Queen replacement: the key to prevent winter colony losses in Argentina

Abstract

Honey bee colony losses during winter are a multi-factorial phenomenon. Environmental conditions, beekeeping practices and different pathogens are all considered as potential causes of honey bee colony losses. However, these factors may be diverse in different regions and there are no regional studies about winter losses in South America. The objective of this study was to identify risks factors associated with winter losses in temperate climate honey bee colonies in Argentina. Parasitic mite infestation level, colony strength measures, and percentage of colonies losses during winter 2013 were evaluated in 62 apiaries distributed in four different regions in east-central Argentina. Data regarding management practices in each apiary were collected by means of a questionnaire. A logistic regression model was constructed to associate management variables with the risk of winter losses higher than 10% of the colonies. Beekeepers who reported replacing less than 50% of the queens in their apiaries showed higher winter losses than apiaries who replaced more than 50% of their queens (OR = 18.15; CI 95%: 1.76–187.43; p = 0.01). There were no significant spatial clusters detected in our analysis (p > 0.05). Even considering that the winter colony losses can be explained by a complex interaction of factors, requeening appears as one of the most important management practices to reduce this phenomenon in Argentina.