An apiary containing colonies of European honey bees was established in an area with a feral population of African honey bees. European colonies contained yellow Italian bees so that if invaded by African swarms or queens, the event could be documented based upon color markers. Colonies were checked every 10-14 days throughout the year. In addition, a subset of European colonies was requeened at various times of year to determine the frequency of invasions. New queens were introduced into colonies by caging the queen in self-release containers. The number of invasions occurring while colonies were in the process of requeening was compared with those containing free-running queens. Invasions occurred throughout the year, but the frequency increased during the late fall. Colonies were more likely to be invaded during requeening when the queen was caged or absent. The invading swarms most often had a laying queen. In some instances, the resident and invading queens were present in the colony, while in others only the invading queen was present. Invasions of European colonies by African swarms could be a factor contributing to the loss of European matriline markers in areas with African bees.
Species 1: Hymenoptera Apidae Apis mellifera (honey bee, African honey bee)
Keywords: Africanized, population dynamics
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