Abstract: 【Aim】 The aim of this study is to determine the effects of acetamiprid residue in queen cell on queen rearing in the western honey bee, Apis mellifera. 【Methods】 Queen cells were made with dissolved beeswax and by adding acetamiprid solution, and queen cells containing four different doses of acetamiprid (0, 10, 100 and 1 000 μg/kg beeswax) respectively were obtained. Meanwhile, a queen was restricted in a comb to lay eggs for 6 h. When the larvae hatched from those eggs, 1-day-old larvae were grafted into the above queen cells followed by feeding in bee colonies. On day 3 and day 6 after graft, the acceptance and capped rates of larvae in queen cells of each group were respectively counted. The number of emerged queens in all groups was recorded, and the birth weight, 
thorax weight and thorax width of these queens were measured. The relative expression levels of vitellogenin gene (Vg) and hexamerin genes (hex110 and hex70b) in queen ovaries were detected by qPCR. 【Results】 The emergence rates of reared queens of A. mellifera in the acetamiprid dose groups of 100 μg/kg beeswax and 1 000 μg/kg beeswax were significantly lower than those in the 0 μg/kg beeswax dose group and the 10 μg/kg beeswax dose group, while there were no significant differences among other dose groups. There were no significant differences in the acceptance rate and capped rate of the larvae, and the birth weight, thorax weight and thorax width of emerged queens among the four dose groups. The results of qPCR showed that the relative expression levels of Vg gene decreased with the increasing concentrations of acetamiprid. Among them, the relative expression level of Vg in the 1 000 μg/kg beeswax dose group was significantly lower than those in the 10 μg/kg beeswax dose group and the 0 μg/kg beeswax dose group, but there was no significant difference between the other dose groups. Furthermore, the expression levels of hex110 and hex70b showed no significant difference among the four groups. 【Conclusion】 When the residue of acetamiprid in queen cells is over 100 μg/kg beeswax, it will generate negative effects on the process of queen rearing in  A. mellifera.

Key words: Apis mellifera, queen rearing, acetamiprid, queen cell, gene expression, ovary development, vitellogenin, hexamerin