Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

Effect of Improved Hive Cover Designs on Internal Microclimate and Colony Establishment of West African Honeybees (Apis mellifera adansonii L.) in Awka, Nigeria

B. U. Ononye, C. E. Akunne, E. O. Ogbuefi, T. E. Okeke, K. P. Okafor, E. I. Azaka, G. E. Obiyo, C. O. Aniefuna, P. C. Akwuaka, C. A. Chidi

Journal of Applied Life Sciences International · pp. 1–16 · Published 22 Aug 2023

10.9734/jalsi/2023/v26i5614

Abstract

Hive cover designs majorly affects the microclimate and colony establishment of African honeybee colonies in Nigeria. It became pertinent therefore to assess the effect of modified hive cover designs on the internal microclimate and colony establishment of West African honeybee (Apis mellifera adansonii L.) Colonies in Awka, Nigeria. Four insulating materials were used to construct the covers of twelve modified frame bar hives and designated: Control (plywood); T1 (warped boards); T2 (PVC) and T3 (foam). Each hive treatment was replicated three times. Data on ambient and hive microclimate as well as the colonization of honeybees’ colonies were observed and reported. The results indicated that the control had the highest temperature (31.86 ºC) while T1 (30.40ºC) had the least. The hive temperature was higher in March, 2023 (32.72°C) while August (29.87°C) had the least. The highest relative humidity (73.18%) was recorded in T1 while the control had the least (64.38%). The hive temperature and relative humidity was significantly affected by hive cover designs and different months of the study period (P<0.05). The highest colonization by African honeybees was observed in the control (100%) but none occurred in T2 (0.00%). Colonization of the Control hives occurred in July, October, and November, 2022 while that of T1 and T3 occurred in December, 2022. Colony establishment of African honeybees was not significantly affected by hive cover designs (p=0.26) and different months of the study period (p=0.24). It was concluded that beekeepers should adopt the insulation of hiver covers with plywood wood since it had 100% colonization of West African honeybees’.

Hive cover designs internal microclimate colony establishment African honeybees

References (22)

  1. 1 Summary for Policymakers [DOI]
  2. 2 Bee declines driven by combined stress from parasites, pesticides, and lack of flowers [DOI]
  3. 3 A review of impacts of temperature and relative humidity on various activities of honey bees [DOI]
  4. 4 Gut microbiota protects honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) against polystyrene microplastics exposure risks [DOI]
  5. 5 Tolerance and response of two honeybee species Apis cerana and Apis mellifera to high temperature and relative humidity [DOI]
  6. 6 Declining honey production and beekeeper adaptation to climate change in Chile [DOI]
  7. 7 A study on suitability of some wood species for landscape applications: Surface color, hardness and roughness changes at outdoor conditions [DOI]
  8. 8 Intranidal temperature and body size of Africanized honey bees under heatwaves (Hymenoptera: Apidae) [DOI]
  9. 9 Practices and knowledge of beekeepers and beehive suppliers regarding the wood material in the South of France [DOI]
  10. 10 Honey bee hive covers reduce food consumption and colony mortality during overwintering [DOI]
  11. 11 Scientific note: mass-nesting of a native bee Hylaeus (Euprosopoides) ruficeps kalamundae (Cockerell, 1915) (Hymenoptera: Colletidae: Hylaeinae) in polystyrene [DOI]
  12. 12 Effects of hive entrance orientation on honey bee colony activity [DOI]
  13. 13 The Effects of Time and Beehive Entrance on Colony Establishment of African Honeybees, Apis mellifera adansonii [DOI]
  14. 14 Microclimate, Colonization, Colony Strength and Absconding of Apis mellifera adansonii Reared in Hives with Modified Entrances [DOI]
  15. 15 Design of system for setting the temperature and monitoring bees in and out the hive [DOI]
  16. 16 Assessment on Colonization, Absconding and Honey Yield by African Honeybee Colonies Reared in Hives with Different Colours in Awka, South-Eastern Nigeria [DOI]
  17. 17 Comparative Study of the Efficacy of Six Different Baiting Materials on Bee Colony Performance in Traditional and Modern Hives
  18. 18 Impact of the design and material of the hives on honey production of bees [DOI]
  19. 19 Assessment of Gmelina, Danta Solid Wood and Plywood Hive Types for Beekeeping [DOI]
  20. 20 Comparative Seasonal Yield of Colonies of Apis mellifera adansonii (Hymenoptera: Apidea) in Response to some Environmental Variables [DOI]
  21. 21 Analysis of Termination Timing of Over-wintering in Honey Bee(Apis mellifera) using Digital Sensors [DOI]
  22. 22 Diversity of honey bee Apis Mellifera subspecies (Hymenoptera: Apidae) and their associated arthropod pests in Cameroon

Cited by 4

Microclimate, an important part of ecology and biogeography

J. Kemppinen, J. Lembrechts, K. Van Meerbeek · Global Ecology and Biogeography · 2024

Showing 1 of 4 known citations — external sources report more than can currently be individually listed.

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

29

Page views

0

PDF downloads

5

Outbound clicks

4

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.