Effects of the isolation conditions on morphology and performance of honey bees

Abstract

Keeping honey bee colonies in isolated areas can cause inbreeding. The inbreeding over a long period is good for the purity of bee subspecies but also has some negative effects including the low performance of colonies. This study was performed on hybrid honey bee colonies placed in an isolated location for about five years to check the effects of inbreeding on them. The bees were able to mate with each other during this period of time without introducing new bee queens or bee packages. Some morphological characteristics and parameters were studied to test the purity of the bees and the presence of any negative effects due to inbreeding. The results showed the presence of variations between studied colonies without any negative effects on bee morphology, hygienic behavior, bee larvae development, brood rearing activity, and food storing activity. The study highlighted the absence of deleterious effects on honey bees due to inbreeding under isolation conditions.