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- MakaleAçık Erişim2026Scopus SJRQ4Climate-driven synchronization of honey bee flight activity and plant phenology in Türkiye: development of a Beekeeping Climate Suitability Index (BCSI)
Erdoğan, Yaşar; Erdoğan, Ümmügülsüm
Honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) provide essential pollination services that depend on the temporal synchronization between flight activity and plant flowering phenology, both strongly influenced by climatic conditions. However, this relationship remains insufficiently quantified at large spatial and temporal scales. In this study, we quantified climate-driven honey bee flight activity and its alignment with flowering phenology of major nectar plants in Türkiye using ERA5-Land data for the period 1981–2023. Suitable flight days were defined based on temperature (≥12°C) and precipitation (0 mm), and seasonal suitability was evaluated at a monthly scale. A composite Beekeeping Climate Suitability Index (BCSI) was developed by integrating flight activity, flowering overlap and nectar flow window. The number of suitable flight periods ranged between 4 and 7 months (mean ≈5.5), indicating substantial interannual variability. Flight flowering synchrony was low for early-spring species (23–35%) but reached 100% for summer species. BCSI values ranged from 0.44 to 1.00, capturing variability in climatic suitability for beekeeping. These findings demonstrate that climatic variability plays a decisive role in shaping bee plant interactions and provide a quantitative basis for climate-informed beekeeping management.
- MakaleAçık Erişim2026Scopus SJRQ1Chemical composition acaricidal activity and honeybee safety of essential oils from Origanum acutidens, Satureja hortensis, and Juniperus communis against Varroa destructor
Erdoğan, Yaşar
Varroa destructor is a destructive ectoparasite of honeybees (Apis mellifera). This study investigates the chemical composition and bioactivity of essential oils obtained from three medicinal plants (Origanum acutidens, Satureja hortensis, and Juniperus communis). The chemical components of the essential oils were determined by Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS). These oils were evaluated for their acaricidal, repellent, and insecticidal activities against V. destructor, as well as their lethal effects against honeybee larvae. The results revealed that the essential oils of O. acutidens (LC50: 2.18, LC90: 6.07 µL/L) and S. hortensis (LC50: 1.79, LC90: 5.77 µL/L) exhibited strong acaricidal effects, while those of J. communis (LC50: 3.75, LC90: 4.16 µL/L) exhibited moderate activity. S. hortensis showed the highest repellent effect against V. destructor (ED50: 0.44, ED90: 1.25 µL/L), followed by O. acutidens (ED50: 0.58, ED90: 4.22 µL/L) and J. communis (ED50: 0.87, ED90: 46.3 µL/L). Furthermore, the larval mortality rates remained below 5% in all treatments, indicating negligible toxicity to honeybee larvae. Overall, this study highlights for the first time the comparative acaricidal and repellent efficacy of these three essential oils under identical experimental conditions, emphasising their potential as natural and environmentally friendly alternatives for controlling V. destructor. Further research is needed to optimise application methods and evaluate long-term effects under field conditions.
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İncele - MakaleAçık Erişim2026Scopus SJRQ1Dietary chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) supplementation improves colony development, nutritional status, antioxidant defences, and honey production in honey bee colonies
Erdoğan, Yaşar; Erdoğan, Ümmügülsüm
This study evaluated the effects of chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa) fruit powder as a functional dietary supplement for honey bee (Apis mellifera) colonies, focusing on colony development, antioxidant defences, nutritional status, behaviour, and honey yield under field conditions. A total of 48 colonies were randomly assigned to four feeding treatments (control, 2, 5, and 10 g L−1 chokeberry supplementation), with six colonies per treatment in each apiary (n = 6 per apiary; n = 12 per treatment). The experiment was conducted as a balanced field trial across two apiaries. Colonies were fed sucrose syrup supplemented with chokeberry powder for 21 days. Following the feeding period, colonies were transferred to two high-altitude summer apiaries where colony development, flight activity, defensive behaviour, antioxidant biomarkers, and end-of-season honey yield were evaluated. Results demonstrated that chokeberry supplementation significantly improved colony development, with significant dose effects on brood area and bee-covered frames (both p < 0.001). Flight activity also increased with supplementation dose (p < 0.001), whereas defensive behaviour was not affected. Total antioxidant capacity (TAC), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) activity, and haemolymph total protein concentration all increased significantly with supplementation (all p < 0.001). End-of-season honey yield was significantly higher in supplemented colonies than in the control group (p < 0.001). Overall, these findings demonstrate that chokeberry fruit powder represents a promising functional dietary supplement capable of improving colony performance through the combined contribution of its nutritional composition and bioactive phytochemicals under practical field conditions.