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Research Article

Evaluation of the possibility of breeding queen bees from larvae grafted on different substrates

Adam Roman , Paweł Migdał, Ewa Popiela-Pleban, Anastazja Bożemska

Department of Environment Hygiene and Animal Welfare, Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences, C.K. Norwida 25, 50-375 Wrocław, Poland

1. Acta Sci. Pol. Zootechnica, 16(2), 2017, 27‒34
2. DOI: 10.21005/asp.2017.16.2.04

Abstract. The study compared different food substrates in queen cells on the effectiveness of their rearing. Experiments were carried out during the nectar flow in 2013 year in a breeding apiary. Larvae were grafted on the following substrates: fresh royal jelly diluted with demineralized water at a 1: 1ratio (CON), royal jelly with the addition of vitamins A and E (VIT), freeze-dried royal jelly diluted with deionized water (LIOF) and royal jelly with the addition of ApiBioFarma probiotic (PROB). In the preliminary study (EXP1), 36 bee queens were obtained from 144 larvae, whereas 150 ones were obtained from 288 larvae in the proper study(EXP2). Larvae grafted on fresh diluted royal jelly were accepted the most by bees in colonies. In this group; the large number of obtained queens was observed in both parts of the study. In the case of the body mass, statistically significant differences were observed between groups CON and PROB.

Keywords: Apis mellifera, queen rearing, royal jelly, probiotic, vitamins