Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Pawe Agricultural Research Center, Pawe, Ethiopia.
Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, DebreMarkos Agricultural Research Center, DebreMarkos, Ethiopia.
Vet Med Sci. 2022 Nov;8(6):2696-2702. doi: 10.1002/vms3.885. Epub 2022 Jul 22.
Honeybee colonies differ in performance due to variations in their traits in terms of production, productivity and behaviour. The objective of this study was to identify and evaluate the performance of honey bee race at their geographical location.
A total of 20 honey bee colonies from traditional hives were transferred into frame hives and arranged randomly with enough space between the colonies. Colonies were evaluated for aggressiveness, hygienic behaviour, brood area, pollen and nectar stores, absconding and honey yield.
The results indicated that colonies were generally aggressive, and the majority of colonies at 2.3-m away from the entrance reacted to the external body. They removed 95.7% ± 0.75% of the pin-killed pupae in 24 h, and there was significant (p < 0.05) variation among the different observations. The average population of the brood was 24.925 ± 7.714 unit area of brood/hive during the honey flow period. Similarly, the area allocated for storing pollen grains could reach up to 11.46 ± 3.96-unit area of pollen/hive. The swarming and absconding behaviour of the race was on average 3.39 ± 0.6, and 25% queen cells were found during the breeding season and dearth period, respectively. On average, the 8.85 ± 0.54 kg honey yield per colony per harvest on one honey chamber box was nearly similar to the national average (19.4 kg/hive/year) when harvested two times per year.
In general, the Apis mellifera secutellata race is good in hygienic tendency and also performs well for honey yield under optimal management practices. The absconding and aggressive behaviour was high; the main reasons were extreme weather condition, and different pest and disease, seasonality of bee flora were the major ones. So, based on the current findings A. m. scutellata was predominantly available in the area and highly productive if well-managed. On the other hand, we are recommended on dearth period management and on the height of shade bee colonies.
由于生产、生产力和行为方面的特性存在差异，蜜蜂种群的表现也各不相同。本研究的目的是确定和评估在地理位置上的蜜蜂品种的性能。
总共从传统蜂箱中转移了 20 个蜜蜂种群到框架蜂箱中，并随机排列，确保每个蜂群之间有足够的空间。对蜂群的攻击性、卫生行为、巢区、花粉和花蜜储存、逃蜂和蜂蜜产量进行了评估。
结果表明，蜜蜂种群通常具有攻击性，在距离入口 2.3 米处的大多数蜂群对外界物体有反应。它们在 24 小时内清除了 95.7%±0.75%的被针刺死的蛹，不同观察结果之间存在显著差异（p<0.05）。在蜜源期，每只蜜蜂的幼虫种群平均为 24.925±7.714 个单位面积/群。同样，花粉粒储存区的面积可达 11.46±3.96 个单位面积/群。该品种的分蜂和逃蜂行为平均分别为 3.39±0.6 和 25%，在繁殖季节和缺蜜期分别发现了 25%的蜂王巢。平均每个蜂群每收获一次一箱蜂蜜的产量为 8.85±0.54 千克，每年两次收获时接近全国平均水平（19.4 千克/群/年）。
总的来说，在最佳管理实践下，塞普西隆蜜蜂品种具有良好的卫生倾向，产蜜量也很好。逃蜂和攻击性行为较高；主要原因是极端天气条件、不同的病虫害、蜜蜂植物的季节性是主要原因。因此，根据目前的发现，塞普西隆蜜蜂在该地区普遍存在，如果管理得当，产量很高。另一方面，我们建议在缺蜜期进行管理，并注意蜂群的遮荫高度。
