Research Article

The quality of honey bee queens from queen cells incubated at different temperatures

Bożena Chuda-Mickiewicz, Jerzy Samborski

West Pomeranian University of Technology, Szczecin, Poland

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 14(4), 2015, 25‒32

Abstract. The effect of capped queen cell incubation temperature on the quality of honey bee queens was examined. It was shown that the period of pre-imaginal development in the queen bees from queen cells incubated at 32°C was longer by 1 day and 3 hours when compared to those being incubated at 34.5°C, for which this period amounted to 16 days and 1 hour. On the other hand, the quality of queens from cells incubated at 32°C and 34.5°C was similar, they did not differ in body weight, spermathecal volume, ovariole number in both ovaries, or onset of oviposition.

Keywords: Apis mellifera, queen, rearing, quality