The payoffs and tradeoffs of hygienic behavior: a five year field study on a local population of honey bees

Artículo

Honey bees are exposed to a variety of risk factors, among which the ectoparasitic miteVarroa destructor and its associated viruses are considered to be the most significant prob-lem worldwide. It has been widely recognized that honey bee stocks resistant to mites arean essential part of any sustainable long-term management of Varroa. The aim of this studywas to evaluate the efficacy of hygienic behavior in a local population of honey bees inreducing Varroa infestation. A bi-directional selection for high and low rates of hygienicbehavior was carried out in Israel using either artificially inseminated or naturally matedqueens. Colonies were screened for performance including population size, honey produc-tion, levels of Varroa infestation, and the level of hygienic behavior. Furthermore, we exam-ined the costs and benefits of the selection, and possible trade-offs, using the abovemeasurements of colony performance to ensure their productivity. The selection processrevealed that the trait is heritable. The maternal phenotype has a significant effect on Varroaload, as colonies founded by hygienic daughter queens showed a significantly lower parasiteload. No major trade-offs were found between the rate of hygienic behavior, honey yield,and population size. Measuring the direct benefits of hygienic behavior through colony per-formance suggests that breeding for this trait makes bees more resistant to Varroa destruc-tor. These results are promising for our successful local bee breeding programs in aMediterranean climate.