Challenges
Source - Diseases and Parasites
Beekeepers face numerous challenges that threaten colony health and honey production. IntelliBee can address these issues through its intelligent monitoring system
- Challenge - Early detection of diseases such as American Foulbrood, European Foulbrood, Nosema, and pests like Varroa mites and Small Hive Beetles is essential to prevent colony collapse. These diseases and pests can spread quickly within a colony, compromising bee health and productivity.
- Impact - Disease outbreaks can decimate entire colonies, severely reducing honey production and causing financial loss for beekeepers. Varroa mites, for example, weaken bees by feeding on their bodily fluids and can transmit deadly viruses.
Source - Bee Spotlight: Honey Bee Queen
- Challenge - A healthy queen is essential for colony growth, as she is responsible for laying eggs and maintaining the hive’s population. Queen failure, such as reduced egg-laying capacity or sudden death, can go unnoticed, leading to a sharp decline in hive strength.
- Impact - An undetected queen failure can lead to the colony becoming “queenless,” triggering worker bees to lay unfertilized eggs and resulting in the colony’s eventual collapse.
Source - Honeybee Swarms
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Challenge - Swarming is a natural reproductive process where a portion of the colony, along with the queen, leaves the hive to form a new one. While natural, it reduces the honey yield from the original colony, resulting in economic loss.
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Impact - If unmanaged, swarming can significantly reduce colony strength and honey production. The remaining colony may also struggle to recover if resources or bees are insufficient.
Honey bee colonies placed next to a citrus grove to produce a citrus honey crop. Bee exposure to pesticides can occur when they drink water, such as that in the irrigation pond shown in this figure, or when foraging on the crop.
Source - Minimizing Honey Bee Exposure to Pesticides
- Challenge - Exposure to pesticides from surrounding agriculture can harm bees, causing disorientation, paralysis, or death, and contaminating honey. Identifying and mitigating exposure to harmful chemicals is crucial for colony survival and product safety.
- Impact - Pesticide exposure can lead to immediate bee deaths and long-term health impacts on the colony. It also poses risks for honey contamination, making it unsafe for consumption and reducing its marketability.
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Challenge - Temperature, humidity, and nectar flow greatly affect hive activity, bee health, and honey production. Beekeepers need to monitor these factors closely to ensure that conditions are optimal for colony growth and productivity.
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Impact - Extreme temperatures or improper humidity levels can cause stress on the bees, leading to decreased honey production, increased disease susceptibility, or hive abandonment.
Source - Absconding
Swarming and absconding are two of the most serious challenges faced by beekeepers, directly affecting the sustainability and productivity of bee colonies. These natural processes, while inherent to bee behavior, pose significant risks to both colony health and beekeeper profitability. By identifying and addressing swarming and absconding as the primary problems, beekeepers can reduce economic losses and ensure better colony management.
Source - United States Honey Bee Colony Losses
Swarming is a reproductive process where the queen and a large portion of worker bees leave the original hive to establish a new colony. However, this process comes with a high risk—only about 20% of natural swarms survive. The remaining colony is left with fewer bees, leading to reduced efficiency in gathering nectar and maintaining the hive.
Absconding, on the other hand, is even more catastrophic. During absconding, the entire colony (including the queen and all flying bees) abandons the hive, often leaving behind no resources or population. This leads to a complete collapse of the hive’s productivity and potential revenue for the beekeeper.
Source Consumption vs Price
Both swarming and absconding reduce the number of worker bees available to collect nectar, care for brood, and maintain hive hygiene. As a result, honey production is severely impacted. The uncollected honey following swarming or absconding represents a direct financial loss for beekeepers, as fewer bees means less honey harvested over time.
Swarming typically halves the population of a hive, which directly translates to reduced honey output. Absconding results in an even larger loss, as there is no remaining workforce to continue honey production or maintain the hive.
A calculation of the potential losses caused by honey bee colony swarming should consist of two parts
- The value of Bees
- The uncollected honey
Calculation for honey bee colony swarming
Where:
$P_{queen} = Price\ of\ the\ bee\ queen\ (EUR)$ $P_{bee} = Price\ of\ one\ bee\ (EUR)$ -
$\text{NumOfBees} = Number\ of\ bees\ leaving\ the\ hive\ (\text{all worker bees in the colony} * 0.75)$ - Small colony: up to 7000 worker bees
- Large colony: up to 30,000 worker bees
$L_{honey} = Potentially\ uncollected\ honey\ (kg)\ (\text{half of the average honey production per colony per season})$ $P_{honey} = Honey\ price\ per\ kg\ (EUR)$
Source - Evaluation of the Economic Importance of Remote Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Colony Swarming Detection
Through discussions with beekeeping experts and stakeholders at the Sri Lanka School of Agriculture (Labuduwa) several key problems in the beekeeping industry were identified and validated. The primary issues include swarming, absconding, disease management, and environmental monitoring, with swarming emerging as the most critical challenge in need of immediate intervention.
Among these validated problems, swarming stood out as the most critical challenge for beekeepers in Sri Lanka. The reasoning for focusing on swarming includes
High Frequency - Swarming occurs more frequently than absconding, making it a regular concern for beekeepers.
Economic Impact - The financial losses associated with swarming are significant due to the reduction in bee populations and honey production. Preventing swarming can directly improve a beekeeper's profitability.
Difficult to Detect - Unlike diseases or pests, which may show visible signs, swarming can happen without clear early indicators. This makes it harder for beekeepers to intervene without the aid of advanced monitoring systems.
Duminda Munidasa
Bee Keeper
94 71 036 3868
Ravin Kodithuwakku
Agriculture Instructor
94 71 818 2461
Maya Wickramasinghe
Department of Agriculture
Deputy Director
94 70 466 74331
