Diurnal and seasonal changes of defensive behavior of Africanized bees (“Apis mellifera” L.)

SUMMARY The defensive behavior of Apis mellifera L. is a form of protection from predators and prevent theft in the hive. This work aimed to evaluate the diurnal and seasonal variation in defensiveness of Africanized bees through defensive behavior tests. The survey was conducted in three apiaries in the Paraiba state, Brazil. Every apiary had 30 colonies, housed in standard Langstroth hives. From them, 10 colonies were randomly selected and identified from 01 to 10, with similar adult population and raising area. The defensive behavior tests were performed on each hive, one at a time, chosen in three repetitions, the times of 07:00 to 10:00, from 12:00 to 14:00 and 15:00 to 17:00 and in two stages, in a month of the rainy season (April) and another month of the dry season (August), being held only once a month, due to the large loss test by bees. The obtained results showed that the time positively influenced the defensiveness of the analyzed bees, being from 15: 00h to 17: 00h the time of most aggressiveness in both periods of the year. In the dry season the bees showed less defensive than in the rainy season. The analysis of obtained data characterized the bees as highly defensive, with most evident defensiveness at the evening and the rainy season.

摘要：西方蜜蜂（Apis mellifera L.）的防御行为是其抵御天敌、防范蜂箱内盗蜜的保护策略。本研究旨在通过防御行为测试，评估非洲化蜜蜂防御性的日节律与季节变化规律。本调研于巴西帕拉伊巴州的3个养蜂场开展，每个养蜂场均设有30群饲养于标准朗氏蜂箱（Langstroth hives）中的蜂群。从中随机选取10群，编号为01至10，这些蜂群的成年蜂群势与育虫面积均相近。针对每群蜂依次开展防御行为测试，设置3个重复测试时段：7:00-10:00、12:00-14:00与15:00-17:00；测试分别于雨季的4月与旱季的8月两个阶段开展，因测试会造成蜜蜂大量伤亡，故每月仅开展1次。测试结果显示，测试时段对受试蜜蜂的防御性具有正向影响，全年两个季节的最高攻击性均出现在15:00-17:00时段。旱季时蜜蜂的防御性弱于雨季。对所得数据的分析表明，受试蜜蜂整体防御性较强，且其防御性在傍晚时段与雨季最为显著。