Frequently Asked Questions
Frequently Asked Questions
Do hygienic colonies require treatments for diseases and mites?
Hygienic colonies will demonstrate good behavioral resistance to AFB and chalkbrood. This means that although hygienic colonies may become infected with these diseases, the bees will rapidly remove all evidence (clinical symptoms) of the diseases, so it appears they are completely healthy. In most cases, hygienic colonies will require no treatments for AFB or chalkbrood. At this point, bees selected for hygienic behavior will still require occasional treatments for the mites. With more widespread use of hygienic stock, however, bees will become more resistant to mites and will require fewer and fewer treatments.
How do bees detect diseased brood?
Most likely, hygienic bees detect abnormal brood by detecting abnormal odors with their antennae. Our research has shown hygienic bees have a more acute sense of smell for the odor of diseased brood than do bees that do not express hygienic behavior [7, 8, 9].
How is hygienic behavior inherited?
Hygienic behavior is a genetic trait. The work of Dr. Walter Rothenbuhler in the 1960s showed that it is a recessive trait, meaning that the queens and the majority of the drones she mates with must carry the hygienic genes for the workers in the colony to express the behavior [10]. However, modern genetic analysis is revealing that hygienic behavior is controlled by a number of genes in a complex way [11].
Important note about genetics
If you purchase a hygienic queen, it is important to know if the majority of drones she mated with also came from hygienic colonies. If the queen did not mate with hygienic drones, the workers she produces will not express the behavior, and your colony will not be hygienic. To increase the chances that hygienic queens mate with hygienic drones, the drones in most of the surrounding apiaries must come from hygienic colonies. Ask your queen producer about his/her drone-producing colonies. Some queen producers, particularly from Minnesota, raise and mate hygienic queens in areas where the majority of drones are also hygienic.
