Queen mating behavior as an example of basic science observation in beekeeping
technology development
Janko Bozic1
and Ida Gnilsak2
1 Department of Biology, University
of Ljubljana, Slovenia
2 Apicultural
Museum, Radovljica, Slovenia
Ljubljana, 2000
Contents:
Abstract
Economic background
Major
nectar flow favored swarm production in the 18th century
Queen rearing
as a part of artificial swarm production
Detailed description
of queen mating behavior
Spread of the knowledge
on queen mating behavior
Conclusion
References
Abstract
More then two hundred years ago beekeepers of Austrian empire county Carniola
had adopted management with bees to the nectar flow of buckwheat. Beekeepers
exploited buckwheat blooming in late August and early September with the
swarms made and caught during summer or they simply bought swarms from
other beekeepers who were specialized on swarm production. Many specialized
beekeepers managed to prepare artificial swarms. They observed in detail
behaviors related to swarming and reproduction. Natural scientist and physician
Anton Scopoli published first printed report of queen mating outside the
hive in his book Entomologia carniolica in 1763. Scopoli got most of the
information about honeybee biology from beekeepers. Peter Pavel Glavar
(1768, 1776), Anton Janša (1771, 1775) and Huml (1773) wrote also about
queen mating outside the hive. All written resources show that queen mating
and swarming were well understood among Slovenian beekeepers. They achieved
this knowledge by searching of more efficient technology of artificial
swarm production. Since Anton Janša was court teacher of beekeeping in
Wiene and Peter Pavel Glavar had written correspondence with many beekeepers
in Europe, this knowledge was spread across the Europe. A decade later
queen mating behavior was also described correctly by Fr. Huber (1788).
Economic background
More then two hundred years ago beekeepers of Austrian empire county Carniola
understood well queen mating behavior and reproduction biology of honeybees
which enabled them to develop several different methods of artificial swarm
production. They were interested in swarm production to exploit late summer
nectar flow on buckwheat.
Major nectar
flow favored swarm production in the 18th century
The most important source of honey was nectar of buckwheat (Miheliè
1970). This crop was planted at the one third of fields. Actually such
a big proportion was a result of regular cycling of different crops on
the fields. Each third year farmers seeded buckwheat after harvesting of
regular wheat crop usually at the end of June. In two months after seeding
buckwheat starts blooming and producing nectar. Blooming on the different
fields usually lasted for a month. Usual blooming time is in the late August
and early September. This is the time when bees usually don’t swarm anymore
and they stop building drone comb.
In the 18th century beekeepers use simple wooden box as a hive. Bees
built a lot of comb and fill it with honey on buckwheat nectar flow. Since
the most important flow was late in the summer, beekeepers tend to produce
as many swarms as possible in the spring. In that way they were able to
destroy a large part of hives in the fall. It was common to destroy
also bees to get honey even though that advanced beekeepers like
Janša (1771) and Glavar (1976) taught to drive bees out of hive with smoke
and knocking. They joined together expelled bees in strong colonies,
which over winter better and also produce more swarms in the spring. Some
advanced beekeepers found that it is easier to make artificial swarms then
to wait for swarms and collect them in the trees.
Queen rearing
as a part of artificial swarm production
Janša (1771) and Glavar (1776) suggested to use queens which can be collected
during natural swarming or prior artificial swarm production. If there
were no available queens they reared new one out of the brood left in old
hive or they put a piece of comb with small larvae into the hive with the
swarm. They know that such artificial colonies can swarm later. If they
wanted some queens, they collected them before swarming otherwise they
destroyed surplus queen cells and queens. They were able to manipulate
bees to rear queens for their needs because they observed bees carefully
and learned reproduction of bees. Part of that was also observation of
queen mating signs as a part of wider understanding of queen mating behavior.
Detailed description
of queen mating behavior
First report of queen mating outside the hive was in 1763. At that time
Anton Scopoli published book Entomologia Carniolica. He repeated his note
latter in Dissertatio de Apibus (1770), which was also translated into
German (1787) and Italian (1779). In 1771 Anton Janša published Dissertation
on Bee swarming (original title: Abhandlung vom Schwärmen der Bienen).
Janša also wrote about mating of queens outside the hive. He nicely described
how virgin queen leave the hive and come back:
"On a nice day from 9AM to 3 or 4 PM queen comes with numerous
court of bees and drones out of the hive. She turns around in all directions
at the hive entrance to memorize hive, that she can find it later when
she comes back from mating. For a while she flies in circles in front of
the hive, watches it and elevates higher and higher. When she turns back
from mating, she doesn’t go immediately into the hive, but flies
in front of it for a while. At this time we have to be careful on following
signs after which we can recognize that queen has been copulated. If the
abdomen is opened at the place where bees have sting, or something white
is hanging from the abdomen, like a thin thread, and if it looks like that
abdomen is broken and rent then queen has copulated for sure."
Janša noticed that queen flies out several time, but he didn’t point
out in his book that queen copulates also several times and he didn’t describe
actual mating in the air. Detailed description of queen mating with the
drones was reported by Anton Humel (1775). This report was written at list
four years before printing. Agricultural association in Ljubljana got it
from Anton Humel. In 1771 the association asked well known beekeeper and
priest Peter Pavel Glavar to write some comments. Glavar wrote a long comment
with more details of queen mating (Miheliè 1976). He wrote that
matted queen is staying in the hive and fly out later only with the swarm.
He also pointed out that the old queen goes with the first swarm. He noticed
also that queen is fertilized by several drones and not only one as was
generally excepted at that time. His note was published together with Humel
text in 1775.
Spread of the knowledge
on queen mating behavior
Many different sources show that many beekeepers of Carniola understood
well queen mating behavior in the 18th century (Miheliè 1976). We
can expect that beekeepers in Austrian empire learned that from Anton Janša,
who was a court teacher of beekeeping in Wien. On the other hand, Peter
Pavel Glavar was very active in teaching of beekeeping in Carniola. He
tried to spread his knowledge among poor people. He knew that they can
improve their living with beekeeping. On the other hand he had a big library
and he had many correspondence with different kind of people around the
Europe. Anton Scopoli, who first published observation on queen mating,
was not a beekeeper. He was well known naturalist, who collects and
determine many plant and animal species. Most likely he got information
about queen mating from beekeepers, and that he copied this information
from Janša and Glavar. Observation of queen mating behavior was published
later also by Huber (1792). We have no evidences if he got any information
from Carniola.
Even though that beekeepers had a good knowledge about bee reproduction
biology in 18th century and that there were several reports on that, this
knowledge was lost in 19th century. It was replaced by the dogma of queen
monogamy supported with the romantic stories created by the poets like
Maeterlinck. It was very hard to break this dogma in this century. Ruttner
wrote in 1985: "We experienced ourselves 30 years ago how much evidences
was needed to break this dogma". In fact, this result in a high volume
of scientifically collected data by many scientists in the middle of that
century (see review by Ruttner 1956).
Conclusion
More then two hundred years ago technological needs for artificial swarming
production initiated detailed and careful naturalistic observation of reproduction
behavior of honeybees. Beekeepers from this age gave us good descriptions
of queen mating behavior. This is a nice example in beekeeping science
how technological and economical needs effects understanding of fundamental
phenomena in bee biology. Something similar happens nowadays, when spread
of Varroa mites initiated many aplicative and also fundamental research
of honeybees.
References:
Glavar, P.P. 1976*. Dissertation on bee swarms (Pogovor
o èebelnih rojih). In: Ob 200 letnici pisane besede o slovenskem
èebelarstvu, p.p. 79-260. Zveza èebelarskih društev Slovenije
- Ljubljana.
Huber, F. 1792. New observations on bees. Transl. (1926), Datant, Hamilton,
Ill.
Humel, A. 1775. Praktische Eröffnung daß der Weiser wirklich
von den Thränen außer den Bienenstock befruchtet wird. In: Wöchentlichen
Kundschaftsblatt des Herzogthum Krain (21).
Janša, A. 1771. Abhandlung vom Schwärmen der Bienen. Wien.
Miheliè, S. 1970. Beekeeping (Èebelarstvo). In: Gospodarska
in družbena zgodovina Slovencev I, p.p.395-408. DZS, Ljubljana.
Miheliè, S. 1976. Peter Pavel Glavar, beekeeper, beekeeping
writer, teacher and organization worker (Peter Pavel Glavar, èebelar,
èebelarski pisec, uèitelj in organizator). In: Ob 200 letnici
pisane besede o slovenskem èebelarstvu, p.p. 20-65. Zveza èebelarskig
društev Slovenije - Ljubljana.
Ruttner, F. 1956. The mating of honey bee. Bee World (3) p.p. 2-15,
23-24.
Ruttner, F. 1985. Reproductive behavior in honeybees. In: Fortschritte
der Zoologie Vol.31: Experimental Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology,
Edds. B. Holldobler and M. Lindauer, p.p.225-236. Gustav Fischer Verlag,
Stuttgart, New York.
* Original text was written in 1776 but not printed.
This was the first written beekeeping book in Slovene language. Glavar
translated Janša’s (1771) book and added a lot of his own comments and
descriptions. Glavar’s original text was put in modern Slovene by Stane
Miheliè and printed in 1976.