Zootecnia Trop., 20(2):259-266. 2002

  NOTA TÉCNICA

Honey production by two types of africanized honey bees (hybrids of Apis mellifera scutellata) in westerm plains of Venezuela

Rafael Thimann¹* y Antonio J. Manrique²  

  SUMMARY  

A trial was held at the beekeeping Unit of the Ezequiel Zamora University, Guanare, Venezuela. To evaluate honey yields of africanized honey bee colonies, two types of queens were used: not improved Venezuelan queens, and Brazilian queens selected for propolis production. Five nucleus were founded with queens breed in Venezuela and the other five with Al queens from Brazil. Honey yields of February and April 1999 were weighted. Experiment design was a complete randomized and analyzed with a "t" test to compare honey average yields. Results showed significantly differences (P<O.O1) between treatments, with values of 17 and 26 kg/hive in colonies from Brazil, respectively for the February and April harvests. To obtain better honey yields, beekeepers must use improved quality honeybee queens and selected queen for propolis production also produce more honey.

Key words: Africanized honeybee, genetic improvement, honey yield, Venezuela

  INTRODUCTION

Even though the high cost of supplies and equipments, few research on africanized hybrid bee (AHB) behavior, limited information about how to manage these bees, few specialized breeding centers, and low genetic improvement of commercially produced queens, the Venezuelan beekeeping industry has shown, in the last decade, an increase in the number of beekeepers and hives in production.

Beekeepers from tropical countries agree that the success of the beekeeping business is based mainly in maintaining healthy/strong colonies, with proved genetic quality queens showing high capacity to produce eggs continually during the whole year. Each colony from the apiary will have a maximum population and a particular level of honey production directly related to the queen's reproductive behavior. It should be highlighted that the high variability of the reproductive and productive behavior observed among lines of AHB open new expectations for the genetic improvement of these hybrids and creates the bases to develop new research about this issue, as Brazil has already initiated. In this country, national average honey yield has increased from 17 kg/colony to 30 kg/colony, due to genetic improvement of africanized bee honey.

Technically speaking one of the greatest advances in the beekeeping industry has been the development and achievement of new genetic-controlled queen breeding (in laboratories) using instrumental insemination and controlling the quality of the genetic material involved (Root, 1983). Arellano et al. (1989) stated that the queen's quality can be determined by the number of eggs laid daily in the combs of the brood nest and by the net honey yields/hive harvested per year.

Southwick (1993) and Farrar (1993) sustained that the commercial beekeeper's main interest is to maintain healthy and strong colonies using vigorous queens to produce eggs continually,. This is done to maintain maximum population of forager bees during the nectar / pollen flow and to keep high "moral" and cohesion within the colony when sharing queen' s pheromones within the hive (Ruttner, 1980).

According to Laidlaw (1979), the number of eggs laid by the queen per day varíes from some hundreds to 1500; although, Cale (1975), Dadant (1982), and Delaplane (1991) pointed out, that higher values would depend on the population of nurse bees, the genetic quality, quantity and quality of the nectar/pollen flow and to the constitution or strength of the colony.

Almeida (1998) sustained that the simplest method to breed a queen is by retiring the "old" queen bee from the colony so that the nurse bees start to "draw-out" royal queen cells, from the brood's nest combs, where (chosen) young larvae continue to be fed with royal jelly. In tropical countries, such as Venezuela, queens can be bred all year long, but the best results for cornmercial queen breeding were obtained during the transition season (September to December) and dry season (January to March), when the main nectar/pollen flow is available (Thimann, 1995). Farrar (1993) pointed out that for a high number of cornmercial queen breeders, the reproductive and productive behavior of queen bees are determined by the compound genetic load and for the prevailing environment in the surroundings of the breeding apiaríes during the mating flight. Hellrnich and Waller (1990) and Costa (1998) confirmed that queen bees developed from a well-known genealogical tree are indispensable to maintain the strength and cohesion of the colonies and to obtain higher honey yields/hive.

Thimann (1992) sustained that, although the AHBs had settled in Venezuela for more than 20 years, honey yields have remained almost unaltered. This result suggests that the low productivity ofthe local AHB resides in the low quality of the queens (mated under natural conditions) used by the cornmercial beekeepers and to the little scientific information related to the issue. Arellano et al. (1989), De León and Thimann (1992), Thimann (1993), and Morales (1995) working with AHB colonies and using F¡ hybrids (pure European x AHB) obtained favorable honey yieldslhive in Venezuela and Colombia. Generally, most of the work on genetic improvement in honeybees have tried to improve honey productivity. Duay (1996) reported an increase up to 44% in the honey yields, after three years of improvement.

On the other hand, Manrique  (2001) working with selected africanized honey bees to produce propolis, also produced more propolis than Africanized honey bees without selection.

The main objective of this study was to compare two types of AHB queens, bred under different conditions and from diverse origins: Venezuelan queens (not improved), and Brazilian queens selected for propolis production in the westem plains region of Venezuela.

MATERIALS AND METHODS 

At the Production, Research, and Sustainable Beekeeping Unit (UPIDAS), ofthe Ezequiel Zarnora University in Guanare, Venezuela (09° 04 'N; 69° 48´O), ten nucleus were founded, using two types of AHB queens from different origins. Five nuclei were founded with free mated queens raised and bred in Venezuela (VEN) and the other five were founded with artificial inseminated queens from the Genetic Department of the Universidade de Sao Paulo at Ribeiriio Preto, Brazil (BRA). Langstroth hives were used and a 1 lt intenal feeder was placed inside the hive with sugar syrup. All colonies had the same handling and similar population size. Honey harvests were in February and in April 1999. It was used a totally randomized statistical design with two treatments and five repetitions/treatment. Data obtained from the two honey harvests were analyzed by "t" test. Treatments were distributed as follow:  

T₁: five nucleus with queens from Venezuela
T₂: five nucleus with queens from Brazil (queen improved for propolis production) 

Experimental period began in December 1998 with the foundation of the nuclei and ended in April 1999.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Results indicated differences (P < 0,01) for the averages honey yields in two harvests favorable to T₂ (BRA). Figure shows the average honey yields/treatment obtained.

Figure. Average honey yield/colony in two harvests

 The average honey yields obtained by T₁. (VEN) were similar to those reported by Arellano el al. (1989), De León and Thimann (1992), and Thimann (1992;1993;1995) using local bred AHB queens. The results obtained with colonies T₂ agree with the registered by Manrique (2001), and Duay (1996) in Brazil, that reported values over 45 kglcolony in "cerrado" conditions. Average honey yields from T₂ (BRA) were considered high compared to those obtained by the local beekeepers of the westem plains region of Venezuela (Vogel, personal communication, 2001); although the mean obtained for T₁. colonies was bigger than Venezuelan average (20 kg honey/colonie), reported by Manrique and Piccirillo (2001).  

CONCLUSIONS

 Genetically improved honey bee queens must be used to obtain higher honey yields during the main nectar/pollen flows. It is recornmended to requeen colonies every year.

These results showed that queens selected for propolis production also produce more honey.

Producción de miel con dos tipos de abejas africanizadas (híbridos de Apis mellifera seutellata) en los Llanos Occidentales de Venezuela

RESUMEN

Con la finalidad de medir la producción de miel en colonias de abejas africanizadas (hibrido de A. mellifera scutellata), utilizando abejas reina de diferentes procedencias, en noviembre de 1998, se fundaron diez núcleos en la Unidad Apícola de la Universidad Ezequiel Zamora, Guanare, Venezuela. En noviembre de 1998, se fundaron cinco de los núcleos con abejas reina adquiridas en Venezuela y cinco con abejas reinas de la Universidad de Sao Paulo, Brasil. Se pesó la producción de miel /colmena de las cosechas de febrero y abril de 1999. Se utilizó un arreglo completamente aleatorizado. Los datos de producción de miel obtenidos fueron analizados con la prueba de "t". Los resultados mostraron diferencias altamente significativas (P<O,OI) en los rendimientos de mieVcolmena favorable a las colonias con reinas procedentes de Brasil con valores promedio de 17 kg para la cosecha de febrero y de 26 kg en abril. En la zona de los Llanos Occidentales de Venezuela, se recomienda utilizar reinas de alta calidad genética a fin de mejorar los rendimientos de miel /colmena.

Palabras clave: Abejas africanizadas, mejoramiento genético. producción de miel,       Venezuela

REFFERENCES

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