A comparative study between four different hybrid local races of honey bee in some biological activity

Abstract EN

In this study, experiments were carried out during two seasons of 2017, 2018 using twenty colonies which contain four groups of hybrid strains, each strain contains five replicates.

The experiments were carried out on four different hybrid local races bees of, Italian hybrid, Carniolan hybrid and Egyptian hybrid from two different sources (Upper Egypt and Alexandria).

This study was established at the experimental apiary of the El-Sabaheia Research Station, Alexandria (27.2831North (˚N) and 30.7632 East˚(E).

Honey and pollen grains were measured during the two seasons 2017 & 2018.

The honey stored in cells of wax combs was measured by using a typical langstroth frame which is sub-divided into square inches by means of wire for twenty colonies during the two seasons 2017and 2018 to denote the total amount of honey in wax cells per season.

The obtained data showed that the highest mean of honey yield during the season of 2017 was hybrid Carniolan local 1040.85 (inch²) / colony followed by Egyptian Upper Egypt 1013.65 (inch²), then hybrid Italian local 487.33(inch²) / colony and the lowest mean was Egyptian Alexandria.

Meanwhile in the season of 2018 the data showed that the highest mean of honey yield was for the Egyptian Upper Egypt 418.88(inch²) followed by hybrid Italian local 367.84 (inch²) then Egyptian Alexandria 303.16 (inch²) and the lowest mean of honey yield was recorded during the season of 2018 for the hybrid Carniolan local 294.80 (inch²)/colony .

The stored pollen in cells of wax combs that has been measured by subdivided langstroth frame in square inches was calculated and the area of stored pollen by workers in the twenty colonies were compared.

The results of the current study showed that the collected pollen grains of the selected races during the season of 2017 recorded the highest mean of pollen grains in Egyptian Alexandria 142.77 (inch²)/colony followed by Egyptian upper Egypt 109.31(inch²)/colony then hybrid Carniola local 108.07 (inch²)/colony and the lowest mean of pollen grains was recorded in hybrid Italian local strain 87.82 (inch²)/colony .

The highest general mean of pollen grain during season 2018 was recorded in hybrid Italian local 202.84 followed by Egyptian upper Egypt 221.32 then hybrid Carniola local 190.09 (inch²)/colony and the lowest general mean was recorded in Egyptian Alexandria 183.04 (inch²) /colony .