Читать книгу Honey Bee Medicine for the Veterinary Practitioner - Группа авторов - Страница 97

The queen's contributions to colony “colony performance” are:

1 The number of eggs that she produces,

2 Her genetics, which then supply half the genetics to each of her daughters – the workers,

3 The genetics of the guys she mated with – the other half of the genetic equation, and

4 Some passing on of transgenerational epigenetic immunity.

After that, it's up to her offspring. Colony‐level performance is mostly the result of how well the genetically‐diverse patrilines of workers work as a “team.”

Practical application: In general, a well‐reared, well‐mated queen of average genetics will outperform a poorly reared, poorly mated queen of the best genetics. After that, it's largely a matter of chance of how the patrilines of daughters happen to function together as a “team” (Figure 5.8), “performance” being more the result of the workers than the queen.

Practical application: Unlike other livestock, honey bee queens are polyandrous, resulting in a colony of bees consisting of a mix of patrilines of half‐sisters, each fathered by one of the many drones with which their mother mated. Thus, there will always be genetic differences and diversity, even with colonies headed by sister queens. The performance of each colony as a whole is thus a matter of chance, similar to putting together a sports team of players (each patriline of worker bees) without knowing how well they will perform as a group (the colony). Bottom line: you might advise beekeepers to start in spring with twice as many colonies as they hope to take through the winter, and not waste their time on those that don't perform well. Some commercial beekeepers (the author included) simply cull any poor performers.

Figure 5.8 A histogram of colony performance (weight gain) of 35 colonies, started with sister queens mated and managed identically in one of the author's yards. Note the normal distribution of performance.

Practical application: On the other hand, many a poorly‐performing colony can completely turn around once it clears itself of disease, or enjoys better nutrition. If honey production is not the beekeeper's main goal, they may find joy in helping a struggling colony to get back on its feet.