The histological structure of the ovary of queens of the Yemeni honeybee race, Apis mellifera jemenitica, was studied in the third and fifth larval instars, 1-, 2- and 3-day old pupae and newly emerged imago queen bees. Queen bee larvae were fed with an intensive royal food throughout the larval stage to avoid compounding regression to worker status. Several differences were found from one developmental stage to another, as well as in the different ages of each stage. The queen bee's ovaries were observed to go through several discernable stages during metamorphosis.

Various factors impact honey bee colony activity and performance, the most important of
which are temperature and relative humidity. Within colonies, bees are typically able to
maintain a temperature between 33°C and 36°C [1] and a relative humidity above 75%. The
regulation of relative humidity is particularly important for egg hatching. If the relative
humidity is too high [2] or if it falls below 50%, egg hatching may fail [3]. Although honey bee
workers are able to control the relative humidity within the colony [4] through different

Honey bees, Apis mellifera, occur naturally over vast and varied geographical areas, extending from Scandinavia in the north to the Cape of Good Hope in the south, and from Dakar in the west to Oman in the east. Different populations are adapted to a very wide range of climatic conditions (e.g., Ruttner et al., 1978). Apis mellifera colonies are found from sea level to 1,000 m above sea level (a.s.l.) in temperate zones and from sea level to 3,700 m a.s.l. in the tropics. They also survive in the hot and arid zones of Oman at 200 m a.s.l. (Dutton et al., 1981).

Flowering plants and honeybees have a special relationship in which both are
benefited from each other. As honeybees get food and in turn facilitate their pollination
process. Honeybees visit flowers to collect pollen and nectar. Pollens are the principle
source of protein, fats, vitamins and minerals, which are essential for honeybee growth
and development, repairing of worn out tissue and stimulating the development of
hypopharyngeal glands. Nectar is the carbohydrate compounds mainly sucrose, fructose

Evaluation of the Grooming behavior of Apis mellifera jemenitica, and Apis mellifera carnica against Varroa jacobsoni

There are various factors affecting
successful egg hatching in insects including
environmental factors, such as relative
humidity and temperature, parasitism
conditions, genetic factors and diseases. A
little is known about eggs hatchability in
most insects. Insect eggs (e.g., honey bees)
consist of micropyle, chorion, delicate
Vitelline membrane, cortical layer of
cytoplasm (Snodgrass and Erickson 1992).
The vitellogenin is the major egg yolk
protein (Hagedorn and Kunkel 1979).

Honey is a drug in addition to its valuable nutrient contents. Honey was valued highly in the Middle East. It was mentioned in the Holy Quran 1400 years ago (And thy LORD taught the bee to build its cells in hills, on trees and in men’s habitations, then to eat of all the produce of the earth and find with skill the spacious paths of its LORD, there issues from within their bodies a drink of varying colors, wherein is healing for men, verily in this is a sign for those who give thought). It is also mentioned in the Talmud. Hippocrates and Celsus used honey for wounds and ulcers.

Hypopharyngeal glands (HPG) of honeybee workers produce proteinic secretion to feed larvae and queens (Crailsheim, 1991 and Crailsheim, 1992). There are many factors affecting physiological status of the honeybee such as race of bees, worker age, colony conditions and the time of the year. The HPG are well developed when honeybee workers are in the nursing period. They begin to degenerate when bees start foraging. Lass and Crailsheim (1996) reported that young caged bees had smaller hypopharyngeal glands.

DISEASES AND PESTS ASSOCIATED WITH HONEYBEE COLONIES IN SAUDI ARABIA