Productivity Of Honey Bee Colonies Research Articles

Infectious diseases of bees and their impact on the vital activity and honey productivity of honey bee colonies in Ukraine

The article presents the results of the study of the mass mortality of honey bee colonies in different apiaries from different regions of Ukraine. The epizootic status of 102 honey bee colonies was studied and 607 samples of pathological material were analyzed in 2021–2023. According to the results of the monitoring of the epizootic situation in Ukrainian beekeeping it was found that the share of parasitic diseases (54.4%, 74.0%, 69.3%) constantly prevails over infectious diseases. It was noted that the incidence of varroosis in honey bees (34.4%, 71.4%, 41.47%) remains the highest among other diseases. Against the background of severe damage to honey bee colonies by the Varroa mite, infectious diseases began to appear in an atypical form, which significantly complicates their differential diagnosis. A probable increase in the incidence of nosemosis in adult bees and the detection of Nosema cysts in the intestines of bees, both in spring and summer, and the detection of cysts in honey indicate the spread of another pathogen, Nosema cerana, which causes nosemosis in the summer season. The reason for the periodic mass death of bees in Ukraine is the combination of a high number of parasitic Varroa mites in the honey bee colony with the presence of bee infection with microsporidia Nosema spp. These pathogens negatively affect the immunity of the honey bee colony, and cause exacerbation of latent infections in bees, which leads to a decrease in the number of honey bee colonies, weakening their viability and reducing the quality of honey products

Prototype Biodiversity Digital Twin: honey bees in agricultural landscapes

Honey bees are vital to human well-being and are under multiple stresses. We need to be able to assess the viability and productivity of honey bee colonies in different landscapes and under different management and climate-change scenarios. We have developed a prototype digital twin, HONEYBEE-pDT, based on the BEEHAVE model, which simulates foraging, population dynamics and Varroa mite infestation of a single honey bee colony. The main input data are land-cover maps and daily weather data. We have developed the pDT for simulating large areas and have tested it for the whole of Germany. We have also developed a web-based GUI that users can use to run the pDT for specific sites. Hive weight data from hundreds of hives will be used for calibration and validation.

Influence of Electric Amplitude and the Frequency Level combinations on Venom Productivity of Honey Bee Colonies in Egypt

Influence of Electric Amplitude and the Frequency Level combinations on Venom Productivity of Honey Bee Colonies in Egypt

Uses and benefits of algae as a nutritional supplement for honey bees

Honey bees are essential agricultural pollinators that are threatened by various interacting stressors, posing risks to beekeeping industries and human food security. Malnutrition is a major factor underlying managed bee colony losses that can be countered by feeding artificial diets, which aim to deliver essential macro- and micronutrients. Current bee nutritional supplements show room for improvement and require resources that compete with human food production. Algae and microalgae in particular have been gaining traction in the literature as alternative feed sources and nutritional supplements for livestock, including honey bees. Herein, we review the current literature and categorize the effects of algae supplementation on honey bee colony productivity as well as effects on individual bee physiology and health. In general, we conclude that algae biomass appears to be suitable for use as a bee feed additive and as a source of health-stimulating natural products. Additionally, we suggest research areas that could improve the development of sustainable algae-based nutrition supplements for honey bees.

Grassy–herbaceous land moderates regional climate effects on honey bee colonies in the Northcentral US

The lack of seasonally sustained floral resources (i.e. pollen and nectar) is considered a primary global threat to pollinator health. However, the ability to predict the abundance of flowering resources for pollinators based upon climate, weather, and land cover is difficult due to insufficient monitoring over adequate spatial and temporal scales. Here we use spatiotemporally distributed honey bee hive scales that continuously measure hive weights as a standardized method to assess nectar intake. We analyze late summer colony weight gain as the response variable in a random forest regression model to determine the importance of climate, weather, and land cover on honey bee colony productivity. Our random forest model predicted resource acquisition by honey bee colonies with 71% accuracy, highlighting the detrimental effects of warm, wet regions in the Northcentral United States on nectar intake, as well as the detrimental effect of years with high growing degree day accumulation. Our model also predicted that grassy–herbaceous natural land had a positive effect on the summer nectar flow and that large areas of natural grassy–herbaceous land around apiaries can moderate the detrimental effects of warm, wet climates. These patterns characterize multi-scale ecological processes that constrain the quantity and quality of pollinator nutritional resources. That is, broad climate conditions constrain regional floral communities, while land use and weather act to further modify the quantity and quality of pollinator nutritional resources. Observing such broad-scale trends demonstrates the potential for utilizing hive scales to monitor the effects of climate change on landscape-level floral resources for pollinators. The interaction of climate and land use also present an opportunity to manage for climate-resilient landscapes that support pollinators through abundant floral resources under climate change.

Role of integrating beekeeping with water shade management in Ethiopia

The review was conducted to assess the available scientific information on the role of beekeeping in improving the livelihood of the beekeeper and enhancing watershed rehabilitation. Honeybees and flowering plants have a well-developed system of interdependence. However, the rich biodiversity of Ethiopia is under serious threat from deforestation and land degradation, overexploitation, overgrazing, habitat loss, invasive species, and some water pollution. The underlying causes for these problems emanate from poverty, population growth, lack of alternative livelihoods, inadequate policy support, inappropriate investment, and inadequacy of law enforcement. More than 5 million beehives in Ethiopia have managed approximately 1.4-1.7 million farm households with 45,905 tons of honey production per year. Beekeeping is important as a strong incentive and the cheapest eco-friendly approach to promote conservation of natural ecosystems as an adjunct to conventional subsistence agriculture in the face of the growing human population and demand for land. Many countries introduced improved beekeeping as reforestation incentives, paying particular attention to plant flowering trees that provide nectar and pollen while generating income for local communities from bee products. The most serious constraint of the honey bee is the application of chemicals such as fungicides, pesticides, and herbicides, which hinder the productivity and production of honey bee colonies. Therefore, the focus should be given to those chemicals that do not harm honey bees, and the application should not match with flowering seasons to minimize the poisoning effect on the honey bee.

Sustainable Beekeeping in North Sinai Region By Monitoring The Biological Activity and Productivity of Honeybee Colonies in Bir El-Abd and Sheikh Zowied Zones Comparing with El-Arish Province تربية النحل المستدامة في منطقة شمال سيناء من خلال رصد الانشطة البيولوجية والإنتاجية لطوائف نحل العسل فى منطقتى بئر العبد والشيخ زويد مقارنة بالعريش

The suitability of the three major provinces, (Bir El-Abd, El-Arish and Sheikh Zoweid) of north Sinai governorate for establishing and propagating of honeybee colonies was evaluated for two successive years, (2019& 2020). Colonies established in regions of Sheikh Zoweid and Bir El-Abd attained significant progression in all biological and productive evaluated activities than those presented at El-Arish. The rates or percentages of increase in the mean values of two combined years of different activities were 65.3 % & 48.7 % in worker brood production; 183.1 % & 136.8 % in drone brood production; 28.5 times & 8.3 times in queen cells construction; 54 % & 25.4 % in the number of adult worker population; 2.3 times & 1.2 times in the quantity of stored pollen and 4.5times & 4.3 times in honey production for colonies located at Shiekh Zoweid and Bir El-Abd, than El-Arish, respectively. Therefore, El- Shiekh Zoweid and Bir El-Abd to be considered more pronounce in the qualitative and quantitative of honeybee colonies than El-Arish province and could be included in the sustainable beekeeping programs in Egypt.

Some biological aspects of honey bee colonies in relation to the age of beeswax combs

A study was carried out to investigate the influence of differently aged wax combs (foundation as zero, 1, 2, 3 and 4 − 6 years old) on some biological aspects that affect the productivity of honey bee colonies. Twenty-five package colonies were equally divided and situated on each of the tested combs during the spring of two successive years (2018 and 2019). The obtained results revealed that worker brood areas, worker population, worker life span, weights of newly emerged workers and drones, and honey yield significantly increased with fresh combs. However, drone brood areas increased with old combs, and wax combs age had no effect on worker survivorship. It could be concluded that the wax combs aged from zero (foundation) to three years old (light color combs) are more preferable in the performance and productivity of honey bee colonies than the older (dark color combs) ones.

Влияние изменений электромагнитных полей на пищевую и когнитивную активность медоносной пчелы

Progress in the field of information technology and global wireless communications leads to changes in the natural electromagnetic background of the Earth and affects living organisms. Therefore, it is relevant to investigate the influence of technogenic and natural electromagnetic fields using model biological objects, including a honeybee, which is particularly sensitive to electromagnetic radiation (EMR). Current EMR protection systems that change the characteristics of electromagnetic radiation can also cause specific magneto-biological reactions in living systems. In this study we used the honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) to assess the effect of devices on the innate and cognitive components of the honeybee behavior. The devices included EMR resonators working in isolation and together with a WiFi router. We also changed (weakened/enhanced) the magnetic field relative to the Earth’s magnetic field at the experiment location. The experiments found that all the factors under study, except for the enhanced magnetic field that produced a stimulating effect, have an inhibitory effect on the memory formation. Besides, both weakening and enhancement of the magnetic field significantly inhibits long-term memory. The observed changes in memory formation will inevitably affect the flight patterns and food-finding mechanisms in bees and, in general, the productivity of honeybee colonies.

Experimental improvement of honey bee (Apis mellifera) queen quality through nutritional and hormonal supplementation

Queen reproductive potential (=quality) impacts the health and productivity of honey bee colonies. To determine the factors that affect reproductive quality during development, we tested queens produced under larval treatments by supplementing the diet with juvenile hormone (JH), additional sugars, or both, compared to untreated control. Furthermore, we varied the age of the larvae that were grafted (1 and 3 days old). We analyzed newly emerged virgin queens for their morphological characters as proxies for their reproductive potential. We found that the application of a sugar-enriched diet in combination with JH application onto 1st instar queen larvae produced higher-quality queens, while for 3rd instar larvae only the JH treatment resulted in increasing queen quality. For mated queens, those treated with JH plus supplemented sugars showed a significantly higher sperm count and sperm viability. Our findings demonstrate that honey bee queen reproductive potential can be increased through diet supplementation.

Note: Recording of Some Beetles in Honey Bee Colonies

Abstract Honey bees are very valuable to human. These social insects contribute in the pollination of many crops. Also, the products from honey bee colonies have many nutritional and medicinal benefits. Thus, keeping honey bees are very valuable and can be considered as source of income to many families. There are many diseases and pests that attack honey bee colonies. The pests attack bee colonies include: hornets, wax moths, bee-eater birds, and beetles. Such challenges can impact the survival and productivity of honey bee colonies. In this study, some beetle species belong to Fam. Nitidulidae, Dermestidae and Mycetophagidae were detected in honey bee colonies in Egypt, during spring. Despite the presence of many beetle species in the agricultural environment, only few species preferred the invasion of the colonies for feeding. These beetles do not attack stages of honey bees. They only feed on stored pollen or bee bread, especially those fallen on the bottom of the beehives. This is an alarm to follow the feeding behavior and distribution of these beetles. These beetles’ species can be considered as potential pests to weak honey bee colonies, housed in old or damaged beehives. The presence of large numbers of these beetles in weak colonies may disturb the activities of the bees and may passively impact the survival of the colonies. Listing these beetles is very important to better understanding the interaction between honey bees and beetles. On the other side, small hive beetles were not detected in the colonies. These beetles are currently one of the major problems facing honey bees in different parts of the world. This study confirms the absence of small hive beetles from Egypt.

Performance of two honey bee subspecies during harsh weather and Acacia gerrardii nectar-rich flow

Both climatic factors and bee forage characteristics affect the population size and productivity of honey bee colonies. To our knowledge, no scientific investigation has as yet considered the potential effect of nectar-rich bee forage exposed to drastic subtropical weather conditions on the performance of honey bee colonies. This study investigated the performance of the honey bee subspecies Apis mellifera jemenitica Ruttner (Yemeni) and Apis mellifera carnica Pollmann (Carniolan) in weather that was hot and dry and in an environment of nectar-rich flora. The brood production, food storage, bee population and honey yield of Yemeni (native) and Carniolan (imported) colonies on Talh trees (Acacia gerrardii Benth.), a nectar-rich, subtropical, and summer bee forage source in Central Arabia were evaluated. Owing to their structural and behavioral adaptations, the Yemeni bees constructed stronger (high population size) colonies than the Carniolan bees. Although both groups yielded similar amounts of Talh honey, the Yemeni bees consumed their stored honey rapidly if not timely harvested. A. m. jemenitica has a higher performance than A. m. carnica during extremely hot-dry conditions and A. gerrardii nectar-rich flow.

Comparison of the activity and productivity of Carniolan (Apis mellifera carnica Pollmann) and Yemeni (Apis mellifera jemenitica Ruttner) subspecies under environmental conditions of the Al-Ahsa oasis of eastern Saudi Arabia.

This study was conducted at the apiary of the Agricultural and Veterinary Training and Research Station of King Faisal University in the Al-Ahsa oasis of eastern Saudi Arabia. We performed a comparison between Carniolan (Apis mellifera carnica Pollmann) and Yemeni (Apis mellifera jemenitica Ruttner) honeybee races to determine the monthly fluctuations in foraging activity, pollen collection, colony growth and honey yield production under the environmental conditions of the Al-Ahsa oasis of eastern Saudi Arabia. We found three peaks in the flight activity of the two races, and the largest peaks occurred during September and October. Compared to Carniolan bee colonies, the performance of Yemeni bee colonies was superior in terms of stored pollen, worker and drone brood rearing, and the adult population size. The Carniolan bee colonies produced 27.77% and 27.50% more honey than the Yemeni bee colonies during the flow seasons of alfalfa and sidir, respectively, with an average increase of 27.64%. It could be concluded that the race of bees is an important factor affecting the activity and productivity of honeybee colonies. The Yemeni bee race produced more pollen, a larger brood and more bees, which exhibited a longer survival. The imported Carniolan bees can be reared in eastern Saudi Arabia, but the Yemeni bee race is still better.

Land use in the Northern Great Plains region of the U.S. influences the survival and productivity of honey bee colonies

The Northern Great Plains region of the US annually hosts a large portion of commercially managed U.S. honey bee colonies each summer. Changing land use patterns over the last several decades have contributed to declines in the availability of bee forage across the region, and the future sustainability of the region to support honey bee colonies is unclear. We examined the influence of varying land use on the survivorship and productivity of honey bee colonies located in six apiaries within the Northern Great Plains state of North Dakota, an area of intensive agriculture and high density of beekeeping operations. Land use surrounding the apiaries was quantified over three years, 2010–2012, and survival and productivity of honey bee colonies were determined in response to the amount of bee forage land within a 3.2-km radius of each apiary. The area of uncultivated forage land (including pasture, USDA conservation program fields, fallow land, flowering woody plants, grassland, hay land, and roadside ditches) exerted a positive impact on annual apiary survival and honey production. Taxonomic diversity of bee-collected pollen and pesticide residues contained therein varied seasonally among apiaries, but overall were not correlated to large-scale land use patterns or survival and honey production. The predominant flowering plants utilized by honey bee colonies for pollen were volunteer species present in unmanaged (for honey bees), and often ephemeral, lands; thus placing honey bee colonies in a precarious situation for acquiring forage and nutrients over the entire growing season. We discuss the implications for land management, conservation, and beekeeper site selection in the Northern Great Plains to adequately support honey bee colonies and insure long term security for pollinator-dependent crops across the entire country.

No apparent correlation between honey bee forager gut microbiota and honey production.

One of the best indicators of colony health for the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) is its performance in the production of honey. Recent research into the microbial communities naturally populating the bee gut raise the question as to whether there is a correlation between microbial community structure and colony productivity. In this work, we used 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing to explore the microbial composition associated with forager bees from honey bee colonies producing large amounts of surplus honey (productive) and compared them to colonies producing less (unproductive). As supported by previous work, the honey bee microbiome was found to be dominated by three major phyla: the Proteobacteria, Bacilli and Actinobacteria, within which we found a total of 23 different bacterial genera, including known “core” honey bee microbiome members. Using discriminant function analysis and correlation-based network analysis, we identified highly abundant members (such as Frischella and Gilliamella) as important in shaping the bacterial community; libraries from colonies with high quantities of these Orbaceae members were also likely to contain fewer Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus species (such as Firm-4). However, co-culture assays, using isolates from these major clades, were unable to confirm any antagonistic interaction between Gilliamella and honey bee gut bacteria. Our results suggest that honey bee colony productivity is associated with increased bacterial diversity, although this mechanism behind this correlation has yet to be determined. Our results also suggest researchers should not base inferences of bacterial interactions solely on correlations found using sequencing. Instead, we suggest that depth of sequencing and library size can dramatically influence statistically significant results from sequence analysis of amplicons and should be cautiously interpreted.

Weight Watching and the Effect of Landscape on Honeybee Colony Productivity: Investigating the Value of Colony Weight Monitoring for the Beekeeping Industry.

Over the last few decades, a gradual departure away from traditional agricultural practices has resulted in alterations to the composition of the countryside and landscapes across Europe. In the face of such changes, monitoring the development and productivity of honey bee colonies from different sites can give valuable insight on the influence of landscape on their productivity and might point towards future directions for modernized beekeeping practices. Using data on honeybee colony weights provided by electronic scales spread across Denmark, we investigated the effect of the immediate landscape on colony productivity. In order to extract meaningful information, data manipulation was necessary prior to analysis as a result of different management regimes or scales malfunction. Once this was carried out, we were able to show that colonies situated in landscapes composed of more than 50% urban areas were significantly more productive than colonies situated in those with more than 50% agricultural areas or those in mixed areas. As well as exploring some of the potential reasons for the observed differences, we discuss the value of weight monitoring of colonies on a large scale.

Screening alternative therapies to control Nosemosis type C in honey bee (Apis mellifera iberiensis) colonies

Nosemosis type C caused by the microsporidium Nosema ceranae is one of the most widespread of the adult honey bee diseases, and due to its detrimental effects on both strength and productivity of honey bee colonies, an appropriate control of this disease is advisable. Fumagillin is the only veterinary medicament recommended by the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) to suppress infections by Nosema, but the use of this antibiotic is prohibited in the European Union and few alternatives are available at present to control the disease. In the present study three therapeutic agents (Nosestat®, Phenyl salicylate and Vitafeed Gold®) have been tested to control N. ceranae infection in honey bee colonies, and have been compared to the use of fumagillin. None of the products tested was effective against Nosema under our experimental conditions. Low consumption of the different doses of treatments may have had a strong influence on the results obtained, highlighting the importance of this issue and emphasizing that this should be evaluated in studies to test therapeutic treatments of honey bee colonies.

Relationship between Population Size and Productivity of Honey Bee Colonies

Relationship between Population Size and Productivity of Honey Bee Colonies

The effects of the shook swarm technique on honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colony productivity and honey quality

SummaryThe productivity of honey bee colonies and the quality of hive products may be greatly influenced by colony management. In beekeeping, shaking of the worker bees together with the queen into a clean empty hive is known as the shook swarm technique. In this study, the shook swarm technique was compared to standard beekeeping methods in relation to colony productivity and honey quality, including adult worker bee population, wax production, comb area, brood area and honey yield. In addition, the honey was examined to determine the content of water, proline, hydroxymethylfurfural, glucose, fructose, sucrose, diastase, electrical conductivity, invert sugar, fructose/glucose ratio, maltose, vitamin C and potassium. The naphthalene and pesticide contents were also measured. Shook swarm group colonies were smaller than those of the control group in terms of worker bee population, brood area and honey yield (P<0.01), were similar in built comb area (P>0.05) and greater in terms of wax production (P<0.01). Ninety five per cent of the comb needed by the colonies was built within 45–50 days, at an average cost of 19–20 kg of honey. Control colonies used an average of 79g of wax to build comb on each frame of foundation, compared to 183g in the shaken colonies. Honey production to comply with pure blossom and organic standards may be possible using the shook swarm technique, but the productivity level is 55–60% lower than with standard beekeeping methods.

Evaluation of the Western Australian queen bee breeding program

Agriculture Western Australia's former Queen Bee Breeding Program (QBBP) was successful in significantly raising the productivity of honey bee colonies for those beekeepers who regularly purchased queen bees from the program. The increased productivity was measured through honey production. Over 2 nectar flows, colonies headed by queens purchased from the breeding program (group 2) showed a 35% increase in honey production over unselected colonies (group 1-not purchased from the QBBP). Over individual nectar flows, colonies headed by queens purchased from the breeding program showed a 22% increase in honey production from a Eucalyptus calophylla nectar flow, and for a second protracted winter nectar flow from coastal heath they also produced 46% more honey than unselected queen bees. Honey production (kg/colony.day) from Eucalyptus calophylla was 0.95 and 1.13 kg for groups 1 and 2, respectively. Honey production from the coastal heath was 0.27 and 0.4 kg/colony.day for groups 1 and 2, respectively. Results were projected for 1 year and scaled up to represent a commercial apiary of 400 colonies. According to estimates from the data, group 2 beekeepers should have benefited from the QBBP by being able to produce 24 t of honey from their apiaries, valued in excess of $A32 000, more than group 1 beekeepers.