Influence of seasonal weather variables and habitat type on numbers of colonies of the giant honey bee in Nepal

We evaluated the influence of weather variables and habitat type on number of nests of the giant honey bee, Apis dorsata in Nepal. From 2011 to 2014, we counted the colonies settled on water towers in six localities each month. The relationship between the number of colonies and average temperature, relative humidity, and precipitation was evaluated with a generalized additive mixed model. Additionally, nest quantity in two types of habitats (peri-urban vs. rural) was compared using a generalized linear mixed model. Furthermore, we investigated the spatial dependence of the number of A. dorsata colonies by performing an analysis of spatial autocorrelation. We found that all three weather variables were correlated with the annual numbers of giant honey bee colonies. The peak in colony numbers coincided with relatively low precipitation and low temperatures, whereas in autumn when both average temperature and precipitation were relatively high, almost no colonies were found. Relative humidity was high throughout the period. Our data indicate that the occupation of water towers as nesting sites in peri-urban areas is greater than in rural areas. Finally, we did not find a spatial autocorrelation in the number of A. dorsata colonies. Shifts in weather variables over time may assist people to predict the arrival and departure of colonies. Water towers may support a great number of colonies, and they are conspicuous and easily surveyed. Therefore, they play an important role in periodic monitoring as well as in conservation of A. dorsata populations in urbanized areas of Nepal.