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Events following queen removal in colonies of european-derived honey bee races (Apis mellifera)

Evénements succédant au retrait de la reine dans les colonies d'abeilles mellifères issues des races européennes (Apis mellifera)

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Summary

The timing of queen rearing and swarming are described after queens were removed from colonies of European-derived honey bee races. Queen cell construction began within one day of queen loss, and 91 % of the queens which emerged were eggs at the time of queen loss. Queen cells were evenly distributed over the comb face, and 4 % of the brood reared as queens were moved from worker cells to queen cups. There was considerable variation in the number of queen cells which were viable, aborted, and unoccupied. Brood mortality was high following queen loss. Six of the eight study colonies swarmed following the emergence of a virgin queen. These results differ from previous studies of queen loss in tropically-evolved honey bees in the timing of new queen production and the frequency of queen-loss swarming and of brood movement by workers.

Resume

Le temps requis pour l'élevage des reines et l'essaimage des abeilles mellifères d'une race de souche européenne est décrit. Les cellules royales furent construites en moins d'une journée après le retrait de la reine. Plus de 91 % des reines qui ont éclos étaient au stade d'œuf lors du retrait de la reine. Les cellules royales furent distribuées uniformément sur la surface des rayons, et 4 % du couvain élevé pour la production de reines fut déplacé des cellules d'ouvrières aux cellules royales. Il y eut de considérables variations quant au nombre de cellules royales qui furent viables, avortées et inoccupées. Suivant l'absence de la reine, le taux de mortalité du couvain fut élevé. Avec l'émergence de reines vierges, l'essaimage s'est formé dans 6 des 8 colonies étudiées. Ces résultats diffèrent d'études antérieures sur la perte royale chez des abeilles mellifères d'évolution tropicale en ce qui concerne le temps requis pour produire une nouvelle reine, la fréquence d'essaimage lié à la perte de la reine, ainsi que le déplacement du couvain par les ouvrières.

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Punnett, E.N., Winston, M.L. Events following queen removal in colonies of european-derived honey bee races (Apis mellifera). Ins. Soc 30, 376–383 (1983). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223969

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223969

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