Analysis of the Hive Yield of Three Species of Bees for Honey Production in Eastern Honduras

Abstract

Objectives: The analysis of the performance of honey production hives of three species of honeybees was carried out. Study Design: Three harvests per year of honey per hive of each species the first was on March-April, the second was on June-July, and the third was on November -December, with a sampling of ten hives per species, data were evaluated by ANOVA analysis, and Duncan mean separation test developed by SAS/STAT program. Place and Duration of the Study: This research was developed in the department of Paraíso, municipality of Danlí, Honduras, Central America, in Cerro El Águila, latitude 13°56'59" N, and longitude 86°13'59" W, the sampling was carried out in 2020. Methodology: The qualitative variables were evaluated for each species by In Situ observation that characterized the honeycombs of the three species, and the data were subjected to an analysis of variance and Duncan's mean separation, where the dependent variable is the average yield of Kg of honey/hive. Results: According to the ANOVA, there are significant differences in: the harvest of the three species of bees (p<0.0001), for the three annual harvests (p=0.0024), and by hives (p<0.0001) and in the analysis of separation of means the three averages of honey yield observed are not homogeneous (P>0.05), the Apis mellifera produces 63.1 kg/hive-year,  the Tetragonisca angustula obtained an average of 0.679 kg / hive-year,  and Melipona beecheii obtained 13.19 kg/hive-year. Conclusion: In the three species is observed that they have differences in the structures of the construction of their hives, their entrance, the construction of their cells, production and storage of honey and pollen, birth of queens, and method of defense; and when evaluating the average annual yield by species, by harvest, and by hives, is found that the three variables evaluated of bees are different averages of honey production.