Amount Of Brood Research Articles

Brood Rearing in Honeybee Colonies from Late Autumn to Early Spring

SummaryFrom November to March in three consecutive winters, experimental colonies of honeybees were killed; eggs, larvae and pupae in them were counted, and adult bees were weighed. The average number of adult bees declined steadily from 20 800 in November to 12 000 in March. The amount of brood in the colonies was small prior to the winter solstice, but increased rapidly afterwards. It is believed that the brood-rearing cycle in the honeybee is controlled, at any rate in part, by changes in daylength.

The effect of diet on queen rearing by caged worker honeybees

Groups of 400, 5-day-old nurse bees were used to rear queens in cages in the laboratory; seven different diets were fed to the nurse bees. The development of the hypopharyngeal glands of the nurse bees, their queen-rearing ability, and the brood production of the queens that they reared were used to evaluate these diets. Diets of stored pollen fortified with amino acids or vitamins, and of fresh pollen had similar effects on the development of the hypopharyngeal glands. The hypopharyngeal glands of nurse bees fed pollen substitute, pollen supplement, or stored pollen degenerated with age, and queen rearing by these groups was low. Queens reared by nurse bees fed stored pollen with amino acids or vitamins produced large amounts of brood, but significantly less than those queens reared by bees fed diets with fresh pollen.

Seasonal Development of Honeybee Colonies Started From Package Bees

SummaryNumbers of eggs, larvae, sealed cells, and adult workers and drones, were recorded on three dates during the active season in colonies begun with package bees. Ratios of brood to adults decreased throughout the season, and at peak nectar flow the ratio was estimated to be 0·8: 1 to 1: 1; the adult population at this time was 30 000–35 000 bees. Preliminary data indicate that proportionately fewer bees were foraging from colonies in late June than in late August, when adult numbers were higher and the amounts of brood less.

Some Effects of Pollen Traps on Colonies of Honeybees

SummaryPollen traps did not produce drastic effects upon colonies of honeybees. The only measurable significant differences between trapped and control colonies were that slightly less honey and pollen were stored in June, and that there was a reduction in the numbers of adults in August. In addition, relatively fewer of the treated colonies survived into the following spring. The traps had apparently no significant effect upon the amount of brood reared at any time, nor did they affect the quantity of honey in store at the end of the season.

The Use of Uniform Honeybee Colonies to Evaluate Supplementary Test Rations for the Stimulation of Brood Rearing

SummaryColonies made up of 1·4 kg worker bees and a queen of known age were used to evaluate 4 protein rations and sugar syrup for stimulation of brood rearing; 100 of the 120 colonies had queens of known genetic constitution. A significant difference existed between the brood production on colonies fed one of the protein rations (3 forms of Wheast and 1 of mixed proteins) and colonies not so supplied. The most effective ration for stimulating brood rearing was Wheast in pellet form. Colonies with a queen of unknown genetic constitution, not bred or selected for high egg production, produced a similar amount of brood to colonies with a queen of known genetic constitution and reportedly bred for high egg production.

Ovicidal and Larvicidal Effects of Certain Herbicides on Honey Bees 1 , 2 , 3

The herbicides 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, silvex, 2,4-DB, dicamba, 2,3,6-TBA, picloram, chloramben, dalapon, and EPTC were fed in 60% sucrose-water solution to Apis mellifera L. colonies to determine their effects on brood production. Picloram, 2,3,6- TBA, and dicamba had no adverse effects on brood development at a concentration of 1000 parts per million active ingredient by weight (ppmw). Chloramben and dalapon caused reduction in brood development and 2,4-D, 2,4,5-T, silvex, 2,4-DB, and EPTC severely reduced or eliminated brood production at this concentration. Both ester and salt formulations of the phenoxy herbicides prevented brood development. The phenoxy herbicides, when fed at concentrations of 10 ppmw, caused no adverse effect on brood development but reduced amount of brood when fed at concentrations of 100 ppmw. The eggs did not hatch in colonies fed the higher levels of phenoxy herbicides. The adverse effects of phenoxy herbicides on brood development were temporary and once the herbicide was removed brood development was resumed.

The effect of air or surface mailing of queen bees on subsequent breeding, honey production, and queen supersedure

Abstract There is some evidence that the transport of queens by air or surface mail may considerably increase their supersedure rate for the first year. Neither honey production nor the amount of brood produced was affected.

Brood Measurement as a Valid Index to the Value of Honey Bees1 as Pollinators

The yield of pollen during a 20-day period was determined for 170 colonies of Apis mellifera L., and their brood was measured at the end of the period. The yield was found to be closely correlated with the amount of brood (r≍0.598). Maximum pollen yields were obtained from colonies with approximately 800 square inches of brood (sealed and unsealed). Colonies with more than this level of brood gathered no more pollen, while those below this level gathered significantly less pollen. It is concluded that brood area is a good index to the potential pollinating value of a colony. Brood measurement is a sound basis for grading colonies for use in pollination service.

The Production of Queen Cups and Queen Cells in Relation to the General Development of Honeybee Colonies, and its Connection with Swarming and Supersedure

SUMMARYThe production of queen cups, queen cells, worker brood and drone brood in a total of 81 colonies was recorded regularly throughout four summers. All these processes are shown to occur in annual cycles whose peaks were approximately synchronized. All colonies produced queen cups at some time during the summer, and the great majority of colonies possessed them by the end of June. The number of queen cups varied considerably in different colonies but tended to fluctuate with the amount of brood during the season. About half the total number of colonies produced occupied queen cells, but queen rearing was abortive in more than half of these colonies. Many queen cells and some virgin queens were destroyed by the bees. Of 25 colonies with sealed queen cells, 19 replaced their queens, 16 superseding and 3 swarming, and there was some evidence that older queens were more likely to be replaced than younger ones. No queen rearing took place in colonies with queens of the current year. No significant relationship was found between queen rearing and amounts of brood, although colonies with larger amounts of brood in May showed indications of an increased tendency to produce queen cells subsequently. Most supersedure was found to occur during the swarming season.

The Effect of Mandibular Gland Extirpation on the Longevity and Attractiveness to Workers of Queen Honey Bees, Apis mellifera

The mandibular glands were extirpated from 6 of 12 mated, sister queen honey bees, 1 month old. Two of the modified and five of the untreated queens survived after being held for about 11 months in otherwise normal colonies. The modified queens were almost completely unattractive to worker bees at the end of the experiment. The brood quantity and quality in the colonies headed by modified queens was not very dissimilar from those found in the check colonies.

A Shaped Wire Grid for Estimating Quantities of Brood and Pollen in Combs

(1958). A Shaped Wire Grid for Estimating Quantities of Brood and Pollen in Combs. Bee World: Vol. 39, No. 5, pp. 115-118.

THE INFLUENCE OF STORED POLLEN AND OF COLONY SIZE ON THE BROOD REARING OF HONEYBEES

Four hundred and thirty records of the numbers of bees in honeybee colonies and of the amounts of brood and pollen present have been kept during various months of the years 1945‐53, and the data have been used to calculate total and partial regression coefficients showing the influence of stored pollen and of colony size on brood rearing throughout the year.It was found that pollen storage and colony size were correlated but that, even allowing for this, colony size and pollen both independently influenced brood rearing.The annual distribution of the total regression coefficients of brood on pollen was somewhat similar to the brood curve itself, rising from a minimum in October and November to a maximum in midsummer, while the partial regression coefficients showed less clearly marked but similar features.Both total and partial regression coefficients showing the influence of colony size on the amount of brood reared were also at a minimum in October and November, but reached their peaks in May.The quantities of brood present in these colonies at Aberdeen, Scotland, followed a pattern similar to that given by Nolan for colonies near Washington, D.C.

北海道産春ニシン<i>Clupea pallasii</i> C. et V. の全長の経年変化

The secular variation of the total length of spring herring in the western coast of Hokkaido was studied concerning the year classes from 1907 to '47 by using the moving average by 5 years. In regard to the growth of the fish, same tendency was seen in each age class in each year. The growth rate of fish was large before 1915, small 1916 to '29, large 1930 to '34, small 1935 to '39 and large after 1940. Especially, in recent years it was remarkably large. It can be considered that the brood amount gives influence to the growth rate of the fish. That is, the smaller the brood amount is, the more the fish grows and vice versa.

Brood-Rearing in Relation to Worker Number in the Ant Myrmica

winter into a characteristic quantitative as well as qualitative composition. The number of final-instar larvae was roughly proportional to the number of workers, and larvae were bigger when workers were relatively numerous. Evidence was thus provided in support of the hypothesis that the growth of the worker population was autocatalytic, the numbers at any time playing a large part in determining the amount of growing juvenile replacement material. To understand how this regulation is achieved would necessitate full analysis of the social processes involved, but as a first step it is clearly desirable to discover by experiment how worker group size affects brood growth in general, and it is with this that the present paper is concerned. The results of the culture of fixed quantities of brood (starting either as eggs or as larvae) by variable numbers of workers are presented. In addition to this preliminary analysis of the social regulatory mechanism, some light has been thrown on the question of the social conditions relating to the production of queens and workers. Wesson (1940) has shown, using species of the Myrmecine ant Leptothorax, that, after hibernation, amply fed cultures

Rhythms in the Breeding Behaviour of the European Wren

Two nesting cycles of the European Wren Troglodytes t. troglodytes were studied by means of recording apparatus at the nest augmented by direct observation. Data were obtained concerning nest-building and -lining, egg-laying, incubation, feeding nestlings and roosting. The first incubation probably began in the afternoon. In both nestings under-brooding was compensated for by an unusually long session after an unusually long recess. The relationship between the hourly amount of brooding and temperature is represented by a curvilinear regression from a maximum of about 75 % around 40° F. With rising temperature recesses tend to increase in length and sessions to decrease. The average session-plus-recess, defined as the incubation-cycle span, was found to remain constant, independently of environmental conditions, within certain restricted limits of diurnal variation. This span differs for different individuals. During the first brood Wrens frequently settle on the eggs well before sunset but after the hatch the length of the working day increases slightly in the morning and considerably in the evening. During the incubation period in 1952 the male apparently visited the nest on several days between 08.00 and 12.00. Hatching of all the eggs in one nest took about 21 hours. In 1951 the male went to the nest several times with food on the day of the hatch but did not give it to the nestlings. He fed the first-brood chicks only during the second week of the nestling period. In 1952 the male never fed the nestlings of the first brood. Regular interruptions in the day to day increase in the frequency of visits during the nestling period may have been due to physiological strain. Daily trips with food for the nestlings showed approximately 5-hourly peaks of activity in 1951 and 4-hourly peaks in 1952. Probably these represent an endogenous rhythm. A diurnal decline in tempo with a ratio of about 3 : 2 was noted in the number of sorties by one incubating female and in the foraging sorties of both females during the latter part of the nestling period. The evidence suggests another endogenous rhythm. During the early phase of the nestling period, activities showed a major morning and minor evening peak, but later this effect almost disappeared. Brooding of the young decreased by 6%-8 % daily. At one of the nests the male helped increasingly to feed the chicks as the female's efforts decreased but reduced his efforts as hers increased. This inverse relationship suggests that the importunity of the nestlings is of importance in regulating the amount of food brought to the nest. In polygynous birds, such as the European Wren, the male may act as a reserve available to forage for the young in adverse circumstances. Polygyny in the Wren is integrated with other adaptations including multiple nest-building and persistent song. It implies family-size adequate to maintain the race but not too large to be beyond the capacity of the female to feed. One of the nests was visited by the female on a number of occasions after the young fledged. The fledglings roosted in the disused nests of other species.

北海道鰊資源の研究

If we examine the relation between the Solar-index (related to number of Sun-Spots) and the amount of brood of the herring, calculated by the age composition, it is found that during 1907 ?? 1927 they varied together, but that after 1927, this parallelism was not so obvious. Further, if we take the yearly catch of 1870 ?? 1906 (of which we have no date on age composition) into account, we see that the calculated amount of brood is poor in every third of the periods of Sun-Spots.

Numerical Data on African Birds' Behaviour at the Nest: Hirundo s. smithii Leach, the Wire‐tailed Swallow

Summary.The data, from three nests at Amani, are derived from a total of 500 hours of observations made in spells of five hours and upwards. The effect of rain on the parent birds' activity is given in detail; rain much heavier than 1 mm. per hour reduced feeding heavily, except when termites were on the wing.Brooding of eggs and young was done only by the females; their mates helped to bring food, as a rule slightly less than half the total. Incubation period 14 days; fledging 18–21.The daily percentage of time the eggs were brooded varied from 43 to 66, with no tendency to rise at lower air‐temperatures or towards the end of the incubation periods. Frequency distribution curves are given of the duration of (a) individual spells on the eggs and (b) intervals when the eggs were left uncovered. About 70 per cent, of the spells “on” lasted 2–7 minutes and 70 per cent, of the intervals “off” 2–5 minutes. Few intervals uncovered exceeded 15 minutes and none 37. Corresponding data for the fledging period are tabulated. For the first three days the young in all the nests were brooded much as the eggs had been, but after that the amount of brooding varied greatly between the nests.After a slow rise, comparatively stable feeding rates were attained at each nest during the last week of fledging. Then the average number of feeds brought in 200 minutes varied between 75 and 97 for two young and between 49 and 65 for one. The latter, which received more meals, had the shorter fledging period. There was no well‐marked diurnal rhythm in the feeding activity except that it was usually least in the early morning. The frequency distribution of length of intervals between feeds, which naturally changed with the age of the young, is tabulated. Less than 1 per cent, of the intervals exceeded 30 minutes.

Production of Large Broods in Certain Marine Lamellibranchs with a Possible Relation to Weather Conditions

IN many species of animals it is only in certain years that there is a very large production of young, or at least of young which survive to form later, as a dominant year-group, a large proportion of the population. The problem of the underlying causes of these productive years is one of considerable economic importance. For example, it is now well known in fishes such as the haddock and the herring that successful broods are produced only at irregular interval5, and that such broods form the basis of the fishery for some years afterwards. So, too, with the small intertidal Lamellibranch Mollusc, Tellina tenuis, it is only in certain years that a successful spatfall occurs. Sampling of the population of this species in Kames Bay, Millport, begun in 1926, has been continued regularly. In that period there have only been four successful spatfalls, in the years 1926, 1930, 1933 and 1936 (Fig. 1). It was thought possible that alterations in the physical conditions of the environment might be the chief causes of these variations in the quantity of brood. Since the annual shift of the modes has been about the same, even in the years with very large broods, it may be assumed that the food supply has always been sufficient. The species being an intertidal one, the chief variable physical factors affecting the environment are temperature, sunshine and rainfall. This paper deals principally with the fluctuations of these factors from

A Two-Year Brood Curve for a Single Colony of Bees

The earlier work is briefly reviewed. Investigations were begun in 1920, weekly counts being made, but during 1921 and 1922 photographic records were taken, seasonal records for fifty-three colonies being now available. In the vicinity of Washington brood rearing shows three major phases:-1. an abrupt rise from the beginning in March to the maximum peak in May, 2. a pronounced summer decline extending from the maximum until early August and 3. a late summer secondary peak and subsequent autumn decline. The first is of great importance and the peak should be reached three weeks before the honey flow. The second phase or summer decline is dependent in its rate upon the amount of incoming nectar or pollen. The third or final phase shows the amount of brood which can be cared for in early spring and is the one which may spell success or failure for the first phase of the next year. There is a direct relation between nectar flow and brood rearing. Prolonged inclement weather may retard brood rearing in the spring, though this may be overcome by strong colonies. A strong colony tends to remain strong.