Injuries of honey bee workers and drones caged in native and foreign colonies. In June and July 2008 worker bees and drones were kept in plastic transport cages in native and foreign colonies. 4,224 honey bees were used in the investigation (1.920 workers and 2,304 drones). After 3 and 7 days of storage the bees' injuries were checked with a stereoscopic microscope. The results were used to determine the percentage of injuries and mortality of the bees. Both worker bees and drones stored in native and foreign colonies were subject to injuries. The injuries were limited mainly to legs and arolium, with occasional injuries to wings and antennae. The highest level of injuries was recorded for workers stored for 7 days in foreign colonies (almost 8%) and the lowest for drones stored for 3 days in native and foreign colonies (1.5%). The highest mortality was recorded for drones stored in native and foreign colonies for 7 days (around 71%), and the lowest for workers stored in native colonies for 3 days (almost 6%). It was observed that the location of cages influenced the number of injured and dead workers. The percentage of injured bees was found to be dependent on the duration of their storage in the colony. The longer the storage time of worker bees and drones, the higher the injury rate. The number of injured bees was also influenced by sex, as males were injured distinctly less often than females. The death rate of drones stored in cages was significantly higher than that of worker bees.
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