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Genetic and environmental influences on the duration of preimaginal worker development in eastern (Apis cerana) and western (Apis mellifera) honey bees in relation to varroatosis

Peter Rosenkranz^I,II; Wolf Engels^I

^IDepartamento de Genética, USP, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brasil; LS Entwicklungsphysiologie, Zoologisches Institut der Universität, D-72076 Tubingen, Germany. Send correspondence to W.E.
^IIBayerische Landesanstalt für Bienenzucht, Burgbergstrabe 70, D-91054 Erlangen, Germany

ABSTRACT

The parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni could recently switch from its original host, the Asian honey been Apis cerana, to the western hive bee Apis mellifera. With the exception of the Africanized bee in Brazil, colonies of western honey bees suffer much by this parasitation. The level of incidence depends on the efficacy of reproduction of the mite. One factor of importance is the duration of the postcapping period of worker brood development of the host, because reproduction of V. jacobsoni can only occur in capped brood cells. Data on this parameter are lacking from tropical honey bees and European colonies kept under tropical environmental conditions.
In the present study the contribution of genetic and environmental influences on preimaginal worker development was investigated under both tropical and temperate climate conditions in the original host, A. cerana, as well as in the new host, A. mellifera, of which European, African and Africanized colonies were used.
The data are discussed in relation to tolerance against varroatosis. With respect to the situation in Brazil, the well established non-susceptibility of the Africanized honey bees towards an infestation by V. jacobsoni evidently is not affected by the short duration of the postcapping phase in worker brood.

Keywords: genetic environmental; genetic influences; preimaginal worker; Apis cerana; Apis mellifera; honey bees; varroatosis.

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