Winter Losses Research Articles

Simulating the effects of improving field drainage on environmental impacts of inorganic phosphorus pollution of waterbodies from livestock farming

AbstractA simulation modelling study was carried out of the effects of poor field drainage on raising losses to the environment of inorganic phosphorus during livestock grazing and slurry spreading. The study used the weather‐driven colloid transport version of the MACRO model, as previously calibrated and tested using measurements of inorganic phosphorus in drainage water at experimental field sites. Results showed substantially higher losses with poor drainage compared to those with a properly functioning drainage system. Simulated mean losses from a single spread of slurry with poor drainage were typically at least double those with good drainage; for grazing in winter simulated mean losses were more than four times as high. These high losses arise because poor drainage raises the water table, leading to rapid movement of inorganic phosphorus attached to colloids through large water‐filled soil pores. In contrast, with good drainage leading to a lower water table, most water movements are through small soil pores where colloids with attached phosphorus become trapped. Although losses were higher in winter months (when grazing and slurry spreading would still need to be restricted even with good drainage), the benefits of improved drainage were demonstrated for all months of the year, for three soil types and at two contrasting weather sites.

Austrian COLOSS Survey of Honey Bee Colony Winter Losses 2018/19 and Analysis of Hive Management Practices

We conducted a citizen science survey on overwinter honey bee colony losses in Austria. A total of 1534 beekeepers with 33,651 colonies reported valid loss rates. The total winter loss rate for Austria was 15.2% (95% confidence interval: 14.4–16.1%). Young queens showed a positive effect on colony survival and queen-related losses. Observed queen problems during the season increased the probability of losing colonies to unsolvable queen problems. A notable number of bees with crippled wings during the foraging season resulted in high losses and could serve as an alarm signal for beekeepers. Migratory beekeepers and large operations had lower loss rates than smaller ones. Additionally, we investigated the impact of several hive management practices. Most of them had no significant effect on winter mortality, but purchasing wax from outside the own operation was associated with higher loss rates. Colonies that reported foraging on maize and late catch crop fields or collecting melezitose exhibited higher loss rates. The most common Varroa destructor control methods were a combination of long-term formic acid treatment in summer and oxalic acid trickling in winter. Biotechnical methods in summer had a favourable effect on colony survival.

Enhanced‐efficiency nitrogen fertilizers reduce winter losses of nitrous oxide, but not of ammonia, from no‐till soil in a subtropical agroecosystem

AbstractNitrogen (N) gas losses can be reduced by using enhanced‐efficiency N (EEN) fertilizers such as urease inhibitors and coating technologies. In this work, we assessed the potential of EEN fertilizers to reduce winter losses of nitrous oxide (N2O‐N) and ammonia (NH3‐N) from a subtropical field experiment on a clayey Inceptisol under no‐till in Southern Brazil. The EEN sources used included urea containing N‐(n‐butyl) thiophosphoric triamide (UR+NBPT), polymer‐coated urea (P‐CU) and copper‐and‐boron‐coated urea (CuB‐CU) in addition to common urea (UR) and a control treatment without N fertilizer application. N2O‐N and NH3‐N losses were assessed by using the static chamber method and semi‐open static collectors, respectively. Both N2O‐N and NH3‐N exhibited two large peaks with an intervening period of low soil moisture and air temperature. Although the short‐term effect was limited to the first few days after application, UR + NBPT urea decreased soil N2O‐N emissions by 38% relative to UR. In contrast, urease inhibitor technology had no effect on NH3‐N volatilization. Both coating technologies (CuB‐CU and P‐CU) were ineffective in reducing N losses via N2O production or NH3 volatilization. The N2O emission factor (% N applied released as N2O) was unaffected by all N sources and amounted to only 0.48% of N applied—roughly one‐half the default factor of IPCC Tier 1 (1%). Based on our findings, using NBPT‐treated urea in the cold winter season in subtropical agroecosystems provides environmental benefits in the form of reduced soil N2O emissions; however, fertilizer coating technologies provide no agronomic (NH3) or environmental (N2O) advantages.

The Impact of Building Orientation on Energy Consumption in a Domestic House in Desert Climate

Morocco has set the goal of introducing new methods of construction and positioning among the leaders in the African continent in the field of renewable energy and sustainable buildings, efforts are therefore focused on developing an energy efficiency policy. Orientation is one of the key factors that impact building’s energy consumption, it’s a very important factor to consider in order to avoid summer overheating and limit winter losses. The purpose of this scientific article is to study the impact of the orientation of a house on its annual energy needs in terms of heating and cooling essentially, but also its internal and solar energy gains and its losses in relation with infiltration, transmission and ventilation. In this regard, simulations were carried out with eight different possible orientations on a small house, located in one geographical area known by its desert climate. The final purpose is to determine the suitable orientation for dwellings in this geographical area for energy saving while guaranteeing the thermal comfort. Based on our analysis, it was revealed that a well-orientated house can save a considerable amount of energy throughout its life cycle.

Health status of honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera) and disease-related risk factors for colony losses in Austria.

Austrian beekeepers frequently suffered severe colony losses during the last decade similar to trends all over Europe. This first surveillance study aimed to describe the health status of Austrian bee colonies and to analyze the reasons for losses for both the summer and winter season in Austria. In this study 189 apiaries all over Austria were selected using a stratified random sampling approach and inspected three times between July 2015 and spring 2016 by trained bee inspectors. The inspectors made interviews with the beekeepers about their beekeeping practice and the history of the involved colonies. They inspected a total of 1596 colonies for symptoms of nine bee pests and diseases (four of them notifiable diseases) and took bee samples for varroa mite infestation analysis.The most frequently detected diseases were three brood diseases: Varroosis, Chalkbrood and Sacbrood. The notifiable bee pests Aethina tumida and Tropilaelaps spp. were not detected. During the study period 10.8% of the 1596 observed colonies died. Winter proved to be the most critical season, in which 75% of the reported colony losses happened. Risks for suffering summer losses increased significantly, when colonies were weak in July, had queen problems or a high varroa mite infestation level on bees in July. Risks for suffering winter losses increased significantly, when the colonies had a high varroa mite infestation level on bees in September, were weak in September, had a queen older than one year or the beekeeper had few years of beekeeping experience. However, the effect of a high varroa mite infestation level in September had by far the greatest potential to raise the winter losses compared to the other significant factors.

Результати щорічного моніторингу втрат бджолиних колоній в Україні: зимівля 2017-2018 рр

Decline of honey bee colonies remains a global problem. It may affect catastrophically both ecosystems and the global economy. Here we present the results of the fourth year of a research project on bee colony losses in Ukraine over winter 2017-2018, conducted in the framework of international monitoring coordinated by the non-profit honey bee research association COLOSS. Overall winter loss rate and the mortality rate over winter 2017-2018 were significantly lower compared to the previous year: overall winter loss rate – 11.3% (95 % СІ 10.0-12.6); mortality rate – 6.7% (95 % СІ 5.8-7.7); rate of colony loss due to unsolvable queen problems – 2.1% (95 % СІ 1.6-2.7) and due to natural disasters – 2.4% (95 % СІ 2.0-3.0). Likewise previous years, the highest losses were observed in small operations (with 50 or fewer colonies). The highest overall loss rate was observed in the Steppe zone, with the highest both mortality rate and losses due to natural disasters compared to the other physiographic zones of Ukraine. Minimum mortality was recorded from deciduous forests 5.6 % (95 % CI 4.4-7.2) and the Ukrainian Carpathians 5.5 % (95 % CI 4.2-7.2). Winter losses related to queen problems varied greatly with a minimum in the Forest-Steppe zone 0.71 % (95 % CI 0.3-1.5). 83.3% of beekeepers treated their colonies against Varroa. The r-rank correlation analysis identified two potential risk factors (no or only a few dead bees in or in front of the empty hive; dead workers in cells and no food present) which revealed a weak positive correlation with both mortality rate and the rate of losses due to unsolvable queen problems.

Loss rates of honey bee colonies during winter 2017/18 in 36 countries participating in the COLOSS survey, including effects of forage sources

This short article presents loss rates of honey bee colonies over winter 2017/18 from 36 countries, including 33 in Europe, from data collected using the standardized COLOSS questionnaire. The 25,363 beekeepers supplying data passing consistency checks in total wintered 544,879 colonies, and reported 26,379 (4.8%, 95% CI 4.7–5.0%) colonies with unsolvable queen problems, 54,525 (10.0%, 95% CI 9.8–10.2%) dead colonies after winter and another 8,220 colonies (1.5%, 95% CI 1.4–1.6%) lost through natural disaster. This gave an overall loss rate of 16.4% (95% CI 16.1–16.6%) of honey bee colonies during winter 2017/18, but this varied greatly from 2.0 to 32.8% between countries. The included map shows relative risks of winter loss at regional level. The analysis using the total data-set confirmed findings from earlier surveys that smaller beekeeping operations with at most 50 colonies suffer significantly higher losses than larger operations (p < .001). Beekeepers migrating their colonies had significantly lower losses than those not migrating (p < .001), a different finding from previous research. Evaluation of six different forage sources as potential risk factors for colony loss indicated that intensive foraging on any of five of these plant sources (Orchards, Oilseed Rape, Maize, Heather and Autumn Forage Crops) was associated with significantly higher winter losses. This finding requires further study and explanation. A table is included giving detailed results of loss rates and the impact of the tested forage sources for each country and overall.

Impact of climate change on European winter and summer flood losses

Climate change is expected to alter European floods and associated economic losses in various ways. Here we investigate the impact of precipitation change on European average winter and summer financial losses due to flooding under a 1.5 °C warming scenario (reflecting a projected climate in the year 2115 according to RCP2.6) and for a counterfactual current-climate scenario where the climate has evolved without anthropogenic influence (reflecting a climate corresponding to pre-industrial conditions). Climate scenarios were generated with the Community Atmospheric Model (CAM) version 5. For each scenario, we derive a set of weights that when applied to the current climate's precipitation results in a climatology that approximates that of the scenario. We apply the weights to annual losses from a well-calibrated (to the current climate) flood loss model that spans 50,000 years and re-compute the average annual loss to assess the impact of precipitation changes induced by anthropogenic climate change. The method relies on a large stochastic set of physically based flood model simulations and allows quick assessment of potential loss changes due to change in precipitation based on two statistics, namely total precipitation, and total precipitation of very wet days (defined here as the total precipitation of days above the 95th percentile of daily precipitation). We compute the statistics with the raw CAM precipitation and bias-corrected precipitation. Our results show that for both raw and bias-corrected statistics i) average flood loss in Europe generally tend to increase in winter and decrease in summer for the future scenario, and consistent with that change we also show that ii) average flood losses have increased (decreased) for winter (summer) from pre-industrial conditions to the current day. The magnitude of the change varies among scenarios and statistics chosen.

Use of Chemical and Nonchemical Methods for the Control of Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) and Associated Winter Colony Losses in U.S. Beekeeping Operations.

The parasitic mite Varroa destructor (Acari: Varroidae) is a major cause of overwintering honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony losses in the United States, suggesting that beekeepers must control Varroa populations to maintain viable colonies. Beekeepers have access to several chemical varroacides and nonchemical practices to control Varroa populations. However, no studies have examined large-scale patterns in Varroa control methods in the United States. Here we used responses from 4 yr of annual surveys of beekeepers representing all regions and operation sizes across the United States to investigate use of Varroa control methods and winter colony losses associated with use of different methods. We focused on seven varroacide products (amitraz, coumaphos, fluvalinate, hop oil, oxalic acid, formic acid, and thymol) and six nonchemical practices (drone brood removal, small-cell comb, screened bottom boards, powdered sugar, mite-resistant bees, and splitting colonies) suggested to aid in Varroa control. We found that nearly all large-scale beekeepers used at least one varroacide, whereas small-scale beekeepers were more likely to use only nonchemical practices or not use any Varroa control. Use of varroacides was consistently associated with the lowest winter losses, with amitraz being associated with lower losses than any other varroacide product. Among nonchemical practices, splitting colonies was associated with the lowest winter losses, although losses associated with sole use of nonchemical practices were high overall. Our results suggest potential control methods that are effective or preferred by beekeepers and should therefore inform experiments that directly test the efficacy of different control methods. This will allow beekeepers to incorporate Varroa control methods into management plans that improve the overwintering success of their colonies.

Loss potentials based on an ensemble forecast: How likely are winter windstorm losses similar to 1990?

In this paper we investigate the feasibility and added value of using the seasonal hindcasts of the ECMWF System 4 as a hazard event set for European winter windstorms damage calculations. The windstorms are identified for every ensemble member and every year by an objective windstorm tracking algorithm. The damages are calculated directly from the obtained wind footprints via the open source natural catastrophe damage model CLIMADA for Germany, the UK, France and Spain and compared to the loss from ERA‐Interim. The results show that the ensembles of losses in System 4 nicely capture the inter‐annual loss variability of the reanalysis. Due to more than 1,500 years of “virtual reality” windstorm data from the hindcasts, the return levels of extreme losses can be estimated fairly accurately. Based on System 4, the losses in the scale of 1990 (January, February, March and December including the prominent windstorm Daria) represent a 20‐year event in Germany whereas they represent a 100‐year event for the UK. Thus, a considerably shorter return period compared to return periods calculated from ERA‐Interim alone.Further we investigate the link between the annual losses and large‐scale drivers derived from mean‐sea‐level‐pressure (MSLP) data in System 4. We can show that within System 4 there is a significant link between increased loss potentials for strongly positive North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) phases for Germany and the UK as well as a reduced loss potential for Spain. The link between the other analysed indices is weak bar the East Atlantic (EA) pattern index. Thus, if the NAO in System 4 is correct we can assume that the windstorms in System 4 are useable. If this premise is given our study shows that the loss estimates and ultimately the return levels of losses from System 4 can be used in an operational way.

Comparison of apiculture and winter mortality of honey bee colonies (Apis mellifera) in Austria and Czechia

Honey bees are the most important managed pollinators and provide income because of bee products. In Austria and Czechia, we monitored winter losses of honey bee colonies and also collected information on the apicultural sector, hive management, population dynamics and treatment against the mite Varroa destructor from 2013–14 to 2016–17. Numbers of beekeepers and colonies, colony density and percentage of beekeepers in human population are higher in Czechia than in Austria. Winter loss rates of honey bee colonies ranged from 8.1% to 28.4% in Austria and 6.4% to 19.4% in Czechia, with significantly higher loss rates in all 4 investigated winters in Austria. The portion of colonies lost because of living colonies with unsolvable queen problems ranged from 3.6 to 4.4% in Austria and from 2.2 to 3.0% in Czechia. Despite of colony losses during winter, colony production in summer allows for compensation or even expansion of colony populations in both countries. We identified differences between the two countries in the treatments applied by beekeepers against the parasitic varroa mite. In Austria, organic acids are most commonly used, whereas the application of synthetic acaricides is widely spread in Czechia. Our study points at the better understanding of apiculture and the importance of international comparisons to facilitate our knowledge on honey bee colony losses.

First report on the presence of Megaselia rufipes (Meigen, 1804) and Megaselia praeacuta (Schmitz, 1919) in honey bee colonies in the Republic of Macedonia

The presence of the two species Megaselia rufipes (Meigen, 1804) and Megaselia praeacuta (Schmitz, 1919) (Diptera: Phoridae) was recorded from samples of dead honey bee colonies under laboratory conditions during 2017. The material was taken from an apiary in Bitola Region where the winter losses of honey bee colonies in 2016/2017 season were estimated at 97%. This was the first record of M. rufipes in the fauna of the Republic of Macedonia. Another species that has previously been recorded as a leaf miner and pest on chickpeas is M. praeacuta, but this was the first time when the species was recorded on honey bee colonies. Both species emerged from dead honey bees.

Soil mineral nitrogen availability predicted by herbage yield and disease resistance in red clover (Trifolium pratense) cropping

Nitrogen (N) is the most limiting nutrient in crop production. Legumes such as red clover can provide N through biofixation, but securing nitrogen in soil for subsequent crop production must also be considered. Variety selection and management in red clover cropping can influence soil mineral nitrogen (SMN) availability. A field trial to investigate this was conducted with six varieties, under one and two cut management, over 2 years. Dry matter (DM) and N yield, Sclerotinia resistance and SMN availability were assessed. Low DM and N yields (1.6–2.4 t DM ha−1 and 54–83 kg N ha−1) in the first year of cultivation allowed ~ 40 kg N ha−1 to become available, but high DM and N yields (10.2–14.6 t DM ha−1 and 405–544 kg N ha−1) allowed ~ 20 kg N ha−1 to become available. Wetter weather in 2015 caused significantly more SMN losses than 2016 (20 kg N ha−1 in 2015 and 5 kg N ha−1 in 2016). The varieties Amos, Maro and Milvus lost significantly more SMN in the winter period, which may have been caused by more severe infection of Sclerotinia (these varieties were 50–80% more severely infected other varieties). Varietal effect was non-significant for winter losses in 2016, where no significant varietal differences in Sclerotinia infection were observed. 1 cut made ~ 41 kg N ha−1 available in the growing season of 2015, whilst 2 cut made significantly less (37 kg N ha−1). Cutting was non-significant in 2016 but 1 cut was less susceptible to losses in the winter period. Cutting in 2015 did not significantly affect herbage DM and N yields in the first or second cut of 2016.

Temporal and Spatial Patterns of Honeybee Colony Winter Losses in Poland from Autumn 2006 to Spring 2012; Survey Based on Self-Selected Samples

Summary Estimations of honeybee colony winter losses in Poland have been carried out at Warsaw University of Life Sciences since 2008 (in 2008 they concerned the two winters of 2006/07 and 2007/08), using a preliminary questionnaire in 2008 and the standardized COLOSS questionnaire since 2009. During the first years of the survey, concerning the period of autumn 2006 - spring 2012, the multimode method of data collection was used, and beekeepers sent in between 393 and 769 questionnaires a year. Overall, the number of participants increased, but in particular voivodeships it fluctuated. The estimated overall winter colony loss in Poland was low during the winter of 2006/07 (10%) and quite low during the winter of 2008/09 (11.5%). In other years it was substantially higher reaching 15.2% in 2007/08, 14.8% 2009/10, as much as 18.3% in 2010/11 and then down to 15.8% in 2011/12. A similar pattern of average losses was observed, but each year, excluding the winter of 2010/11, at least 50% of beekeepers reported acceptable losses of only up to 10%. During the analysis of the spatial pattern of overall losses, some data which could blur the pattern were eliminated. The results suggest that such climatic factors as a warm autumn but also high summer precipitation, followed by low winter temperatures influenced the spatial distribution of the losses.

Winter 2016 honey bee colony losses in New Zealand

Estimating winter losses for managed honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies is critical for understanding hive productivity and health. This study reports estimates of overwinter colony losses in New Zealand, which has seen exponential growth in the number of managed colonies in recent years. Over 35% of all beekeepers, and 50% of all commercial beekeepers in the country responded to the internet-based 2016 New Zealand Colony Loss Survey, providing detailed information on over 275,000 colonies (over 40% of all registered colonies) that entered winter 2016. Using three different methods, we estimate overall winter losses to be below 10%. However, nearly 29% of beekeepers lost more than 15% of their colonies over winter 2016, and nearly 25% of beekeepers lost more than 20%, indicating considerable skewness. These results are subject to strong regional variation, with the highest losses reported in areas with significant mānuka resources. Similarly, non-commercial beekeepers report substantially higher loss rates than commercial beekeepers. Beekeepers who lost colonies over the winter of 2016 most frequently attributed the cause to colony death, queen problems, or wasps. However, varroa and competition for apiary sites were also identified as important areas of concern. In this analysis, we explore variation in both region and operation size for all five of these challenges.

Winter honey bee colony losses, Varroa destructor control strategies, and the role of weather conditions: Results from a survey among beekeepers

Sets of treatments that were applied against varroa mites in the Luxembourgish beekeeper community were surveyed annually with a questionnaire between the winters 2010/11 and 2014/15. The average temperature and the precipitation sum of the month, when the respective varroa control method was applied were considered as co-variables when evaluating the efficacy of varroa control regimes. Success or failure of control regimes was evaluated based on the percentage of colonies lost per apiary in the winter following the treatment(s). Neither a positive nor a negative effect of formic acid (concentration 60%, w/v) on the colony losses could be found, irrespective of the weather conditions around the time of application. The higher concentration of 85% formic acid was linked with reduced colony losses when applications were done in August. Colony losses were reduced when Thymovar was applied in July or August, but applications in September were associated with increased losses compared with apiaries not treated with Thymovar during the same period. Apilife application in July as well as Apivar applications between July and September were associated with reduced colony losses. The removal of the drone brood and trickled oxalic acid application had beneficial effects when being done in April and December, respectively. Relatively warm (3.0±1.3°C) and wet (507.0±38.6mm/2months) conditions during the winter months December and January and relatively cool (17.2±1.4°C average monthly temperature) and wet (110.8±55.5mm/month) conditions in July were associated with elevated honey bee colony losses.

Perspectives from the Survey of Honey Bee Colony Losses During 2015–2016 in Argentina

Several countries have carried out surveys of managed honeybee colonies, the results of which suggest high loss rates all over the world. Although Latin America is an important apicultural region, estimates of honeybee colony losses are lacking. This study quantified colony losses in Argentina during the 2015-16 season. Overall, the survey included 28,204 honeybee colonies, of which 15.5% were recorded as lost. The total winter losses (13.0%) were higher than summer losses (3.9%), a result that contrasts with that collected in Uruguay where no seasonality was observed in the 2013-14 losses. Although interesting, such inter-country variability cannot be analysed for Latin America because of the lack of simultaneous and standardized estimates of colony losses. Therefore, we developed a unified questionnaire to simultaneously record colony losses in 10 countries of Latin America in collaboration with 35 researchers. We address the readers of Bee World and ask them to help distribute the questionnaire among potentially interested parties in Latin America. (Less)

Robust Projected Weakening of Winter Monsoon Winds Over the Arabian Sea Under Climate Change

AbstractThe response of the Indian winter monsoon to climate change has received considerably less attention than that of the summer monsoon. We show here that all Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) models display a consistent reduction (of 6.5% for Representative Concentration Pathways 8.5 and 3.5% for 4.5, on an average) of the winter monsoon winds over the Arabian Sea at the end of 21st century. This projected reduction weakens but remains robust when corrected for overestimated winter Arabian Sea winds in CMIP5. This weakening is driven by a reduction in the interhemispheric sea level pressure gradient resulting from enhanced warming of the dry Arabian Peninsula relative to the southern Indian Ocean. The wind weakening reduces winter oceanic heat losses to the atmosphere and deepening of convective mixed layer in the northern Arabian Sea and hence can potentially inhibit the seasonal chlorophyll bloom that contributes substantially to the Arabian Sea annual productivity.

Assessing the environmental implications of applying dairy cow effluent during winter using low rate and low depth application methods

ABSTRACTDairy cow effluent collected over winter from a loose-housed barn was applied to a series of large infield plots (400 m2) using low rate and low depth (LRLD) application methods. Applications were confined to the winter period, at a time when soil moisture content was often at or very near to field capacity and was applied over two seasons. Cows were confined to the housing facility during winter only, and outside of this period they remained on pasture. Losses of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and the faecal indicator bacterium Escherichia coli (E. coli) in surface runoff and subsurface drainage from the LRLD treatment were compared with losses from effluent applications that occurred during spring to autumn, at an application depth not exceeding the soil water deficit, i.e. a standard practice treatment (SP, typically 10–15 mm per application). The annual quantities of nutrients applied by the treatments and the grazing managements imposed were similar. Although winter losses of N were significantly greater for the LRLD treatment (15 vs. 8 kg N ha−1 for the SP treatment), on an annual basis fluxes were similar between treatments (approximately 20 kg N ha−1 year−1). Effluent management had no significant effect on the annual fluxes of P and E. coli although the latter varied considerably. Average contaminant fluxes over a 2-year period indicated that the LRLD management system did not lead to a significantly greater risk to water quality compared with standard practices.

Determination of spore longevity and viability of Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae according to storage conditions

Abstract Honey bee colonies are often infected with Nosema apis and Nosema ceranae which cause adult honey bee disease called nosemosis. All honey bee colony members can be infected with these species. In addition, it is claimed to be the main cause of honey bee winter losses in many countries. Nosema spores are expected to resistant the environmental conditions and their infectivity continues for a long time because of long-term durability of fungal spores. In this study, the viability of Nosema spores were investigated in terms of storage situations under laboratory conditions. Honey bee samples that were collected from apiaries in 2011 were investigated to detect the presence of Nosema species with real-time PCR amplification studies. After determination of Nosema species, each sample was divided in two groups. One of these groups was used to find Nosema spore concentration. Nosema solutions were divided and stored at both -20°C and +4°C. The spore concentration was measured every year in the period 2011-2015. Other group of honey bee samples was also stored at -20°C and every year was used for Nosema spore counting. Furthermore, it was examined the infectivity of Nosema spores with sugar solutions which obtained each sample using cage experiment techniques. According to results, when we compare the solutions annually, there is no change at Nosema spore concentration of the solution in -20°C and honeybee samples in -20°C. But reduction was seen at Nosema spore concentration of the solution in +4°C. Nosema spore infectivity tests revealed that infectivity of Nosema spores has not changed significantly between 2011 and 2015. This is the first time mixed Nosema spores found more infective than one-type spore after prolonged exposure to different conditions.