Abstract
For beekeepers, the beehive stock represents a fundamental means of ensuring the continuity of their activity, whether they are professionals or hobbyists. The evaluation of this asset for economic purposes requires knowledge of the rhythms and adaptations of honey bee colonies during the annual seasons. As in any breeding activity, it is necessary to establish the numerical and economic size of the species bred. Beekeepers are interested in this evaluation to monitor beehive stock. For keeping economic accounts of stock, a specific tool has been developed and proposed, here called the “Honey Bee Colony Inventory (HBCI)”. The HBCI can be used as either a final or preventive scheme to assess the numbers of honey bee colonies and nuclei, and the mortality rate, in order to calculate the monetary value. This tool allows the strength of honey bee colony stocks to be monitored, including fluctuations throughout the year, and will prove useful for determining solutions to maintain or increase how long stocks last. Data can be registered in countries such as Italy where the veterinary authorities request data on the stock owned and its variations. Due to widespread Varroa mite infestations, in recent years, beekeepers have experimented with a range of different biotechniques that have included queen caging as well as drone and total brood removal. To verify its effectiveness for gathering honey bee colony data, the HBCI was used in nine beekeeping farms applying different biotechniques to control Varroa mites: chemical treatment, total brood removal, queen caging and old queen replacement by royal cell insertion. The results are compared and discussed. Out of the nine farms, seven showed negative monetary value according to the HBCI, as expected, due to multiple factors such as the unfavorable climate trend of 2017 in the studied area. The positive aspect is that the application of this tool will allow farmers to monitor, manage and maintain their beehive stocks.
Highlights
Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are of huge importance globally because of their pollination services, essential for agricultural productivity, biodiversity conservation, and honey production [1,2]
During the spring and summer, another 70 nuclei were obtained by breeding and a further 200 nuclei were produced by the total brood removal (TBR) technique applied to fight Varroa mites (TBR nuclei); in the record concerning the summer period (15/08/2017), 1,000 colonies and 340 nuclei were present in the beekeeping farm stock
In the pre-winter time (15/10/2017) some colonies died and others were used for replacement (40); the stock consisted of 990 colonies, 100 nuclei and 180 TBR nuclei
Summary
Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) are of huge importance globally because of their pollination services, essential for agricultural productivity, biodiversity conservation, and honey production [1,2]. One previous economic study demonstrated that the total economic value of pollination services globally amounts to approximately €153 billion annually [6], corresponding to about 9% of the total economic value of agricultural crops grown for human consumption. The numbers of managed honey bees have been declining over recent years due to various influences. A number of authors have quantified the vulnerability of world agriculture due to declines in pollinators [6,10] and the consequent economic impacts. Databases have recorded a decrease in honey and other bee products [11]. The demand for honey worldwide [12,13] and in Europe [14] is growing, and consumers are showing interest [15,16] in honey that is high quality, certified organic or with a protected designation of origin [17,18,19]
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