Abstract
For more than three decades, honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera) have experienced high losses during winter and these losses are still continuing. It is crucial that beekeepers monitor their colonies closely and anticipate losses early enough to apply mitigating actions. We tested whether colony size can be used as early predictor for potential colony losses, in particular due to the parasitic mite Varroa destructor. V. destructor is one of the most important causes of these losses. Such an early predictor for potential V. destructor induced losses is especially relevant as measuring V. destructor load in colonies is difficult and cumbersome. Over three years, we monitored colonies with high and low V. destructor loads from July until March of the next year. We found that differences in colony size were only visible after November, even though we lost almost all colonies every winter in the group with a high V. destructor load. In the Northern hemisphere, November is considered to be too late for beekeepers to strengthen colonies in preparation for winter. We therefore argue that early warning signs for potential colony losses due to V. destructor are urgently needed to allow beekeepers to prevent winter losses. We discuss the role of precision apiculture in monitoring the health and productivity of beehive colonies.
Highlights
For more than three decades, honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera) have experienced high losses during winter, especially in the Northern hemisphere, and these losses are still continuing [1,2,3]
We investigated whether colony size can be used as early warning preIn this paper, we investigated whether colony size can be used as early warning dictor for colony losses during winter caused by the parasitic mite V. destructor
In our predictor for colony losses during winter caused by the parasitic mite V. destructor
Summary
For more than three decades, honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera) have experienced high losses during winter, especially in the Northern hemisphere, and these losses are still continuing [1,2,3]. Methods for early warning of potential winter losses are urgently needed [4,5,6]. This early warning is useful when (1) winter losses can be predicted early enough for beekeepers to anticipate or intervene, and (2), the predictors can be measured relatively easy and quick. In particular, at colony size in relation to the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, as this mite is considered to be one of the most important causes for the current high winter losses of honeybees in the Northern hemisphere [8,9,10,11,12]
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