DOI: 10.1594/pangaea.872356
title: The conflict of survival of Bee-eaters and of honey bees

description: Bee-eater birds (Merops apiaster) appear and remain in Cyprus for 15 days in spring and 30-40 days in autumn. During spring, their presence is almost unnoticed, but during autumn, their excessive concentrations cause damages to bee colonies and severe losses to beekeepers. Bees remain in their hives and no forage activity is documented in the whole apiary. The causes of confinement of bees into their hives remain unclear. The singing of the birds and their appearance are not the reason of the confinement of the bees. As a result of the restriction of the bees into their hives, we observed diminished queen laying, decrease of the brood and a shrink of the adult population. The internal temperature of the hive increases by 2-4°C due to the lack of the water and to the tension (stress) of the "captive" bees. The colonies cannot rear brood during fall and enter into winter with old and starving bees. Due to this, 20% of the wintering bee colonies die every year. The so-far proposed solutions to prevent bee-eaters from apiaries, such as the use of tapes, color balloons, CDs that diffract the light, recording voices of hawks and falcons, alarm cries of bee-eaters and gun shootings were tested and found ineffective to protect bees. To ensure the harmonious coexistence of birds with bees and to maintain the contribution of bees to pollination, the Ministry of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment of Cyprus supports financially the beekeepers and in turn through Cyprus Rural Development Program 2014-2020, the beekeepers undertook commitments to pursue methods that benefit of bees and the protection of the birds.
description: For the reasearch, three areas were chosen which were located at the district of Paphos, in southwest of Cyprus.Study area A was located at Marathounta Paphos, Cyprus (34° 46' 53.1408''N, 32° 29' 51.6048''E), where 120 bee colonies were situated. The area was on top of a hill, with low shrubs. Orchard crops and high trees were not present and bee-eaters could easily be located and counted. The electricity wires were 50 meters from the apiary. A second apiary of 85 bee colonies was located 300 meters far away from area A.Study area B was located on a hillside in Tsada Paphos, Cyprus (34° 50' 15.3384''N, 32° 28' 30.1044''E) and has 200 bee colonies. It is an agricultural area with vineyards, individual trees and small shrubs. Electricity wires passed alongside the edge of the apiary. A second apiary consisting of 35 bee colonies was situated 200 meters from area B.Study area C was located at Acheleia Paphos, Cyprus (34° 43' 43.8672''N, 32° 28' 30.1044''E), with 156 bee colonies. It was an agricultural area with citrus and annual cereals and characterized by dense grow of cypresses trees around the apiary. Electricity wires passed along the periphery of the apiary.
description: Supplement to: Georgios, Goras; Chrysoula, Tananaki; Liolios, Vasileios; Kanelis, Dimitrios; Christakis, Tofaris; Epaminontas, Giannouris; Nikolia, Argena; Sofia, Gounari; Rodopoulou, Marianna; Andreas, Thrasyvoulou (2023): The conflict between avian predators and domestic honey bees: a case study of European bee-eater ( Merops apiaster L.) preying on the honey bee ( Apis mellifera L.) in Cyprus. Journal of Apicultural Research, 62(5), 1115-1122