Survey study on fruit pollination practices and their impact on honeybee health in the Flemish region (2012-2013)

Abstract

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine if there is a difference in honeybee mortality between bees that are used for pollination or come into contact with commercial fruit plantations on the one hand, and bees that never forage on commercial fruit plantations at the other hand. Therefore we conducted a survey amongst Flemish beekeepers.
Results: The majority of surveyed beekeepers (>60%) indicated that their bees come into contact with commercially grown fruit. However, no significant differences in colony losses between different beekeeper groups with a different ‘fruit contact status’ were obtained. Different contact distances to commercially grown fruit, or differences between beekeepers who had or who had not delivered pollination services were not found to be significant factors in predicting colony loss rates. Also specific foraging history on apple (in which a preflowering treatment with the neonicotinoid imidacloprid was allowed and common practice in Flemish pome fruit growing at the timing of this survey) did not significantly correlate with higher colony losses. On the other hand, for several other factors including presence of Varroa and Nosema, significant correlations with colony losses were found.
Conclusions: Based on the data of this survey study no detrimental effects of commercially fruit production and its current crop protection schedules on fruit crop foraging/pollinating honeybees could be identified.

Keywords: honeybee, survey, mortality, fruit, pollination, foraging