Study on grooming and removing hygienic behaviors of honey bee colonies in Azarbayjan-e-Sharqi, Iran.

Ectoparasitic mite, varroa, is one of the most destructive pests of honey bee. Because of the disadvantages of using chemical treatments in mite–infested colonies, the use of non-chemical methods such as: biological and genetical controls have been taken into consideration. Hygienic behaviors are well known as suitable genetic control method. Hygienic behavior is inolved removing and grooming. This behavior differs from race to race. In this study, grooming and removing behavior of Azarbayejan-e-Sharqi honey bee populations against varroa were examined. 50 honey bee colonies with young queens from 5 areas of the province (Ahar, Shabstar, Tabriz, Maragheh and Miyaneh) were chosen randomly and uniformed from the view point of parameters including adult and larvae population, honey and pollen storages and frame numbers. To determine removing rate, freeze- killed brood was placed into colonies and number of removed cells counted every 4h. Grooming behavior was measured by placing greasy plastic sheets on the bottom board of hives and the number of fallen mites counted every 48h. Data analyses showed that average removal of freeze-killed pupa in hole province was 79.84% per colony in 48 hour and average fallen mites was 5.04 mite per colony in 96 hour. ANOVA showed that there was significant difference between colonies of different regions from view point of removing but colonies of different regions had no differences in grooming. This results suggested that Azarbayejan-e-Sharqi honey bee colonies can resist against varroa by grooming and removing and this factors can be considered in selection and breeding programs.