Some Considerations about Winter Colony Losses in Italy According to the Coloss Questionnaire
The Italian beekeeping industry has grown steadily during the last decade, according to data from the national beekeeping registry, which came into existence in February 2015. Winter colony losses remain a matter of concern for beekeepers in Italy, and administration of the questionnaire defined by...
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MDPI AG
2022-11-01
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| Series: | Insects |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/11/1059 |
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| author | Franco Mutinelli Anna Pinto Luciana Barzon Marica Toson |
| author_facet | Franco Mutinelli Anna Pinto Luciana Barzon Marica Toson |
| author_sort | Franco Mutinelli |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Italian beekeeping industry has grown steadily during the last decade, according to data from the national beekeeping registry, which came into existence in February 2015. Winter colony losses remain a matter of concern for beekeepers in Italy, and administration of the questionnaire defined by the Coloss Association could contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon. To evaluate the percentage trends over time in honeybee colony losses arising from various causes, we used the quasi-binomial generalized linear modelling (GzLM) approach, taking the year as an independent variable. We set our level of significance at 5% and performed the data analysis only for the seven regions that sent data continuously from 2014 to 2020. We considered the percentage of losses due to queen-related problems, natural disasters, and dead or empty colonies, given that these questions remained unchanged over the years. The survey also revealed that the percentage trend for respondents using drone brood removal showed a significant increase. In general, the percentage of colony losses due to queen-related problems remained lower than 8%, and the percentage of colony losses associated with natural disasters was very low (<2%). The mean percentages of losses due to dead or empty colonies ranged from 6 to 17% in the considered period. In addition, we took account of the responses relating to treatments against <i>Varroa</i> mite infestation, given the importance attributed to this honeybee parasite. Unlike the other variables, we calculated the percentages related to the types of beekeeper treatments against <i>Varroa destructor</i> based on the respondents, not on the colonies. What emerged was that almost every beekeeper used at least one type of treatment against <i>V. destructor</i>. In general, the trend of respondents appeared stable at 0.3% during the last four years. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:15:28Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2d3bededeff1424f9afcd1ad268a52bb |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2075-4450 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:15:28Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Insects |
| spelling | doaj.art-2d3bededeff1424f9afcd1ad268a52bb2023-11-24T08:46:17ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502022-11-011311105910.3390/insects13111059Some Considerations about Winter Colony Losses in Italy According to the Coloss QuestionnaireFranco Mutinelli0Anna Pinto1Luciana Barzon2Marica Toson3NRL for Honey Bee Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, PD, ItalyCommunication Laboratory, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, PD, ItalyNRL for Honey Bee Health, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, PD, ItalyEpidemiology Laboratory, Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, 35020 Legnaro, PD, ItalyThe Italian beekeeping industry has grown steadily during the last decade, according to data from the national beekeeping registry, which came into existence in February 2015. Winter colony losses remain a matter of concern for beekeepers in Italy, and administration of the questionnaire defined by the Coloss Association could contribute to a better understanding of this phenomenon. To evaluate the percentage trends over time in honeybee colony losses arising from various causes, we used the quasi-binomial generalized linear modelling (GzLM) approach, taking the year as an independent variable. We set our level of significance at 5% and performed the data analysis only for the seven regions that sent data continuously from 2014 to 2020. We considered the percentage of losses due to queen-related problems, natural disasters, and dead or empty colonies, given that these questions remained unchanged over the years. The survey also revealed that the percentage trend for respondents using drone brood removal showed a significant increase. In general, the percentage of colony losses due to queen-related problems remained lower than 8%, and the percentage of colony losses associated with natural disasters was very low (<2%). The mean percentages of losses due to dead or empty colonies ranged from 6 to 17% in the considered period. In addition, we took account of the responses relating to treatments against <i>Varroa</i> mite infestation, given the importance attributed to this honeybee parasite. Unlike the other variables, we calculated the percentages related to the types of beekeeper treatments against <i>Varroa destructor</i> based on the respondents, not on the colonies. What emerged was that almost every beekeeper used at least one type of treatment against <i>V. destructor</i>. In general, the trend of respondents appeared stable at 0.3% during the last four years.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/11/1059winter colony lossesColoss questionnairehoneybeetreatment<i>Varroa destructor</i> |
| spellingShingle | Franco Mutinelli Anna Pinto Luciana Barzon Marica Toson Some Considerations about Winter Colony Losses in Italy According to the Coloss Questionnaire Insects winter colony losses Coloss questionnaire honeybee treatment <i>Varroa destructor</i> |
| title | Some Considerations about Winter Colony Losses in Italy According to the Coloss Questionnaire |
| title_full | Some Considerations about Winter Colony Losses in Italy According to the Coloss Questionnaire |
| title_fullStr | Some Considerations about Winter Colony Losses in Italy According to the Coloss Questionnaire |
| title_full_unstemmed | Some Considerations about Winter Colony Losses in Italy According to the Coloss Questionnaire |
| title_short | Some Considerations about Winter Colony Losses in Italy According to the Coloss Questionnaire |
| title_sort | some considerations about winter colony losses in italy according to the coloss questionnaire |
| topic | winter colony losses Coloss questionnaire honeybee treatment <i>Varroa destructor</i> |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/13/11/1059 |
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