Kretzschmar Andre, Maisonnasse Alban
INRA, BioSP-Biostatistics and Spatial Processes, 228 Route de l'Aérodrome, CEDEX 9, 84914 Avignon, France.
ADAPI, Maison des Agriculteurs, 22 Avenue Henri Pontier, CEDEX 1, 13626 Aix-en-Provence, France.
Insects. 2022 May 18;13(5):472. doi: 10.3390/insects13050472.
In response to the concerns of beekeepers on the decline of honey bee populations on lavender honey flow in the lavender fields of southeast France and the consequent decrease of honey production, our long-term survey (2009-2021) monitored the total weight gain collected by these colonies. This study shows the variations in the total weight gain according to regions, years, populations structure (bee number and quantity of capped brood) and Varroa load. Among these factors, years and regions support one third of the variations over this 13-year survey. At the beginning of the honey flow, capped brood is more important than the number of bees, whereas Varroa load severely limits the performance of the colonies. A threshold of 3 mites/100 bees seems to reflect the upper limit of the Varroa load below which the total weight gain is not affected. This survey provides useful information for the beekeepers to better prepare the colonies for this honey flow and allows them to compare their results obtained with our general description of the total weight gains by year.
针对养蜂人对法国东南部薰衣草田薰衣草蜜流期间蜜蜂数量下降以及蜂蜜产量随之减少的担忧,我们进行了长期调查(2009 - 2021年),监测这些蜂群的总增重情况。本研究展示了总增重根据地区、年份、种群结构(蜜蜂数量和封盖子脾数量)以及瓦螨负载量的变化情况。在这些因素中,年份和地区在这13年的调查中支持了三分之一的变化。在蜜流开始时,封盖子脾比蜜蜂数量更重要,而瓦螨负载量严重限制了蜂群的表现。每100只蜜蜂有3只螨虫的阈值似乎反映了瓦螨负载量的上限,低于这个上限,总增重不受影响。这项调查为养蜂人提供了有用信息,以便他们更好地为这种蜜流准备蜂群,并使他们能够将自己得到的结果与我们按年份对总增重的总体描述进行比较。