Honey bee queen's response to nutritional stress depends on the stock variety

Authors: Fine, Julia; Mayack, Christopher; Lucadello, Michelle; Avalos, Arian; Walsh, Elizabeth

Submitted to: Apidologie
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/7/2025
Publication Date: 4/30/2025
Citation: Fine, J.D., Mayack, C.L., Lucadello, M.C., Avalos, A., Walsh, E.M. 2025. Honey bee queen's response to nutritional stress depends on the stock variety. Apidologie. 56. Article 55. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-025-01182-z.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-025-01182-z

Interpretive Summary: There are several honey bee (Apis mellifera) stock varieties that have been selected for desirable traits by means of selective breeding, but there are likely to be resultant trade-offs due to biological constraints. The Russian honey bee stock (RHB) has higher resistance to the Varroa mite and tends to have more frequent brood rearing breaks relative to the common Italian honey bee stock (IHB), which, conversely, are known for their high level of food consumption to sustain long brood rearing cycles. Here we investigate how the queens from the two stocks respond to nutritional stress in the form of pollen deprivation. We find that under both conditions IHB queens are heavier, and with access to pollen, lay more eggs with more protein inside, in comparison to the RHB queens. Our findings suggest that IHB queen egg laying performance may be relatively higher when pollen resources are abundant, but at the same time they have a higher level of sensitivity when responding to nutritional stress. In addition, the more frequent brood rearing breaks with RHB queens are unlikely due to a response to nutritional stress. We find that the best performing honey bee stock is context dependent, due to specific trade-offs in performance, which beekeepers may want to consider in the future for honey bee breeding and management.

Technical Abstract: There are several honey bee (Apis mellifera) stock varieties that have been selected for desirable traits by means of selective breeding, but due to biological constraints, there are likely to be resultant trade-offs. The Russian honey bee stock (RHB) has higher resistance to the Varroa mite and tends to have more frequent brood rearing breaks relative to the common Italian honey bee stock (IHB), which, conversely, are known for their high level of food consumption to sustain long brood rearing cycles. Here we investigate how the queens from the two stocks respond to nutritional stress in the form of pollen deprivation at the colony level. We find that under both conditions IHB queens are heavier, and with access to pollen, lay more eggs, with a higher protein to egg weight ratio, in comparison to the RHB queens. Our findings suggest that IHB queen egg laying performance may be relatively higher when pollen resources are abundant, but at the same time they have a higher level of plasticity (sensitivity) when responding to nutritional stress. In addition, the more frequent brood rearing breaks with RHB queens are unlikely due to a response to nutritional stress. We find that the best performing honey bee stock is context dependent, due to specific tradeoffs in performance, which beekeepers may want to consider in the future for honey bee breeding and management.