Effect of Autumn and Winter Brood Interruption on Queen Survivability and Spring Development of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Colonies with Use of Chmara Isolator
Queen isolation, the prevention of egg laying in autumn and winter, is beneficial in temperate climates. Brood rearing in autumn weakens colonies because feeding the larvae shortens the lives of bees. Workers which emerge during this time do not live until spring; moreover, winter stores are used fo...
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Sciendo
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Journal of Apicultural Science |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2025-0006 |
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| author | Gąbka Jakub Gąbka Joanna Zajdel Barbara |
| author_facet | Gąbka Jakub Gąbka Joanna Zajdel Barbara |
| author_sort | Gąbka Jakub |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Queen isolation, the prevention of egg laying in autumn and winter, is beneficial in temperate climates. Brood rearing in autumn weakens colonies because feeding the larvae shortens the lives of bees. Workers which emerge during this time do not live until spring; moreover, winter stores are used for their rearing. The Chmara isolator consists of two queen excluders only 1 cm apart, which is why bees do not build a comb in it. The queen is isolated for more than three weeks; the absence of a sealed brood allows for successful control of the Varroa destructor. The aim of the study was to investigate queen mortality and spring development in bee colonies after the use of the Chmara isolator in the autumn and winter. All together, seventy-eight colonies were examined during a three-year period. In half of the colonies, the queens were closed in Chmara isolators for five or six months, from either September or October till March. Three queens died during the winter, one in an isolator and two in colonies without an isolator. Colonies, in which a Chmara isolator was used in autumn and winter, reared significantly more brood in spring compared to colonies without an isolator. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-7841b18810644af1b02614ec2f7b0dbc |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2299-4831 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Apicultural Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-7841b18810644af1b02614ec2f7b0dbc2025-08-20T02:36:53ZengSciendoJournal of Apicultural Science2299-48312025-06-01691636610.2478/jas-2025-0006Effect of Autumn and Winter Brood Interruption on Queen Survivability and Spring Development of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Colonies with Use of Chmara IsolatorGąbka Jakub0Gąbka Joanna1Zajdel Barbara21Department of Animal Environment Biology, Institute of Animal Science, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland2Department of Animal Genetics and Conservation, Institute of Animal Sciences, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland1Department of Animal Environment Biology, Institute of Animal Science, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, PolandQueen isolation, the prevention of egg laying in autumn and winter, is beneficial in temperate climates. Brood rearing in autumn weakens colonies because feeding the larvae shortens the lives of bees. Workers which emerge during this time do not live until spring; moreover, winter stores are used for their rearing. The Chmara isolator consists of two queen excluders only 1 cm apart, which is why bees do not build a comb in it. The queen is isolated for more than three weeks; the absence of a sealed brood allows for successful control of the Varroa destructor. The aim of the study was to investigate queen mortality and spring development in bee colonies after the use of the Chmara isolator in the autumn and winter. All together, seventy-eight colonies were examined during a three-year period. In half of the colonies, the queens were closed in Chmara isolators for five or six months, from either September or October till March. Three queens died during the winter, one in an isolator and two in colonies without an isolator. Colonies, in which a Chmara isolator was used in autumn and winter, reared significantly more brood in spring compared to colonies without an isolator.https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2025-0006brood interruptionchmara isolatorqueen mortalityspring developmentvarroa control |
| spellingShingle | Gąbka Jakub Gąbka Joanna Zajdel Barbara Effect of Autumn and Winter Brood Interruption on Queen Survivability and Spring Development of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Colonies with Use of Chmara Isolator Journal of Apicultural Science brood interruption chmara isolator queen mortality spring development varroa control |
| title | Effect of Autumn and Winter Brood Interruption on Queen Survivability and Spring Development of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Colonies with Use of Chmara Isolator |
| title_full | Effect of Autumn and Winter Brood Interruption on Queen Survivability and Spring Development of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Colonies with Use of Chmara Isolator |
| title_fullStr | Effect of Autumn and Winter Brood Interruption on Queen Survivability and Spring Development of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Colonies with Use of Chmara Isolator |
| title_full_unstemmed | Effect of Autumn and Winter Brood Interruption on Queen Survivability and Spring Development of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Colonies with Use of Chmara Isolator |
| title_short | Effect of Autumn and Winter Brood Interruption on Queen Survivability and Spring Development of Honey Bee (Apis mellifera L.) Colonies with Use of Chmara Isolator |
| title_sort | effect of autumn and winter brood interruption on queen survivability and spring development of honey bee apis mellifera l colonies with use of chmara isolator |
| topic | brood interruption chmara isolator queen mortality spring development varroa control |
| url | https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2025-0006 |
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