scholarly journals When It Pays to Catch a Swarm—Evaluation of the Economic Importance of Remote Honey Bee (Apis mellifera) Colony Swarming Detection

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (10) ◽  
pp. 967
Author(s):  
Aleksejs Zacepins ◽  
Armands Kviesis ◽  
Vitalijs Komasilovs ◽  
Robert Brodschneider
Keyword(s):  
Economic Model ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Travel Distance ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
Manual Inspection ◽  
Bee Colonies ◽  
Financial Losses ◽  
Automatic Systems

Precision beekeeping, or precision apiculture, focuses on individual beehive remote monitoring using different measurement systems and sensors. Sometimes, there are debates about the necessity for such systems and the real-life benefits of the substitution of bee colony manual inspection by automatic systems. Remote systems offer many advantages, but also have their disadvantages and costs. We evaluated the economic benefits of the remote detection of the bee colonies’ reproductive state of swarming. We propose two economic models for predicting differences in the benefits of catching a swarm depending on its travel distance. Models are tested by comparing the situation in four different countries (Austria, Ethiopia, Indonesia, and Latvia). The economic model is based on financial losses caused by bee colony swarming and considers the effort needed to catch the swarm following a remote swarm detection event. The economic benefit of catching a swarm after a remote precision beekeeping notification is shown to be a function of the distance/time to reach the apiary. The possible technical range is tempting, but we demonstrated that remote sensing is economically limited by the ability to physically reach the apiary and interact in time, or alternatively, inform a person living close by. An advanced economic model additionally includes the swarm catching probability, which decreases based on travel distance/time. Based on exemplary values from the four countries, the economic potential of detecting and informing beekeepers about swarming events is calculated.

scholarly journals Sublethal concentrations of clothianidin affect honey bee colony growth and hive CO2 concentration

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
William G. Meikle ◽  
John J. Adamczyk ◽  
Milagra Weiss ◽  
Janie Ross ◽  
Chris Werle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Pesticide Exposure ◽  
Co2 Concentration ◽  
Colony Growth ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Brood Production ◽  
Weight Losses ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Bee Colonies

AbstractThe effects of agricultural pesticide exposure upon honey bee colonies is of increasing interest to beekeepers and researchers, and the impact of neonicotinoid pesticides in particular has come under intense scrutiny. To explore potential colony-level effects of a neonicotinoid pesticide at field-relevant concentrations, honey bee colonies were fed 5- and 20-ppb concentrations of clothianidin in sugar syrup while control colonies were fed unadulterated syrup. Two experiments were conducted in successive years at the same site in southern Arizona, and one in the high rainfall environment of Mississippi. Across all three experiments, adult bee masses were about 21% lower among colonies fed 20-ppb clothianidin than the untreated control group, but no effects of treatment on brood production were observed. Average daily hive weight losses per day in the 5-ppb clothianidin colonies were about 39% lower post-treatment than in the 20-ppb clothianidin colonies, indicating lower consumption and/or better foraging, but the dry weights of newly-emerged adult bees were on average 6–7% lower in the 5-ppb group compared to the other groups, suggesting a nutritional problem in the 5-ppb group. Internal hive CO2 concentration was higher on average in colonies fed 20-ppb clothianidin, which could have resulted from greater CO2 production and/or reduced ventilating activity. Hive temperature average and daily variability were not affected by clothianidin exposure but did differ significantly among trials. Clothianidin was found to be, like imidacloprid, highly stable in honey in the hive environment over several months.

An optimal scheduling policy for upgraded software with updates

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Adarsh Anand ◽  
Subhrata Das ◽  
Mohini Agarwal ◽  
Shinji Inoue
Keyword(s):  
Cost Analysis ◽  
Optimization Model ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Release Time ◽  
Analysis Model ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Software Upgrades ◽  
Stop Time ◽  
Combined Use

PurposeIn the current market scenario, software upgrades and updates have proved to be very handy in improving the reliability of the software in its operational phase. Software upgrades help in reinventing working software through major changes, like functionality addition, feature enhancement, structural changes, etc. In software updates, minor changes are undertaken which help in improving software performance by fixing bugs and security issues in the current version of the software. Through the current proposal, the authors wish to highlight the economic benefits of the combined use of upgrade and update service. A cost analysis model has been proposed for the same.Design/methodology/approachThe article discusses a cost analysis model highlighting the distinction between launch time and time to end the testing process. The number of bugs which have to be catered in each release has been determined which also consists of the count of latent bugs of previous version. Convolution theory has been utilized to incorporate the joint role of tester and user in bug detection into the model. The cost incurred in debugging process was determined. An optimization model was designed which considers the reliability and budget constraints while minimizing the total debugging cost. This optimization was used to determine the release time and testing stop time.FindingsThe proposal is backed by real-life software bug dataset consisting of four releases. The model was able to successfully determine the ideal software release time and the testing stop time. An increased profit is generated by releasing the software earlier and continues testing long after its release.Originality/valueThe work contributes positively to the field by providing an effective optimization model, which was able to determine the economic benefit of the combined use of upgrade and update service. The model can be used by management to determine their timelines and cost that will be incurred depending on their product and available resources.

scholarly journals Tropilaelaps of bees - epizootiological picture with special emphasis on the first description of the parasite in bumblebees and bees in Serbia

2014 ◽  
Vol 68 (5-6) ◽  
pp. 371-378
Author(s):  
Marija Manic ◽  
Bosiljka Djuricic ◽  
Z. Raicevic
Keyword(s):  
Royal Jelly ◽  
Economic Benefits ◽  
Acarapis Woodi ◽  
Real Risk ◽  
International Transport ◽  
Queen Bees ◽  
The Republic ◽  
Bee Disease ◽  
First Time ◽  
Bee Colonies

Honey bees are the most significant pollinators of plants worlwide. Importance of plant pollination widely exceeds all other economic benefits of modern beekeeping such as production of honey, Royal jelly, propolis, beeswax, honeybee venom etc. The issues concerning bees diseases are of extreme importance in modern commercial beekeeping. That especially regards to the fact that the number of disease agents in bees has considerably increased in recent decades. Using international transport, export or import of bees and their products, the possibility of entering various agents (parasites, bacterias, viruses and fungi) into bee colonies. In recent years one of the biggest problems in beekeeping in Asia has become tropilaelaps - ectoparasitic bee disease caused by mites of the genus Tropilaelaps. But because of prevalent interest in parasites Varroa destructor and Acarapis woodi, the threat of mites from Tropileaps family has not been familiar for a long period of time. Today, Tropilaelaps is on the list of diseases endangering the whole world, made by OIE. There is a real risk of its spreading, mostly through trade, that is import of bees, swarms, queen bees, bee products and equipment. In the Republic of Serbia, this disease was described for the first time in April-May 1981 in bumblebees and bees in which a mass infestation with until then unknown parasites was detected. By additional analysis there was found out that the parasite in question was from Laelapidae (Mesostigmata) family, Tropilaelaps.

Halton Based Initial Distribution in Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm and its Application in Software Effort Estimation

2012 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 86-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tarun Kumar Sharma ◽  
Millie Pant
Keyword(s):  
Optimization Algorithm ◽  
Artificial Bee Colony ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Initial Distribution ◽  
Benchmark Problems ◽  
Model Parameters ◽  
Random Numbers ◽  
Initial Population ◽  
Effort Estimation ◽  
Bee Colony

Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) is an optimization algorithm that simulates the foraging behavior of honey bees. It is a population based search technique whose performance depends largely on the distribution of initial population. Generally, uniform distributions are preferred since they best reflect the lack of knowledge about the optimum’s location. Moreover, these are easy to generate as most of the programming languages have an inbuilt function for generating uniformly distributed random numbers. However, in case of a population dependent optimization algorithm like that of ABC, random numbers having uniform probability distribution may not be a good choice as they may not be able exploit the search space fully. This paper uses quasi random numbers based on Halton sequence for the initial distribution and have compared the simulation results with initial population generated using uniform distribution. The proposed variant, termed as Halton based ABC (H-ABC), is validated on a set of 15 standard benchmark problems, 6 nontraditional shifted benchmark functions proposed at the special session of CEC2008, and has been used for solving the real life problem of estimating the cost model parameters. Numerical results indicate the competence of the proposed algorithm.

scholarly journals Hermetia illucens and Hermetia fenestrata (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) Colonization of “Spoiled” Stingless Bee Geniotrigona thoracica (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Hives in Malaysia

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (11) ◽  
pp. 737
Author(s):  
Tania Ivorra ◽  
Martin Hauser ◽  
Van Lun Low ◽  
Jeffery K. Tomberlin ◽  
Natasha Azmi Nur Aliah ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Stingless Bees ◽  
Adult Stage ◽  
Stingless Bee ◽  
Hermetia Illucens ◽  
Agricultural Industry ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
Morphological Differences ◽  
Bee Colonies

Meliponiculture, the keeping of domesticated stingless bees such as Geniotrigona thoracica (Smith, 1857) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), is an increasingly popular agricultural industry in Malaysia. This study reports the soldier fly (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) species of the genus Hermetia colonizing stingless bee colonies in Malaysia. The larvae were reared in the laboratory to the adult stage and identified through molecular and morphological approaches. Hermetia illucens (Linnaeus, 1758) and Hermetia fenestrata de Meijere, 1904 (Diptera: Stratiomyidae) were identified from the sample provided. Earlier records of stratiomyids in stingless bee nests were misidentified as H. illucens. This paper represents the first identified record of H. fenestrata colonizing a “spoiled” stingless bee colony. In addition, adult and larval morphological differences between both species and the roles of both species in bee nest decomposition are discussed.

Teaching Mathematics with Technology: Ratios

1988 ◽  
Vol 35 (8) ◽  
pp. 60-62
Author(s):  
Robert J. Jensen
Keyword(s):  
Model Building ◽  
Proportional Reasoning ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Meaningful Work ◽  
Teaching Mathematics ◽  
Critical Component ◽  
Measurement Systems ◽  
Map Reading ◽  
Reasoning Skills ◽  
Unit Pricing

Learning about ratios empowers children with a language and procedure for comparing relative quantities in an efficient way. Understanding ratios is also a necessary precursor to meaningful work with proportional reasoning. The fact that many adults do not reach the Piagetian level described as “formal thought” is often attributed to weaknesses in their proportional reasoning skills. Aside from justifying the study of ratios as a critical component of formal thought, the varied real-life applications for ratios (cooking, model building, map reading, converting among and between measurement systems, calculating odds, scale drawing, unit pricing, etc.) make this area particularly meaningful to students. This month's department suggests a series of ratio activities for children that make use of a computer to produce graphically collections of objects in a grid with variable dimensions.

Effect of Lactobacillus johnsonii CRL1647 on different parameters of honeybee colonies and bacterial populations of the bee gut

2015 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 687-695 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.C. Audisio ◽  
D.C. Sabaté ◽  
M.R. Benítez-Ahrendts
Keyword(s):  
Lactobacillus Johnsonii ◽  
Bacterial Populations ◽  
Honey Production ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
Enterococcus Spp ◽  
Colony Performance ◽  
Genus Lactobacillus ◽  
Bacillus Spp ◽  
Bee Colonies ◽  
Administration Schedules

Lactobacillus johnsonii CRL1647, isolated from the intestinal tract of a worker-bee in Salta, Argentina, was delivered to Apis mellifera L. honey bee colonies according to two different administration schedules: 1×105 cfu/ml every 15 days (2011) or monthly (2012). The effect of each treatment on the bee-colony performance was monitored by measuring honey production, and the prevalence of varroasis and nosemosis. Worker bees from each assay were randomly captured 3 days after administration and assayed for the following intestinal culturable and defined bacterial populations: total aerobic microorganisms, Bacillus spp. spores, Lactobacillus spp., Enterococcus spp. and enterobacteria. Interestingly, both treatments generated a similar increase in honey production in treated colonies compared to controls: 36.8% (every 15 days) and 36.3% (monthly). Nosema index always exhibited a reduction when lactobacilli were administered; in turn, Varroa incidence was lower when the lactobacilli were administered once a month. Moreover, the administration of L. johnsonii CRL1647 every 15 days produced an increase in the total number of aerobic microorganisms and in bacteria belonging to the genera Lactobacillus and Enterococcus; at the same time, a decrease was observed in the number of total spores at the end of the treatment. The number of enterobacteria was constant and remained below that of control hives at the end of the assay. On the other hand, the delivery of lactobacilli once a month only showed an increase in the number of bacteria belonging to the genus Lactobacillus; meanwhile, viable counts of the remaining microorganisms assayed were reduced. Even though it seems that both treatments were similar, those bee colonies that received L. johnsonii CRL1647 every 15 days became so strong that they swarmed.

scholarly journals Influence of Baikal EM1 preparation on the productive parameters of bee colonies (Apis mellifera L.) during spring and autumn feeding

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 241-246
Author(s):  
R. Shumkova ◽  
R. Balkanska
Keyword(s):  
Apis Mellifera ◽  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
Sugar Syrup ◽  
Worker Brood ◽  
Two Parameters ◽  
Bee Colonies ◽  
Experimental Group ◽  
Worker Bee

Abstract. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of Baikal EM1 on the productive parameters of the bee colonies (Apis mellifera L.) during spring and autumn feeding and the chemical composition of the worker bee bodies. Two groups of bee colonies were formed (1 experimental group and 1 control group). During the spring feeding the experimental group was fed with Baikal ЕМ1 at a dose of 5 ml/0.500 L added in the sugar syrup (sugar:water 1:1) for 4 consecutive days at the start of the experiment. Each bee colony received 5 L sugar syrup. During the autumn feeding the experimental group received Baikal ЕМ1 at a dose of 20 ml/10 L sugar syrup. Each bee colony received 10 L sugar syrup. The control group received only sugar syrup. The spring and autumn feeding of the group fed with Baikal EM1 significantly increases the strength of the bee colonies and the amount of the sealed worker brood compared to the control group. According to the results obtained for the strength of the bee colonies and the bee brood supplementary feeding with Baikal EM1 is very effective in the autumn feeding. For these two parameters there are significant differences between the experimental and control on 29.08. (p<0.01), 10.09. (p<0.05) and 22.09.2018 (p<0.01). Statistically significant differences were reported for the strength of the bee colonies (p<0.01) and the amount of sealed worker brood (p<0.001) in the experimental group receiving Baikal EM1 before wintering compared to the control group. It can be expected to reveal a tendency for better spring development in the next year. Feeding with Baikal EM1 does not affect the chemical composition of worker bee bodies.

scholarly journals Florida Beekeeping Management Calendar

EDIS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
James D. Ellis ◽  
Mary C. Bammer ◽  
William H. Kern Jr.
Keyword(s):  
Honey Bee ◽  
Plant Communities ◽  
South Florida ◽  
Floral Resources ◽  
North Central ◽  
Colony Management ◽  
Bee Colony ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Honey Bee Colony ◽  
Bee Colonies

Climate, plant communities, and timing of floral resources differ significantly across Florida, which means that management of European honey bee colonies in Florida differs as well. This 8-page fact sheet written by James D. Ellis, Mary C. Bammer, and William H. Kern and published by Department of Entomology and Nematology outlines a management calendar created for Florida beekeepers. It is specific to region (north, central, and south Florida) and month and includes recommendations for major management considerations like when to treat for parasites or pathogens and when to feed colonies or harvest honey. This management calendar, while not exhaustive, is a valuable reference or starting point for honey bee colony management in Florida. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in848

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