Regulation of Microclimatic Conditions inside Native Beehives and Its Relationship with Climate in Southern Spain

Sergio Gil-Lebrero, Francisco Javier Navas González, Victoria Gámiz López, Francisco Javier Quiles Latorre and José Manuel Flores Serrano
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Sergio Gil-Lebrero: Department of Zoology, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
Francisco Javier Navas González: Department of Genetics, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
Victoria Gámiz López: Department of Zoology, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
Francisco Javier Quiles Latorre: Department of Computer Architecture, Electrics & Electronics Technology, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain
José Manuel Flores Serrano: Department of Zoology, University of Córdoba, 14071 Córdoba, Spain

Sustainability, 2020, vol. 12, issue 16, 1-25

Abstract: In this study, the Wbee Sensor System was used to record data from 10 Iberian beehives for two years in southern Spain. These data were used to identify potential conditioning climatic factors of the internal regulatory behavior of the hive and its weight. Categorical principal components analysis (CATPCA) was used to determine the minimum number of those factors able to capture the maximum percentage of variability in the data recorded. Then, categorical regression (CATREG) was used to select the factors that were linearly related to hive internal humidity, temperature and weight to issue predictive regression equations in Iberian bees. Average relative humidity values of 51.7% ± 10.4 and 54.2% ± 11.7 were reported for humidity in the brood nest and in the food area, while average temperatures were 34.3 °C ± 1.5 in the brood nest and 29.9 °C ± 5.8 in the food area. Average beehive weight was 38.2 kg ± 13.6. Some of our data, especially those related to humidity, contrast with previously published results for other studies about bees from Central and northern Europe. Conclusively, certain combinations of climatic factors may condition within hive humidity, temperature and hive weight. Southern Iberian honeybees’ brood nest humidity regulatory capacity could be lower than brood nest thermoregulatory capacity, maintaining values close to 34 °C, even in dry conditions.

Keywords: Apis mellifera iberiensis; functional characterization; native subspecies conservation; climate change; sensors; temperature; humidity; weight; regulation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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