The research project "Future of Honey Bees" investigated bee health in Austria and the influence of agricultural production, beekeeping and weather conditions on colony and bee losses. Beekeepers were intensively involved in order to be able to work on questions of practical relevance for beekeeping and agriculture and to derive conclusions and measures from the results. The main focus of AGES work was on land use and winter losses, research into the causes of colony and bee losses (surveillance study, suspected cases of poisoning) as well as the diversity of pollen source (pollen analyses).
>> Project page Future of Honey Bees and final report Future of Honey Bees
Starting Position
Healthy bees are indispensable for an intact nature and for agriculture in Austria.
In Austria there are about 27,000 beekeepers with a total of about 350,000 bee colonies. The number of bee colonies in Austria has been largely stable since 2003. Winter mortality rates vary greatly and have been between 8 and 28 percent in recent years. The majority of these losses could be compensated in the following year by intensive efforts of the beekeepers to increase the Propagation of surviving colonies. For bee protection and beekeeping, the cooperation of all sectors that have an influence on the well-being of bees or benefit from their pollination activities is an important success factor. The findings of this project support them in keeping bee colonies healthy and reducing losses.
In order to investigate the causes of winter mortality and the effects of various influences on bee colonies, the research project "Zukunft Biene - Grundlagenforschungsprojekt zur Förderung des Bienenschutzes und der Bienengesundheit" (Future Bee - Basic Research Project for the Promotion of Bee Protection and Bee Health) was commissioned and financed by the Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism (BMNT, formerly BMLFUW), together with the provinces and the umbrella organisation of Austrian beekeepers "Biene Österreich". Including the own contributions of the Karl-Franzens-University Graz and the AGES, almost 2.5 million euros were invested. The project was carried out by research teams from the University of Graz in cooperation with AGES. The overall project management was carried out by Prof. Dr. Karl Crailsheim of the University of Graz.
Results
The focus of the research project was on winter mortality and significant factors influencing bee health such as varroa mites, viruses and other diseases, weather, nutrition, beekeeping practices and chemical substances originating from various sources (e.g. pesticides, biocides, veterinary drugs).
- The research results predominantly showed a positive state of health of the investigated colonies. A clear connection was established between winter losses and the exposure to the varroa mite, which lives as a parasite on honey bees and their brood.
- Other influencing factors were climatic conditions, the environment of the apiary (vegetation and type of land use), beekeeping experience, population size and age of the queen bees.
- Laboratory tests showed the significant and very special function of the honey bee's immune system and its susceptibility to pesticides.
- Health and residue analyses as part of an Austria-wide study on the causes of winter mortality deepened the practical relevance of this project. There was no significant correlation between the winter losses in the period investigated and the contamination of the bee bread with pesticides in the previous autumn. A positive relationship was found between winter losses and infection with Deformed Wing Virus.
- The result of the investigation of reported suspected poisoning cases showed that exposure to bee-damaging substances represents a risk of bee losses for affected colonies.
Recommendations
From the results of the project, concrete recommendations can be derived both for the beekeeping community and for the various types of land use and the use of pesticides to ward off various harmful organisms:
- The study shows that the varroa mite in combination with certain bee viruses had by far the greatest influence on bee health during the observation period. A timely, effective reduction of varroa infestation by the beekeeper is therefore an indispensable measure to ensure bee health and reduce winter losses.
- Other important supporting measures of the beekeeper are the choice of a good location, a good colony management and the wintering of strong bee colonies with a young queen.
- The public, agriculture and forestry, planners and caretakers of public areas and garden owners can support and encourage honey bees and other flower-visiting insects by contributing to a diverse supply of pollen and nectar from spring to autumn and by reducing as far as possible the risk of exposure to pesticides dangerous to bees.
Follow-up Project
On the basis of these results, the research priorities for the follow-up project "Zukunft Biene 2" (Future of Hones Bees 2) were defined with the persons involved from science, the beekeeper umbrella association "Biene Österreich" (Bee Austria) and the Federal Ministry for Sustainability and Tourism (BMNT). Since the varroa mite in combination with viral diseases has the greatest influence on bee health, the follow-up project concentrates on winter colony losses, the occurrence of bee viruses and their effect on bee health in Austria (virus monitoring) and the development of new methods for virus diagnosis. This follow-up project, which is already underway, is financed by the BMNT, the provinces, the beekeeper umbrella association "Biene Österreich" and own funds of the University of Graz, the University of Veterinary Medicine and the Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES).
AGES - Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety
