Comparison of colony performances of Anatolian, Caucasian and Carniolan honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) genotypes in temperate climate conditions

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the performances of Mugla and Nigde ecotypes (A. m. anatoliaca), Caucasian (A. m. caucasica) and Carniolan (A. m. carnica) honeybee genotypes in the region of central Anatolia conditions. A total of 40 colonies (each genotype group consisted of 10 colonies) were used in the study. All queens were reared at the same time and in the same apiary and were instrumentally inseminated. The average numbers of combs covered with bees were found to be 11.24±0.59, 9.51±0.42, 8.11±0.31 and 12.38±0.72 per colony respectively; the average brood areas were found to be 2825.0±240.3, 2160.6±176.8, 1701.9±129.7 and 2883.0±104.4 cm2 per colony respectively; and the average honey yields were found to be 28.60±0.88, 15.40±0.69, 23.40±0.54 and 31.60±1.12 kg per colony in Mugla ecotype, Nigde ecotype, Caucasian and Carniolan genotypes respectively. The mean differences among the genotypes for number of combs with bees, brood area and honey yield were significant (P<0.01). These results showed that the Carniolan genotype had the best performance and Nigde ecotype had the lowest performance in temperate climate conditions. Therefore, productivity of the Nigde ecotype can be increased by a crossbreeding programme with Carniolan and Mugla genotypes.

Keywords

• Apis mellifera, Genotypes, Colony performance, Comparison, Temperate climate