Comparison of some characteristics of queen honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) reared by using doolittle method and natural queen cells

This study was conducted to examine some characteristics of queen bees raised by using Doolittle method and natural queen cells in Erzurum conditions. The average lengths of the sealed queen cells, queen weights at emergence, diameters of spermatheca and numbers of spermatozoid were higher in case of honey bees reared by Doolittle method as compared to natural queen cell method. However, the differences between the two methods regarding pre-oviposition period were not significant. It is concluded that queen bees reared by grafting method (Doolittle method) were superior to queen bees reared by using natural queen cells.