Journal article
Colony Failure Linked to Low Sperm Viability in Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Queens and an Exploration of Potential Causative Factors
PloS one, v 11(2), pp e0147220-e0147220
10 Feb 2016
PMID: 26863438
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
Queen health is closely linked to colony performance in honey bees as a single queen is normally responsible for all egg laying and brood production within the colony. In the U. S. in recent years, queens have been failing at a high rate; with 50% or greater of queens replaced in colonies within 6 months when historically a queen might live one to two years. This high rate of queen failure coincides with the high mortality rates of colonies in the US, some years with >50% of colonies dying. In the current study, surveys of sperm viability in US queens were made to determine if sperm viability plays a role in queen or colony failure. Wide variation was observed in sperm viability from four sets of queens removed from colonies that beekeepers rated as in good health (n = 12; average viability = 92%), were replacing as part of normal management (n = 28; 57%), or where rated as failing (n = 18 and 19; 54% and 55%). Two additional paired set of queens showed a statistically significant difference in viability between colonies rated by the beekeeper as failing or in good health from the same apiaries. Queens removed from colonies rated in good health averaged high viability (ca. 85%) while those rated as failing or in poor health had significantly lower viability (ca. 50%). Thus low sperm viability was indicative of, or linked to, colony performance. To explore the source of low sperm viability, six commercial queen breeders were surveyed and wide variation in viability (range 60-90%) was documented between breeders. This variability could originate from the drones the queens mate with or temperature extremes that queens are exposed to during shipment. The role of shipping temperature as a possible explanation for low sperm viability was explored. We documented that during shipment queens are exposed to temperature spikes (<8 and > 40°C) and these spikes can kill 50% or more of the sperm stored in queen spermathecae in live queens. Clearly low sperm viability is linked to colony performance and laboratory and field data provide evidence that temperature extremes are a potential causative factor.
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Details
- Title
- Colony Failure Linked to Low Sperm Viability in Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Queens and an Exploration of Potential Causative Factors
- Creators
- Jeffery S Pettis - United States Department of AgricultureNathan Rice - United States Department of AgricultureKatie Joselow - United States Department of AgricultureDennis vanEngelsdorp - University of Maryland, College ParkVeeranan Chaimanee - Maejo University
- Publication Details
- PloS one, v 11(2), pp e0147220-e0147220
- Publisher
- Public LIbrary of Science (PLOS)
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Ornithology
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000370046600022
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-84959387560
- Other Identifier
- 991021903222004721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Entomology