Nutritional landscape of managed honey bee colonies in Mexico

Abstract

Honey bees play a critical role in pollination-dependent agriculture, and their colonies have been declining in various regions worldwide. Understanding the factors that influence colony health is essential. Pollen and nectar are primary sources of carbohydrates, micro-nutrients, and macro-nutrients necessary for bee survival. Floral diversity, abundance, and nutritional content significantly impact honey bee health. This study investigates how the diversity and structure of flowering plant communities, including landscape fragmentation, influence the nutritional availability reflected in the stored pollen within hives and its implications for the health of honey bees. Our study demonstrates that landscape diversity influences the protein-to-lipid ratio of pollen diets, specifically the protein-to-lipid ratio increases as the landscape diversity rises. This increase in protein-to-lipid ratio was also associated with the increased total bee density. Diverse pollen species in the diet enhance nutritional content, promoting healthier bees through resource complementarity. Bees exhibit adaptive foraging behavior, systematically diversifying their floral sources to optimize nutrient intake. The diversity in pollen reserves also correlates negatively with Varroa destructor prevalence, likely because the diversity of pollen enhances the nutrition and overall health of honey bee colonies. Our study emphasizes the value of biodiverse settings that offer a steady flow of floral supplies for the health and development of bee pollinator populations and their associated ecosystem services.