Full text in pdf format

Genetic and within-colony environmental components of variation in the hamuli number of africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)

José Alexandre Felizola Diniz-Filho^I; Osmar Malaspina^II; Daniela Honorato Cavalheri^II

^IDepartamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Goiás, Caixa Postal 131, 74001-970 Goiania, GO, Brasil. Send correspondence to J.A.F.D. F.
^IIDepartamento de Biologia, Instituto de Biociências, UNESP, Caixa Postal 199, 13506-900 Rio Claro, SP, Brasil

ABSTRACT

We analysed the genetic and within-colony components of variation in the hamuli number of an Africanized honey bee population, using the methodology proposed by Oldroyd and Moran (Aust. J. Biol. Sci. 36: 323-332, 1983), modified to account for within-colony environmental variation. Estimated heritability was equal to 0.6768 + 0.2991, assuming that queens were inseminated by 17 unrelated drones, and the within-colony environmental variance component was non significant (F=0.02; P=0.996). This indicates that heritabilities of hamuli number obtained using the methodology proposed by Oldroyd and Moran (Aust. J. Biol. Sci. 36: 323-332, 1983) are not seriously affected by within colony environmental effects, at least in this population of Africanized honey bees.

Keywords: genetic environmental; hamuli number; africanized honey bees.

REFERENCES

Adams, J.E., Rothman, E.D., Kerr, W.E. and Paulino-Simões, Z.L. (1977). Estimation of the number of sex alleles and queen matings from diploid male frequencies in a population of Apis mellifera. Genetics 86: 583-596.

Daly, H.V. and Balling, S.S. (1978). Identification of Africanized honey-bees in the Western Hesmisphere by discriminant analysis. J. Kansas Entomol. Soc. 51: 857-869.

Diniz-Filho, J.A.F., Bueno, O.C., Chaud-Netto, J. and Malaspina, O. (1993). Heritability of the number of ovarioles in honey bee workers (Apis mellifera L.) (Hym.: Apidae). Rev. Brasil. Genet. 16: 917-921.

Gonçalves, L.S. (1977). Estimativas de variabilidade, herdabilidade e progresso de seleção em duas linhagens selecionadas de Apis rnellifera L. (seleção direcional). Ciência & Cultura 29: 736.

Lobo, J.A. (1991). Modelos para análise de frequências alélicas e mistura racial em Apis rnellifera. Doctoral Thesis, FMRP-USP, Ribeirão Preto.

Milne, C.P. (1985). An estimate of the heritability of the corbicular area of the honeybee. J. Apic. Resear. 24: 137-139.

Moritz, R.F.A. (1985). Heritability of the postcapping stage in Apis rnellifera and its relation to varroatosis resistence. J.Hered. 76: 267-270.

Oldroyd, B. and Moran, C. (1983). Heritability of worker characters in the honeybee (Apis rnellifera). Aust. J. Biol. Sci. 36: 323-332.

Oldroyd, B. and Moran, C. (1987). Additive and heterotic genetic effects in the haplo-diploid honeybee, Apis mellifera. Austr. J. Biol. Sci. 40: 57-63.

Oldroyd, B., Rinderer, T.E. and Buco, S. (1991). Heritability of morphological characters used to distinguish European and Africanized honeybees. Theor. Appl. Genet. 82: 499-504.

Page, R. (1986). Sperm utilization in social insects. Ann. Rev. Entomol. 31: 297-320.

Rinderer, T.E. (1977). Measuring the heritability of characters in honeybees. J. Apic. Resear. 16: 95-98.

Rinderer, T.E., Sylvester, H.A., Collins, A.M. and Pesante, D. (1986). Identification of Africanized and European honey bees: effects of nurse bee genotype and comb size. Bull. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 32: 150-152.

SAS, Institute Inc. (1988). SAS/STATS User's Guide. Release 6.03 Edition. Cary, NC.

Sokal, R.R. and Rohlf, F.J. (1981). Biometry. 2nd edn. W.H. Freeman, NY, pp. 859.