Introduction: Royal jelly is a secretion of mandibular and hyppopharyngial glands of young (ages 4-15) worker honey bees that is used to feed larvae in the first three days of their lives and queen during its entire life (Bogdanov 2012). Today, production of royal jelly and its usage by human is increasing as well as improving methods of production. China is the greatest producer of royal jelly, because they use high royal jelly producing lines and specific equipment and experienced beekeepers in the process (Krell 1996; Chen et al. 2002). No data is existing about the amount of royal jelly production in Iran, otherwise its consumption is increasing. Naturally, it is possible to harvest royal jelly from natural queen cells in swarming period of colonies, but at this way the amount of harvested royal jelly is very low. Colack Board and 24 hour methods are the most common methods for yielding bee queen in Iran, but their usage in royal jelly production have not been yet examined. So, this experiment was conducted in order to survey and compare these two methods of royal jelly production and determine the effect of this method on the acceptance of grafted cells and the amount of royal jelly harvested from each grafted cell and hive. In the second stage, honey productions of control colonies compared with experimental colonies and economic analysis of royal jelly production with these two methods are presented. Material and methods: This experiment was carried out in honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera meda) of East Azarbaijan province in 2016. We used 30 honey bee colonies headed by one year old sister queens and the same contents of the hive and then, they were randomly divided into three groups. Experimental design was 2×3 factorial based on CRD, which had two factors including method and period. Ten colonies were organized as 24 hour protocol, 10 as cloack board method, and 10 untreated colonies as control. For this reason, 45 grafted cells were added into each hive. Experiment was repeated three times in May, June, and July. Royal jelly was gathered in the 3 rd day after grafting. Number of accepted cells was counted and the amount of royal jelly production from each cell was measured. as Also, the total amount of royal jelly production by each hive was calculated. Linear multiple trait model was used to analyze data. Statistical model was: Yij= μ + Mi + Sj + MSij + eij; where: Yij = record of each trait, μ = overall mean, Mi = effect of method, Sj = effect of month, MSij = interaction effect of method and month, eij = experimental error. The cost-income of the royal jelly production was calculated for the test colonies, considering the price of each kilogram of honey and jelly, 200 thousand Rials and 50 million Rials, respectively. Results and discussion: Results showed that there was no significant difference between two methods in acceptation rate of grafted larvae. The interaction between two factors (working method and time) was not also significant. But, there was a significant difference between the months in acceptation rate; so that, mean comparisons showed the lowest larvae acceptance in July (%78. 7200) and the highest in June (%85. 2700). No significant difference was observed between two methods based on total royal jelly production from each hive. Also, the interaction between two factors (working method and time) was not significant. However, the effect of time was significant; so that, the maximum amount of royal jelly production from each hive was occurred in May (9. 7730 g/hive) and the minimum in July (8. 3295 g/hive). The amount of royal jelly production from each cell in different amounts was not significantly different. Also, the effect of method and amount interaction was not significantly different. But amount of royal jelly harvested from each cell significantly affected by method; so, the amount of royal jelly per cell in cloack board method was more than 24 hours method (262. 66 and 236. 87 mg/cell, respectively). Cost-Income calculation showed that, by production of royal jelly, we can add 919. 5 thousand Rials to the income from each hive. Considering the results of this study and other related reports (Sahinler 2005; Le Jiang 2001; and Elmi 2016), month and season had a considerable effect on royal jelly production. Colony internal contents (brood and food area and population) and external condition (honey and pollen flow) are varying with season (Buchler et al. 2013). Larvae acceptance and the amount of royal jelly could be affected by each of these factors. Larvae acceptance in this study was higher than other related reports (Kumar and Kumar 1999). Mean of royal jelly per hive in current research was lower than that of other report (Elmi 2016). It seems that environmental factors affected this trait. Due to climate situations followed by poor nutritional pollens in the nature, there was a decline in breeding quality of queens at the year of experiment. Mean of royal jelly production per cell was nearly the same as other related reports (Elmi 2016; Bogdanov 2012). Considering amount of royal jelly per cell, it seems that Cloack Board method is preferable to the 24-hour method. One of the advantages of the Royal jelly production on the experimental colonies was that none of the colonies had swarmed. Also, there was no significant difference between groups in honey production of three groups, and royal jelly production had not negative effect on the amount of honey production. Therefore, royal jelly production can be achieved by beekeepers to increase their income. Conclusions: Generally, the results of this study showed that the percentage of larvae acceptance and the amount of royal jelly produced from each hive are acceptable in both ways. The amount of the royal jelly produced from each cell in the Cloack Board method is greater than the 24-hour procedure, and the use of the Cloack Board method to produce royal jelly can be more advisable under the 24 h method, because: the amount of royal jelly are obtained from each cell is high and there is no need for the removal of the queen and the colony develops normally. Furthermore, production of royal jelly would increase the beekeepers income by using any of the above methods without any negative effect on honey yield, and it has a positive effect on swarming tendency of colonies.

The Bee-eaters, include a group of 31 species of birds with bright colors that lives across the Palaeotropical and southern Eurasia regions. Of these, three species are distributed in Iran. Considering the role of bee-eaters in nature, presence of three species of Bee-eaters in Fars province and the conflict between Bee-keepers and Bee-eaters, it is important to study the distribution of these species in the province. In order to investigate the distribution range of Bee-eaters in ecoregions of Fars province, fieldwork was carried out during 2017 and 2018. In total, 294 points were recorded for the European Bee-eater (Merops apiaster), 58 points for the Green Bee-eater (Merops orientalis) and 13 points for the Persian Bee-eater (Merops persicus). Results showed that the European Bee-eater is distributed in almost regions of the province, Green Bee-eater in southern and western areas and the Persian Bee-eater in northern and western areas. According to the terrestrial ecoregions for Fars province, the European Bee-eater is distributed in the all three ecoregions including central Persian desert basins in northern areas, Zagros mountains forest steppe in central areas, and south Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert ecoregion in southern areas of the province, but the most of its distribution points are related to the Zagros mountains forest steppe ecoregion. The Green Bee-eater is distributed in the Zagros mountains forest steppe and south Iran Nubo-Sindian desert ecoregions, however most of its distribution points are related to the south Iran Nubo-Sindian desert. The Persian Bee-eater is distributed only in the Zagros mountains forest steppe ecoregion.The three Bee-eater species overlap widely in distribution range in some parts of Fars province, and in the areas where all three species coexist, beekeeping is probably associated with a higher risk. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to this point for beehive Apiary location.

Introduction: Honey bees are vital to the economy of the people of Kurdistan Province, Iran. They produce honey and other hive products like royal jelly, wax, venom, and collect pollen and propolis. They also provide food security, create jobs in secondary industries, and prevent rural migration to cities. In addition to their significant role in pollination, they also increase the quantity and quality of agricultural products, develop and expand forests and pastures, preserve biodiversity, and increase income. Despite all these economic and social benefits, honeybee colonies and the beekeeping profession in Iran have been adversely affected by several adverse factors, one of the most important of which is the lack of access for beekeepers to improved, highly productive, and economical queens. The use of improved queens with desirable functional and behavioral traits is one of the most important factors of success in beekeeping. The current study was conducted to evaluate the performance of improved Iranian honey bee queens, "Aram", with native queens and their hybrids in three apiaries located in different climates of Kurdistan province during 2022-2023. Materials and methods: The present study was conducted in the form of a factorial experiment (3×3) and based on a completely randomized design with nine treatments and five replications. The treatments included improved and mated queens (improved and mated queens in the central core of the Iranian honey bee breeding plan), hybrid queens (improved and mated queens in the apiaries of Kurdistan province), and native queens (as control). In total, the current study was carried out on 45 honey bee colonies. After the preparation of colonies in each Apiary and the successful introduction of queens, the colonies were homogenized in terms of population (adults and brood) and honey storage according to standard instructions. In the present study, the traits of calmness behavior, swarming, homozygosity of sex alleles, population (adults and brood), and honey production were evaluated in the studied bee colonies in each Apiary. Data analysis was conducted by SAS 9.4 software. Results and discussion: Variance analysis results of calmness trait showed that the effect of treatment (P<0.01), queen (P<0.01), and the Apiary (P<0.05) were significant on the calmness trait of the studied honey bee colonies. Based on the mean comparison results, the highest amount of this trait, with an average of 0.4 ± 0.12 related to the improved queens in the Apiary located in the Saral region, and the lowest with an average of 1.7 ± 0.19 related to the native queens in the Apiary located in the Genghis Ghalea village. Variance analysis results of swarming trait showed that the effect of treatment, Apiary, queen, and the interaction effect of Apiary × queen were significant on the swarming trait of the studied honey bee colonies (P<0.01). Based on the mean comparison results, the highest rate of swarming trait with an average of 20 queen cells is related to the native queens of Apiary 2 (an Apiary located in the Qazalali village), and the lowest rate of this trait with an average of 0.2 queen cells is related to the improved queens of Apiary 2 (an Apiary located in the Qazalali village). Variance analysis results of homozygosity of sex alleles showed that the effect of treatment and the interaction effect of Apiary × queen (P<0.01) and the effect of Apiary and queen (P<0.05) were significant on homozygosity of sex alleles of honey bee colonies in the studied apiaries. Based on the mean comparison results, the highest and lowest homozygosity of sex alleles was related to the improved queens of the third Apiary (the Apiary located in the Saral area) and the hybrid queens of the second Apiary (the Apiary located in the Qazalali village), respectively. Variance analysis results of the adult population trait showed that the effect of treatment and queen (P<0.01), and the Apiary and the interaction effects of queen × Apiary (P<0.05) were significant on the adult population trait of the studied honey bee colonies. Based on the mean comparison results, the highest amount of adult population was observed in improved queens of Apiary 3, and the lowest in native queens of Apiary 3 (Apiary located in the Saral region). Variance analysis results of brood population trait showed that the effect of treatment, Apiary, queen, and the interaction effects of Apiary × queen were significant on the brood population of the studied honey bee colonies (P<0.01). Based on the mean comparison results, the highest average of this trait was related to the improved queens in Apiary 3 (the Apiary located in the Saral area), and the lowest was related to the native queens of Apiary 1 (the Apiary located in the Genghis Ghalea village). Variance analysis results of the honey production trait showed that the effect of treatment, Apiary, and queen was significant on the honey production trait of honey bee colonies of the studied apiaries (P<0.01). Based on the mean comparison results, the highest production of honey, with an average of 8.2 kg, is related to the improved queens of the second Apiary (the Apiary located in the Qazalali village), and the lowest, with an average of 3.4 kg, is related to the native queens of the third Apiary (the Apiary located in the Saral region). Conclusions: Considering the superiority and significant improvements of the improved queens of the Iranian honey bee breeding plan in the majority of the traits studied in the current research, it can be concluded that breeding has been effective in improving the target traits. Also, it can be suggested to use improved queens of Iranian honey bees to increase the performance of honey bee colonies in the country.

In order to Discriminant analyses of efficient indexes on production of apiaries in East Azerbaijan to define the special relationship between some of the important factors affecting the production and the amount of future production of hive, analytical test done by providing and completing a questionnaire form in apiaries in both breeding and harvesting stages. As the two apiaries producing group i.e. high production group (higher than the average production) and low production group (under average production) using specific parameters were divided and tested. By examining the results and using the statistical analysis methods, the role and the impact of some of the factors affecting production were defined as a linear relationship. This formula makes it possible to predict the amount of Apiary production before harvest, as by comparison of the resulting value for an Apiary based on intended parameters with the obtained indicator, we can predicted its production and in the case of low .performance, beekeeper urged to fix existing bugs.

In this study that its main goal is identification of honeybee colonies mycoflora in West Azarbaijan province, 2000 samples of adult bee (500 samples), larvae and pupae (500 samples), pollen (500 samples) and honey (500 samples), randomly collected of apiaries in 1384-1389. After preparing and culturing of samples in SDA media, many different fungi and yeasts isolated. During three seasons of sampling, 357 samples of Adult bee (71.4 %), 353 samples of larvae and pupae (70.6 %), 459 samples of pollen (91.8 %) and 364 samples of honey (72.8 %) were contaminated with different fungi and yeasts. Main fungi and yeasts that identified and their percent were: Aternaria spp.2.9%, Aspergillus.fl(4.5%), Aspergillus fumigatus (4.55%), Aspergillus niger (13%), Aspergillus spp. (0.1%), Cladosporium spp. 0.65%, Helmetosporiun spp.3.9%, Mucor spp.7.65%, Paecilomyces spp.0.8%, Penicillium spp. (12.15%), Rhizopus spp. (0.4%), Scopolariupsis spp. (0.9%), Sepdonium spp. (0.3%), Stemphylium spp. (0.9%), Yeasts (58.05%). This study shows that honey bee colonies can be contaminated with many fungi and yeasts that much of them are pathogenic for human. In other hand, most of those fungi can produce different mycotoxines and metabolites that are harmful for honeybee products consumers.

Breeding honeybees to utilize their nutritional, environmental, and economic benefits has always been a concern for human societies. However, the beekeeping industry's performance is not currently favorable. The most fundamental action to achieve the desired status is to identify and analyze the current performance of this industry. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the technical performance of beekeeping farms in Fereydunshahr county and provide suggestions to improve their status. The data used in this study were primary data collected through face-to-face and telephone interviews by a researcher-made questionnaire in the spring of 2022. The sample size was 140 beekeepers selected using the stratified sampling method among all beekeepers in Fereydunshahr county (N=210), located in Isfahan province. Due to the study's exploratory nature, only descriptive statistics were used. The results showed that the average age of beekeepers was nearly 44 years, and all of them were men. More than 52% of the respondents followed beekeeping as a side job. The average number of colonies on beekeeping farms was 140, and the average honey production per hive was 9.7 kg, indicating an average level of performance. However, the production of honeybee by-products was not in favorable condition. Finally, suggestions such as increasing the motivation and ability of women and youth to enter the beekeeping profession, and increasing and homogenizing the number of colonies of beekeeping farms are suggested to improve the performance of beekeeping farms.

Introduction: Appearance characteristics of the honeybee are important in identifying races and populations and because of their correlation with production and behavioral traits; they can be used to indirectly improve and reform these traits (Alpatov, 1929; Rinderer et al., 1982). So, the first step in breeding of the honeybee is to perform morphological studies. In Iran, such studies are necessary for many reasons such as ecological conditions, topography, long beekeeping, and the climate of the four seasons. In 1927, the Russian researcher, Skorikov, identified an independent subtype called Apis mellifera meda, known as the Iranian honeybee, and introduced it to the world (Ruttner et al., 1985). Tahmasebi (1998) also separated the entire Iranian honeybee population into three subpopulations of the north, west and northwest and central regions. Material and methods: This research was carried out in 2 apiaries of 4 different townships in Zanjan province including Zanjan, Abhar, Mahneshan and Tarom. Identified colonies (40 colonies) include 5 colonies from 8 apiaries, and from each colony 50 (and a total of 2000) Apis mellifera young worker honeybees were collected, in which 800 bees (20 bees per colony) were evaluated. In this experiment, 17 apparent characteristics of the worker bees were evaluated included: the length of the proboscis, the length and width of the front wing, the length of the (a) cubital and (b) cubital veins, the number of right and left wing hooks, the discoidal shift, the length of the femur, tibia and tarsus, over hair, the width of third and fourth Tergitelongitudinal, cubital index, rear length, and the total length of the third and fourth ventral dentures. Measurement of morphological traits was done by routhener method and with the stereomicroscope equipped with eye graded lens. (Goetz, 1959; Dupraw, 1965; Ruttner, 1988). To analyze the variance of the data from the evaluation of traits, eight apiaries as treatments and five colonies of each were considered as repetitions. Analysis of variance was performed in a completely randomized design using MSTATC software. Then, the mean of traits in apiaries was compared with Duncan test. Results and discussion: The Apiary 1 of Zanjan with the more width of the third and fourth Tergitelongitudinal had the bees larger than bees of the other studied area and bees of the Apiary 2 of Zanjan and Apiary 1 of Abhar with the less width of third and fourth Tergitelongitudinal were smaller in body size than other bees. The observed difference in the size of bees in the Apiary 1 and 2 of Zanjan may be due to the small size of the sample size in this study. The number of right and left wing hooks in the studied apiaries did not show any significant difference. The front wing of most (73%) of the studied bees in terms of the Discoidal shift was in the +1 position. The Discoidal shift feature was studied only by Farshineh Adl (2005) on Apis mellifera bees. The researcher concluded that 82. 5% of the apex wings of Apis mellifera were in the +1 position. Cluster analysis for all morphological characteristics divided the apiaries into two groups: (1) Apiary 1 of Mahneshan, Apiary 2 of Zanjan and Apiary 1 and 2 of Tarom, (2) Apiary 2 of Mahneshan, Apiary 1 of Zanjan and Apiary 1 and 2 of Abhar. In the principal component analysis for the 14 traits, the first and second components justified 50. 5% and 22. 8%, respectively, and in total 73. 3% of the total variation. The first principal component had the largest share in explaining the total variance. Width of wing, (a) cubital and (b) cubital veins, length of thigh, leg, tarsus, T3 and T4 and left and right hooks were further explained by this component. Therefore, the above-mentioned traits, which are justified by this component, are more important than other characteristics in the distinction between bees in evaluated apiaries. The waist length, cubital index, and the length of the fifth dorsal abdominal hair showed the higher coefficient of determination in the second principal component. In other words, this component largely explains the traits that are of secondary importance. The twodimensional diagram of these two components was drawn, and the apiaries were grouped accordingly. The results confirmed the grouping cluster analysis. Conclusion: The studied apiaries were divided into two groups in terms of the 14 evaluated morphological traits. Width the wing, (a) cubital and (b) cubital veins, length of thigh, leg, tarsus, T3 and T4 and left and right hooks were the most important traits in the differentiation of evaluated honeybees.

BACKGROUND: Colony Collapse Disorder is a mysterious phenomenon in which worker bees abruptly disappear from a beehive. Objectives: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of CCD and its relation to climate and Nosema spp infections. Methods: This Cross sectional study was done from April to September 2016. With respect to different climatic zones of the country, a total of 183 apiaries were selected. In each Apiary, 5 percent of the colonies were randomly sampled. Adult bee samples were then examined for the presence of Nosema infections using PCR. Data were analyzed by Chi-square using SPSS version 21. 0. Results: The results showed the prevalence of colony collapse disorder in the studied apiaries at 26. 8%. The CCD prevalence was 20. 5% in humid, 16. 1% in semi humid, 22. 7% in very humid, 38. 2% in arid, 43. 8% in semi-arid and 16% in Mediterranean conditions. Comparing CCD phenomenon in different climatic regions, there were significant differences (P<0. 05). The prevalence of Nosema ceranae infection was 85 (46. 4%), however, infection with Nosema apis was not observed in the samples either in pure form or as associated infection. There was no statistical significant difference between symptomatic and asymptomatic apiaries with colony collapse disorder in terms of presence or absence of N. ceranea (P>0. 05). Conclusions: The results suggest that climate could influence the prevalence of Colony Collapse Disorder. It may be due to different foraging resources in under studied area. According to findings of this study it seems that N. ceranea alone cannot be the cause for CCD. Further studies are needed to clarify the interactions between climate and other possible causes.

BACKGROUND: Honey bees play a significant role in the balance of nature, especially through the pollination process. Pollination is important for the viability of many pastoral enterprises, market gardens and orchards. As at June 2010 the estimated value of pollination to Victorian agricultural and horticultural crops was estimated to exceed $400 million. Horticultural and seed industries are partially or completely dependent on effective pollination by honey bees.The bee keeping industry is one of the important sections of agriculture in Iran. It is a manufacturing activity that is possible throughout the year. Thousands of households are passing the life with this manner. OBJECTIVES: The main aim of the present study is an examination of effective factors on honey production yield at Arasbaran apiaries in the east Dizmar district of Khoda afarin County of the east Azerbaijan province. METHIDS: Type of research is descriptive - correlation and statistical population was all (643) the bee keepers in 4 villages of the east Dizmar district of Khoda afarin County. In order to examining the reliability of the questionnaire a pre - test was conducted. The value of Cronbach's alpha coefficient for different parts of the questionnaire was between 0/77 – 0/85. Sample size of the bee keepers was determined by random systematic method with Cochrane formula. Finally, 243 bee keepers was selected. The data was analyzed by using SPSS22 and LISREL8.72 soft wares. It is worth noting that yield of honey production is dependent variable and was calculated based on the amount and quantity of products (bee wax, honey and bee glue) which produced by Bee keepers from each hive in kilograms. RESULTS: According to research findings, bee keepers are in middle age range. This range of age can be considered positive point of the combination of young force and experience. The minimum education level of one third of bee keepers is bachelor. So, it is possible to perform literacy - based educations and, on the other hand, this capacity can be used to teach other bee keepers with low literacy. In terms of being bee keepers innovator, statistics show that they do not use the modified queen and rely on queen's natural duplicating method. It would be a reason to being intangible beekeepers need for training and feasibility to use the modified queen under consideration of governmental organisation and also, using the method of controlled process of the queen duplication. Improvement and modernization of hives is not favorable.This fact affects on the rate of each hive production and market qualification of honey products. There are positive and significant correlation in 5% level between dependent variable (honey products yield) and some factors such as; the individual, professional, psychological and technical characteristics. Based on the rate of factor loading, psychological factor (1.27) and variables such as: seeking out weather news, being helpful of extension and education classes, the interest to continue beekeeping job, social desirability of beekeeping and the distance of the apiaries had the most effect on variance changes of honey yield. CONCLUSIONS: Livelihoods of bee keepers was not evaluated appropriately, so in order to helping bee keepers to continue the production of honey, providing sustainable livelihoods, alternatives and supplements are suggested. The whole state of the colonies are not suitable. It is necessary to take place an urgent act by agricultural extension office of the east Azerbaijan province for promoting technologies consistent with regional conditions. Developing usage of the modified queen and the industrial method of duplicating queen feels strongly to be planned in the research district. Labor - save technologies be introduced for declining duration of referring bee keepers to hives. Variables such as desirability of social status of bee keeping and interest in continuing bee keeping job had significant affect on honey production so, the distinctive suggestion is that custodians of affairs do the necessary measures like promotion to introduce more bee keeping job to the community. It is important to predict creating required conditions to buy modern hives due to granting a subsidy facilities. By reducing the production cost of bee keepers ' performance rises, therefore the obvious suggestion in order to reduce costs is setting up bee keepers ' formations. One of the variables influencing honey yield is replacing of honeycombs. Specified suggestion for this case is predicting training headlines, applying appropriate supervision and implementing of extensional programs. Also, Generalizing and expanding education with the aim of transferring elderly and highly qualified person's experiences to young people, on the one hand, and increasing the possibility of applying new technologies, on the other hand, will have a double effect on bee keepers honey yield. The effect of following the meteorology news on the honey yield is above. This fact illustrates the role of proper knowledge of bee keepers of meteorological variables on honey production. So, it is important that east Azerbaijan agriculture jihad organization preparing daily messages for bee keepers in the form of SMS or by mass media. Preparing reports about prediction of meteorological status in the form of weekly, monthly, seasonal and six mouths is emphasized.

Beekeepers use Kandovan region as an Apiary to collect nectar and produce marketable honey. This study was conducted to determine medicinal plants visited by honeybees in this area. If these plants were determined, their time of flowering and locations could be recommended to the bee keepers for the emplacement of honeybee colonies to produce high quality and quantity honey in the beehives. In this project collection of nectar, pollen and both pollen and nectar by honeybees surveyed for two years in every 7-10 days intervals, within the radius of 3 Km. from the Apiary. Plants collected (256 spp) were determined in the herbarium of the Agricultural and Natural Research Center of Tabriz and medicinal plants were then separated by using scientific reference books and also by native rural people. From all of the plants species collected and determined in Kandovan region, 98 species were found to be visited by bees. These species belonged to 66 genera and 22 families. Fifty two species out of 98 were determined to be medicinal plants in this region. These species did belong to the following genera: Lamiaceae (7 species), Fabaceae (8 species), Rosaceae (7 species), Asteraceae (6 species) and Apiaceae (3 species). Nine species of these plants produced nectar, 18 species pollen and 23 species both pollen and nectar.