Assessing the Mating ‘Health’ of Commercial Honey Bee Queens

Tarpy, David R.; Keller, Jennifer J.; Caren, Joel R.; Delaney, Deborah A.

doi:10.1603/ec11276

Cited by 66 publications

(80 citation statements)

References 37 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In our three-year survey, the lowest and the highest detected average sperm counts from apiaries varied from 2.36 million sperm per queen to 6.11 million sperm with an average 4.43 million spermatozoa. Our average sperm count was comparable to sperm counts for 80 commercially produced queens in California (Tarpy et al, 2012). Camazine et al (1998) examined 325 queens from 13 different commercial queen breeders and they found that 19% of the queens were "poorly mated" because their spermathecae contained fewer than 3 million sperm.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Characteristics of Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Carnica, Pollman 1879) Queens Reared in Slovenian Commercial Breeding Stations

Gregorc

Škerl

2015

Journal of Apicultural Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

A b s t r a c t In this three-year-trial study, we examined the quality of mated queens based on morphological and physiology traits. At each location, sister queen bees were reared each year from one Apis mellifera carnica breeder queen. Queens were also reared and mated in different locations. Altogether, we sampled and analysed 324 queens from 27 apiaries in 2006, 288 queens from 24 apiaries in 2008, and 276 queens from 23 apiaries in 2010. Nine queens from each apiary were sampled and dissected for morphological analyses and Nosema ceranae (N. ceranae) spores, if present, were quantified. Three queens from each apiary were prepared and tested for four viruses: acute bee paralysis virus (ABPV), black queen cell virus (BQCV), deformed wing virus (DWV), and sacbrood virus (SBV). The highest average queen weight of 209.49 ± 9.82 mg was detected in 2008. The highest average ovary weight of 78.67 ± 11.86 mg was detected in 2010, and the highest number of ovarioles was 161.59 ± 8.70 in 2006. The average number of spermatozoa in queens ranged from 3.30 x 10 6 in 2006 to 5.23 x 10 6 in 2010. Nosema ceranae spores were found in queens sampled in 2008 and 2010. Viruses were discovered sporadically during the queen testing periods from 2006 -2010. This study importantly demonstrates that queens from rearing stations require regular evaluation for morphological and physiological changes as well as for infection from harmful pathogens. These results could also be used in establishing relevant commercial standards for rearing quality queens. Keywords: bee virus, Nosema spp., ovariole, ovary, queen rearing, spermatheca.Agricultural institute of Slovenia, Hacquetova ulica 17, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia INTRODUCTIONThe Carniolan honeybee bee, Apis mellifera carnica Pollman 1879, is an indigenous subspecies and has been preserved in all the five geographic areas of Slovenia: Prekmurje, Štajerska, Gorenjska, Dolenjska, and the Central Region. Queen producers annually test the performance of selected colonies for queen evaluation and for further breeding. The aims of queen breeding in Slovenia are to both preserve native wildtype strains and to maintain desirable honeybee traits. However, various environmental factors can affect the quality of queen bees; for example, the rearing season and weather can alter the queens' development rate (Mahbobi et al., 2012). Therefore, evaluating morphological, behavioural, and reproductive traits of male and female bees in response to the climate within apiaries, is also important when selecting for queens. Morphological traits such as body size and a bee's reproductive performance are often linked and subject to environmental factors (Reiss, 1989). If the bee is a queen, any change in body weight can irrevocably alter her egg laying capacity (Harbo, 1986). Heavier queens have more ovarioles and larger spermathecae that are capable of holding more sperm (Woyke, 1971;Szabo, 1973;Eid et al., 1980). Even large queens may lose reproductive fitness when afflicted with pathogens and parasites. The mi...

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 63%

Characteristics of Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Carnica, Pollman 1879) Queens Reared in Slovenian Commercial Breeding Stations

Gregorc

Škerl

2015

Journal of Apicultural Science

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Queen problems may lead to weak colonies and thus high losses. In addition, queen problems can be an indication of colony problems (Collins and Pettis 2013;Pettis et al 2004;Tarpy et al 2012). Note that even though our survey shows an association between queen problems and colony losses, it does not imply a causal relationship.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 57%

Managed honeybee colony losses of the Eastern honeybee (Apis cerana) in China (2011–2014)

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

-Colony losses of managed honeybees have raised a major concern, and surveys of colony losses were conducted around the globe to understand the apicultural situation. Up to now, most studies have focused on the mortality of the Western honeybee (Apis mellifera ); however, little is known about the mortality of its eastern counterpart-the Eastern honeybee (Apis cerana ). Here, we report the survey results of A. cerana colony losses in three consecutive years (2011-2012, 2012-2013, and 2013-2014) in China. Colony losses were low overall (12.8%, 95% CI 11.9-13.7%) but varied among years, provinces, and types of apiaries. We used generalized linear mixed effects models to estimate the effects of possible risk factors and found that queen problems (queenless or dronelaying queens) were associated with colony losses. Further analyses showed that differences in mortality among different types of apiaries may be contributable to the differences in queen problems. This is the first survey of colony losses of A. cerana .

show abstract

“…Rangel et al (2013) observed that a honeybee colony can be evaluated as the extended phenotype of its queen, and thus the selection working mostly at the colony level may be equivalent at the individual level. Tarpy et al (2012) did not notice a correlation between queen body size and mating success.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 69%

<b>Morphometric measurements of Africanized honeybee queens kept in an incubator or in queen banking

Metorima

Costa-Maia

Halak

et al. 2015

Acta Sci. Anim. Sci.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

ABSTRACT. This study aimed to estimate live weight, the length and the width of wing and abdomen and the length, the width and the height of thorax in newly emerged Africanized honeybee queens up to 192 hours and their influence on final quality regarding appropriate storage techniques in queen banking or incubator and to verify the possibility of using these parameters as selection criteria in honeybee breeding programs. Queen honeybees were produced in summer, autumn and winter. The queen production method used throughout the experiments was adapted from Doolittle, and 68 the queens were weighed at emergence. Data were analyzed in R software by regression analysis of queen weight at emergence according to life time after emergence, in two types of storage. The weight of queens emerged in queen banking and incubator was significantly different (p < 0.05), with mean values of 165.61 and 157.04 mg, respectively. Queens kept in an incubator and in queen banking showed no significant differences (p > 0.05) in wing length, abdomen length and thorax height. The weight of queen at emergence can be used as a selection criterion in honeybee breeding programs.Keywords: queen size, emergence, honeybee breeding, queen production.Medidas morfométricas de rainhas africanizadas mantidas em estufa ou colmeia banco de rainhas RESUMO. O objetivo do trabalho foi estimar peso vivo, comprimento e largura de asa e abdome e comprimento, largura e altura do tórax de rainhas Apis mellifera africanizadas recém-emergidas até 192h e sua influência na qualidade final com relação às técnicas apropriadas de armazenamento em banco de rainhas ou estufa e verificar se estes parâmetros podem ser utilizados como critério de seleção. Foram produzidas nas seguintes estações do ano: verão, outono e inverno. O método utilizado durante todo o experimento foi o adaptado de Doolitlle para a produção de rainhas e 68 rainhas foram pesadas à emersão. Os dados foram analisados no software R pela análise de regressão do peso da rainha à emergência em função do tempo de vida após a emersão, nos dois tipos de alojamento. Para peso, os efeitos da colmeia banco de rainhas e estufa foram significativos (p < 0,05), médias de 165,61 e 157,04 mg, respectivamente. As rainhas mantidas em estufa e colmeia banco de rainhas não apresentaram diferenças em relação ao comprimento da asa, ao comprimento do abdome e à altura do tórax. O peso de rainhas à emergência mantidas em colmeia banco de rainhas foi maior que o peso das rainhas mantidas em estufa. O peso das rainhas à emergência pode ser utilizado como critério de seleção.Palavras-chave: tamanho de rainhas, emersão, melhoramento de abelhas, produção de rainhas.

show abstract

Assessing the Mating ‘Health’ of Commercial Honey Bee Queens

Cited by 66 publications

References 37 publications

Characteristics of Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Carnica, Pollman 1879) Queens Reared in Slovenian Commercial Breeding Stations

Characteristics of Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera Carnica, Pollman 1879) Queens Reared in Slovenian Commercial Breeding Stations

Managed honeybee colony losses of the Eastern honeybee (Apis cerana) in China (2011–2014)

<b>Morphometric measurements of Africanized honeybee queens kept in an incubator or in queen banking

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About