02231naa a2200253 a 450000100080000000500110000800800410001902200140006002400410007410000190011524501470013426000090028150000700029052014340036065000200179465000180181465300210183265300140185365300100186765300140187770000140189170000170190577300550192210511142019-10-31       2011    bl uuuu     u00u1 u    #d  a1519-566X7 a10.1590/S1519-566X20110001000042DOI1 aINVERNIZZI, C.  aResistance to Chalkbrood Disease in Apis mellifera L. (HymenopterabApidae) Colonies with Different Hygienic Behaviour.h[electronic resource]  c2011  aArticle history: Received 03 August 2009 / Accepted 10 June 2010.  aABSTRACT.  Chalkbrood disease affects the larvae of honeybees Apis mellifera L. and is caused by the fungus Ascosphaera apis. Infected larvae die when they are stretched in the cap cell and suffer a gradual hardening that ends in a very hard structure (mummie). Several studies have demonstrated that colonies that express an efficient hygienic behaviour (uncapping of cell and subsequent removal of dead brood) exhibit a higher resistance to the disease. However, it remains unclear whether the advantage of hygienic colonies over less hygienic ones lies in the ability to remove mummies or in the early detection of infected larvae and its cannibalization before they harden. To elucidate this aspect, the hygienic behaviour of 24 colonies, which were subsequently provided with pollen cakes containig a. apis, was evaluated. The number of mummies and the number of partially cannibalized and whole larvae in uncapped cells were recorded. The most hygienic colonies controlled the disease better. These colonies also had a higher tendency to uncap cells that contained infected larvae and cannibalize them. The presence of a. apis in partially cannibalized and whole larvae in uncapped cells indicate that the advantage of hygienic colonies over less hygienic ones lies in the early detection of infected larvae death and their quick removal from the cell before they become mummies.  © 2011 Sociedade Entomológica do Brasil.  aABEJA MELÍFERA  aMIEL DE ABEJA  aAscosphaera apis  aHoney bee  aLarva  aSelection1 aRIVAS, F.1 aBETTUCCI, L.  tNeotropical Entomology, 2011gv.40, no.1, p.28-34.