Effects of Package Production on Temporal Caste Polyethism in the Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae)

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Temporal caste polyethism in honey bees, Apis mellifera L., was examined in the context of commercial package production, a beekeeping technique that parallels reproductive swarming by removing workers from established colonies and using them to start new colonies. Introduced workers began foraging at older ages in colonies founded from packages than in donor or control colonies. This delay was generally coupled with a longer duration of wax production. The package-founded colonies also showed greater relative numbers of wax producers and greater individual levels of wax production. Breaks in brood rearing and shifts in worker age distribution in colonies founded from packages were probably responsible for the observed delays in temporal caste ontogeny.