Assessing Queen Cell Cups Priming from Combs of Different Honey Bee Species for Mass Rearing of Apis mellifera L. Queen Bee
Padiyar Suraj Ganpat
Department of Entomology, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur-813210, Bihar, India.
Ramanuj Vishwakarma *
Department of Entomology, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur-813210, Bihar, India.
Tarak Nath Goswami
Department of Entomology, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur-813210, Bihar, India.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Experiments were carried out at the Beekeeping-cum-Honey Production Unit, Department of Entomology, Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, Bihar, India, during 2020-21. The study was aimed to evaluate queen cell cups prepared from combs of different bee species to find out a suitable technique for royal jelly production through mass queen bee rearing of Apis mellifera species. The worker bees of Apis mellifera (AM) exhibited a low preference for working with combs produced by Apis dorsata (AD) and Apis cerana (AC) for queen cell construction amongst evaluated combs. In contrast, when queen cell cups were made using AM combs, the worker bees attempted to build 100% of the cells. The time required by AM worker bees to complete queen cell construction on AM combs ranged from 7 to 15 days, however, they took 1.20 and 0.98 times longer to complete cells made with AD and AC combs, respectively. Similarly, queen bees showed reluctance to lay eggs in cells built on AD and AC combs. In queen cells constructed on AM combs, the queen bee began laying eggs on the second day after release into the nucleus hive and continued for five days, with an increasing trend in egg-laying activity. Among the different batches of eggs laid, the third batch was the most successful in respect of the larval growth and development. Additionally, larval growth showed a consistent upward trend during the first three days of observation for each laying batch. A. mellifera combs have been found to be more favourable for queen cell construction by worker bees, showing a strong preference for the queen's egg-laying performance, as well as optimal larval growth and development. Based on these findings, it is recommended that beekeepers may adopt this method to promote mass queen bee rearing and enhance royal jelly production.
Keywords: Apis mellifera, combs, honey bee, graft acceptance, queen cell cups