Marin Anastasov NDB, discussing defensive behaviour in honeybees (behaviour and colony management)
From 7.30pm
At Online via Zoom link
Defensive behaviour in honeybees (behaviour and colony management)The ability of the bees to defend their colonies is a major evolutionary adaptation that ensurescolony resources are protected for the colony use and not made available to predators orrobbers. Yet, bee stings are one of the major factors that could make beekeeping unappealingactivity. This talk covers the mechanism of defence and the factors leading to some coloniesbeing more defensive or highly defensive than others. The role of queens and drones in thecolonies and the effect of different races or crosses on colony defensiveness. The talk alsocovers methods for assessment of defensive behaviour and how can the beekeeper look out forearly signs of a potential problem in a colony. Finally, we will look at the options available tobeekeepers to manage overly defensive colonies and why the beekeeper should be proactivein managing defensive colonies and the consequences of doing nothing.