Beekeepers perception of risks affecting colony loss: A pilot survey

[en] Understanding amateur beekeepers’ perception of risks affecting bee health and mortality is essential to analyse the reasons for adopting or rejecting good management practices. A perception survey on how beekeepers perceive and manage factors related to climate change, Varroa infestation, management practices, and pesticide exposure was designed and launched online. This unpreceded sociological survey involved 355 beekeepers spread all over Belgium. A two-sample t test with unequal variances comparing beekeepers with colony loss rates below or exceeding the acceptable level, that is <10% and ≥10%, indicates that beekeepers (N = 213) with colony loss rates <10% generally have greater average levels of perceived risks and the benefits of action that lead to increased motivation to act in better ways. The results of this survey highlight the importance of looking beyond socio-economic determinants in any risk mitigation strategy associated with bee mortality when dealing with amateur beekeepers. © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH

Disciplines :

Veterinary medicine & animal health

Author, co-author :

El Agrebi, Noémie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires (DMI) > Epidémiologie et analyse des risques appl. aux sc. vétér.

Steinhauer, N.; Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States

Renault, Véronique ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires (DMI) > Epidémiologie et analyse des risques appl. aux sc. vétér.

de Graaf, D. C.; Faculty of Sciences, Honeybee Valley, Ghent University (UGent), Krijgslaan, Ghent, Belgium, Faculty of Sciences, Laboratory of Molecular Entomology and Bee Pathology, Ghent University (UGent), Ghent, Belgium

Saegerman, Claude ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires (DMI) > Epidémiologie et analyse des risques appl. aux sc. vétér.

Language :

English

Title :

Beekeepers perception of risks affecting colony loss: A pilot survey

Publication date :

2021

Journal title :

Transboundary and Emerging Diseases

ISSN :

1865-1674

eISSN :

1865-1682

Publisher :

Wiley, Berlin, Germany

Peer reviewed :

Peer Reviewed verified by ORBi

Funders :

FOD Volksgezondheid, Veiligheid van de Voedselketen en Leefmilieu: RF 15/6300

Available on ORBi :

since 23 March 2021

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