Effect of different queen cell sizes on the acceptance of grafted larvae in Apis cerana javana Fabr. Rearing

This study aims to evaluate Apis cerana javana Fabr. rearing based on differences in the queen cup sizes. A total of four queen bees were used with three different treatments and six replications, meanwhile, this study was conducted at Kembang Joyo Bee Farm, Malang, East Java. The results showed that the differences in the queen cup size had no significant effect on the success rate of queen rearing (p>0.05). The highest percentage of larvae acceptance (79%) was found in P3 treatment, followed by P2 (71%), while the lowest was found in P1 (63%). Furthermore, the highest percentage of larvae to pupae metamorphosis was found in P1 and P2 with a success rate of 100%, while the lowest was found in P3 with 89%. The highest percentage of pupae emergence was found in treatment P1 and P2 with a success rate of 100% and P3 with 94%. Based on the results, the difference queen cup sizes had no significant effect on the success rate of Apis cerana javana Fabr. rearing.

Strength surpasses relatedness–queen larva selection in honeybees

Nepotism was initially theoretically predicted and sometimes found to trigger the selection of specific larvae to be reared as queens in the honeybee Apis mellifera. Although the importance of selecting the next queen for a colony indicates that it should not occur at random, nepotism is increasingly considered unlikely in eusocial insect societies. Different prenatal maternal supplies of embryos have been found to impact fitness in many other species and therefore could be a possible trigger underlying the likelihood of being raised as a queen. We offered related or unrelated larvae from six colonies originating from eggs of different weights for emergency queen rearing in queenless units with worker bees from these six colonies. We showed that nurses did not significantly prefer related larvae during queen rearing, which confirms the theory that different relatedness-driven kin preferences within a colony cannot be converted into a colony-level decision. However, we found that larvae originating from heavier eggs were significantly preferred for queen breeding. Studies on other species have shown that superior maternal supply is important for later reproductive success. However, we did observe tendencies in the expected direction (e.g., queens that hatched from heavier eggs had both more ovarioles and a shorter preoviposition period). Nevertheless, our data do not allow for a significant conclusion that the selection of larvae from heavy eggs truly offers fitness advantages.

The influence of feed additives on the acceptance and quality of queen bees

Currently, many scientists have proven the positive influence of feed additives on the productivity of different types of farm animals including bees since feed additives have a positive effect on the honey productivity of bee colonies and the quality of queen bees. The purpose of our work was to identify the effect of probiotics on the background of the dietary supplement Eracond on the acceptance of larvae and the weight of infertile queens. The scientific and economic experiment has been carried out on bees of Bashkir breed in an apiary located in the village of Nekrasovka in the Kartalinsky district in the Chelyabinsk region. Three groups of queen-rearing colony have been formed three in each. In the 2nd and 3rd experimental groups against the background of dietary supplement Erakond (50 mg/ kg) have been given: in the 2nd experimental group sugar syrup with Lactobacterin three doses per family, in the 3rd experimental group sugar syrup with Vetom 1,1 at the dose of 50 mg/kg. As a result, all the additives in the 2nd and 3rd experimental groups gave a positive result. The greatest effect on all indicators has been obtained with the combined use of 50 % sugar syrup with the addition of Eracond phytopreparation (50 mg/kg) and Vetom 1,1 probiotic (50 mg/kg). Feeding these drugs to queen rearing colonies contributed to the increase in the acceptance of larvae by 23,3 %, compared with the control and by 7,8 % compared with the 2nd experimental group, also had the positive influence on the weight of infertile queens by 11,4 % compared with the control group. The use of Vetom and Eracond contributed to the increase in the egg production of queens by 64,2, 54,9 and 57,0 % compared with the control for three accounting periods as well as the increase in the honey collection by 33,83 % or 4,5 kg.

Elevated Mating Frequency in Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Queens Exposed to the Miticide Amitraz During Development

Most honey bee (Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758) (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies in the United States have been exposed to the beekeeper-applied miticides amitraz, coumaphos, and tau-fluvalinate. Colonies are also often exposed to agrochemicals, which bees encounter on foraging trips. These and other lipophilic pesticides bind to the beeswax matrix of comb, exposing developing bees. We explored whether queen-rearing beeswax containing pesticides affects the reproductive health of mated queens. We predicted that queens reared in pesticide-free beeswax would have higher mating frequencies and sperm viability of stored sperm compared with queens reared in wax containing pesticides. Mating frequency and sperm viability are two traditional measurements associated with queen reproductive health. To test these hypotheses, we reared queens in beeswax-coated cups that were pesticide free or contained field-relevant concentrations of 1) amitraz, 2) a combination of tau-fluvalinate and coumaphos, or 3) a combination of the agrochemicals chlorothalonil and chlorpyrifos. We then collected queens once they mated to determine sperm viability, using a dual fluorescent cell counter, and mating frequency, genotyping immature worker offspring at eight polymorphic microsatellite loci. Sperm viability did not differ between control queens and those reared in pesticide-laden wax. However, queens exposed to amitraz during development exhibited higher mating frequency than queens reared in pesticide-free beeswax or beeswax containing the other pesticide combinations. Our results suggest that miticide exposure during development affects queen mating frequency but not sperm viability, at least in newly mated queens. This finding, which has practical implications for commercial queen rearing and overall colony health, calls for further study.

Autumn preparation of bee families for wintering for the raising of extra early bee queens under the conditions of the Republic of Uzbekistan

The potential honey supply available in the Republic of Uzbekistan can have up to 2 million bee families. For the development of the beekeeping industry in Uzbekistan, it is necessary to create a purebred population of Apis mellifera carpatica, based on the reproduction of early purebred queen bees. In addition to protein fi llers and mineral complexes, probiotics were used as part of stimulating feed additives for autumn and spring stimulation of egg production of queen bees. However, in our opinion it is better to add prebiotics to the composition of feed additives, which are available in the composition of infant formula used for baby food. It has been established by studies that stimulating feed additives with protein fi llers, combined with cobalt sulfate and a mixture of “Nanny 2 with prebiotic” positively infl uence on the growth, development and economically useful traits of maternal, paternal and queen-rearing colonies in preparation for winter. It has been proved that a high rate of growth of the brood being grown is carried out when giving honey satiety in the composite form with CoSO4 + “Nanny 2 with prebiotic” mixture. In comparison with the background level, this parameter reaches its maximum by the third accounting, increasing in maternal families by 2,41 times, in paternal families – 2,61 times, in queen-rearing colonies – 2,61 times. It has been found that the Carpathian queen bees showed their high genetic capabilities for egg production during the autumn increase in the strength of families with the 3rd and 4th variants of feed additives until the end of the experiment. The maximum rate of egg laying females recorded in the 4th group, exceeded the same level of the 1st group of the parent families by 1,44 times, 2nd group – 1,24 times 3rd group by 1,14 times. An adequate pattern has been registered for paternal and queen-rearing colonies. Stimulating feed additives in particular, the use in group 4 of honey additive in a composite form with CoSO4 + mixture of “Nanny 2 with prebiotic” has a prolonging eff ect, both on the egg-laying ability of queen bees, and on brood feeding, which increases the strength of bee families. By the beginning of winter, this force was 15,4 and 16,0 seams of bees between two combs in the maternal families, 15,5 and 15,8 seams of bees between two combs in the paternal families, and 15,8 and 16,0 seam of bees between two combs in the queen-rearing colonies, respectively. This indicates that a complete generation of autumn bees will be obtained, which will not only successfully overwinter, but will also be actively used in the breeding of extra early queen bees in the new season.