The health of honey bee queens is closely linked to colony performance as a single queen is normally responsible for all egg laying and brood production within the colony. In the U.S. in recent years, queens have been failing at a high rate; with 50%or greater of queens replaced in colonies within six months when historically a queen might live one to two years or even longer. This high rate of queen failure coincides with the high mortality rates of colonies in the U.S., some years with 50% of colonies dying. Pettis et al. (2016) surveyed sperm viability in U.S. queens to determine if sperm viability plays a role in queen or colony failure. Wide variation was observed in sperm viability from four sets of queens removed from colonies that beekeepers rated as in good health (n=12; average viability = 92%), were being replaced as part of normal management (n=28; 57%), or where rated as failing (n=18 and 19; 54% and 55%). Two additional paired set of queens showed a statistically significant difference in viability between colonies rated by the beekeepers as failing or in good health from the same apiaries. Queens removed from colonies rated in good health averaged high viability (ca. 85%) while those rated as failing or in poor health had significantly lower viability (ca. 50%). Thus low sperm viability was indicative of, or linked to, colony performance.
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