Determination of colony characteristics and suitability for mass production of native Bombus terrestris L. population in the Central Black Sea coast region

Authors: SALİM AKTÜRK, AYHAN GÖSTERİT, GÖKHAN AKDENİZ, SAMET OKUYAN, AHMET EMİR ŞAHİN

Abstract: In this study, two successive generations of queens belonging to a native Bombus terrestris population in the Central Black Sea Region of Türkiye were reared under controlled laboratory conditions to examine its developmental characteristics and suitability for mass production. The first generation was formed by a hundred Bombus terrestris queens which were caught from native fauna in Ordu Province, Türkiye. Young queens and males produced at the end of the life cycle in different colonies of first generation were mated in laboratory conditions. Mated queens were placed in a refrigerated incubator for their two months diapause period. After the diapause period, all queens were raised under the same conditions, and second generation colonies were reared. Some characters such as first egg-laying time, the timing of switch point, the timing of competition point, and total numbers of individuals produced in colonies of the first and second generation were determined. In these characteristics, the total numbers of workers and queens were found to be statistically significant between generations (p < 0.05). According to the findings of this study, some of the features such as first egglaying time, the timing of switch point, and the number of young queens produced may be unsatisfactory for mass production.

Keywords: Bombus terrestris, life cycle, native population, diapause, mass production

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