This study aimed to develop a Geographic Information System (GIS), for storage of information and geographic location of apiaries in eight counties in western Paraná; study the local flora; the land used; and the honey productivity in the harvest of 2010 in two of these areas: Marechal Cândido Rondon and Santa Helena. In order to do so we used the software SPRING, delimiting a radius of action of bees of three kilometers around the apiaries. We interviewed and registered 126 beekeepers with 383 apiaries. By using the images we selected areas with greater and lower overlap of hives in Marechal Cândido Rondon (144 and 44 hives, respectively) and Santa Helena (165 and 40 hives, respectively), in a three kilometers radius, selecting 15 colonies in each area, for the study of the parameters cited. In the multivariate analysis of the grouping, five groups were formed, by their similarity of management, indicating the higher average production in the hives of the most populated area of Santa Helena and lower average production in the most populated of Marechal Cândido Rondon. The grouping of hives, the differences in the production of honey and floristic survey indicated that these differences could be associated with management, floristic and climatic differences recorded in the period of production, in the areas studied.

Phenotypic characters of honeybees, relevant to beekeepers, can be evaluated by studying correlations between them, and the correlated characteristics can be evaluated in the short term to assist in monitoring of annual genetic progress. This work therefore aims to evaluate the production of honey and propolis, the hygiene and defensive behaviours of two generations of Africanized Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera, Apidae), to estimate the correlations between them and their heritability. We used 30 Langstroth beehives in apiaries in Marechal Cândido Rondon, Paraná State, Brazil. We used a method of drilling pupae to evaluate hygiene behaviour and the velveteen ball method to test defensive behaviour. We selected ten colonies which had the best honey and propolis production, and which produced F1 queens that were then transferred to beehives at an experimental farm, in order to observe honey and propolis production, hygiene and defence behaviours of their female offspring. The estimated differences for each characteristic between the generations, the correlations between them within each generation and their heritability suggest that selection of colonies based on propolis production was more efficient at maintaining this high production than was selection based on honey production according to the performance of the colonies for this characteristic. The selected behavioural characteristics can be used to enhance performance, but not for improving yield characteristics evaluated.

No abstract

A melissopalinologia foi utilizada para determinar a origem botânica do mel, importante para sua rastreabilidade. Quarenta amostras de mel dos municípios de Santa Helena (20) e Terra Roxa (20), região oeste do Paraná, foram analisadas de acordo com os tipos de pólen e comparações com os catálogos de pólen e literatura especializada. Em relação à qualidade analítica, foram identificados 300 grãos de pólen por amostra. Nas amostras de Santa Helena, foram encontrados 71 tipos de pólen de 24 famílias, classificados como mel monofloral de Hovenia dulcis (8) e o restante como multifloral (12). Nas amostras da Terra Roxa, 64 tipos de pólen pertencentes a 29 famílias foram classificadas como Glycine max L. Merrill (7), Mimosa scabrella Benth (2),Mimosa caesalpiniifolia Benth (1), Mimosa verrucosa Benth (1), Mikania sp. (1) e Senecio sp. (1) e como multifloral (7). Os dois locais têm um alto índice de similaridade, no entanto, a predominância de alguns tipos de pólen indica a especificidade botânica da localidade. Para Santa Helena, maior significância foi observada para o pólen de H. dulcis , Eucalyptus sp. , Parapiptadenia rigida , e leucena ; em Terra Roxa, os tipos de pólen G. max , M. scabrella e Eucalyptussp. teve mais incidentes. Apesar do índice de similaridade, os indicadores mostram diferenças entre as áreas produtoras. As amostras de mel de Santa Helena apresentaram maior diversidade de pólen em relação às amostras de Terra Roxa, refletindo a cobertura vegetativa predominante de matas ciliares e culturas agrícolas, respectivamente, em cada município.

Efficient honey production requires knowledge about the behavior of the workers and the parameters that influence the strength of the colony. In this study, the objective was to analyze the interaction between the foraging behavior of worker honeybees and pollen storage levels in Africanized honeybees colonies. Colonies with low pollen storage increased pollen intake rates, but this value was 15% lower than colonies with high pollen storage, demonstrating a direct relationship between the pollen storage levels and foraging activity. The difference in pollen intake rates varied according to the number of foraging honeybees and pollen load collected by each individual. Under both high and low pollen storage, colonies returned pollen storage to initial level within 16 days, suggesting that honeybees regulate pollen storage levels around a homeostatic set point. Relationship between pollen storage levels and colony brood production was also found, indicating how alterations in the behavior of each individual can affect the strength of the colony.