Navneet Kaur Dhaliwal, Jaspal Singh and Pardeep K. Chhuneja
Abstract
Effect of bee strength (10, 15 and 20 bee-frames) of Apis mellifera breeder colony on egg laying and hatchability in Cupkit and Karl Jenter apparatus was studied. Egg laying and hatchability was the best in 20 bee-frame strength breeder colonies and it was significantly better than in 10 bee-frame strength colonies. The best egg laying (97.88 - 99.11%) and hatchability (80.00 and 83.63 %) in these apparatuses in 20 bee-frame breeder colonies was at par. Confinement of queen bee in these apparatuses was successfully reduced by 8 h as the maximum egg laying was achieved in 16 h instead of 24 h confinement of the queen bee in earlier practice.