Possibility to change the body size in worker bees by a combination of small-cell and standard-cell combs in the same nest

Abstrakt

The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of the combination of the colony type (kept on small-cell or standard-cell combs) and the width of worker comb cells (small-cell or standard-cell combs) on the body weight and morphometric traits of worker bees. The values of morphometric parameters of worker bees changed within a substantially lower range than the width of their rearing cells. This indicates that the worker body size is relatively constant, and manipulation with the cell width is not a good method for modeling the body size of workers. The reduction in the thorax weight was proportional to the decrease in the comb cell width, and this part of the body proved to be most susceptible to weight reduction caused by the use of small- cell combs. The rearing of workers in small-cell combs in the colony kept on standard-cell combs resulted in an increase in the value of the fill factor (thorax width to cell width ratio). The relatively constant body size of workers in combination with the use of small-cell combs resulting in an increase in the fill factor may be one of the determinants of increased resistance of the insects to Varroa destructor. The values of the morphometric traits commonly used for identification of honeybee subspecies, i.e., the length of the fore wing, the sum of the widths of 3rd and 4th tergites, and the proboscis length, were inconsiderably altered vs. the changes in the comb cell width, which confirms their high suitability for identification of honeybee subspecies

Autorzy

artykuł
APIDOLOGIE
Angielski
2021
52
6
1017-1032
otwarte czasopismo
CC BY 4.0 Uznanie autorstwa 4.0
ostateczna wersja opublikowana
w momencie opublikowania
2021-11-23
140
2,722
0
5