Effect of Different Time and hybrid on the Amount of Blood Cells in Honeybee Workers

Abstract

Insects have an innate immune system consisting of humoral and cellular defense mechanisms. Hemocytes, the main cellular component, play a significant role in immunity, with their numbers varying in response to different factors. This study examined the effect of different durations (one, two, three, and eleven days) and hybrid types (Carniolan, Italian, and Buckfast) on the number of various blood cells in honeybee (Apis mellifera) workers larvae raised under normal conditions during both winter and spring seasons. Three replicates (experimental colonies) were used for each treatment, and all colonies were provided with pollen. Significant differences in blood cell numbers between winter and spring were observed among the three honeybee hybrids. In winter, prohemocytes were most numerous in all hybrids after one day, whereas spherulocytes peaked after two, three, and eleven days.
In spring, spherulocytes consistently had the highest numbers at all time points across the three hybrids. Coagulocytes without granules consistently showed the lowest numbers throughout both winter and spring in all three honeybee hybrids.