McAfee Alison, Tarpy David R, Foster Leonard J
Michael Smith Laboratories, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2025 Apr 9;20(4):e0318764. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0318764. eCollection 2025.
In North America, wooden honey bee hives are most often constructed from pine, but some companies also produce and sell boxes made of western red cedar (Thuja plicata) as a result of its local availability and desirable properties. However, there is debate within the beekeeping community about whether cedar is a safe hive material for bees, since resins within the wood are known to be insecticidal or insect deterrents. There is very little empirical evidence to support or refute these arguments. Here, we recorded health metrics of honey bee nucleus colonies hived in western red cedar and pine boxes (n = 10 each) to determine if the type of wood affects colony outcomes. Colonies were produced and introduced into these boxes in late July, with monitoring continued until the following spring. We found no significant differences in adult bee populations, brood areas, or Varroa mite prevalence among colonies hived in cedar versus pine boxes at either the end of summer (September 1st) or spring (April 1st) assessments. Overwintering survival was identical in the two groups at 90%. Hemolymph detoxification enzyme expression differed strongly between callow (day-old) workers and foragers but did not differ with hive material. Overall, we did not find evidence that hiving honey bee colonies in boxes constructed of western red cedar had any negative or positive effect on bee physiology or colony outcomes.
在北美，木制蜜蜂蜂巢大多由松木制成，但由于西部红雪松（北美乔柏）在当地容易获取且具有理想的特性，一些公司也生产和销售用其制成的蜂箱。然而，养蜂界对于雪松是否是蜜蜂安全的蜂巢材料存在争议，因为已知木材中的树脂具有杀虫或驱虫作用。几乎没有实证证据支持或反驳这些观点。在此，我们记录了置于西部红雪松和松木蜂箱中的蜜蜂核心群的健康指标（每组10个），以确定木材类型是否会影响蜂群状况。蜂群于7月下旬培育并放入这些蜂箱中，监测持续到次年春天。在夏末（9月1日）或春季（4月1日）评估时，我们发现置于雪松蜂箱和松木蜂箱中的蜂群在成年蜜蜂数量、育虫面积或瓦螨患病率方面没有显著差异。两组的越冬存活率相同，均为90%。刚羽化（一日龄）的工蜂和觅食蜂之间血淋巴解毒酶表达差异很大，但与蜂巢材料无关。总体而言，我们没有发现证据表明将蜜蜂蜂群置于西部红雪松制成的蜂箱中会对蜜蜂生理或蜂群状况产生任何负面影响或正面影响。
