Heritability of production characteristics of regional populations of honey bees from Serbia

Abstract

In this experiment, colonies of six regional populations from the territory of the Republic of Serbia were included, and two generations (maternal colonies and their offspring) were observed. In two inspections (fall and spring), production traits and temperament were observed. Daughter queen bees mated in uncontrolled conditions (free-mating) in order to determine heritability of production traits in terms of practical beekeeping. The heritability coefficients (h2) for production traits calculated. It was found that the honey yield was mostly determined by genetic, but environmental conditions also had significant influence. Heritability for honey yield (h2) ranged from 72.72% (Rasina population) to 81.04% (Banat population). Colony strength was very dependent on external factors, but also from the very population. When it comes to food supply (honey and pollen), in the inspections, large differences in the heritability coefficient were determined, which is explained by the interaction of genetic factors (the foraging instinct) and environmental factors (honey flora and climatic conditions during foraging) and the influence of beekeepers (feeding, etc.)