What is Hive Depopulation Syndrome (HDS)?

Hive Depopulation Syndrome is defined as the abrupt and sudden death of bee colonies. More precisely, SSA occurs when the majority of worker bees abandon the hive, leaving behind the queen and a few attendants and abundant food supplies. The first reported case of SSA was in the autumn of 2006, when it was reported by a beekeeper in Pennsylvania (USA) who was overwintering his bees in Florida. In February 2007, numerous other cases occurred, affecting many nomadic beekeepers, some of whom lost as many as 50-90% of their hives. In the same year, cases of SSA were also reported among sedentary beekeepers in the USA, but also in Canada, Portugal, Italy, Spain, Greece, Germany, Poland, France and Switzerland, there was a consistent death of bees attributable to this phenomenon. It also seems to affect only one species of bee, namely Apis Mellifera.

What occurred in 2006 was very different from previous cases of bee mortality and that is why it aroused such great interest. Hive Collapse Disorder has particular telltale signs that make it easy to detect: rapid loss of most of the worker bees; presence of an abundant brood; presence of the queen; abundance of food stocks (both honey and pollen); the stocks are not immediately stolen by other bees and attack by other insects is considerably delayed; notable lack of dead worker bees both outside and inside the hive.All these are characteristic signs. Normally, bees never leave a hive in which there is an abundant brood still to be reared and fed. Moreover, if the queen were not present, the death of the colony would be attributable to other causes.

This phenomenon obviously stimulated new research to find out what the underlying causes were. The US Department of Agriculture immediately took action to try to stem this crisis situation by embarking on various avenues of investigation. Numerous causes were highlighted, including: chemical contamination of the bees' wax and feed, poisoning by pesticides (including the notorious neonicotinoids), possible lack of genetic diversity in the colonies, infections due to pathogens or parasites, such as the Varroa Destructor mite, Nosema ceranae and Nosema Apis. In addition, new or emerging diseases have also been mentioned as possible reasons for SSA, including the Israeli Acute Paralysis virus. Various stress factors such as various hive management practices have also been called into question.

The phenomenon of beehive depopulation has fortunately been significantly reduced over the past few years, although it has not yet completely disappeared. According to the data collected, the number of hives lost during the winter has averaged 28.7% since 2006-2007, while this percentage has dropped to 23.1% since 2014-2015. Despite the fact that winter deaths are still very high, those attributable to SSA have fallen from 60% in 2008 to 31.1% in 2013, while since 2015 it is no longer mentioned as the primary factor causing winter swarm mortality. The data are encouraging, even if depopulation syndrome is not yet a phenomenon to be considered archived.

One of the goals of 3Bee is to enable the beekeeper to intervene before certain phenomena occur. Sensors installed inside the hive can be used to monitor the colony's vital parameters and understand whether the bees are healthy or not. Hive-Tech is also designed as a system to prevent diseases and illnesses that lead to swarm death. Curious to find out more? Visit our website.