Hygienic Behaviors in The Iranian Honey Bee (Apis mellifera meda): Effects of Location and Season on Its Expression

The adverse effects of synthetic acaricides have led researchers and beekeepers to seek for the safe and sustainable alternatives to treat the honey bee varroosis caused by Varroa mite (Varroa destructor). The current research aimed to assess the expression of hygienic behaviors and the effects of season and location on its expression in 150 Iranian honey bee (Apis mellifera meda) colonies located in five cities of Kurdistan province, Iran since 2022 to 2024. In addition, the correlation between hygienic behaviors and some functional-behavioral characteristics was investigated. The results revealed a significant difference 48 hours after pouring liquid nitrogen between the honey bee colonies of the studied cities regarding hygienic behaviors (p<0.05). The means comparison of bees' hygienic behaviors showed that the highest and lowest average of hygienic behaviors were related to the colonies located in Saqqez (84.37%) and Qorveh cities (59.37%), respectively. The mean of the total hygienic behaviors of the studied population 48 hours after pouring liquid nitrogen were 76.77%. This high percentage of expression of hygienic behaviors indicates that the hygienic behaviors in the honey bee population of Kurdistan province of Iran are expressed to a favorable level. The results showed a positive correlation between hygienic behaviors with all the functional-behavioral characteristics of honey bee colonies in this research. Also, the effect of season on hygienic behaviors expression was significant (p<0.05). In total, it can be concluded that the honey bee colonies of Kurdistan province can defend themselves against the Varroa mite by performing hygienic behaviors. Therefore, it is possible to improve the level of these behaviors in the honey bee colonies of this province by implementing breeding programs.