BEE-L Archives

Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology

BEE-L@COMMUNITY.LSOFT.COM

Options: Use Monospaced Font
Show Text Part by Default
Show All Mail Headers

Message: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Topic: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]
Author: [<< First] [< Prev] [Next >] [Last >>]

Print Reply
Subject:
From:
Peter Borst <[log in to unmask]>
Reply To:
Informed Discussion of Beekeeping Issues and Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 27 Oct 2023 17:43:04 -0400
Content-Type:
text/plain
Parts/Attachments:
text/plain (25 lines)
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.

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

ATOM RSS1 RSS2