Comparative study of the performance of africanized bees managed in thermal stress and thermal comfort in a semiarid region.

Résumé

 In most of the Brazilian Semiarid region, the climate with high temperatures, low rainfall, and high levels of solar radiation are considered factors that can harm or compromise the thermal comfort of bees, especially if they are in a non-shaded environment, thus generating many losses and growth difficulties in the sector. This study aimed to compare the performance of Africanized bee colonies subjected to two distinct situations: thermal comfort and thermal stress. For this, standardized hives containing sister queens of the same age were monitored every 15 days to survey the combs regarding the areas occupied with pollen, honey, laying, open and closed brood until the queens died. Hives under thermal comfort conditions had a larger area of capped brood (20.66 ± 3.81%), significantly higher (p = 0.0106) than hives under thermal stress (15.76 ± 2.62%). In addition, the lifespan of queens managed under thermal comfort was longer (244 ± 71 days) than that of queens under thermal stress (193 ± 63 days), although we did not find a statistically significant difference. It can be concluded that the development of the colonies when they are in thermal comfort presents better performance, especially with regard to the growth of the brood area. Therefore, it is important to apply shading to hives in beekeeping in regions with hot and dry climates.