Diurnal and seasonal changes of aggressive behavior of Africanized bees (“Apis mellifera” L.)

Abstract

The aggressive behavior of Apis mellifera L. bees is a form of defense against the attach of predators and of prevention of robbery of the colony production. This study aims to evaluate the diurnal and seasonal variations in the aggressive behavior of Africanized bees, through defensive behavior tests. The study was conducted in three apiaries in the Condado, Pombal and Sousa municipalities, Paraíba state, Northeastern Brazil, composed of 30 colonies. From each apiary, 10 colonies were randomly selected. The behavior tests were conducted in each hive from 7:00h to 10:00h, from 12:00h to 14:00h and from 15:00h to 17:00h, and at rainy and dry seasons. The aggressiveness was measured through time to the fury of the bees, time to occur the first sting, stingers left on the number of suede stuck in a circular container, the number of bees that attacked after 1 minute away bees chased the handler and time to calm the bees in the colony. From the obtained results, it was observed that the time had a positive influence on the aggressiveness of bees analyzed, and the time with highest aggressiveness was from 15:00h to 17:00h in both seasons. In the dry season the bees had less aggressiveness than in the rainy season. Data analysis characterized Africanized bees as highly defensive, and the defensiveness is highest at the late afternoon and at rainy season.