An estimate of the heritability of the corbicular area of the honeybee

Heritability (h²) of corbicular area in worker honeybees (Apis mellifera) was estimated from the variance components of half-sib families. Corbicular area was measured on 30 worker progeny from each of 73 free-mated queens which were the daughters of 8 mother queens. Heritability was estimated to be 1.014 ± 0.195. This large value for 11 2 indicates that selection for larger corbicular area is possible and, depending upon the genetic correlation, may result in concomitant selection for improved honey production.