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- Title
Impact of seasonal variations on the morphology and physiology of Apis mellifera Linnaeus.
- Authors
Kaur, Navdeep; Kaur, Gurleen; Mahajan, Kapila; Bajaj, Kavita; Singh, Amandeep; Singh, Randeep
- Abstract
An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of seasonal changes on the morphological (corbicula, proboscis, forewing, and hindwing) and physiological (hypopharyngeal glands and differential hemocyte count) characteristics of Apis mellifera L. workers during the autumn, winter, spring, and summer seasons in 2021 and 2022. The study revealed that the maximum values for morphological parameters, i.e., the proboscis length (6.25±0.05 mm, 6.24±0.07 mm), corbicula length (3.98±0.08 mm, 3.95±0.22 mm), length (8.78±0.10 mm, 8.83±0.08 mm) of the forewing, length (6.46±0.09 mm, 6.50±0.07 mm) of the hindwing, and physiological parameters, i.e., the hypopharyngeal gland acini length (0.30±0.02 mm, 0.25±0.01 mm), width (0.22±0.02 mm, 0.20±0.02 mm), surface area (0.10±0.01 mm², 0.08±0.01 mm² ) and counts of plasmatocytes (88.27, 86.42) and granulocytes (9.56, 8.56), were consistently obtained during the spring seasons of 2021 and 2022, respectively. Notably, the most substantial reduction in immune cell count (53.42, 52.72) occurred during winter in both seasons. Furthermore, a constant pattern was observed across all seasons, indicating a significant increase in the size of all morphological characteristics as bees transitioned from nurses to foragers. In contrast, compared with foragers, nurse bees always have larger hypopharyngeal gland acini in all seasons. The differential hemocyte counts indicated a prevalence of plasmatocytes in the adult bee hemolymph. However, as bees shift from nursing to foraging, the numbers of plasmatocytes (63.55, 60.47) and granulocytes (2.54, 2.84) decrease, accompanied by an increase in pycnotic cells (33.90, 36.67) in 2021 and 2022, respectively, which signifies programmed cell death. Consequently, the spring season emerged as the most favorable period for the growth and development of worker honey bees. This season consistently shows optimal morphological and physiological characteristics, underscoring its importance in the life cycle of Apis mellifera colonies.
- Subjects
SEASONAL physiological variations; HONEYBEES; SPRING; APOPTOSIS; LIFE cycles (Biology); BEE colonies
- Publication
Environment Conservation Journal, 2024, Vol 25, Issue 2, p541
- ISSN
0972-3099
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.36953/ECJ.26972794