Apis cerana Honey Production and Colony Behavior: A Study on Hive Material Variations

The native honeybee, Apis cerana, plays a critical role in maintaining ecological balance and supporting livelihoods in Azad Jammu and Kashmir Pakistan. A. cerana is regarded as an excellent crop pollinator for a large variety of fruit and vegetable crops. In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, local beekeepers maintain A. cerana colonies as a source of honey production and livelihood of the rural area communities directly or indirectly related to the beekeeping of this native honeybee species. Local beekeepers are using different types of hive materials for the traditional beekeeping of this species in the Azad Kashmir region of Pakistan. The selection of suitable hive material for enhancing honey quality and production is urgently needed for this region. This study was designed to explore the impact of different types of hive materials on A. cerana honey production and colony behaviour. Different hive materials such as wooden rectangular hives, concrete brick hives, mud hives, and wood log hives were studied for honey production (kg) and colony behaviour including the number of forager bees, number of combs, size of combs (inches), number of swarms, and number of queens produced in each hive. The results of this study show that the wooden rectangular hive was found to be significantly effective for A. cerana colonies with maximum honey production (11.98 ± 0.115), number of queens (4.60 ± 0.509), number of swarms (4.20 ± 0.374), and number of combs (10.40 ± 0.0509). While the wood log hive was found least effective with minimum honey production (5.28 ± 0.0159), in the case of bee trafficking, the wooden rectangular hive was also recorded with maximum outgoing and incoming bees. The wooden rectangular hive was also recorded with the maximum number of combs with large comb sizes. This study will contribute to developing sustainable beekeeping practices by optimizing hive designs for enhanced honey production and colony health. The findings may also inform global apiculture strategies, benefiting both local and commercial beekeepers.