ENVS 2210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Germplasm, 21 Days, Africanization
Document Summary
Colonization, impact and control of africanized honey bees in mexico. Well-defined seasons, warm summers, much honey, long winter. Gentle bees eliminated, swarms tend to die. Swarms tend to survive and bees are aggressive (evolved for predation) Storing honey is less important, continuous reprod cycle. Don"t store a lot of food (attracts predators) Queens of scrutellata introduced and later some escaped and mated with european honey bees = africanized honey bees. Many characteristics give africanized bees advantages to survive and adapt better than european honey bees. E. g. more nectar and pollen foraging, higher tendency to swarm, abscond, migrate, rob, higher disease resistance, more defensive, lower size and weight, developmental time, queen lays more eggs, more drones produced. 18. 5 days for workers vs 21 days. No significant differences for queen and drones. Capable to produce workers at a faster rate. Queens can lay 3000 eggs per day vs 2000 in european. Brood combs almost always fully occupied by larvae and pupae.