Improving Egyptian Honeybee Characteristics by Crossing with Carniolan Drones using Instrumental Insemination (I) Improve Honeybee Queen Characters

Apis mellifera, the Western honeybee, is a widespread species that has differentiated into numerous geographical strains or subspecies. These subspecies differ in various characteristics, such as morphology, behavior, and ecology. In the present investigation, different morphometric characteristics of the Carniolan (Apis mellifera carnica) and Egyptian (Apis mellifera lamarckii) subspecies were compared with their hybrids and backcrosses. The rates of increase in some morphometric characteristics as evidence of hybridization between an Egyptian virgin queen and Carniolan drones being 1.7, 3.2, 0.15, 0.5. 2.4, 0.33 and 1.43 percent for forewing length, width, ovariole number, spermatheca diameter, third tergit length, width, and fourth tergit length. Moreover, the backcross generation showed reductions for all queen characteristics resulting from hybridization between an Egyptian virgin queen and Carniolan drones being 2.35, 4.058.6, 3.1, 0.93,4.2, 1.04, 0.34, and 11.5% for forewing width, ovariole number, spermatheca diameter, third tergit length, third tergit width, fourth tergit length, fourth tergit width and for queen weight.