Ancient, veteran and other listed trees as nest sites for wild-living honey bee, Apis mellifera, colonies

Visick, Oliver D.; Ratnieks, Francis L. W.

doi:10.1007/s10841-023-00530-7

Cited by 4 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 55 publications

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“…Cavities that are dry, uninhabited and have a lingering odour from former occupants are desired (Grozinger et al, 2014). In the wild, honey bee colonies naturally nest in old cavity-bearing trees throughout their range (Visick & Ratnieks, 2023).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of volatiles from ethnobotanical plants as attractants for the honey bee swarms in Kenya

Ochola,

Nganso,

Subramanian

et al. 2024

J Applied Entomology

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Apiculture provides better livelihoods for about 144,000 men, women and youth in Kenya. However, various challenges and barriers are available that prevent the industry from flourishing. One of these challenges is the low hive colonization rate reported by Kenyan beekeepers, who mainly depend on swarm catching to increase colony numbers within their apiaries. Many different traditional plants are used to attract bee swarms, although they have not been tested and compared scientifically with the most used and cost‐effective bait in Africa, the beeswax, for improving swarm catches. To fill this knowledge gap, an ethnobotanical survey was carried out in Kenya to gain an in‐depth understanding of traditional apicultural practices used for hive baiting to attract swarms. Additionally, the volatile composition of traditional plants used as swarm lures was examined using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS), and their effectiveness in catching swarms was evaluated in comparison to beeswax in the field. The survey results revealed that Ocimum kilimandscharicum, Cymbopogon nardus and Elaeodendron buchananii are the three commonly used traditional plants for baiting, chosen based on their aroma, abundance, ease of processing and durability. Notably, the volatiles emitted by O. kilimandscharicum plus beeswax attracted significantly two and half‐fold more bee swarms than the control (beeswax alone), whereas those of E. buchananii were the least attractive and similar to those of the control. These discrepancies may be partly due to the presence of small amounts of geraniol and citral in the essential oils of O. kilimandscharicum, which are characteristic compounds of the Nasonov gland pheromone from workers honey bees known to attract bee swarms. Overall, our findings suggest that adding O. kilimandscharicum to beeswax may significantly enhance bee swarm catches in the field.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluation of volatiles from ethnobotanical plants as attractants for the honey bee swarms in Kenya

Ochola,

Nganso,

Subramanian

et al. 2024

J Applied Entomology

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A Protocol for Monitoring Populations of Free-Living Western Honey Bees in Temperate Regions

Moro,

Albouy,

Dickey

et al. 2024

Bee World

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Monitoring free-living honeybee colonies in Germany: Insights into habitat preferences, survival rates, and Citizen Science reliability

Rutschmann,

Remter,

Roth

2024

Preprint

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Our understanding of the western honeybee (Apis mellifera) predominantly stems from studies conducted within beekeeping environments, leaving the presence and characteristics of honeybees outside managed settings largely unexplored. This study focuses on free-living colonies, examining their habitats, nesting sites, and survival rates, thereby highlighting the liminal state of the species in Europe. Through the BEEtree-Monitor project, we personally monitored (PM) nest sites in Munich (N=107) and coordinated Citizen Science (CS) monitoring across Germany (N=423), resulting in 2,555 observations on 530 colonies from 311 participants over 7 years. While habitat preferences differed between urban, rural and forested areas, we found that 31% of the occupied nest sites were in buildings and 63% in mature trees with cavities, including lime (Tiliaspp., 18%), beech (Fagus sylvatica, 14%), oak (Quercusspp., 13%), and ash (Fraxinus excelsior, 11%). On average, only 12% of the PM colonies in Munich survived annually, according to model predictions based on observed data. Consequently, we found a minimum free-living colony density per km² of 0.06 in spring but 0.42 in summer, accounting for at least 4% of the total Munich population during the summer. Comparing the two monitoring approaches (PM vs. CS) and published data revealed significant discrepancies: survival rates reported by CS were markedly higher (model prediction: 28%), than PM and other published studies. We found that CS not only yielded significantly fewer updates per colony, but also that 76% of CS reports noted active colonies compared to 42% from PM, indicating an underreporting of abandoned sites. To ensure the reliability of survival data in CS projects, regional swarming should be monitored, and the timing of reports needs particular attention as 46% of reports about overwintering were too late (i.e. after the onset of the swarming season; 11% in PM). CS data proved to be highly valuable for nest site and habitat analysis but require a strict validation protocol for survival statistics. This study enhances our understanding of the ecological dynamics and conservation needs of free-living honeybee cohorts, addresses potential monitoring biases, and suggests standardized data collection protocols for future monitoring projects.

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Ancient, veteran and other listed trees as nest sites for wild-living honey bee, Apis mellifera, colonies

Cited by 4 publications

References 55 publications

Evaluation of volatiles from ethnobotanical plants as attractants for the honey bee swarms in Kenya

Evaluation of volatiles from ethnobotanical plants as attractants for the honey bee swarms in Kenya

A Protocol for Monitoring Populations of Free-Living Western Honey Bees in Temperate Regions

Monitoring free-living honeybee colonies in Germany: Insights into habitat preferences, survival rates, and Citizen Science reliability

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