Development of honey bee colonies on the Northern Great Plains of North America during confinement to winter quarters

Harris, J. Lloyd

doi:10.3896/ibra.1.48.2.01

“…Our experimental design allowed us to keep track of honey bee colony thermoregulation and thereby brood rearing activity under defined environmental conditions and without disturbing the colonies. We provide an alternative approach to earlier studies which were either extremely invasive ( Avitabile, 1978 ) or not conducted under winter conditions ( Fluri & Bogdanov, 1987 ; Harris, 2009 ; Kefuss, 1978 ). Indirectly detecting brood rearing by tracking thermoregulatory activity via thermo-sensors within the comb wax allowed us to investigate honey bee colonies under winter conditions without severely affecting honey bee behavior and colony health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The influence of temperature and photoperiod on the timing of brood onset in hibernating honey bee colonies

Nürnberger

¹

,

Härtel

²

,

Steffan‐Dewenter

³

2018

PeerJ

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In order to save resources, honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in the temperate zones stop brood rearing during winter. Brood rearing is resumed in late winter to build up a sufficient worker force that allows to exploit floral resources in upcoming spring. The timing of brood onset in hibernating colonies is crucial and a premature brood onset could lead to an early depletion of energy reservoirs. However, the mechanisms underlying the timing of brood onset and potential risks of mistiming in the course of ongoing climate change are not well understood. To assess the relative importance of ambient temperature and photoperiod as potential regulating factors for brood rearing activity in hibernating colonies, we overwintered 24 honey bee colonies within environmental chambers. The colonies were assigned to two different temperature treatments and three different photoperiod treatments to disentangle the individual and interacting effects of temperature and photoperiod. Tracking in-hive temperature as indicator for brood rearing activity revealed that increasing ambient temperature triggered brood onset. Under cold conditions, photoperiod alone did not affect brood onset, but the light regime altered the impact of higher ambient temperature on brood rearing activity. Further the number of brood rearing colonies increased with elapsed time which suggests the involvement of an internal clock. We conclude that timing of brood onset in late winter is mainly driven by temperature but modulated by photoperiod. Climate warming might change the interplay of these factors and result in mismatches of brood phenology and environmental conditions.

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“…Of particular concern has been overwintering loss across space and time (Chauzat et al 2010;Genersch et al 2010;Lee et al 2015;Runckel et al 2011). Overwintering loss rate is an important measure because a healthy colony is worth a premium in commercial pollination; it may be split into two or more colonies to increase holdings; and it is more likely to produce large amounts of honey the following year (Harris 2009). Conversely, many diseases and deficiencies can manifest or amplify during the overwintering period including Varroa , various viruses, trypanosomes, Nosema disease, and non-Nosema dysentery (Runckel et al 2011;Dainat et al 2012;Pickard and El-Shemy, 1989;Schwarz et al 2015;Van Dooremalen et al 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Internal hive temperature as a means of monitoring honey bee colony health in a migratory beekeeping operation before and during winter

Meikle

¹

,

Weiss

²

,

Maes

³

et al. 2017

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-Internal temperatures of honey bee hives kept at different sites in North Dakota were monitored before and during winter to evaluate the effects of treatment, in the form of exposure to commercial pollination, and location on colony health. In October, hives exposed to commercial pollination during the summer had fewer adult bees and less brood than hives kept near natural forage, as well as lower average temperatures throughout winter. Within-day temperature variability was higher among hives exposed to commercial agriculture than for those kept near natural forage, indicating reduced temperature control. Fungicides, insecticides, varroacides, and an herbicide were detected in bee bread and wax samples; no major differences were observed either in the diversity or in the concentrations of agrochemicals with the exception of chlorpyrifos at one site. Varroa and Nosema densities were low overall. Data from the same site used in successive years showed significantly more brood the first year, as well as lower temperature variability; high levels of chlorpyrifos were detected in bee bread of colonies in the second year. Colony average temperature and temperature variability were informative with respect to colony phenology and post-winter status.Hive temperature / adult bee weight / brood production / pesticide residues / Nosema / temperature amplitudes / bee colony phenology

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“…Our experimental design allowed us to keep track of honey bee colony thermoregulation and thereby brood rearing activity under defined environmental conditions and without disturbing the colonies. We provide an alternative approach to earlier studies which were either extremely invasive (Avitabile 1978) or not conducted under winter conditions (Fluri & Bogdanov 1987;Harris 2009;Kefuss 1978). Indirectly detecting brood rearing by tracking thermoregulatory activity via thermo-sensors within the comb wax allowed us to investigate honey bee colonies under winter conditions without severely affecting honey bee behaviour and colony health.…”

Section: Manuscript To Be Reviewedmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is important to keep in mind that the spatial resolution of temperature data was limited and small brood nests might not have been detected in all cases. In fact, even in temperate zones continuous brood rearing during winter could be common, albeit at very limited extent (Avitabile 1978;Harris 2009;Szabo 1993). Once the brood nest grows and colonies start to rear brood at PeerJ reviewing PDF | (2018:01:23577:1:1:NEW 16 Apr 2018)…”

Section: Manuscript To Be Reviewedmentioning

confidence: 99%

Peer Review #2 of "The influence of temperature and photoperiod on the timing of brood onset in hibernating honey bee colonies (v0.2)"

2018

0

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In order to save resources, honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies in the temperate zones stop brood rearing during winter. Brood rearing is resumed in late winter to build up a sufficient worker force that allows to exploit floral resources in upcoming spring. The timing of brood onset in hibernating colonies is crucial and a premature brood onset could lead to an early depletion of energy reservoirs. However, the mechanisms underlying the timing of brood onset and potential risks of mistiming in the course of ongoing climate change are not well understood. To assess the relative importance of ambient temperature and photoperiod as potential regulating factors for brood rearing activity in hibernating colonies, we overwintered 24 honey bee colonies within environmental chambers. The colonies were assigned to two different temperature treatments and three different photoperiod treatments to disentangle the individual and interacting effects of temperature and photoperiod. Tracking in-hive temperature as indicator for brood rearing activity revealed that increasing ambient temperature triggered brood onset. Under cold conditions, photoperiod alone did not affect brood onset, but the light regime altered the impact of higher ambient temperature on brood rearing activity. Further the number of brood rearing colonies increased with elapsed time which suggests the involvement of an internal clock. We conclude that timing of brood onset in late winter is mainly driven by temperature but modulated by photoperiod. Climate warming might change the interplay of these factors and result in mismatches of brood phenology and environmental conditions.

show abstract

Development of honey bee colonies on the Northern Great Plains of North America during confinement to winter quarters

Cited by 9 publications

References 15 publications

The influence of temperature and photoperiod on the timing of brood onset in hibernating honey bee colonies

The influence of temperature and photoperiod on the timing of brood onset in hibernating honey bee colonies

Internal hive temperature as a means of monitoring honey bee colony health in a migratory beekeeping operation before and during winter

Peer Review #2 of "The influence of temperature and photoperiod on the timing of brood onset in hibernating honey bee colonies (v0.2)"

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