Decreased flight performance and sperm production in drones of the honey bee (Apis mellifera) slightly infested by Varroa destructor mites during pupal development
Genet. mol. res. (Online)
;
1(3): 227-232, Sept. 2002. ilus, tab, graf
Article
in English
| LILACS
| ID: lil-357424
RESUMO
We developed a bioassay to measure the flying power of drone, in order to determine which drones could reach a drone congregation area. A wind tunnel was used to test unparasitized drones and drones slightly parasitized by one or two mites during pupal development, and counts were made of the number of spermatozoa that they produced. Drones parasitized with one mite flew as long as control drones ( = 6Æ55ö and 6Æ48ö, respectively, P = 0.512); however, those that had been infested by two mites flew significantly less ( = 2Æ16ö, P<0.001). There was a significant positive correlation (P<0.01) between flight duration and the number of spermatozoa per drone in control group (r = 0.53), and in both the one mite (r = 0.43) and two mite (r = 0.54) groups. Drones infested during development with one or two mites produced 24 and 45% fewer sperm, respectively.
Full text:
Available
Index:
LILACS (Americas)
Main subject:
Spermatozoa
/
Bees
/
Flight, Animal
/
Mite Infestations
/
Mites
Limits:
Animals
Language:
English
Journal:
Genet. mol. res. (Online)
Journal subject:
Molecular Biology
/
Genetics
Year:
2002
Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Brazil
/
Germany
Institution/Affiliation country:
LS Entwicklungsphysiologie/DE
/
University of São Paulo/BR
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