نشریه علوم و فنون زنبور عسل ایران
پیاپی 26 (بهار و تابستان 1402)

Honey bee colonies can be kept and studied in smaller spaces than the hive called laboratory cages. The use of laboratory cages in honey bee studies can lead to innovative solutions to solve problems related to honey bee production and health due to the control of test conditions. In laboratory cages, if enough food is provided, the colony conditions can be made as similar as possible to the colony conditions in natural conditions. Laboratory cages are used for various purposes, and the cost of testing is greatly reduced due to keeping a smaller colony instead of using a complete colony in the field, and it is possible to perform multiple tests in a short period. The cage system is feasible and economical and has many advantages, but it should be noted that the type of laboratory cage depends on the purpose of the study and the size of the cage and the equipment needed to build the cage depends on the variables examined in the experiment.

Extracts and essential oils of medicinal plants have been able to exhibit their role in impacting growth performance, the microbiota of the digestive tract, digestion, and immunity. The beekeeping industry is also facing many challenges such as pests and diseases. The use of chemical drugs not only raises microbial resistance but also declines the marketability of bee products with residues. Encountering suitable and effective natural alternatives has always been one of the concerns of all researchers. Medicinal plants with numerous compounds have been able to reveal their positive influence on farm animals and can be used as a reliable alternative. The use of nectar and pollen of medicinal plants by honeybees not only controlled pests and improved honeybee diseases but also enhanced the quality of products produced by this beneficial insect. There is a lot of scientific information related to antioxidant properties of bee products, but it is vital to provide a general view of the effects of medicinal plants on this industry and to improve the antioxidant properties of bee products.

The present research was conducted with the aim of evaluating the performance of improved Iranian honey bee queens with unimproved native queens (control queen) in private apiaries of Kurdistan province during 1396 to 1400. In this study, improved Iranian honey bee queens along with unimproved native queens were evaluated in six private apiaries of Kurdistan province based on honey production, calmness, aggressiveness, swarming, and overwintering traits. The results showed that the improved Iranian honey bee queens in the climatic conditions of Kurdistan province had a significant superiority and acceptable progress over the unimproved native queens in terms of calmness, aggressiveness, swarming, and overwintering traits (P<0.05). An acceptable relative superiority and progress were observed in terms of honey production trait in the improved queens in all the studied years compared to native queens, but this superiority and progress was not significant due to the low heritability of this trait. In general, the results of this study showed the progress and improvement of the target traits and the superiority of improved Iranian honey bee queens compared to un improved native queens in the climate conditions of Kurdistan province. Therefore, the results indicated that Iranian honey bee breeding has been effective in improving the target traits. So, it is necessary to use modified improved queens in order to increase the performance of honey bee colonies in the country and preserve one of the most valuable genetic resources of our country.

Nowadays, despite the importance of the beekeeping industry in various regions and societies due to its social, economic and environmental functions (such as facilitating the pollination of plants), this industry still faces challenges and neglected opportunities that affect the performance and management status of beekeeping farms. Hence, the present research has tried to identify and prioritize the solutions to improve the performance and management status of beekeeping farms in Fereydunshahr county located in Isfahan province. Data was collected with a researcher made questionnaire. The sample size was 140 beekeepers who were selected by stratified sampling method among the beekeepers of Fereydunshahr county (210 beekeepers). The results from the descriptive analysis and the exploratory factor analysis demonstrated that the formation of an integrated system for the adequate and timely distribution of inputs and services, increasing the attention of the government on beekeeping sector and improving the development services, facilitating the provision of credit and investment in the beekeeping sector, And providing appropriate insurance services in order to increase the resilience of beekeepers has the highest priority among other solutions.

Selective honey bee breeding is a phenomenon that fascinates beekeepers around the world. They often regard it as one of the most enigmatic and complex aspects of beekeeping. Indeed, according to our experiences participating in many international projects, both beekeepers and bee experts without a background in plant or animal breeding often have trouble correctly interpreting and conceptually visualizing the breeding process. These difficulties arise partly because of the complex reproductive biology of honey bees, where queens mate with a multitude of drones. Fundamentally the greatest struggle for people to understand is how selection of animals with preferred characteristics in one generation leads to improved progeny in the next. The leading misconception regarding honey bee breeding is confusing breeding with the simple rearing and multiplication of queens, where individual queens are evaluated predominantly by their egg laying ability and body size. Those two markers of queen quality (fecundity and size) are certainly important for the propagation of queens, but selective breeding requires more than propagation. Selectivebreeding implies the intentional selection for genetic improvement of the population as a whole, with every new generation improved compared to the previous one, ideally for all traits of interest.

 Honey is a sweet and tasty natural product that has been consumed for centuries due to its high nutritional value, but it has been used as a medicinal agent for thousands of years, and the first records of its medicinal use date back to ancient Egypt. Honey is a very complex mixture of at least 200 plant chemicals whose composition is strongly influenced by many factors such as plant and geographical origin, species of bees involved in its production, age, storage and processing methods. All over the world it is considered a superior product, honeys with bioactive compounds that are of great interest. Honey from medicinal plants of the clover family can actually be a potential source of bioactive honeys. Research on the phytochemical compounds of different honeys and their related biological activities is growing.