Intercolony and Interspecific variation for fat and nucleic acid contents in Apis mellifera L. and Apis cerana indica F.
Author(s)
Jitender Kumar; Anil Kumar
Abstract
Fat and nucleic acid contents were determined in workers from 14 colonies of Apis mellifera L. and six of Apis cerana indica F. Intercolony and interspecific variation were observed in these two Apis species for the two body parameters. Body fats, on a dry weight basis, in A. mellifera varied from 4.85% to 9.79% (average 7.63%). The respective variation for A. c. indica was 4.63-7.98% (average 6.94%). There were statistical differences for fat content between the colonies of each species, but not between the two Apis species. DNA, RNA and total nucleic acids in A. mellifera varied from 0.197 to 0.352 ~g, from 1.575 to 3.456 ~g and from 1.795 to 3.766 ~g per mg body weight, respectively. The respective values for A. c. indica varied from 0.179 to 0.263 ~g, from 1.735 to 2.108 ~g and from 1.988 to 2.713 ~g per mg body weight. On average, total nucleic acids were significantly higher in A. mellifera (2.755 ~g/mg) than in A. c. indica (2.238 ~g/mg body weight).
