Production Performance, Defensive, Hygienic, Swarming, and Foraging Behavior of Apis mellifera scutellate bee race

Abstract

Honey bee colonies exhibit a wide range of behavioral variations depending on genetic origin and environmental factors. Therefore, the performance evaluation of honey bee races is critical to laying a foundation for future selection and improvement in Ethiopia. Thirty colonies of Apis mellifera scutellata (A.m.scutellata) similar in resources contained in the hive were kept in improved box hives and evaluated through reproductive swarming tendency, foraging activity, defensive behavior, hygienic behavior, brood population, honey production, and absconding behavior during the active season and dearth season. In the study area, the A.m.scutellata race has a higher swarming tendency in the active season, with up to 3.24 queen caps per hive prepared per year. Defensive behavior during the active season takes an average of 25.41second after disturbances and follows up to a 212.20-meter distance. But during the dearth season, the colony slightly took a long time to reach aggressiveness after disturbance (31.28 seconds) and followed the observer for a short distance (45.58 meters). The closed brood production is higher (149 units per hive) during the active season and nectar production units per hive are reduced by 50% as compared to the dearth season. The yielding performance of the race per frame ranged from 1.3 kg to 1.5 kg, and an average of 14 kg of honey per harvest. The A.m.scutellata exhibited an absconding tendency of 34.5% if there was any disruption. A.m. scutellata showed good performance in hygienic behaviors (>95%), but undesirable behaviors in defensive behavior and swarming tendency make it difficult to manage honey bees. However, the race has good performance in foraging and hygienic behaviors. Further, studies of the honey bee race through selection and breeding could be conducted to reduce the higher aggressiveness and swarming tendency of A. m. scutellata to improve production performance.