Currently, most beekeepers replace queens artificially by employing selection and genetic improvement through methods (grafting) or systems (non-grafting) to achieve higher yield and productivity in colonies. However, there is a lack of information regarding the acceptance and oviposition rates of queens reared by both methods in the tropical region. The study aimed to evaluate the effect of queen bee rearing methods, non-grafting (Nicot), and grafting (Doolittle) on the reproductive phenotypic characteristics of Apis mellifera L. A completely randomized design was used to evaluate six colonies with two rearing methods for queen bee production with three replicates per method from October to December 2024. Colonies were supplemented with 1 L of sugar syrup and 50 g of a protein supplement in paste form. The results showed that the Doolittle method was superior (P < 0.001) in larval acceptance (90 % vs. 70 %), queen cell size (20 mm vs. 19 mm), emerged queens (80 % vs. 45 %), weight (195 mg vs. 180 mg) and laying (677 eggs vs. 441 eggs), compared to the Nicot system (70%; 19 mm; 45%; 180 mg; 441 eggs, respectively). In conclusion, the Doolittle method proved more effective in queen bee rearing, optimizing parameters such as weight and larval acceptance. These findings underscore the importance of adapting beekeeping strategies to environmental conditions, including implementing supplemental feeding to ensure productivity and quality in queen bee rearing.
Cite this paper
Castellanos-Zacarías, C. , Á, Domínguez-Rebolledo, L. , Zamora-Bustillos, R. , Vivas-Rodríguez, J. , Baeza-Rodríguez, J. , Ramón-Ugalde, J. and Loeza-Concha, H. (2025). Queen Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Production Using Grafting Method and Non-Grafting System. Open Access Library Journal, 12, e14411. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1114411.
Blacquière, T. and Panziera, D. (2018) A Plea for Use of Honey Bees’ Natural Resilience in Beekeeping. Bee World, 95, 34-38. https://doi.org/10.1080/0005772x.2018.1430999
Kulhanek, K., Steinhauer, N., Rennich, K., Caron, D.M., Sagili, R.R., Pettis, J.S., et al. (2017) A National Survey of Managed Honey Bee 2015-2016 Annual Colony Losses in the USA. Journal of Apicultural Research, 56, 328-340. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2017.1344496
Büchler, R., Cos-ta, C., Hatjina, F., Andonov, S., Meixner, M.D., Conte, Y.L., et al. (2014) The Influence of Genetic Origin and Its Interaction with Environmental Effects on the Survival of Apis mellifera L. Colonies in Europe. Journal of Apicultural Research, 53, 205-214. https://doi.org/10.3896/ibra.1.53.2.03
Giannini, T.C., Cordeiro, G.D., Freitas, B.M., Saraiva, A.M. and Im-peratriz-Fonseca, V.L. (2015) The Dependence of Crops for Pollinators and the Economic Value of Pollination in Brazil. Journal of Economic Entomology, 108, 849-857. https://doi.org/10.1093/jee/tov093
Mahbobi, A., Farshineh-Adl, M., Woyke, J. and Abbasi, S. (2012) Effects of the Age of Grafted Larvae and the Effects of Supplemental Feeding on Some Morphological Characteristics of Iranian Queen Honey Bees (Apis mellifera Meda Skorikov, 1929). Journal of Apicultural Science, 56, 93-98. https://doi.org/10.2478/v10289-012-0010-1
Contreras-Martinez, C.A., Contreras-Escareño, F., Macias-Macias, J.O., Tapia-Gonzalez, J.M., Petukhova, T. and Guzman-Novoa, E. (2017) Effect of Different Substrates on the Acceptance of Grafted Larvae in Commercial Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Queen Rearing. Journal of Apicultural Science, 61, 245-251. https://doi.org/10.1515/jas-2017-0019
Khan, K.A., Ghramh, H.A., Ahmad, Z., El-Niweiri, M.A.A. and Ahamed Mohammed, M.E. (2021) Queen Cells Acceptance Rate and Royal Jelly Production in Worker Honey Bees of Two Apis mellifera Races. PLOS ONE, 16, e0248593. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248593
Adgaba, N., Al-Ghamdi, A., Tadesse, Y., Alsarhan, R., Single, A., Mohammed, S.E., et al. (2019) The Responses of Apis mellifera Jemen-itica to Different Artificial Queen Rearing Techniques. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 26, 1649-1654. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sjbs.2018.08.028
Garcia, R.C., Oliveira, N.T.E.D., Camargo, S.C., Pires, B.G., Oliveira, C.A.L.D., Teixeira, R.D.A., et al. (2013) Honey and Propolis Production, Hygiene and Defense Behaviors of Two Generations of Africanized Honey Bees. Scientia Agricola, 70, 74-81. https://doi.org/10.1590/s0103-90162013000200003
Büchler, R., Andonov, S., Bienefeld, K., Costa, C., Hatjina, F., Kezic, N., et al. (2013) Standard Methods for Rearing and Selection of Apis mellifera Queens. Journal of Apicultural Re-search, 52, 1-30. https://doi.org/10.3896/ibra.1.52.1.07
Dhaliwal, N., Singh, J. and Chhuneja, P. (2019) Comparative Evaluation of Mass Queen Bee Rearing Techniques for Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in autumn Season. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 7, 1062-1065.
Abou-Shaara, H., Mehrparvar, S., Read, Q.D., Chen, J. and Amiri, E. (2024) Impact of Commercial Plastic Queen Cell Cups on Rearing Success and Development of Honey Bee Queens. Journal of Apicultural Research, 64, 1074-1084. https://doi.org/10.1080/00218839.2024.2418682
Akyol, E., Yeninar, H. and Kaftanoglu, O. (2008) Live Weight of Queen Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) Predicts Reproductive Characteristics. Journal of the Kansas Entomo-logical Society, 81, 92-100. https://doi.org/10.2317/jkes-705.13.1
Delaplane, K.S., van der Steen, J. and Guz-man-Novoa, E. (2013) Standard Methods for Estimating Strength Parameters of Apis mellifera Colonies. Journal of Apicul-tural Research, 52, 1-12.
Simbaña-Chorlango, H. (2015) Evaluación de tres métodos de reproducción de abejas reinas de la especie (Apis mellífera) en el cantón Pedro Moncayo. Tesis Doctoral, Universidad Politécnica Salesiana sede Quito-Ecuador.
Dodologlu, A., Emsen, B. and Gene, F. (2004) Comparison of Some Characteristics of Queen Honey Bees (Apis mellifera L.) Reared by Using Doolittle Method and Natural Queen Cells. Journal of Applied Animal Research, 26, 113-115. https://doi.org/10.1080/09712119.2004.9706518
Cengiz, M.M., Yazici, K. and Arslan, S. (2019) The Ef-fect of the Supplemental Feeding of Queen Rearing Colonies on the Reproductive Characteristics of Queen Bees (Apis mel-lifera L.) Reared from Egg and Different Old of Larvae. Kafkas Universitesi Veteriner Fakultesi Dergisi, 25, 849-855.
Dhaliwal, N.K., Singh, J. and Chhuneja, P.K. (2017) Comparative Evaluation of Doolittle, Cupkit and Karl Jenter Techniques for Rearing Apis mellifera Linnaeus Queen Bees during Breeding Season. Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 9, 1658-1661. https://doi.org/10.31018/jans.v9i3.1417
Güler, A., Korkmaz, A. and Kaftanoğlu, O. (1999) Reproductive Characteristics of Turkish Honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) Genotypes. Hayvansal üretim, 39, 113-119.
Arias Lagos, L.S. (2019) Evaluación y selección del comportamiento higiénico, defensividad y métodos de cría de reinas (Apis mellifera) en el Pacífico Central de Costa Rica Tesis de maestría, Centro de Investigaciones Apícolas Tropicales (CINAT), Universidad Nacional. Heredia, Costa Rica.
Kovalskyi, I., Kovalska, L., Druzhbiak, A., Kovalchuk, I., Boyko, A., Zhmur, V., et al. (2024) Ontogenesis of Honey Bees (Apis mellifera) under the Influence of Temperature Stress. Regulatory Mechanisms in Biosystems, 15, 300-305. https://doi.org/10.15421/022443
Chuda-Mickiewicz, B. and Samborski, J. (2015) The Quality of Hon-ey Bee Queens from Queen Cells Incubated at Different Temperatures. Acta Scientiarum Polonorum Zootechnica, 14, 25-32.
McAfee, A., Chapman, A., Higo, H., Underwood, R., Milone, J., Foster, L.J., et al. (2020) Vulnerability of Honey Bee Queens to Heat-Induced Loss of Fertility. Nature Sustainability, 3, 367-376. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-020-0493-x
Walton, A., Dolezal, A.G., Bakken, M.A. and Toth, A.L. (2018) Hungry for the Queen: Honeybee Nutritional Environment Affects Worker Pheromone Response in a Life Stage‐Dependent Manner. Functional Ecology, 32, 2699-2706. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2435.13222
