Worker Brood Production Research Articles

Sustainable Beekeeping in North Sinai Region By Monitoring The Biological Activity and Productivity of Honeybee Colonies in Bir El-Abd and Sheikh Zowied Zones Comparing with El-Arish Province تربية النحل المستدامة في منطقة شمال سيناء من خلال رصد الانشطة البيولوجية والإنتاجية لطوائف نحل العسل فى منطقتى بئر العبد والشيخ زويد مقارنة بالعريش

The suitability of the three major provinces, (Bir El-Abd, El-Arish and Sheikh Zoweid) of north Sinai governorate for establishing and propagating of honeybee colonies was evaluated for two successive years, (2019& 2020). Colonies established in regions of Sheikh Zoweid and Bir El-Abd attained significant progression in all biological and productive evaluated activities than those presented at El-Arish. The rates or percentages of increase in the mean values of two combined years of different activities were 65.3 % & 48.7 % in worker brood production; 183.1 % & 136.8 % in drone brood production; 28.5 times & 8.3 times in queen cells construction; 54 % & 25.4 % in the number of adult worker population; 2.3 times & 1.2 times in the quantity of stored pollen and 4.5times & 4.3 times in honey production for colonies located at Shiekh Zoweid and Bir El-Abd, than El-Arish, respectively. Therefore, El- Shiekh Zoweid and Bir El-Abd to be considered more pronounce in the qualitative and quantitative of honeybee colonies than El-Arish province and could be included in the sustainable beekeeping programs in Egypt.

Organic farming positively affects honeybee colonies in a flower‐poor period in agricultural landscapes

Abstract Conventional farming has been implicated in global biodiversity and pollinator declines and organic farming is often regarded as a more ecological alternative. However, the effects of organic farming on honeybees remain elusive, despite honeybees’ importance as pollinators of crops and wild plants. Using 6 years of data from a large‐scale study with fortnightly measurements of honeybee colony performance traits (10 apiaries per year distributed across a 435 km2‐large research site in France), we related worker brood area, number of adult bees and honey reserves to the proportions of organic farmland in the surroundings of the hives at two spatial scales (300 m and 1,500 m). We found evidence that, at the local scale, organic farming increased both worker brood production and number of adult bees in the period of flower scarcity between the blooms of oilseed rape and sunflower (hereafter ‘dearth period’). At the landscape scale, organic farming increased honey reserves during the dearth period and at the beginning of the sunflower bloom. The results suggest that worker brood development benefitted from organic farming mostly through a more diverse diet due to an increase in the availability of diverse pollen sources in close proximity of their hives. Reduced pesticide drift may have additionally improved bee survival. Honey reserves were possibly mostly affected by increased availability of melliferous flowers in foraging distance. Synthesis and applications. Organic farming increases honeybee colony performance in a period of resource scarcity, likely through a continuous supply of floral resources including weeds, cover crops and semi‐natural elements. We demonstrate how worker brood area increases in the critical dearth period (between the blooms of oilseed rape and sunflower). This has previously been linked to winter colony survival, suggesting that organic farmland may mitigate repercussions of intensive farming on colony vitality. We conclude that organic farming benefits a crucial crop pollinator with potential positive implications for agriculture in the wider landscape.

The relationship between comb age and performance of honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies

A study on the relationship between the age of comb and the activity of the hybrid Carniolan honey bee colonies in collecting pollen activity, worker brood production, colony strength, and honey yield was conducted. In comparison to colonies with combs aged 4-years, colonies with combs aged 1, 2 and 3-years significantly exceeded in the number returning workers, number returning workers with pollen loads, rate of storing pollen, rate of worker brood production, and size of colony population. Colonies with combs aged 1, 2 and 3-years produced significantly more honey than colonies with combs aged 4-years (5.25, 4.90 and 4.65 kg/colony vs. 4.45 kg/colony, respectively). It can be concluded that the foraging rate, gathering and storing pollen, brood production, colony population size, and honey yield significantly depended on the age of combs. Beekeepers can replace old combs with new ones to increase brood and honey production.

STUDIES ON SOME HONEYBEE RACES (APIS MELLIFERA L.) IN EGYPT

The study was carried out to evaluate the efficiency of Carniolan; Italian and F1 Italian in the production of sealed brood (worker and drone), queen cells, stored pollen and honey production. Three peaks of worker brood production had happened during the whole year. The first, the second and the third peaks were in February, May and August, respectively. It was obvious that Italian race produced the lowest number of drone brood during the whole year. In contrast, Carniolan race was outstanding in drone brood production. February and May produced the largest area of drone brood in the three races during the whole year. Italian race was the inferior in queen cells production. Meanwhile, Carniolan race was superior. Conversely, insignificant differences among the three races in queen cells production were observed. Italian race was outstanding in stored pollen activity, contrary to F1 Italian hybrid which was the lowest races in production. As an illustration, insignificant differences between Italian and Carniolan races were noticed. It was obvious that Carniolan and Italian races produced the highest amounts of honey.

Cooperative colony foundation by termite female pairs: altruism for survivorship in incipient colonies

To determine the costs and benefits of queen association in termites we examined for the first time female–female interactions in colonies founded by two unmated females. In the termite Reticulitermes speratus, females that fail to pair with males found colonies cooperatively with partner females and reproduce by parthenogenesis. We analysed the relationship between queen dominance and initial size ranking in two-queen colonies from the viewpoint of first worker brood production and weight gain. To assign parentage to offspring of two-queen colonies we used mtDNA restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP); the results suggested that the two queens produced first worker brood equally throughout colony foundation. Furthermore, initially smaller females gained significantly more weight than initially larger females. This may have resulted from altruistic behaviour of the larger females towards the smaller ones. A simple mathematical model, which considered resource allocation and survivorship, could explain why the larger females behave altruistically towards the smaller females. We also examined the responses of females when more than two females were placed in a petri dish in the presence or absence of a male. If a partner male was present, only one female survived in the colony. In the absence of a partner male, two females, but never more than two, founded a colony cooperatively. These results show that females need a partner to found, and retain, a colony. Copyright 2002 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved .

Control of Solenopsis invicta (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) with Teflubenzuron

Teflubenzuron baits were active against laboratory colonies of the red imported fire ant, Solenopsis invicta Buren. Worker brood production ceased soon after treatment and by four weeks posttreatment, most colonies were devoid of brood. Worker ants did not exhibit any direct effects from treatment with teflubenzuron. As is typical with most insect growth regulators, colony mortality was slow and dependent on old-age attrition of the worker ants. A few (<25) female alates were produced in one of the laboratory colonies at 12 weeks posttreatment. The teflubenzuron baits reduced field colonies of S. invicta by 75-79% within 6 weeks after treatment, 83-86% within 13 weeks, and 77-91% within 17 weeks. At 17 weeks posttreatment, the presence of worker brood in the plots treated with the lower rates, 0.1125% and 0.0225%, gave evidence of recovery of some colonies. However, the results of the field tests indicate that teflubenzuron has excellent potential for control of field populations of S. invicta.

Spatial Distribution and Nesting Biology of Colonies of the African Honey Bee Apis mellifera scutellata (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Botswana, Africa

The spatial distribution and nesting biology were examined for naturally occurring colonies of the African honey bee race Apis mellifera scutellata (Lepeletier) in the Okavango River Delta, Botswana. Colonies had a density of 4.2/km 2 but exhibited considerable spatial clumping. Nest aggregations did not appear to result from short swarm dispersal distances, clumped resources or benefits derived from increased nest defense. Nests occurred predominantly in wooden cavities, particularly in abandoned woodpecker nests in dead palm trees. Nest cavities had a volume of =33 liters and south-facing, top-located entrances. Colonies constructed =6,000 cm 2 of comb, devoted the majority of comb area to worker brood production, stored relatively little food, and allocated =8% of comb area to drone rearing. A comparison of the A. m. scutellata colonies in the Okavango with neotropical African colonies throughout Central and South America revealed that the neotropical colonies were more likely to construct exposed comb nests and less likely to occupy wooden cavities. However, no differences were found between the Okavango and neotropical colonies in nest density, cavity volume, total comb area, or the proportions of comb devoted to worker brood production, food storage or drone rearing. Thus, the aspects of nesting biology examined appear to have remained largely unchanged from the ancestral African condition during the colonization of Central and South America.

Developmental patterns associated with founding and swarming in colonies of the African honey bee race, Apis mellifera scutellata Lepeletier

The developmental patterns of naturally occurring, recently founded colonies of the African honey bee race, Apis mellifera scutellata, were examined in the Okavango River Delta, Botswana. Colonies moved into the study area beginning in mid-June. During the first 3-4 months after founding, colonies devoted most comb area to worker brood production, reared few or no drones, emphasized pollen collection, yet stored little food. Reproductive swarming occurred in October-November, at which time brood production declined, and food storage and drone production increased. Thus, the developmental strategy of newly founded colonies in the Okavango is geared towards rapid growth and the immediate channeling of harvested resources into worker brood, which culminates in a relatively brief period of reproductive swarming

A Population Investment Sex Ratio for the Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.)

Data from two honey bee population brood-rearing studies suggest that a stable populational colony investment sex ratio exists for the honey bee. As a consequence of the fissioning mode of colony reproduction, this investment ratio is best expressed in terms of the average population production of reproductive male (drone) biomass and the biomass of sterile workers. A tentative model for a populational investment sex ratio based on Fisher's (1930) sex ratio hypothesis is presented in terms of colony seasonal drone and worker brood production and suggests a ratio for both populations tending toward 1:1. Colonies that produced no reproductive females during an annual season produced an average of 18,969 ± 7,267 (± SD, n = 7 colonies) males per colony for the first study and 22,560 ± 8,280 (n = 13 colonies) for the other. Three colonies from the second study did produce reproductive females and underwent colony fission. These colonies produced an average of 20,856 ± 4,241 males before fissioning occurred. On...

Protandrous Reproduction in Honey Bees

Brood rearing activity was studied in 16 colonies in Davis, Calif., from 21 February through 9 September 1978. The production of drone brood reached a maximum in early April; worker brood production reached a maximum in mid-May. Areas of sealed drone brood were at a maximum approximately 30 days before the maximum occurrence of swarms in the area. On 9 March, three colonies that swarmed in May produced significantly ( P < 0.05) more drone brood than 13 colonies that did not swarm during the season. On 2 April, these same three colonies had significantly more drone brood and significantly less worker brood ( P < 0.05) than those colonies that did not swarm. A hypothesis for a protandrous reproductive cycle in honey bees is proposed.

Red Imported Fire Ants: Effects of Insect Growth Regulators on Caste Formation and Colony Growth and Survival1

Fourteen of 26 insect growth regulators (IGRs) administered in peanut butter bait to large laboratory colonies of Solenopsis invicta Buren caused a shift in caste differentiation with the result that worker brood production ceased and production of alate forms, most deformed wings, increased. Also, 8 of the compounds caused one or more colonies to die: AI3-36206 (1-(S-methoxy-4,8-dimethylnonyl)-4-(I-ethylethyl) benzene) caused 15 of 20 treated colonies to die; and A13-36093 (1-(8-ethoxy-4,8-dimethylnonyl)-4-(1-methylethyl) benzene) and AI3-35477 (JH-25) (E) -1-[(7-ethoxy-3,7-dimethyl-2-octenyl) oxy]-4-ethylbenzene or (E) -1-[ (7-eth-oxy-3,7-dimethyl-2-octenyl)oxy]-4-ethylbenzene) caused 3 of 4 and 6 of 9 colonies, respectively, to die.