascimento, tipo de nascimento, sexo da cria, idade da mãe ao parto, peso da mãe ao parto e peso ao nascer como covariável. Para análise estatística foi utilizado o procedimento GENMOD contido no programa SAS. Os valores médios de prolificidade e taxa de desmame foram respectivamente 1,36 e 68,18%. O efeito do peso da mãe ao parto foi significativo sobre a prolificidade. Observou-se efeito significativo de Período de nascimento sobre a taxa de desmame. As correlações entre características produtivas e reprodutivas variaram de negativas a positivas de baixa magnitude. Os efeitos de peso da mãe ao parto e peso ao nascer mostraram-se importantes fontes de variação para prolificidade e taxa de desmame, o que reflete a necessidade de considerar estes efeitos em modelos de avaliação genética e fenotípica.

Genetic Evaluation of a Novel System for Controlled Mating of the Honeybee, Apis mellifera

Many apiculturally important traits of the honeybee have medium to high heritabilities and are therefore capable of strong response to selection. However, the natural mating system of honeybees makes it difficult to exclude unselected males from matings and necessitates expensive procedures like artificial insemination or isolated mating stations. By manipulating ambient light and temperature, an Australian queen breeder has developed a novel system that delays the flight time of selected queens and drones. To assess the efficacy of this "Horner system," drones and their assumed worker offspring were genotyped using microsatellite loci to test whether the workers were exclusively sired by the selected drones. The Horner system was found to provide at least 85% control of matings, equivalent to a 48% increase in the selection differential, when queens and drones are selected in a breeding program.

Design of a village breeding programme for a llama population in the High Andes of Bolivia

No national breeding programme for llamas is in place in Bolivia. Initiatives for genetic improvement are rarely found and are usually carried out by NGOs working in rural development or improvement of livestock production or research stations. Farmers in the Province of Ayopaya in the District of Cochabamba have formed a breeders' organization with the aim of improving fibre production. In this study, a detailed outline of a breeding programme with a focus on organizational and technical details is described. Facing constraints like illiteracy of farmers, bad infrastructure and lack of finances, a simple breeding programme is set up. The breeding goal is a higher fleece weight while keeping the fleece quality at the current high level. Greasy fleece weight and fibre diameter are identified as main selection criteria. Mass selection of males is carried out. Selected males are either exchanged between farmers and used in the herds or are kept during the mating season in a central mating station owned by the breeders' organization. Model calculations were carried out with the program zplan, which is based on a deterministic approach. zplan evaluates the genetic and economic efficiency of breeding strategies considering one cycle of selection. Scenarios with only intra-herd use, using only the central mating station or combinations of those were compared in terms of expected genetic gain and expected increase of inbreeding. Fastest genetic progress is achieved when the males are kept in a central mating station as the selection intensity is on a high level. Rates of inbreeding vary between 0.08 and 0.32% per generation.

Testing of the isolation of the Rog-Ponikve mating station for Carniolan (Apis mellifera carnica) honey bee queens.

Testing of the isolation of the Rog-Ponikve mating station for Carniolan (Apis mellifera carnica) honey bee queens.

Testing of the isolation of the Rog-Ponikve mating station for Carniolan (Apis mellifera carnica) honey bee queens

SummaryMating nuclei populated with virgin queens and worker bees were sited at three mating stations in order to test and compare their isolation from drones. After 22 days, the nuclei were examined for the presence of brood, the spermatozoa stored in the queens' spermathecae were counted, and the bodies and ovaries of the queens were weighed. The queens and 10 worker bees from each nucleus were also examined for Nosema spores. No queen produced brood at the Rog-Ponikve station, whilst 50% and 81% queens produced brood at the ČremoČnJice and Semic stations, respectively. Spermathecae of queens from Rog-Ponikve station did not contain sperm. The average body weight of the queens from Rog-Ponikve, ČremošnJice and SemiČ, were 169.25, 200.25 and 203.61 mg, respectively and their average ovary weights were 21.00, 51.57 and 57.31 mg, respectively. Thus egg laying queens from the ČremošnJice and SemiČ mating stations were 1.2 × heavier and their ovaries were 2.7 and 2.4 × heavier respectively, than those of the non ovipositing queens from the Rog-Ponikve station (P<0.001). No significant differences were found in the average number of Nosema spores (P>0.05) in the worker bees from the 3 stations and no spores were detected in any of the queens. The experiment showed that the Rog-Ponikve mating station has a secure level of drone isolation. The importance of testing the isolation of mating stations is discussed in this study.

Application of synthetic sex pheromone for management of diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella, in cabbage

AbstractOver a 2‐year period field trials were conducted to assess the potential to disrupt mating ofPlutella xylostella (L.) using a commercial rope formulation of a 70:30 mixture of (Z)‐11‐hexadecenal and (Z)‐11‐hexadecenyl acetate, two components of the sex pheromone of the female. Screened field cages were placed into blocks of cabbage which were either treated with the pheromone or left untreated. Different densities of P. xylostella pupae were placed into each cage and then larval and pupal counts were made of the subsequent generation. In addition, sentinel females at mating stations were placed in each cage to assess the influence of the pheromone on the ability of males to locate and mate with females. Likewise, we used pheromone traps to assess whether the pheromone treatment influenced the ability of males to locate a pheromone source. In both years larval and pupal populations, produced as a result of the original inoculation, did not differ between pheromone‐treated and untreated fields. The effect of pheromone treatment on larval and pupal numbers did not change with changes in inoculated P. xylostella density, however, the density of P. xylostella released caused significant differences in the density of the subsequent generation. No significant differences were detected between the number of sentinel female adult P. xylostella that successfully mated in pheromone‐treated fields compared with untreated fields. Significant differences in the numbers of male P. xylostella caught in pheromone‐baited traps occurred between pheromone‐treated and untreated fields in the first trial of 1993, and in the first trial in 1994 but not in the second trial. Such differences are often thought of as indications of mating disruption, although our other data presented in this study and reports from other studies indicate this is not always the case. Previous studies on mating disruption of P. xylostella in larger scale field tests have been performed but the results have been variable and often ambiguous. Overall, our results indicate that mating disruption of P. xylostella with the present technology does not appear to work even under the very controlled situations which we utilized to eliminate insect movement between plots.

Age-Specific Mating Activities of Mexican Rice Borers (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

Occurrence, timing within the scotophase, and duration of mating, as well as timing within the scotophase of calling by females, were observed in the laboratory for pairs of all age combinations of 0- to 5-d-old male and female Eoreuma loftini (Dyar). Also, occurrence of mating of 1- to 5-d-old E. loftini females was examined on mating stations in commercial sugarcane ( Saccharum spp.). Percentage of mating moths in the laboratory ranged from 67.3 (4 d old) to 78.7% (1 d old) for females and from 56 (0 d old) to 81.3% (5 d old) for males. Occurrence of mating generally increased with male age. Mating was least likely to occur when one sex was very old and the other very young. Females called earlier, and both sexes mated earlier as age increased. Duration of mating also was influenced by age of either sex, but these differences were small relative to the mean total duration of mating. Differences in female age seldom resulted in large differences in occurrence of mating on mating stations, but when differences occurred, younger females were more often mated than older females. Changes in temporal patterns of sexual response and receptivity of males and females, respectively, probably caused the observed effects of age on mating occurrence.

The limitations of biometric control on pure race breeding inApis mellifera

SUMMARYGerman bee breeders have tried to replace the autochthonous honey bee population Apis mellifera mellifera with A. m. carnica, a SE European race of honey bee, for more than 40 years. The latter race is believed to be more adapted to bee management. In a biometrical study of the honey bee population in lower Bavaria, samples of at least 20 workers per colony were taken from 91 apiaries in autumn 1990. The wing venation patterns of the bees were analysed using multivariate discriminant analysis, and the results were compared with those for 6 samples of A. m. carnica used for commercial breeding from Kirchhain and 7 samples of preserved A. m. mellifera from Erlangen and Kulmbach dating back to 1911. The data indicate that, in spite of tremendous breeding efforts, the bees of this area form a hybrid type between A. m. carnica and A. m. mellifera. Although land-based mating stations have thus failed to produce pure racial types in this area, it is considered that such stations are of value to practical ...

Non-resource based territoriality in males of the butterflyXamia xami (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)

In the Pedregal de San Angel reserve, in Mexico City, males of the butterfly Xamia xamiperch in and defend areas with well-defined topographic limits. These areas lack concentrations of receptive females and of larvae and adult resources. One individual defends the same territory an average of 5 h/day, up to a maximum of 23 days. The same areas are used as territories by different males during the year. These areas share some characteristic features which are described. Evidence is presented in support of the hypothesis that the territories function as mating stations. A possible scenario for the evolution of this territorial mating system is advanced.

Brood Survival in Productive Bee Apiaries in Australia as a Test for Breeding Honeybees in Closed Populations

SummaryBrood survival in 51 bee colonies was investigated. Of those, 15 were in an apiary where bee breeding was not practised and the queens mated at the apiary; 20 had queens mated in the mating stations of 4 professional queen breeders; 16 had queens that were each instrumentally inseminated with semen from 1 drone only. About 7% of larvae disappeared from the combs during the first developmental stages through factors other than ones related to sex alleles. The overall survival rate in colonies with queens mated naturally was about 85%, whether the queens were mated in the apiary or in mating stations. Thus the brood survival permitted by the sex alleles was 92%, which indicates the presence of about 12 sex alleles in the populations. Thus a bee breeding system that expects the sex alleles to allow 85% brood survival is acceptable, although in practice, it may not appear to be so because the overall survival is only 78%.

Pink Bollworm (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae): Field Testing a New Polyethylene Tube Dispenser for Gossyplure1

Gossyplure, a sex attractant for the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), was applied by hand on 5 June to 2-ha cotton, Gossypium hirsutum L., fields using a polyethylene tube dispenser. Three doses were tested: 64.4 g (AI)/ha in one application (=894 dispensers/ha), and totals of 66.9, or 31.2 g (AI)/ha divided into three applications of 22.3 or 10.4 g each, respectively, on a 31-day schedule. In addition, untreated and insecticide-treated blocks of cotton were included for comparison. Trap catches in gossyplure-treated fields averaged <1 moth per trap per night until 13 August, an average reduction in catch of 94–98% compared to untreated and insecticide-treated cotton. The field treated with three applications of 10.4 g each had a significantly greater number of larvae per ha in blooms than the other test fields during the 27 June–20 July observation period. Fields treated with 64.3 g, or three applications of 22.3 g each, had significantly lower boll infestations than the field treated with three applications of 10.4 g each or the untreated field in 6 and 13 August samples. Populations of pink bollworm were not detected in the insecticide-treated field until late August. Females in mating stations in gossypluretreated fields remained unmated through mid-August tests. Mating occurred in untreated and insecticide-treated fields on six of seven test dates. Tests of tube dispensers collected from fields during the test period indicated a half-life of ca. 58 days and a gossyplure emission rate of 1.03 mg/day and 0.35 mg/day for the first and last 10 days of that period.

TErritorial defence and mating success in males of the small heath butterfly, coenonympha pamphilus L. (Lepidoptera: Satyridae)

It has long been recognized that territorial defence in male butterflies must be some sort of mating strategy and that the territories are used as mating stations. However, so far, no systematic study has established the adaptive significance of territorial behaviour. This study is an attempt to fill this gap. By comparing the distribution of territories with the distribution of locations where wild and released virgin females mated this study shows that, in the small heath butterfly ( Coenonympha pamphilus), males in territories have higher mating success than males outside territories. This supported the hypotheses that the function of territorial behaviour is to secure more matings and that the territories are mating stations. Wing length measurements suggest the same. Large males residing in territories tended to mate more often than small males, which were usually found outside territories. Since resident males were larger than non-resident males, this size difference was used to see how territorial occupancy influenced longevity. Mark-recapture of measured males revealed no significant correlation between wing length and the further life expectancy of males, strongly suggesting that the mating success of males in territories is also higher when measured over their whole lifetime.