Protandrous Reproduction in Honey Bees

Abstract

Brood rearing activity was studied in 16 colonies in Davis, Calif., from 21 February through 9 September 1978. The production of drone brood reached a maximum in early April; worker brood production reached a maximum in mid-May. Areas of sealed drone brood were at a maximum approximately 30 days before the maximum occurrence of swarms in the area. On 9 March, three colonies that swarmed in May produced significantly ( P < 0.05) more drone brood than 13 colonies that did not swarm during the season. On 2 April, these same three colonies had significantly more drone brood and significantly less worker brood ( P < 0.05) than those colonies that did not swarm. A hypothesis for a protandrous reproductive cycle in honey bees is proposed.