Effect of queen age on hygienic and grooming behavior of Apis mellifera Ligustica against Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman)

Journal Title: Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology - Year 2017, Vol 5, Issue 3

Abstract

The studies were conducted to compare the hygienic and grooming behavior of honey bees (Apis mellifera Ligustica) headed by new (0-year) and old queens (1-year) against Varroa mites at Apiculture Research Farm, PMAS-Arid Agriculture University Rawalpindi during 2013-14. Worker bees removed 91.56, 95.11 and 98.52 % dead brood in colonies headed by new queens, while 75.22, 82.78 and 88.78%, in colonies headed by old queens; after 24, 48 and 72 h, respectively. Similarly, significant differences were observed regarding the removal of artificially introduced Varroa mites between both types of colonies; bees in colonies headed by new queens removed 74.67 and 84.67%, while the bees headed by old queens removed 52.67 and 66.67% artificially introduced Varroa mites from brood cells after 5 and 7 days, respectively. The mean percentage of leg deformed Varroa mites due to grooming behavior of adult bees in colonies with new and old queens was 67.45 and 57.83%, and mites with deformed dorsal shield was 27.03% and 20.71%, respectively. Colonies with new queens exhibited better hygienic and grooming behavior against the Varroa mite as compared to those having old queens. Replacing old queens with new queens every year is suggested for better management of Varroa mite in Pothwar region of Punjab.

Authors and Affiliations

Muhammad Asif Aziz

Keywords

Related Articles

Foraging behavior of pollinators leads to effective pollination in radish Raphanus sativus L.

To study the pollinator community of radish (Raphanus sativus L.) and the best pollinators for radish production in terms of their foraging behavior, an experiment was performed at the research farm of University College...

Isolation and identification of phytoplankton from aquatic ecosystems of Lampung Mangroves Center (LMC) as biological feed

In this paper we studied the isolation and identification of phytoplankton from aquatic ecosystems of Lampung Mangroves Center (LMC) as biology feed. The analysis of sea water quality parameters in the location of the st...

Combination of agriculture fertilizer for intermediate cultivation of isolate Nannochloropsis sp. of the waters of Lampung Mangrove Center as live feed

The availability of microalgae (phytoplankton) has an important role in aquaculture. Nannochloropsis sp. is a microalgae that can be used as the live feed for larvae cultivation of shrimp, fish and shellfish. In this stu...

Study the morpho-physiological leaves behavior of grafted and ungrafted olive trees (Olea europaea) under saline stress

The objective of this work is to determine the effect of salinity on the morpho-physiological behavior of young olive plants in cuttings and grafted plants, including two local varieties (Chemlal and Sigoise) and two int...

The re-extraction of oil from oil palm empty fruit bunch residues and oil palm mesocarp fibers and measures in reducing greenhouse gas emission

Oil palm Mill (POM) produces oil palm empty fruit bunches (EFBs) and oil palm mesocarp fibers (OPMF) which still contain oil and carotenoids. POM utilizes EFBS and OPMF as a fuel to heat up the boiler and to generate ele...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP606275
  • DOI -
  • Views 99
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Muhammad Asif Aziz (2017). Effect of queen age on hygienic and grooming behavior of Apis mellifera Ligustica against Varroa destructor (Anderson and Trueman). Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 5(3), 113-118. https://europub.co.uk./articles/-A-606275