Effect of larvae age and grafting method on the larvae accepted rate and height of sealed queen cell (Apis mellifera L.)

Characteristics of queen bees (Apis mellifera L.) reared by using various aged larvae and grafting methods were examined using four feeding colonies and 90 mating colonies. The average acceptance rate of larvae for the colonies in groups A1 and A2 were 77% and 70%, respectively and difference was found significant (P0.05) in A1 and A2 grafting groups. On the other hand, better results were obtained for all heights of the queen bees reared by one-day-old larvae than that of those reared from older larvae (P0.05). The heights of sealed queen cells were significantly (P0.05) heigher in-group A1 than group A2. Grafting method X larvae age interaction was found significant (P0.05). The average heights of sealed queen cells were 25.20+/-0.04 and 26.77+/-0.06 mm for the queen bees of A1 and A2 groups, respectively.