Body mass but not wing size or symmetry correlates with life span of honey bee drones

In social insects such as the honey bee, the quality of drones at the time of their emergence can affect their maintenance in the colony until maturity. Body mass, wing size and wing asymmetry of emerging honey bee drones were measured and correlated with their life span in the colony and compared b...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bulletin of entomological research 2019-06, Vol.109 (3), p.383-389
Main Authors: Czekońska, K., Szentgyörgyi, H., Tofilski, A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Age
Animal reproduction
Apis mellifera
Asymmetry
Beekeeping
Bees
Body mass
Body size
Colonies
Correlation analysis
Drones
Emergence
Evictions
Food
Honey
Insects
Life span
Longevity
Males
Mass
Maturity
Nursing
Quality
Research Papers
Sexual maturity
Success
Survival
Symmetry
Weight reduction
Wings
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Summary:In social insects such as the honey bee, the quality of drones at the time of their emergence can affect their maintenance in the colony until maturity. Body mass, wing size and wing asymmetry of emerging honey bee drones were measured and correlated with their life span in the colony and compared between individuals reaching maturity or not. The life span of drones differed among colonies in which they were maintained after emergence but not between colonies in which they were reared. More drones heavier at emergence reached sexual maturity at 15 days and had a longer life span compared with light-weight drones of lower mass. The size and symmetry of drone forewings was not correlated with their life span. Our results suggest that body mass at emergence is a good predictor of drone survival in the colony.
ISSN:0007-4853
1475-2670
DOI:10.1017/S0007485318000664