Now, for Something completely different!

"Breeding the Mite-Resistant Honeybee by Nutritional Crossbreed Technology"

The main idea of this paper is to research the possibility of
mite-resistant honeybee rearing by nutritional crossbreed. The larvae
(Apis mellifera ligustica) are bred with the royal jelly of Apis
carana carana [sic], and then the morphological index of the worker
generation, genotypic frequency and gene frequency of the MDH II,
genetic resemblance, and mite resistance are measured. The results
show that: compared to the parent workers, the proboscis length,
anterior wing area, the total length of the third and fourth dorsal
plate of the abdomen, the length of the fourth dorsal plate of the
tuberculum, the area of the sixth abdominal segment, and the area of
wax mirrors are significantly different, but the differences in the
brachium index, dactylus index, and wing claw are not significant.
Moreover, there are some mutations in the genotypic frequency and gene
frequency of the MDH II. The mite resistance of the nutritional
crossbreed worker is significantly higher. The morphological,
physical, and biochemical characters, genetic resemblance, and the
mite-resistant ability of the worker generation can be changed by
nutritional crossbreeding. Nutritional crossbreeding can be a new way
to breed the honeybee.

Agricultural Sciences in China
Volume 7, Issue 6, June 2008, Pages 762-767

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