Winter survival of honey bee colonies is strongly influenced by summer temperatures and precipitation in the prior year, according to Penn State researchers, who said their findings suggest that honey bees have a "goldilocks" preferred range of summer conditions outside of which their probability of surviving the winter falls.
Winter survival of honey bee colonies is strongly influenced by summer temperatures and precipitation in the prior year, according to Penn State researchers, who said their findings suggest that honey bees have a "goldilocks" preferred range of summer conditions outside of which their probability of surviving the winter falls.
The results of this study, which used several years of survey data provided by the Pennsylvania State Beekeeper’s Association and its members, enabled the development of a tool for forecasting honey bee winter survival to support beekeepers' management decisions, the researchers said.
Honey bees contribute more than $20 billion in pollination services to agriculture in the United States and generate another $300 million annually in honey production for U.S. beekeepers, noted the study's lead author, Martina Calovi, postdoctoral researcher in the Earth and Environmental Systems Institute in the College of Earth and Mineral Sciences.
"However, winter colony mortality greatly reduces the economic and ecosystem contributions of honey bees, which suffered estimated overwintering mortality rates of more than 53% from 2016 to 2019 in the United States," Calovi said. "Although winter mortality is known to vary regionally, the landscape and weather factors underlying this variation are poorly understood."
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