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

Abstract

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.

Prioritizing changes in management practices associated with reduced winter honey bee colony losses for US beekeepers

“…Though nutrition is known to be an important factor in honey bee health (Alaux et al, 2010;Di Pasquale et al, 2013), the effects of supplementation are less clear (Mortensen et al, 2019;Branchiccela et al, 2019;Giacobino et al, 2018). Queen age and queen replacement had independently been found to be associated with better colony outcomes (Oberreiter and Brodschneider, 2020;Giacobino et al, 2016b). Those results…”

Efficacy and Toxicity of VarroMed® Used for Controlling Varroa Destructor Infestation in Different Seasons and Geographical Areas

“…Varroa mite is a major cause of overwintering honey bee (A. mellifera) colony losses across the globe [36]. In recent years, several surveys were conducted to analyze beekeepers' treatment practices and overwintering [36][37][38][39]. One of the findings of the above-mentioned studies was that the worst scenario concerning overwintering ability was a combination of weakness of honey bee populations, low food reserves and high Varroa infestation levels [37].…”

IoT-Driven Workflows for Risk Management and Control of Beehives

“…Among all pollinating insects, bees play the major role. In Western Europe, for instance, the worth of bee pollination is assessed to be 30-50 times the value of direct honeybees' production [5]. In Africa, bee pollination is sometimes estimated at 100 times the value of direct production.…”