A b s t r a c t The aim of the study was to determine the effect of honey bee worker diversity within the colony on: development, honey productivity, and wintering. Two different levels of diversity within the colony were tested. The appropriate levels of diversity within the colony were obtained by selecting drones for inseminating the queens. Lower genetic diversity was obtained in the colonies headed by a queen inseminated with semen collected from drones originating from a single colony. Higher genetic diversity was obtained in the colonies with queens inseminated with semen from drones of 30 different colonies. Colonies with a higher genetic variation of workers in the colonies had greater levels of functional characteristics. However, apart from the number of dead bees in winter, the genetic diversity level of the workers on the colony development and honey production, did not have a significant influence. There was an averaging effect observed concerning that male component in the colonies with a higher genetic variation of workers -on honey yield, when compared to the non-additive effect of the best drones.

S u m m a r yThe effect of the instrumental insemination of honeybee queens after they performed their orientation flight or attempted to perform the flight, on the number of sperm in the spermatheca was observed. Naturally mated queens and instrumentally inseminated queens were examined. Queens were instrumentally inseminated under one of the following 4 circumstances: the instrumentally inseminated queens were either 7 day olds and had been given either a short or long-CO 2 treatment, or they were inseminated after the trial flight or after returning from the orientation flight. Queens from the various groups had a similar number of spermatozoa in their spermatheca (on average, from 4.7 to 5.3 million). The number of spermatozoa filling the spermatheca influenced both the color and the texture of spermathecae. Significant differences in the number of spermatozoa were stated. Instrumentally inseminated queens that did not lay eggs had significantly less spermatozoa in their spermathecae (3.9 mln) than egg laying queens (5.5 mln).

No abstract

The identification of honey bee (Apis mellifera) subspecies is often based on the measurements of workers’ fore-wings. The interpretation of the measurements can be difficult because the phenotype of workers is affected by both genetic and environmental factors. Moreover, it is not clear how the phenotype is affected by maternal inheritance. We have used the methodology of geometric morphometrics to verify if hybrids of honey bee subspecies and their backcrosses are more similar to either the father or mother colony. The comparison was based on fore-wing venation of three honey bee subspecies: A. m. carnica, A. m. caucasica, A. m. mellifera. First generation hybrids and backcrosses of those subspecies were obtained through instrumental insemination. Workers of the hybrids were compared with their parental colonies. The shape of wing venation was more similar to the maternal than to parental colony. This phenomenon was particularly visible in first generation of hybrids but it was also present in backcrosses. There were also symptoms of genetic dominance of some subspecies but this effect interacted with maternal inheritance and was difficult to interpret.

Socio-cultural research might address anthropocentric reasons for honeybee (Apis mellifera) conservation. In some regions, particular honeybee subspecies are considered to be native; A. mellifera mellifera (“dark bee”) in the north-east and A. mellifera carnica in the Island Beskids in Poland. Additionally, A. mellifera caucasia (often incorrectly called A. mellifera caucasica) and Buckfast are reported across Poland. In order to verify the actual choice of beekeepers, a survey on honeybee subspecies kept in apiaries was conducted annually from 1980 to 2018. This is a way to verify if conservation management towards the dark bee influenced its maintenance at a sufficient level for their restoration. The analysis revealed that Polish beekeepers know what is “buzzing” in their hives, and the awareness of which subspecies/types of honeybee they maintain has grown through the years. Initially, they kept up to four different subspecies per apiary, but now most have only one (maximum of two). Currently, Polish apiaries approach a homogeneous share with the exclusive presence of A. mellifera carnica subspecies. The popularity of indigenous A. mellifera mellifera has declined over time and is low now. It seems that new solutions should be considered to increase the effectiveness of dark European bee conservation management efforts.

A b s t r a c t Honey bee queens were inseminated with diluted, homogenised semen collected from a few dozen drones. This procedure was carried out to increase the diversity of the queens' offspring, which is in comparison to the offspring of queens inseminated with semen from only a few drones coming from one colony. Queens and drones were mated within carniolan bee (Apis mellifera carnica) subspecies, but 3 selected lines were used. Queens were reared from one line and drones from the same line, and two additional lines differing in hygienic behaviour wherein in one of them that trait was strongly evident. The aim of this study was to examine whether the level of enhanced genetic variability in colonies and simultaneously the participation of hygienic bees, would increase the performance of hygienic behaviour. Overall hygienic behaviour of colonies with a lower and greater genetic variability did not differ significantly and amounted to 52.1 and 47.0%, respectively. Colonies within the lower variability group, in which drones from line selected in hygienic behaviour performance were used for inseminating queens, had a significantly greater percent of cleaned pupae than other colonies (63.2%). Hygienic behaviour in other colonies was more dependent on the gene quotas of hygienic bees in the colonies rather than on the level of polyandry.

We conducted a survey on honey bee (Apis mellifera) queen management. Data were collected every year from 1980 to 2018. In total, 2964 questionnaires were collected from all over Poland. We examined the trends by decade timeslot, apiary size, and geographical location. Regardless of the decade and the size of the apiary, on average, above 90% of Polish beekeepers replace old queens with new ones in their colonies. In general, during the observed period, beekeepers replaced almost 52% of their queens, 21% of which were purchased. In the last decade, there was an upward trend in the percentage of beekeepers replacing queens throughout the country. The involvement of purchased queens in colony management is associated with the size of the apiary, and it significantly grows with the number of colonies in the apiary. The percentage of purchased queens went up in all the voivodeships over time. Research and education in this area are needed in order to track the trends and further improve Polish beekeepers’ practices.

A b s t r a c t the susceptibility of bee larvae to Ascosphaera apis infestation and the hygienic behaviour of worker bees in relation to A. apis infected and freeze-killed brood were evaluated in three races of bees: Apis mellifera carnica, Apis mellifera caucasica, and Apis mellifera mellifera. experimental bee colonies were evaluated in field conditions during the three beekeeping seasons. the lowest percentage of infected larvae was observed in car gR1 and mel A colonies (8.5% and 15%, respectively) and the highest in car mr and cau p colonies (21% and 24.3%, respectively). bees in the car gR1 and mel A colonies removed mummified brood in a shorter period of time (6.5 and 7.1 days on average, respectively) than car mr and cau p colonies (above 8 days). bees in the mel A and car gR1 colonies cleaned significantly more cells with freeze-killed brood within 24 and 48 hours (above 70% and 80% on average, respectively) than car mr and cau p colonies (on average 10 -20% lower cleaning rate). A low correlation coefficient was found for the susceptibility of larvae to A. apis infection and hygienic behaviour.keywords: Ascosphaera apis, freeze-killed brood, hygienic behaviour, larvae susceptibility.