Number Of Queen Cells Research Articles

Quality of queen bees in different ways of their production

Timely replacement of queens is one of the main zootechnical methods for maintaining the vital activity of bee families, and searching for ways to improve their quality is an urgent problem. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the method of obtaining queen bees of Apis mellifera sossimai and Apis mellifera carpatica breeds on their reproductive functions and bee family productivity. To conduct research in the conditions of the apiary of honey-pollination area, three groups were established - control and two experimental, with nine bee colonies in each. In the first (control) group, uteruses were artificially removed from the nursery, in the second group - fistula uteri and the third – swarm uteri. The apiary was located at a point of 50×50 meters, bee families were kept in hives. According to the results of the study, it was established that the queen bee Apis mellifera carpatica was heavier than the queen bee Apis mellifera sossimai. The queen bees from the nursery are the smallest, and the swarm queen bees are slightly heavier than in other groups, although the difference was not statistically significant. Fistula queen bees produce the most eggs and provide the best brood quality. Fistula queen bees have better weight uniformity than swarm bees, which affects the productivity of families. Colonies with swarm queen bees are characterised by different levels of development, which complicates the maintenance of these families. The quality of queens is affected by the breeding method and the location of the queen cell in the honeycomb. The more queens the colony grows, the worse their quality. As it is complicated to establish optimal conditions in the nursery and the number of queen cells is large, this is the reason for the worst quality of queens. The results obtained are of practical importance for choosing a method of rearing queen bees of high quality to establish well-developed bee colonies

Using Temporally Resolved Floral Resource Maps to Explain Bumblebee Colony Performance in Agricultural Landscapes

Wild bumblebees are key pollinators of crops and wild plants that rely on the continuous availability of floral resources. A better understanding of the spatio-temporal availability and use of floral food resources may help to promote bumblebees and their pollination services in agricultural landscapes. We placed colonies of Bombus terrestris L. in 24 agricultural landscapes with various degrees of floral resource availability and assessed different parameters of colony growth and fitness. We estimated pollen availability during different periods of colony development based on detailed information of the bumblebee pollen diet and the spatial distribution of the visited plant species. Total pollen availability did not significantly explain colony growth or fitness. However, when using habitat maps, the weight gain of colonies, the number of queen cells, and colony survival decreased with increasing distance from the forest. The better explanation of bumblebee performance by forest proximity than by (plant-inferred) pollen availability indicates that other functions of forests than pollen provision were important. The conservation of forests next to agricultural land might help to sustain high populations of these important wild pollinators and enhance their crop pollination services. Combining different mapping approaches might help to further disentangle complex relationships between B. terrestris and their environment in agricultural landscapes.

Young Honeybee (Apis Mellifera Bandasii) Queens Perform Better than Old Ones

A productivity of queen bee depends on several factors. Queen age is one of the most important factors affecting queen’s, as well as colony performance. The study was conducted to determine the effects of queen ages on performances of honeybee ( Apis mellifera ) colonies. The queens were reared from local honeybee, Apis mellifera bandasii ( A. m. bandasii ); nuclei colonies were formed and then transferred to standard Langstroth hives when all the frames of the nuclei boxes were occupied with brood and adult bees. Performances of the colonies headed by the new queens were evaluated over three years. Brood area, number of queen cell cups started and swarm queen cells constructed, number of empty cells/100 cells/per colony (brood solidness) and honey yield per harvest were determined every active season for three consecutive years. Colonies headed by 1-, 2- and 3-year-old queens produced 4721.43 ± 511.85, 5523.08 ± 490.07 and 3433.82 ± 413.83 cm 2 sealed brood, and constructed 0.07 ± 0.07, 2.23 ± 0.52 and 9.90 ± 1.89 queen cell cups and swarm cells/colony with 1.86 ± 0.38, 2.40 ± 1.65 and 8.85 ± 2.52 empty cells/100 cells/per colony, respectively. Honey harvested from 1- and 3-year-old queen colonies averaged 13.34 ± 1.11 and 10.50 ± 2.04 kg/colony/harvest, respectively. The colonies headed by 1-, and 2-year-old queens had more brood areas, better brood solidity, less number of queen cells but no significant differences in honey production compared to colonies headed by 3-year-old queens. Our results indicate that queen age has a significant effect on colony performances, suggesting that requeening every three years is adequate for our local honeybee colonies. Keywords : Apis mellifera , Queen age, Brood rearing, Swarm queen cells, Queen cell cups DOI: 10.7176/JBAH/10-13-05 Publication date: July 31 st 2020

Young Honeybee (<i>Apis mellifera bandasii</i>) Queens Perform Better than Old Ones

A productivity of queen bee depends on several factors. Queen age is one of the most important factors affecting queen’s, as well as colony performance. The study was conducted to determine the effects of queen ages on performances of honeybee (Apis mellifera) colonies. The queens were reared from local honeybee, Apis mellifera bandasii (A. m. bandasii); nuclei colonies were formed and then transferred to standard Langstroth hives when all the frames of the nuclei boxes were occupied with brood and adult bees. Performances of the colonies headed by the new queens were evaluated over three years. Brood area, number of queen cell cups started and swarm queen cells constructed, number of empty cells/100 cells/per colony (brood solidness) and honey yield per harvest were determined every active season for three consecutive years. Colonies headed by 1-, 2- and 3-year-old queens produced 4721.43±511.85, 5523.08±490.07 and 3433.82±413.83 cm2 sealed brood, and constructed 0.07±0.07, 2.23±0.52 and 9.90±1.89 queen cell cups and swarm cells/colony with 1.86±0.38, 2.40±1.65 and 8.85±2.52 empty cells/100 cells/per colony, respectively. Honey harvested from 1- and 3-year-old queen colonies averaged 13.34±1.11 and 10.50±2.04 kg/colony/harvest, respectively. The colonies headed by 1-, and 2-year-old queens had more brood areas, better brood solidity, less number of queen cells but no significant differences in honey production compared to colonies headed by 3-year-old queens. Our results indicate that queen age has a significant effect on colony performances, suggesting that requeening every three years is adequate for our local honeybee colonies.

Nest and Colony Characteristics of Three Stingless Bee Species in Vietnam with the First Description of the Nest of Lisotrigona carpenteri (Hymenoptera: Apidae: Meliponini)

In tropical primary forest and its buffer zones in North Vietnam, nests of three stingless bee species were studied: Lisotrigona carpenteri Engel, Trigona (Tetragonula) laeviceps Smith and Trigona (Lepidotrigona) ventralis Smith. We record nest architecture, adult population, the number of brood cells, the presence of adult reproductives, the proportion of males in the brood, the number of queen cells and storage pots, and other features, on the basis of 35 field collected nests. Lisotrigona carpenteri and T. laeviceps arrange brood cells in clusters, T. ventralis, in horizontal combs surrounded by an involucrum of multiple lamellae. Lisotrigona carpenteri constructs its small nests (up to 400 adult bees) mainly in crevices in man-made structures while colonies of T. laeviceps (up to 1200 adults) and T. ventralis (up to 10,000 adults) are generally in cavities in living trees. The flexibility for using nest substrates other than living trees appears in these species related to colony size.

Events following queen removal in colonies of european-derived honey bee races (Apis mellifera)

The timing of queen rearing and swarming are described after queens were removed from colonies of European-derived honey bee races. Queen cell construction began within one day of queen loss, and 91 % of the queens which emerged were eggs at the time of queen loss. Queen cells were evenly distributed over the comb face, and 4 % of the brood reared as queens were moved from worker cells to queen cups. There was considerable variation in the number of queen cells which were viable, aborted, and unoccupied. Brood mortality was high following queen loss. Six of the eight study colonies swarmed following the emergence of a virgin queen. These results differ from previous studies of queen loss in tropically-evolved honey bees in the timing of new queen production and the frequency of queen-loss swarming and of brood movement by workers.

Events following queen removal in colonies of Africanized honeybees in South America

The timing of queen rearing and swarming are described after queens were removed from colonies of Africanized bees. New queens were reared from newly hatched to three day old worker larvae, many of which were moved in the egg or newly eclosed larval stages by workers into newly constructed queen cells. Mortality of worker eggs and larvae following dequeening was high, averaging 50%. When new queens emerged, swarms issued from two-thirds of the colonies. This process of queen replacement and queen-loss swarming differs from that of reproductive swarming in the lack of preparation before queen loss, longer queenless interval, lack of correlation between number of swarms and sealed brood area or number of queen cells, and lack of Congestion in colonies when swarms issued.

The Effect of Queen Mutilation on Queen Cell Construction in the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Colony

Butler (1954) showed that queen substance inhibits queen cell construction in the honey bee colony. Queen substance (9-oxodecenoic acid) is produced in the mandibular glands of the queen and has been identified and synthesized (Butler, Callow and Johnston, 1961). Queen substance will not inhibit queen cell construction completely but in the presence of queen scent (Butler, 1961) inhibition is complete. Gary and Morse (1960, 1962) showed that extirpation of the mandibular glands from a living queen would usually result in the construction of queen cells. The number of queen cells constructed was less than when the queen was removed from the colony. Simpson (1960) demonstrated that amputation of a queen's front legs likewise resulted in queen cell construction. He suggested that a queen's front legs might be used to distribute queen substance over her body, whence it is licked by worker bees, though the data did not prove that the front legs were so used.