# Bee Longevity Study



## Snarge (May 4, 2015)

Litsinger said:


> Interesting study published this week out of vanEngelsdorp's lab suggests that:
> 
> _... that the median lifespan of caged honey bees has been declining in the US since the 1970’s, from an average of 34.3 days to 17.7 days. In response to this, we again turned to historical record and found a relationship between this trend and a decline in the average amount of honey produced per colony per year in the US over the last 5 decades.
> 
> ...


Thank you, Litsinger. That’s an interesting study from a reputed source.

My personal perspective, from keeping bees who overwinter so well, is that I’m not a queen breeder, or have ever purchased additional queens from one (other than my first 2 mutts).

I know, with certainty, that I don’t have the “big picture” when selecting for desired traits-whether they be overt or covert-as in dominant, or recessive, genes.

I always let my bees make their own choices when they build their queen cells, whether they be swarm, supersedure or emergency.

I’ve also never culled a queen with the self-centric view, of thinking as a mere human, that I knew better.

Your post will surely have some interesting perspectives and comments, and I look forward to mulling them over.


----------



## squarepeg (Jul 9, 2010)

another good one, many thanks russ.

brother adam considered longevity as being at "the head of the list" in his consideration of secondary qualities with his queen breeding program.

he makes this interesting observation: "... there seems to be a relationship between fecundity and longevity. Ultra prolific strains - with possibly one exception - are invariably short-lived; exceptional longevity is, on the contrary, found among the moderately prolific strains."

he goes on to note that his former "native bee", (a.m.m.), was "probably one of the most outstanding examples of longevity."

(quotes are taken from _beekeeping at buckfast abbey)_

randy oliver discusses the relationship between nursing duty and longevity, and references studies describing how the depletion of vitellogenin caused by nursing appears to shorten the lives of adult workers. i wonder if brother adam's observations of decreased longevity in highly fecund strains is another side of the coin to these observations, and if decreased longevity over the years as noted in this paper under discussion reflects the trend for selection of fecundity by commercial breeders.


----------



## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

Snarge said:


> I always let my bees make their own choices when they build their queen cells, whether they be swarm, supersedure or emergency.


Good stuff, @Snarge. This is generally my approach too.

Or as Terry Combs opines, 'we take what nature gives us'.


----------



## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

squarepeg said:


> brother adam considered longevity as being at "the head of the list" in his consideration of secondary qualities with his queen breeding program.


Indeed - he also spends considerable ink explaining how inbreeding has a deleterious effect on both vigor and longevity:



Litsinger said:


> Brother Adam explains, _“Inbreeding leads to an intensification of small mutations and unavoidably to loss of vigor.”_ [p. 44]
> 
> He goes on to note, _“As practical experience shows over and over again the most serious result of inbreeding is the progressive loss of stamina.”_ [p. 22]
> 
> He further warns, _“Inbreeding… can have a disastrous effect on longevity.”_ [p. 59]


----------



## crofter (May 5, 2011)

Russ, I only shallowly read the media article. What is your interpretation of main suspects; is it genetic drift or the influence of agricultural and general chemical exposure plus that of medications? 

I live in an area with only a small fraction of such exposures and have had very little experience with short queen life but since I rarely allow the queens to go beyond the second winter, probably might not experience it.


----------



## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

crofter said:


> What is your interpretation of main suspects; is it genetic drift or the influence of agricultural and general chemical exposure plus that of medications?


They do not proffer a hypothesis and I imagine I am uniquely unqualified to offer one. The only thing they do make clear is that based on their experiments they expect the longevity reduction is already 'baked-in' at the larval stage and so they surmise it is not solely due to environmental factors following emergence.


----------



## crofter (May 5, 2011)

Litsinger said:


> They do not proffer a hypothesis and I imagine I am uniquely unqualified to offer one. The only thing they do make clear is that based on their experiments they expect the longevity reduction is already 'baked-in' at the larval stage and so they surmise it is not solely due to environmental factors following emergence.


 I thought you might have been privy to some parallel study or would engage in some conjecture. There are many areas that are an environmental nightmare. I have no delusions that our present trajectory has a pot of gold at its end.


----------



## Litsinger (Jun 14, 2018)

crofter said:


> ... engage in some conjecture.


So long as I'm not held to it, the off-hand remark they make about: 

_... colonies with shorter lived bees would appear healthier and would be favored by breeders, who may be inadvertently selecting for reduced lifespans in adult bees._

Certainly has the feel of something solid to it - but I'm definitely tilting at windmills.


----------



## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

I have a pretty strong hunch that my own sample case of "meatbees" vs. "honeybees" will produce many significant differences between the two samples (including the longevity).
A single practical example.

I was recently lamenting in our local forum that I found some of the colonies still brooding - in November.
Notice - the late brood, essentially, *shortens *the lives of the bees that tend to it.

Well, one of experienced local beeks here said this (disagreeing with me that late brood is bad):
..........In my experience, *late brood can actually be good because it ‘shortens winter’.*..........

So yes, this is one of our local beeks who sells the bees locally.
While I give (-) to the late brooding queens, this guy gives them (+) - more rounds of brood is good in his book.
Here you go - the commercial selection in action.
Real money is in bee sales, now days. 
The more the marrier.


----------



## Snarge (May 4, 2015)

GregB said:


> I have a pretty strong hunch that my own sample case of "meatbees" vs. "honeybees" will produce many significant differences between the two samples (including the longevity).
> A single practical example.
> 
> I was recently lamenting in our local forum that I found some of the colonies still brooding - in November.
> ...


What is a meatbee?


----------



## GregB (Dec 26, 2017)

Snarge said:


> What is a meatbee?


"meatbee" - imported bee which is unfit for South WI; it focuses mostly on self-propagation (aka pollinator bee); 

GregV's Alternative way to keep (have?) bees. | Page 96 | Beesource Beekeeping Forums 
GregV's Alternative way to keep (have?) bees. | Page 96 | Beesource Beekeeping Forums


----------

