Avalos Arian, Walsh Elizabeth, Bixby Miriam, Card Andy, Card Wes
USDA-ARS Honey Bee Breeding, Genetics, and Physiology Research Laboratory, 1157 Ben Hur Road, Baton Rouge, LA 70820, USA.
Department of Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, 2125 East Mall, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada.
J Econ Entomol. 2024 Aug 12;117(4):1309-1314. doi: 10.1093/jee/toae094.
Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are the premier agricultural pollinators with direct ecological value and are key to some agro-economies. Major factors have negatively impacted honey bee health in the past 2 decades with Varroa (Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman) infestation rising as a principal predictor of colony mortality. A key strategy deployed in Varroa management is breeding for resistant honey bee populations that can maintain comparable levels of productivity as nonresistant populations. In this study, we examine one such population, Hilo honey bees, within the context of a common garden contrast with a commercial population in a stationary honey production operation. We compare colony survival, health, yield, and profit outcomes to show how this specific breeding population retains a profit value in honey production operations while maintaining higher survival and lower Varroa infestation levels than the commercial population. This information can be used by commercial beekeepers to make best management practice decisions and inspire further work examining what trade-offs, if any, are present in this Varroa-resistant population.
蜜蜂（西方蜜蜂Apis mellifera L.）是具有直接生态价值的首要农业授粉昆虫，对一些农业经济至关重要。在过去20年里，主要因素对蜜蜂健康产生了负面影响，其中蜂螨（狄斯瓦螨Varroa destructor Anderson和Trueman）侵扰日益成为蜂群死亡率的主要预测指标。蜂螨管理中采用的一项关键策略是培育抗性蜜蜂种群，使其能保持与非抗性种群相当的生产力水平。在本研究中，我们在一个固定蜂蜜生产作业的共同园圃环境下，将一个这样的种群——希洛蜜蜂，与一个商业种群进行对比研究。我们比较蜂群的存活率、健康状况、产量和利润结果，以展示这一特定育种种群在蜂蜜生产作业中如何在保持比商业种群更高的存活率和更低的蜂螨侵扰水平的同时，仍保留利润价值。商业养蜂人可利用这些信息做出最佳管理实践决策，并激发进一步研究，探究这种抗蜂螨种群中是否存在权衡取舍。
