Differential feeding of larvae affects caste differentiation in Apis mellifera

Workers of European honey bees, Apis mellifera ssp., provide larvae of Cape honey bees, A.m. capensis, with more food than capensis workers do. This results in queen-like workers, with reduced pollen combs, enlarged spermathecae and higher numbers of ovarioles being produced from capensis larvae reared in European colonies. These queen-like bees are also heavier than normal workers and develop faster (Beekman et al. 2000). Typically, the characteristics shift in concert: fast developing workers were also more queen-like when the spermatheca, pollen combs, weight and ovarioles were regarded. Even a few hours in a European colony is enough for the further development of capensis larvae to be affected. This is relevant for the ‘capensis’ problem in South Africa, where capensis bees parasitize colonies of A.m. scutellata by taking over reproduction. We found that larvae produced by these parasites were raised into queen-like bees in scutellata colonies. Raised in capensis colonies they developed into normal capensis worker bees.