SELECTION FOR LENGTH OF LIFE IN THE HONEYBEE (APIS MELLIFERA)

Abstract

Two-way selection in the honeybee for long and short length of life in laboratory cages was carried out. The basic population of 43 colonies was tested and three long-lived and three short-lived colonies were selected as progenitors of the two lines. Long- and short-lived lines diverged, but did not differ significantly in the first selected generation. In the second generation, the two lines differed statistically at the 0.007 level of probability. This experiment demonstrates that length of life can be changed by selection. Consequently, breeders can add length of life to other desirable characteristics to increase honey production.