Artificial hives in Duke Forest will serve as long-term study sites on feral honey bees in the Piedmont.

Durham, NC - Among oaks in an old hardwood stand in the Duke Forest, a bee finds a new home: an artificial hive set up by researchers to study these hardworking insects. Deborah Delaney, a postdoctoral fellow at North Carolina State University and recipient of an USDA grant, has established these hives to learn more about the feral populations in the state.

Honey bees are frequently in the news, as declining trends in wild and managed populations have left researchers and beekeepers searching for an answer. The importance of these pollinators is unmatched; honey bees play a major role in the pollination of many plants, including species that are the backbone of human and animal food sources. Honey bees have been hard hit, from loss of habitat to air pollution, but one of the biggest threats has come from a parasitic brood mite, a type of arachnid related to ticks. Called varroa, this mite targets the early stages of the drones, matures and then feeds off of the bees, leaving them prone to infection. First reported in North Carolina in the 1980s, this tiny mite's spread has contributed to the decline of honey bees. Unfortunately in some areas, the decline of the native honey bee has allowed for the non-native and aggressive Africanized honey bee to move into the vacated habitats.

Ninety hives were established throughout Natural Heritage areas in the Duke Forest and feral honey bees currently occupy 2 hives. This number is expected to increase in the coming years. The interior location of the occupied hives is encouraging, says Delaney, and illustrates that there are indeed honey bees in the Duke Forest.

Through this research, Delaney will be able to determine if the feral honey bees are declining further in number, or if they are bouncing back. Using the artificial hives in the Forest, Delaney will take samples of the bees to study their genetics back in the lab, which she notes as a "crucial step toward determining the extent of genetic loss that these populations have experienced" after the introduction of varroa. It also allows for comparison between wild and managed honey bees, the latter of which are more susceptible to disease because of selective breeding.

Currently funded for 2 years, the hives in the Duke Forest will be maintained as long-term study sites. This project is in conjunction with a state-wide mapping program initiated by Delaney, colleagues at N.C. State and concerned beekeepers. Through the Save The Hives project, the general public is encouraged to report honey bee hives through a simple online submission.

For more on the Save The Hives project, click here.