Relation between hygienic behaviour of Apis mellifera (hymenoptera: apidae) and honey production
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Abstract
The hygienic behaviour of the honey bee is important for preventing the spread of brood’s diseases in the colony, therefore is one of the main traits of resistance against Varroa destructor. Currently, Cuban beekeeping through the Honey Bee Selection and Improvement Project, is trying to improve its genetic stock to work with bees more productive, disease resistant and gentle. Therefore, it is necessary to assess any possible effects of the hygienic behavior on other traits of interest. The aim of this study was to analyze the relation between the expression of the hygienic behaviour and the honey production. The experiment was carried out in 26 colonies on which were assessed the expression of the hygienic behaviour through the pin-killed method and the honey production weighting each comb extracted from each colony. The percentage of removed brood did not influenced on the honey production and only explained the 1.3 % of the variation. It was confirmed that is possible to rear hygienic bees without affecting the honey production.
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