Due to overheating, lack of food availability, worker population declining, absence of queen bee, may be the bees are not able to regulate the nest temperature during summer months. What are the management steps in bee hives will keep the ambient temperature in brood nest?
About ten years ago we imported 13 hives of Scaptotrigona mexicana from Mexico to Israel. The purpose was to improve Avocado pollination by adding them to the honeybee hives that were posted in the orchards (see: Gazit S., Ish-Am G., 2007. Stingless bees can serve as efficient pollinators. 9th International Pollination Symposium on Plant-Pollinator Relationship – Diversity in Action. Ames, Iowa, USA). The bees were kept in quarantine until found free of pests and diseases, and then taken out into a screen house erected over flowering avocado trees. The released bees exhibited a strong activity on the avocado flowers. Unfortunately, a severe hot spell, of 43ºC, caused a fatal damage to the bees. Honeybees can cope a similar hot spell, even while are exposed to san light. They do it by bringing water to the hive and organizing for ventilating air with the water outside the hive. I don't know why the stingless bees are much less efficient in that. I assume if we were aware for their sensitivity we could help them by posting the hives under a shade, and by watering the area around the hives, and the hives themselves. Sadly we never repeated that kind of experiment.
Dear Gad Ish-Am
Thank you for the information
The infoamtion is more useful for me
I will follow the management steps you mentioned during summer months
i found Austroplebeia australis began to build up the involucrum layers very soon after the Autumn equinox. probably in preparation for the upcoming colder season.
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