1. Hive Orientation and Colony Strength Affect Honey Bee Colony Activity during Almond Pollination.
- Author
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Evans, Sandra Kordić, Evans, Huw, Meikle, William G., and Clouston, George
- Subjects
HONEYBEES ,BEE colonies ,ALMOND growing ,POLLINATION ,BEEHIVES ,ALMOND ,AGRICULTURE ,FARMERS - Abstract
Simple Summary: Managed honey bees are virtually exclusive pollinators of almonds in commercial agricultural contexts such as that of California's Central Valley where 80% of the world's almonds are produced. Streamlining almond pollination by utilizing honey bee colonies in the most efficient way aims to support both the growers and beekeepers as demand for pollination services and per unit costs are increasing. This study examines whether hive entrance orientation and hive strength influence the pollinating activity of honey bees in almond orchards. We have found that hives facing east have a marked advantage in starting their activity in the morning compared to hives facing west. Similarly, strong colonies show a significantly earlier start of activity than weak colonies. The practical implication of these findings lies in configuring the placement of colonies of varying strengths in a way that favours their foraging activity. The foraging activity of honey bees used to pollinate almonds was examined in relation to their hive entrance orientation and colony strength. Twenty-four colonies of honey bees, twelve in each group, were situated with their entrances facing east and west cardinal points. Bee out counts were recorded continuously and hive weight data at ∼10 min intervals from 17 February to 15 March 2023. Colony strength was assessed using the frames of adult bees (FOB) metric. East-facing hives started flight 44.2 min earlier than west-facing hives. The hive direction did not affect the timing of the cessation of foraging activity. The hive strength played a significant role: hives assessed as weak (≤3.0 FOB) commenced foraging activity 45 min later than strong hives (>3.0 FOB) and ceased foraging activity 38.3 min earlier. Hive weight data did not detect effects of either the hive direction or colony strength on the commencement and cessation of foraging activity, as determined using piecewise regression on 24 h datasets. However, the hive weight loss due to foraging activity at the start of foraging activity was significantly affected by both direction (East > West) and colony strength (Strong > Weak). Our study showed that, during almond pollination, both hive entrance exposure and hive strength have quantifiable effects on colony foraging behaviour and that these effects combine to regulate the overall foraging activity of the pollinating colonies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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