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Remarkable uniformity in the densities of feral honey bee A pis mellifera L innaeus, 1758 ( H ymenoptera: A pidae) colonies in S outh E astern A ustralia
Author(s) -
Arundel Jonathan,
Oxley Peter R,
Faiz Alen,
Crawford John,
Winter Stephan,
Oldroyd Benjamin P
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
austral entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.502
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 2052-1758
pISSN - 2052-174X
DOI - 10.1111/aen.12085
Subject(s) - biology , pollination , range (aeronautics) , ecology , mating , pollinator , biota , drone , zoology , botany , pollen , materials science , composite material
It is often assumed that the density of feral honey bee colonies in Australia is sufficient to provide adequate pollination services to the many agricultural crops that require pollination. In contrast, there is concern that the density of feral colonies is sufficiently high to have inimical effects on A ustralian biota. For both these reasons, it is desirable to have robust estimates of the density of feral honey bee colonies in A ustralian landscapes. In this study, we mated four to five queens with wild drones at disturbed and undisturbed sites in three of the major ecosystems in V ictoria A ustralia and examined the paternities of worker offspring to estimate the density of feral colonies within mating range of the test queens. We show that the density of feral colonies differs little with land use (cleared or uncleared) and is similar across the state. Our data suggest that the density of feral colonies is probably insufficient to provide adequate pollination of agricultural crops and that neither land use nor local climate variation is a major factor determining density. Finally, our data suggest that the mating range sampled by test queens is significantly greater than previously assumed.