Correlations between land covers and honey bee colony losses in a country with industrialized and rural regions

Abstract

High levels of honey bee colony losses were recently reported from Canada, China, Europe, Israel, Turkey and the United States, raising concerns of a global pollinator decline and questioning current land use practices, in particular intense agricultural cropping systems. Sixty-seven crops (data from the years 2010-2012) and 66 mid-term stable land cover classes (data from 2007) were analysed for statistical relationships with the honey bee colony losses experienced over the winters 2010/11-2012/13 in Luxembourg (Western Europe). The area covered by each land cover class, the shortest distance between each land cover class and the respective apiary, the number of plots covered by each land use class and the size of the biggest plot of each land cover class within radii of 2 km and 5 km around 166 apiaries (2010), 184 apiaries (2011) and 188 apiaries (2012) were tested for correlations with honey bee colony losses (% per apiary) experienced in the winter following the season when the crops were grown. Artificial water bodies, open urban areas, large industrial facilities including heavy industry, railways and associated installations, buildings and installations with socio-cultural purpose, camping-, sports-, playgrounds, golf courts, oilseed crops other than oilseed rape like sunflower or linseed, some spring cereals and former forest clearcuts or windthrows were the land cover classes most frequently associated with high honey bee colony losses. Grain maize, mixed forest and mixed coniferous forest were the land cover classes most frequently associated with low honey bee colony losses. The present data suggest that land covers related to transport, industry and leisure may have made a more substantial contribution to winter honey bee colony losses in developed countries than anticipated so far. Recommendations for the positioning of apiaries are discussed.

Keywords: Apiculture; Ecosystem service; Honey bee health; Land use; Landscape management; Pollination.