The payoffs and tradeoffs of hygienic behavior: a five year field study on a local population of honey bees

Abstract

Honey bees are exposed to a variety of risk factors, among which the ectoparasitic mite Varroa destructor and its associated viruses are considered to be the most significant problem worldwide. It has been widely recognized that honey bee stocks resistant to mites are an essential part of any sustainable long-term management of Varroa. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of hygienic behavior in a local population of honey bees in reducing Varroa infestation. A bi-directional selection for high and low rates of hygienic behavior was carried out in Israel using either artificially inseminated or naturally mated queens. Colonies were screened for performance including population size, honey production, levels of Varroa infestation, and the level of hygienic behavior. Furthermore, we examined the costs and benefits of the selection, and possible trade-offs, using the above measurements of colony performance to ensure their productivity. The selection process revealed that the trait is heritable. The maternal phenotype has a significant effect on Varroa load, as colonies founded by hygienic daughter queens showed a significantly lower parasite load. No major trade-offs were found between the rate of hygienic behavior, honey yield, and population size. Measuring the direct benefits of hygienic behavior through colony performance suggests that breeding for this trait makes bees more resistant to Varroa destructor. These results are promising for our successful local bee breeding programs in a Mediterranean climate.

Keywords:

• Apis mellifera
• breeding
• Varroa mite
• integrated pest management
• honey production

Acknowledgments

We wish to thank the beekeeper Ilia Zaidman for technical assistance with colonies, Dr. Hillary Voet for her help with statistical analysis, Dr. Beatrice Nganso for her critical review on the draft of this manuscript, Dr. Rafaeli for her comments on the revised version, anonymous reviewers for their critical comments and BARD Binational Foundation grant IS-5078-18 to VS for funding final stages of this research.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.