Hive management genetics of the queen. Queens and drones are selectively bred to increase the production of royal jelly. A good yield per hive is 5 kg per year. Bee venom (apitoxin) is obtained by stimulating the bee with an electric current that incite them to sting, releasing a drop of poison onto a glass slide. The crystallized venom can be collected and processed. In order to get 1 gram of dry venom, it is necessary to collect the apitoxin of 10,000 to 15,000 bees. Bee brood as such is generally not a commercial commodity. However, bee brood is edible, and is
Evolution of snake venom recent lineage was correlated with a shift to a diet of vertebrates. Despite the higher toxicity of the venom of arthropod-consuming species, it was not found to incapacitate or kill prey any faster than that of species with fewer arthropods in their diet. Thus, the venom is thought to have evolved to minimize the volume required, as the production of venom carries a significant metabolic cost, thus providing a fitness benefit. This pattern is also found in other lineages. Similar results were obtained by a 2012 study which found that the venom of arthropod-consuming "Echis" species was more toxic to