Using within-day hive weight changes to measure environmental effects on honey bee colonies.

ABSTRACT: Patterns in within-day hive weight data from two independent datasets in Arizona and California were modeled using piecewise regression, and analyzed with respect to honey bee colony behavior and landscape effects. The regression analysis yielded information on the start and finish of a colony's daily activity cycle, hive weight change at night, hive weight loss due to departing foragers and weight gain due to returning foragers. Assumptions about the meaning of the timing and size of the morning weight changes were tested in a third study by delaying the forager departure times from one to three hours using screen entrance gates. A regression of planned vs. observed departure delays showed that the initial hive weight loss around dawn was largely due to foragers. In a similar experiment i

SUBMITTER: Meikle WG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5965838 | biostudies-literature | 2018

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature