Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera; AHB) are predominant in tropical Mexico. A selection program using local AHBs colonies is a good alternative to provide beekeepers with good quality queens. We evaluated the application of field and laboratory tests to predict the production of honey in AHBs from Yucatan, Mexico. Five variables were measured in worker bees in the laboratory: longevity, amount of syrup removed, hoarding, weight of pupae and corbicular area. Three additional variables were measured in the field: rate of foraging activity, volume of honey sac contents and colony weight gain per week. Our results showed that weekly colony weight gain had the highest correlation with honey production in AHBs. Only the corbicular area and worker longevity were not correlated with honey production (r = 0.256 and r = 0.074, respectively P > 0.05). Thus, short term colony weight gain can be recommended as a good estimate of honey production in AHBs and lab tests can be included as selection aids. Africanized honey bees / phenotypic correlation / honey production / Yucatan / queen bee / breeding

In temperate regions of the world dominated by intensive agriculture, cities harbor a rich diversity and abundance of bee species, often exceeding those of the rural environment. In less industrialized tropical countries, in contrast, stressful conditions may exist in cities for bees with perennial colonies such as stingless bees because of the lack of resources such as amenity green spaces (flowers) and appropriate nesting sites. Yet, we currently lack studies on the ecology of bees in tropical urban areas to test this idea. Here, we compared the body size (as a possible indicator of floral resource supply) and the frequency of diploid males (as a measure of inbreeding) of a widespread stingless bee, Nannotrigona perilampoides , at mating congregations within the city of Merida, Yucatán, Mexico, and in surrounding rural areas. We found that males in Merida were significantly smaller compared with those in rural areas. While diploid males were found in both in the city and rural congregations, their frequency was significantly higher in urban sites. Our results suggest that the performance of colonies of N. perilampoides is poorer in tropical urban compared with rural sites, possibly as a consequence of limited resources and mating among a small number of colonies. We discuss the implications of these findings for the survival and fitness of stingless bees in the tropics.Urbanization / deforestation / microsatellite / heterozygosity / Meliponini / inbreeding