<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>For more than forty years, laboratory cage tests (LCTs) have been used in honeybee research. These tests facilitate the control of elements of the environment present in the laboratory, which allows the minimization of the impact of the changing environmental conditions and conditions in the bee colony nest on the studied features. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the content of the genetic component of a particular trait and to assess the impact of a specific substance or tested agent on the traits of bees.</p><p>An advantage of LCTs is the possibility of conducting easier and cheaper research than in the case of apiary experiments. LCTs allow a significant reduction in the number of required bees/colonies, investigations of a winter bee generation and individual treatment of a single bee. One of the first research directions in which LCTs were used was the instantaneous assessment of the honey yield. Due to discrepancies between LCT assessment and results of apiary productivity, LCTs are currently not a standard tool for the assessment and improvement of bee functional traits despite such undoubted advantages as reducing the time and cost of the evaluation. Moreover, LCTs are being used to assess the genetic and environmental conditions of workers’ lifespan and are a standard method for assessing the impact of pesticides on bees.</p></abstract>

For more than forty years, laboratory cage tests (LCTs) have been used in honeybee research. These tests facilitate the control of elements of the environment present in the laboratory, which allows the minimization of the impact of the changing environmental conditions and conditions in the bee colony nest on the studied features. Therefore, it is possible to estimate the content of the genetic component of a particular trait and to assess the impact of a specific substance or tested agent on the traits of bees.An advantage of LCTs is the possibility of conducting easier and cheaper research than in the case of apiary experiments. LCTs allow a significant reduction in the number of required bees/colonies, investigations of a winter bee generation and individual treatment of a single bee. One of the first research directions in which LCTs were used was the instantaneous assessment of the honey yield. Due to discrepancies between LCT assessment and results of apiary productivity, LCTs are currently not a standard tool for the assessment and improvement of bee functional traits despite such undoubted advantages as reducing the time and cost of the evaluation. Moreover, LCTs are being used to assess the genetic and environmental conditions of workers’ lifespan and are a standard method for assessing the impact of pesticides on bees.

Prospects and Validity of Laboratory Cage Tests Conducted in Honeybee Research Part one: Main Directions of Use of Laboratory Cage Tests in Honeybee Research

Journal of Apicultural Science

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

For more than forty years, laboratory cage tests (LCTs) have been used in honeybee research. These tests facilitate the control of elements of the environment...

Prospects and Validity of Laboratory Cage Tests Conducted in Honeybee Research Part one: Main Directions of Use of Laboratory Cage Tests in Honeybee Research

Published Online: Dec 26, 2019

Page range: 201 - 207

Received: Jun 13, 2019

Accepted: Sep 18, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2019-0026

Keywords
honeybee, laboratory cage tests

© 2019 Piotr Dziechciarz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Prospects and Validity of Laboratory Cage Tests Conducted in Honeybee Research Part one: Main Directions of Use of Laboratory Cage Tests in Honeybee Research

Published Online: Dec 26, 2019

Page range: 201 - 207

Received: Jun 13, 2019

Accepted: Sep 18, 2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/jas-2019-0026

Keywordshoneybee, laboratory cage tests

© 2019 Piotr Dziechciarz et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Keywords
honeybee, laboratory cage tests