Authors: Ellis, James D.; Delaplane, Keith S.; Richards, Cameron S.; Hepburn, Randall; Berry, Jennifer A.; Elzen, Patti J.

Source: Annals of the Entomological Society of America, Volume 97, Number 4, July 2004 , pp. 860-864(5)

Publisher: Entomological Society of America

Abstract:

In this study, we tested for the presence and efficacy of hygienic behavior by Cape honey bees in South Africa and European honey bees, Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), of mixed origin in the United States toward Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae) eggs oviposited in sealed bee brood. We looked for colony differences in removal rates of brood in cells with cappings perforated by A. tumida within each subspecies to identify colonies within location that display superior hygienic behavior. Finally, we determined the oviposition rate (number of A. tumida-perforated cells actually oviposited in by A. tumida/total number of A. tumida-perforated cells) in A. tumida-perforated cells and the number of A. tumida eggs oviposited in each cell. There were no colony differences within subspecies for the removal of normal capped brood, artificially perforated brood (capped cells perforated by experimenter with a pin), and A. tumida-perforated brood. For both subspecies, the bees removed significantly more A. tumida-perforated brood than either normal or artificially perforated brood. A. tumida oviposited significantly more eggs per cell in Cape colonies than in European colonies, but the oviposition rate in A. tumida-perforated cells did not differ between Cape and European colonies. Both subspecies removed a proportion of A. tumida-perforated brood statistically indistinguishable from the proportion of A. tumida-perforated brood containing A. tumida eggs. Thus, both Cape and European A. mellifera preferentially remove the contents of A. tumida-perforated cells in which A. tumida have actually oviposited.

Keywords: Aethina tumida; hygienic behavior; oviposition; Cape honey bees; European honey bees

Document Type: Research article

Publication date: 2004-07-01

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• Annals of the Entomological Society of America is published in January, March, May, July, September, and November. Annals especially invites submission of manuscripts that integrate different areas of insect biology, and address issues that are likely to be of broad relevance to entomologists. Articles also report on basic aspects of the biology of arthropods, divided into categories by subject matter: systematics; ecology and population biology; arthropod biology; arthropods in relation to plant diseases; conservation biology and biodiversity; physiology, biochemistry, and toxicology; morphology, histology, and fine structure; genetics; and behavior.
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