Summary
Factors which may initiate queen rearing and swarming in colonies of Africanized honeybees are presented. These factors include colony size (comb area, worker population), patterns of comb utilization, congestion of brood and adult workers in the brood nest area, and worker age distribution. Factors not associated with queen rearing and swarming include volume of the potential nesting cavity and the ratio of nurse bees to brood, a measure of available brood food. A new multifactorial hypothesis for the initiation of swarming in honeybees is presented, based on intrinsic (demographic) and extrinsic (resource abundance) factors acting as primary stimuli to initiate queen rearing.
Resume
Les facteurs qui peuvent être à l'origine d'un élevage de reines et de la formation d'essaims dans les colonies d'abeilles domestiques africanisées sont les suivantes: — La taille de la colonie (surface couverte par les alvéoles et population d'ouvrières); — les types d'utilisation des alvéoles; — la surpopulation des larves et des ouvrières adultes dans la surface réservée au couvain; — la distribution des âges des ouvrières. Les facteurs qui ne sont pas liés à l'élevage des reines et à la formation d'essaims comprennent: — le volume des cavités de nidification et la proportion des nourrices par rapport au couvain (ce qui constitue une mesure de la quantité de nourriture disponible pour les larves). Nous formulons une nouvelle hypothèse multifactorielle sur l'origine de la formation des essaims d'abeilles domestiques: elle est fondée sur des facteurs intrinsèques (démographiques) et extrinsèques (l'abondance des ressources) agissant comme des stimuli «primaires» qui induisent l'élevage des reines.
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Contribution 1711 from the Department of Entomology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, U.S.A.
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Winston, M.L., Taylor, O.R. Factors preceding queen rearing in the Africanized honeybee (Apis mellifera) in South America. Ins. Soc 27, 289–304 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223722
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02223722