Influence of weather conditions on the development and productivity of the bee colonies

Abstract

The findings showed that weather conditions have a decisive influence on the intensity of bee colonies development and the yield of marketable honey. The study was conducted in the apiary located in the Kaluga region. Ecological conditions in the productive summer zone of bees are assessed as favorable. All bee colonies in the apiary were representatives of the Carpathian breed recommended for breeding in the Kaluga region. The data obtained for two adjacent seasons (2021 and 2022) indicate that the honey harvest conditions of 2022 were much more favorable compared to the previous year in terms of temperature and precipitation. Despite a significant difference in minimum and maximum temperatures during the day, there were no sharp temperature fluctuations during the spring-summer period of 2022, precipitation was frequent, but short-lived. On average, there were only 2 days of precipitation between March and August 2021. During the honey harvest period, there was prolonged dry weather, which had a negative impact on nectar production by plants, the development of bee families, and their productivity. Bee colonies developed more intensively in the spring of 2022; one month after the spring inspection, bee family strength averaged 9.27 beeways, an increase of 0.57 beeways over the previous year. At the end of the season, the total number of the apiary’s bee colonies increased by 11.7 %. The yield of marketable honey for the 2022 season reached 990 kg, which is 2.3 times higher than in 2021. There was 2.2 times more marketable honey received per bee family. The value of marketable products of the apiary increased by 2.35 times.