EFFICIENCY OF BREEDING APIS MELLIFERA CAUCASICA QUEEN BEES IN THE KRASNODAR TERRITORY

Abstract

Productivity in beekeeping is closely related to the quality of queen bees. The productivity of the bee colony depends on the productivity of the queen bees. Currently, various nucleus hives are used to breed queens, but in recent decades there have been no studies on the effect of various nucleus hives on the quality of breeding queens in them in the Krasnodar Territory. The current situation does not allow us to fully achieve the genetic potential of bee colonies and effectively use the renewable resources of our region. The research was carried out in the conditions of the apiary peasant farm enterprise Kolodchenko A.N., located in the Apsheronsky District of the Krasnodar Territory on Apis mellifera caucasica bee colonies of the “Krasnopolyansky” type. In April 2024, three groups of 24 nucleus hives of three frame sizes were hived with a simultaneous placement of an unmated queen bee in a cage into the nucleus hive: control – 135 × 140 mm; experiment 1 – 205 × 140 mm; experiment 2 – 205 × 105 mm. During the experiment, the number of fertile queen bees, which were obtained in five cycles, was recorded. As a result of the studies, the following data were obtained: when breeding queens in nucleus hives with a frame size of 205 × 105 mm (2nd experimental group), the preservation of the nucleus hives was better – 70.8%, and in the control and the 1st experimental groups – 62,55 and 58,3%, respectively; more fertile queen bees were obtained in the control and the 1st experimental groups per 1 nucleus hive (td = 0,38–1,14) – by 0,2 and 0,3; fertile queen bees – by 0,22 (td = 0,06) and 5,93% (td = 2,14) than in the control and the 1st experimental groups per one unmated queen bee.