A population investment sex ratio for the honey bee ( Apis mellifera L.).

R. E. Page, R. A. Metcalf

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

75 Scopus citations

Abstract

Data suggest that a stable population colony investment sex ratio exists for the honey bee. As a consequence of the fissioning mode of colony reproduction, this investment ratio is best expressed in terms of the average population production of reproductive male (drone) biomass and the biomass of sterile workers. A tentative model for a populational investment sex ratio based on Fisher's (1930) sex ratio hypothesis is presented in terms of colony seasonal drone and worker brood production and suggests a ratio for both populations tending toward 1:1.-from Authors

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)680-702
Number of pages23
JournalAmerican Naturalist
Volume124
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 1 1984

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics

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