IMPACT OF CLIMATE CHANGE OF ATMOSPHERIC PRECIPITATIONS ON THE VITAL ACTIVITY OF BEES FAMILIES

Valentina Cebotari, I. Buzu

Abstract
    The prezent study aims to determine the correlation between the parameters of monthly atmospheric precipitation at different times of the year and the evolution of morpho-productive characters of bee families, thus elucidating the impact of the climate change on atmospheric precipitations on the vital activity of bee colonies Apis mellifera. The scientific researches were performed at the experimental apiary of the Institute of Zoology of the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, located in the Center area of Moldavian Codri. The obtained results have demonstrated that the precipitation in February of this year had a weak and directly negative influence on the wintering resistance of the bee families (r_xy= -0.468±0.276; t_r=1.70; P<0.1) and the precipitation from July last year - indirect influence (r_xy= -0.482±0.271; t_r=1.78; P<0.1). The queen bee prolificacy is significantly negatively and directly influenced by the atmospheric precipitation in May and June of this year (r_xy = -0.811 ± 0.121; t_r= 6.70; P <0.001) and indirectly positive by the annual volume of atmospheric precipitation from last year (r_xy= 0.525±0.256; t_r=2.05; P<0.05). The colony strength is negatively and directly influenced by the precipitations in April of this year (r_xy = -0.564 ± 0.241; t_r = 2.34; P <0.05) and indirectly positive by the atmospheric precipitation in December of the previous year (r_xy= 0.629±0.214; t_r=2.94; P<0.01). The disease resistance of bee families is influenced negatively and directly by the atmospheric precipitation in January of this year (r_xy = -0.712± 0.174; t_r = 4.09; P <0.001), negative and indirectly by July precipitation (r_xy= -0.642±0.208; t_r=3.09; P<0.01) and, positively and indirectly, by the precipitation from August of last year (r_xy = 0.660 ± 0.199; t_r = 3.32; P <0.001), as well as by the annual quantity of atmospheric precipitation from the previous year (r_xy= 0.621±0.215; t_r=2.89; P<0.01). The brood viability is influenced negatively and directly by the atmospheric precipitation in the months of January (r_xy = -0.557 ± 0.244; t_r = 2.28; P <0.05), February (r_xy = -0.573± 0.237; t_r = 2.42; P <0.05) and Mai (r_xy = -0.491 ± 0.268; t_r = 1.83; P <0.1) of current year, and positive and indirect by atmospheric precipitation in October (r_xy = 0.499 ± 0.265; t_r = 1.88; P <0.1) and November (r_xy = 0.648 ± 0.205; t_r = 3.16; P <0.01) of previous year. The production of honey, accumulated in the nest by the bee families, is negatively and directly influenced by the atmospheric precipitation from mounths of February (r_xy = -0.797 ± 0.128; t_r = 6.23; P <0.001), Mai (r_xy = -0.507 ± 0.262; t_r = 1.94; P <0.1) and June (r_xy = -0.507 ± 0.263; t_r= 1.93; P <0.1) of current year, and, positively and indirectly by atmospheric precipitation in September (r_xy = 0.732 ± 0.164; t_r = 4.46; P <0.001) and November (r_xy = 0.627 ± 0.214; t_r = 2.93; P <0.01) of the previous year.