Subject: Apis mellifera; mortality; colony winter losses; queens; queen replacement; monitoring surveys; beekeeping; citizen science
Year: 2020
Type: Journal Article
Title: Honey bee colony winter loss rates for 35 countries participating in the COLOSS survey for winter 2018–2019, and the effects of a new queen on the risk of colony winter loss
Author: Gray, Alison
Author: Adjlane, Noureddine
Author: Arab, Alireza
Author: Ballis, Alexis
Author: Brusbardis, Valters
Author: Charrière, Jean-Daniel
Author: Chlebo, Robert
Author: Coffey, Mary F.
Author: Cornelissen, Bram
Author: Amaro da Costa, Cristina
Author: Dahle, Bjørn
Author: Danihlík, Jiří
Author: Dražić, Marica Maja
Author: Evans, Garth
Author: Fedoriak, Mariia
Author: Forsythe, Ivan
Author: Gajda, Anna
Author: de Graaf, Dirk C.
Author: Gregorc, Aleš
Author: Ilieva, Iliyana
Author: Johannesen, Jes
Author: Kauko, Lassi
Author: Kristiansen, Preben
Author: Martikkala, Maritta
Author: Martín-Hernández, Raquel
Author: Medina-Flores, Carlos Aurelio
Author: Mutinelli, Franco
Author: Patalano, Solenn
Author: Raudmets, Aivar
Author: Martin, Gilles San
Author: Soroker, Victoria
Author: Stevanovic, Jevrosima
Author: Uzunov, Aleksandar
Author: Vejsnaes, Flemming
Author: Williams, Anthony
Author: Zammit-Mangion, Marion
Author: Brodschneider, Robert
Abstract: This article presents managed honey bee colony loss rates over winter 2018/19 resulting from using the standardised COLOSS questionnaire in 35 countries (31 in Europe). In total, 28,629 beekeepers supplying valid loss data wintered738,233 colonies, and reported 29,912 (4.1%, 95% confidence interval (CI) 4.0–4.1%) colonies with unsolvable queen problems, 79,146 (10.7%, 95% CI 10.5–10.9%) dead colonies after winter and 13,895 colonies (1.9%, 95% CI 1.8–2.0%)lost through natural disaster. This gave an overall colony winter loss rate of 16.7% (95% CI 16.4–16.9%), varying greatly between countries, from 5.8% to 32.0%. We modelled the risk of loss as a dead/empty colony or from unresolvablequeen problems, and found that, overall, larger beekeeping operations with more than 150 colonies experienced significantly lower losses (p < 0.001), consistent with earlier studies. Additionally, beekeepers included in this survey who didcnot migrate their colonies at least once in 2018 had significantly lower losses than those migrating (p < 0.001). The percentage of new queens from 2018 in wintered colonies was also examined as a potential risk factor. The percentage ofcolonies going into winter with a new queen was estimated as 55.0% over all countries. Higher percentages of youngcqueens corresponded to lower overall losses (excluding losses from natural disaster), but also lower losses from unre-solvable queen problems, and lower losses from winter mortality (p < 0.001). Detailed results for each country andcoverall are given in a table, and a map shows relative risks of winter loss at regional level.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Relation: Journal of Apicultural Research
Identifier: oai:repository.ukim.mk:20.500.12188/28883
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12188/28883Identifier: 10.1080/00218839.2020.1797272
Identifier: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/00218839.2020.1797272Identifier: 59
Identifier: 5
