Osmotic concentration in three races of honey bee, Apis mellifera L. under environmental conditions of arid zone

Hussain Ali, Abdulaziz S. Alqarni, Ayman A. Owayss, Awad M. Hassan, Brian Smith

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Hemolymph osmolarity has great effect on honey bee health, especially in arid and semi-arid zones. It regulates water and nutrients in stressed tissues. Osmotic concentration in three races (Apis mellifera ligustica, A. m. carnica and A. m. jemenitica) of Apis mellifera was tested in central Saudi Arabia during spring and summer seasons in 2015. Newly emerged bee workers were first marked and later their hemolymph was extracted after intervals of 1, 5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 days. A significant positive correlation between age and osmolarity was found in all three races during spring and summer seasons. The lowest combined osmotic concentration for all three races was found after 1 day interval, while the highest osmotic concentration was recorded after 25 days. Among all races, A. m. ligustica showed significantly high osmotic concentration after 25 days in spring and summer seasons as compared to the other two races. Only A. m. jemenitica showed similar osmotic concentration after 10 and 15 days in both spring and summer seasons compared to other two races. Mean osmotic concentration of all three races was significantly different after 20 and 25 days in spring and summer seasons. Overall mean recorded during summer was significantly higher than the mean of spring season. Combined osmotic concentration in young drones of all races was significantly lower than that of old drones during spring and summer seasons.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1081-1085
Number of pages5
JournalSaudi Journal of Biological Sciences
Volume24
Issue number5
DOIs
StatePublished - Jul 2017

Keywords

  • Apis mellifera races
  • Arid zone
  • Environmental stresses
  • Hemolymph
  • Osmolarity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Agricultural and Biological Sciences

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