لونجيفيتي، بسبب، أفريقي، العامل، عسل النحل، (أبيس، مليفيرا)، العين،LONGEVITY OF AFRICANIZED WORKER HONEY BEES (Apis mellifera) CARRYING EYE COLOR MUTANT ALLELES

The dark coloration of insects eyes is attributed to the accumulation of the brown pigment
insectorubin, a mixture of ommochromes, xanthommatin and several ommins, biosynthesized from tryptophan.
When any of the events in the synthesis chain is interrupted, formation and accumulation of pigments other
than insectorubin occurs, and a new eye color will appear. The aim of the present work is to evaluate the
longevity of worker honey bees Apis mellifera, homozygous and heterozygous for the mutant alleles cream
(cr), snow-laranja (sla) and brick (bk). Eye pigmentation and average longetivity of bees are very closely
related. Mutant bees carrying lighter eye pigmentation are unable to return to the hive; there is, therefore, a
close association between the eye pigmentation and honey bees lifespan. Experiments ran in confinement
cages confirm the orientation problems of mutant honey bees, which kept in a limited space, were able to
return to the hive and had an extended lifespan in comparison to that observed in the nature, and did not
present statistical difference (P>0.05) relative to the control group. Confinement to restricted areas improves
honey bees orientation abilities and facilitates return to the hive.
Key words: eyes, mutants, cream, snow-laranja, brick
LONGEVIDADE DE OPERÁRIAS Apis melli