The storage of spermatozoa and keeping alive for years in the spermatheca by the honey bee queen is a phenomenon allowing her to fertilize eggs throughout her life. In this study, the queens that were 2-week, 1-year, and 2-year-old were analyzed to determine the viability of spermatozoa in their spermathecae. The sister queens reared by the grafting method were instrumentally inseminated with 8 μl fresh semen when they became 6 days old. One week after instrumental insemination, one batch of queens (2-week-old) was dissected for spermatozoa viability test. Another set of queens was introduced into production colonies in Langstroth hives after the onset of oviposition in the mating nuclei. The queens were maintained in production colonies for one year and two years until the dissection process for spermatozoa viability test. The viability of spermatozoa was measured by the dual staining method. We determined that the mean viability of spermatozoa in 2-week, 1-year and 2-year-old queens were 97.3%, 91.1% and 88.1%, respectively. The viability of spermatozoa in queens decreased with age, and the differences between the viability means were significant. However, we did not detect a steep decline in the viability of spermatozoa in queens (6% in one year and 9% in two years) in a wide range of timescale in contrast to previous reports. Furthermore, we found high viability of spermatozoa in the spermathecae of queens at the start of their lives and one- and two-years of age.

Propolis, bitkilerin tomurcuk ve yaprak kısımlarından toplanan maddelerden bal arıları tarafından üretilen doğal reçineli bir karışımdır. Propolis antikanser, antiinflamator, antibiyotik, antioksidatif, antibakteriyel, antiviral, antifungal, anestetik, immunostimulan ve sitotoksik etkilere sahiptir. Bu derlemede doğal bir ürün olan propolisin fiziksel, kimyasal ve biyolojik özellikleri, bitkisel kaynakları ile balıklarda kullanımı ve uygulama şekiller hakkındaki bilgilerin bir araya getirilmesi amaçlanmıştır.

This study was carried out in the beekeeping research area of Bayburt University in order to determine the effect of odor and color on plant preference of honeybees in 2021. The experimental setup was established at a distance of 200 meters from the apiary where 80 Caucasian bees (Apis mellifera caucasica) colonies are located. As a result of the study, the most preferred feeders were the control group (pure sucrose syrup) (9.81 pieces), and the least preferred feeders were the rose-scent group (2.58). The effect of odor on honeybees' feed preferences varied according to months. Considering the effect of months on honeybees' visits to their feeders, the most visited feeders were Melissa (6.8) in June, control (11.69) in July, and control (14.58) in August. The highest number of feeder visits by honeybees was in August (9.24), and the lowest (2.89) in June. Considering the color preferences of honeybees, the most visited forage color was blue (5.98) and the least red was 4.89. The effect of colors on the feed preferences of honeybees also varied according to the months. The highest visitor bee average was found in the blue colored feeder (4.53) in June, the green colored feeder (7.24) in July, and the yellow and blue colored feeders (7.29) in August.

Today, the honeybee parasite Varroa destructor is thought to be the most dangerous creature in the beekeeping industry worldwide. In this study, the efficacy of using drone brood cells (known to have no residue concerns in bee products and harmless on bee health) as traps against V. destructor was investigated. A total of 16 honeybee (Apis mellıfera) colonies with V. destructor infestation percentage of less than 5% were used for the trial. The treatment group consisted of 8 colonies that were randomly assigned to molded drone comb (comb with 5.4 mm hexagonal cells). The other 8 were assigned to unmolded comb to form the control group. In the trial groups, after 20 days (from 10th May), all drone combs with complete pupation were removed and destroyed on 30th May, 20th June, 10th July, 30th July, and 20th August. During the trial, varroa mite infestation rate (mean abundance), colony development, and varroa mite preference for drone and work bee brood cells were determined. The results showed that the application of drone brood cells as a control method was statistically significant against V. destructor, and did not negatively affect colony development. On the other hand, V.destructor's preference for both drone and worker bee brood cells among the groups was not statistically significant. In conclusion, drone brood cells ensured an approximately 43% success rate as traps against V. destructor compared to the control group. The effective application of drone brood cells as traps in combination with other Varroa mite control methods should be investigated.

Adana province is very suitable for honey bee (Apis mellifera) breeding in terms of climate, geographic structure and rich flora. This study was carried out to investigate of beekeeping structure in Adana. The research was carried out as a questionnaire with technical questions related to technical beekeeping by visiting 169 beekeepers in Adana. In this study, a questionnaire consisting of multiple choice and open-ended questions were used as a data collection method. This survey were obtained data on beekeepers personal information, educational status, reasons for starting beekeeping, how many years they have been beekeeping, recognition of bee diseases and pests, and reared bee species. It is an effort to depict the technical and economic characteristics of province beekeeping practices in order to discover the overall structure of beekeeping in the province. According to the results of the survey, 99.4% of beekeepers’ gender were male, average age 47.77, 58.5% of beekeepers’ education level were primary school, beekeeping experience averaged 19.22 years and colony numbers were 293.21 per beekeeper. Furthermore, the problems of beekeepers were tried to determine.