Heritability of the postcapping stage in Apis mellifera and its relation to varroatosis resistance

Aasrancr: Two African races of the honey bee (Äpis mellifera capansis and A. m. scutellatal have a signilicantly shorter postcapping stage of worker brood than A. rn. carnica. An average within-race heritability of this character is estimated as h2 = 0.8. Reciprocal crosses between the races show that the duration of the postcapping stage also is maternaffy affected (m = 0.23). As the reproduction of the parasilic mile Varroa jacobsoni is restricted in honey bees with a short postcapping stage, selection for this character may be uselul in obtaining a varroatosis-resistant strain of honey bees.