Effect of the internal size of the hive on brood, honey, and pollen production in Apis mellifera colonies in the central Mexican plateau

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze the effect of the internal size on the strength (brood area) and productivity (honey and pollen areas) of the honeybee hives during the winter season in a semiarid region of the central Mexican plateau. Four Jumbo hive frames (45 x 28 cm) were used inside brood chambers with three internal sizes (52.2, 42.3, and 23.9 L), each chamber contained the same number of honeybees. Simultaneously, it was recorded the temperature inside the hives to determine if the brood chamber temperatures varied with the volume. The Jumbo hive, which is the largest hive, is the most used in the central Mexican plateau and showed the lowest strength and productivity values, as well as the lowest internal temperature. These results show that Jumbo hives can decrease the honey and pollen productivity for the central Mexican plateau beekeepers, which is why it is necessary to implement a practice or mechanism that allows maintaining strong beehives for the spring harvest.