Comparative morphology of adult honey bees, Apis mellifera, reared in vitro or by their parental colony
2019
Mortensen, Ashley Nicole | Bruckner, Selina | Williams, Geoffrey R | Ellis, James D.
The environment in which an individual western honey bee (Apis mellifera) develops can have a major effect on its body condition and size. Artificial rearing of honey bee larvae is a popular tool used to assess the risks that numerous potential stressors, including pesticides and pathogens, pose to developing honey bees. We conducted a study comparing the morphologies and dry body weights of adult workers that were reared in vitro with those reared in a hive. There was no statistically detectable effect of rearing environment on hind wing length, head width, or basitarsus length, but there were detectable effects on forewing length and width, dry body weight, and hypopharyngeal gland size. Morphometric data are a valuable first step in comparisons, but they should be considered in conjunction with other biologically relevant assays as changes in morphology due to rearing environment do not guarantee changes in behavior.
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