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Date: | Fri, 27 Oct 2023 17:43:04 -0400 |
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A grossly distorted picture is being presented. HB densities are low in Europe and North America above the subtropic zone. HB densities are extremely high in equatorial Africa and south — and throughout Central and South America. These reflect the subspecies present as well as the climate factors. Hot climate=scutellata and other African subspecies. Cold climate=mellifera, ligustica, carnica, etc.
I have a chart in front of me that shows densities throughout the world. The country with the lowest density and the highest density is Australia. It depends on where you are in country. There are not data for the US as a whole except for managed colonies. Worldwide there may be 3 or 4 times as many feral colonies as managed colonies, but we can't extrapolate those numbers to the US and especially the northern US.
Location Habitat Climate Colonies (km2) Sampling method Inference method Reference
Australia – South Australia Heath Temperate 0.1 Survey Direct count Paton (1996)
Australia – Victoria Agricultural land Semi-arid 0.15 Drone trapping Direct inference, Linked markers Hinson (2015)
Australia – Victoria Riparian woodland Temperate 91 Survey Direct count Goodman and Hepworth (2004)
Australia – Victoria Riparian woodland Temperate – Semi-arid 50 – 150 Survey Direct count Oldroyd et al. (1997)
excerpted from:
Table S1. Estimates of the density of wild (native) and feral (exotic) honey bee colonies from across the world, ordered from lowest to highest density. Modified from Supplementary Table S1 of Hinson et al. (2015).
SO— depending where you are in Australia the density could be as low as .1 and high as 150 per km2. In the US there are a lot of ferals in So Cal and Arizona. I bet almost none in Vermont, etc.
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