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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.
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