The Polyandrous Queen Honey Bee: Biology and Apiculture

The queen honey bee is known to mate with multiple drones, and can produce over a million offspring in its lifetime. Its presence is vital to the growth and survival of a beehive. This reference book is a detailed guide to queen honey bees. The book starts by providing deep insights into the fascinating biology of the queen honey bees, their morphometric features, developmental synchronicity, genetics, hormones, pheromones, colonial organization and swarming. Further, the book describes artificial queen rearing techniques that facilitate healthy bee colony growth and increase apiculture productivity. The book equips readers with all the knowledge they need to know about queen bee development, their role in the colony and improving the health of their colony. Key Features- 14 reader-friendly chapters that comprehensively present information about queen honey bees- Comprehensive coverage about queen bee biology, including their physical morphology, genetics, proteomics, development and behavior (including worker and drone interactions)- Information about the role of queen bees in colonial organization and life-cycle events- Practical information that helps to improve bee colony health for research and apiculture (disease mechanisms and control, artificial breeding) The book is an essential primary reference on queen honey bees for biology and entomology students, academicians and researchers at all educational levels. Apiculturists, bee keeping enthusiasts, and general readers interested in honey bees can also benefit from the breadth of information presented. Cover Title Copyright End User License Agreement Contents Preface The Queen Honey Bee: Introduction, Development, Pheromones, Mating, and Role in the Colony 1.1. INTRODUCTION 1.1.1. General Information about Colonial Organizations 1.1.2. Different Castes and Respective Duties 1.1.3. General Differences in the Three Castes 1.1.4. Ovarian State of Active Queen and Sterile Workers 1.1.5. Queen Quality Influencing Factors 1.1.6. Queen Failure 1.2. DEVELOPMENT OF QUEEN 1.2.1. Queen Development: General Information 1.2.2. Development Post-Queen Egg Hatching 1.2.3. Queen Larval Development 1.2.4. Role of Royal Jelly 1.2.5. Plasticity of the Queen Development Phase 1.3. QUEEN PHEROMONES 1.3.1: Queen Pheromones Composition 1.3.2. Queen Mating Status Correlation with QMPs 1.3.3. Functions of Pheromones 1.4. MATING 1.4.1. Nuptial Flight 1.4.2. DCA 1.4.3. Process of Mating and Post Mating 1.5. ROLE OF QUEEN HONEY BEE REFERENCES The Queen Honey Bee Duties in the Composite Colonies 2.1. REPRODUCIBILITY OF QUEEN HONEY BEE 2.1.1. General Information on Queen Reproduction 2.1.2. Factors Influencing Queen Reproductive Characteristics 2.1.3. Queen Making Decision in the Colony 2.1.4. The Queen Elimination Procedure 2.2. QUEEN PHEROMONES 2.2.1. General Information about Queen Pheromones 2.2.2. Queen Mandibular Gland Pheromones 2.2.3. Dufour’s Gland 2.3. CONCLUSION REFERENCES The Queen Honey Bee Morphology, Development, and Reproductive System 3.1. INTRODUCTION 3.2. MORPHOLOGY OF THE QUEEN 3.3. DEVELOPMENT OF THE QUEEN HONEY BEE 3.4. OVARIAN STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY (3A-B) REFERENCES Royal Jelly as Larval Food for Honey Bees 4.1. INTRODUCTION 4.1.1. Information That Is General Regarding Royal Jelly 4.2. COMPOSITION 4.2.1. Sugar 4.2.2. Lipid 4.2.3. Protein 4.2.4. Phenols, Flavonoids And Free Amino Acids 4.2.5. Vitamins, Minerals And Other Bioactive Sustances 4.2.6. The Importance of Royal Jelly to the Developmental Process 4.3. SECRETION OF ROYAL JELLY 4.4. DIET OF OTHER CASTES CONCLUSION REFERENCES Quality Influencing Factors and Disease Resistance in Queen of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) 5.1. INTRODUCTION 5.2. “STRONG QUEEN AND COLONY.” 5.3. QUEEN QUALITY AND ASSOCIATED FACTORS 5.3.1. Larval Selection Influence 5.3.2. Other Factors 5.4. OVARIAN WEIGHT AND FUNCTIONALITY AS QUEEN QUALITY INDEXES 5.5. QUALITY OF QUEEN ON THE BASICS OF SPERMATHECAE 5.6. DISEASES AND REPRODUCTIVITY OF QUEEN HONEY BEE CONCLUSION REFERENCES Differential Pheromone Secretion By Female Castes In Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) 6.1. INTRODUCTION 6.2. QUEEN PHEROMONES 6.2.1. Queen Mandibular Gland 6.2.1.1. Composition of QMPs and Variation in Accordance of Mating Status 6.2.1.2. Secretion of QMP 6.2.1.3. Colonial Regulation Imposed by QMP 6.2.1.4. On Retinue 6.2.1.5. On Wax Secretion 6.2.1.6. On Ovarian Development 6.2.2. Dufour's Gland 6.2.3. Koschevnikov Gland 6.2.4. Tarsal Gland 6.3. WORKERS' PHEROMONES Alarm pheromone 6.3.1. Koschevnikov Gland 6.3.2. Mandibular Gland 6.3.3. Brood Recognition Pheromones 6.3.4. Nasonov Gland 6.3.5. Dufour's Gland Pheromone 6.3.6. Footprint Pheromones 6.3.7. Forager Pheromone 6.3.8. Other Pheromones CONCLUSION REFERENCES Mandibular Pheromone Types, Functions, Synthesis, And Associated Genetic Elements In The Queen Honey Bee, Apis mellifera 7.1. INTRODUCTION 7.2. COMPOSITION OF QMP 7.3. DIFFERENTIAL MANDIBULAR PHEROMONAL COMPOSITION IN QUEEN AND WORKER HONEY BEE 7.4. SYNTHESIS OF QMPS 7.5. EFFECT OF QMP 7.5.1. On Mating and Swarm 7.5.2. On Retinue 7.6. WORKERS' MANDIBULAR GLAND PHEROMONES 7.7. GENE ASSOCIATED WITH MANDIBULAR GLAND CONCLUSION REFERENCES Retinue Behaviour of Worker Honey Bees 8.1. INTRODUCTION 8.2. PHEROMONES FOR ATTRACTION OF NEST MATES 8.2.1. Factors For Inducing Variation in Retinue Behaviour 8.2.2. Various Components of QMP and Retinue in Workers 8.2.3. QMP Influence on Drone and Swarming 8.2.4. Colonial Transfer of Queen Pheromones CONCLUSION REFERENCES Influence of Queen Pheromones on Worker Ovarian PCD in Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) 9.1. INTRODUCTION 9.2. QUEEN PHEROMONES RELATED TO PCD IN WORKERS' OVARIES 9.2.1. General Information 9.2.1.1. General Ovarian Structure 9.2.1.2. Larval Gonadial Development 9.2.2. Main Pheromones Which Influence PCD 9.2.3. Differential Pheromonal Synthesis in Queen and Workers 9.3. QUEEN'S INFLUENCE ON PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH 9.3.1. General Information 9.3.2. Mechanism of PCD 9.3.3. Detection of PCD in Workers' Ovaries CONCLUSION REFERENCES Genetic Influence on Ovarian Development Plasticity In Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) 10.1. INTRODUCTION 10.2. DIFFERENTIAL GENE EXPRESSION IN QUEEN AND WORKERS 10.3. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF VARIOUS GENETIC REGULATORS OF PCD 10.3.1. Anarchy Gene 10.3.2. Ark Gene 10.3.3. Miscellaneous Description of Various Genes Involved in Development 10.3.4. Hormonal Effect on Gene Expression CONCLUSION REFERENCES Drone Development, Biology, and And Interaction With The Queen in Apis mellifera 11.1. INTRODUCTION 11.2. GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 11.3. DIPLOID DRONES 11.4. LIFE SPAN 11.5. DRONE NUMBER 11.6. FLIGHT ACTIVITY 11.7. DRIFT AND ORIENTATION OF DRONES' FLIGHT TO THE HIVE 11.8. ATTRACTION OF DRONES TO VIRGIN QUEEN 11.9. DRONE DEVELOPMENT 11.10. REPRODUCTIVE SYSTEM OF DRONES 11.11:MATING 11.12. INFLUENTIAL FACTORS FOR DRONE QUALITY 11.13. DRONE AGING CONCLUSION REFERENCES Mating and Reproduction in Queen Honey Bee 12.1. INTRODUCTION 12.2. MATING AND FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE 12.3. FACTORS AFFECTING MATING 12.4. PHEROMONES 12.5. DRONES CONGREGATION AREAS 12.6. DRONE ATTRACTION CONCLUSION REFERENCES Swarming and Queen Honey Bee 13.1. INTRODUCTION 13.2. FACTORS AFFECTING SWARMING 13.2.1. Queen Age As Promoting Factor for Swarming 13.2.2. Reduced Queen Pheromones 13.2.3. Infection as Cause of Swarming 13.3. ROLE OF QUEEN MANDIBULAR PHEROMONES IN SWARMING 13.4. OTHER QUEEN GLANDS PHEROMONES IN SWARMING 13.5. MAJOR EVENTS IN SWARMING 13.5.1. Pre-Swarming Phase 13.5.2. Exodus of Swarm 13.5.3.Swarming 13.5.4. Migration During Swarming 13.6.TYPES OF SWARMING WORKERS 13.7.AGE AND PHYSIOLOGY OF SWARMING WORKERS 13.8. NATAL COLONY AFTER SWARMING CONCLUSION REFERENCES Requeen Process and Importance 14.1. INTRODUCTION 14.2. QUEEN'S ROLE AND GENERAL DEVELOPMENT 14.3. METHOD OF QUEEN PRODUCTION CONCLUSION REFERENCES Subject Index Back Cover