This page provides an overview of current and completed research projects addressing honey bee health, pesticide exposure, and colony development under field-realistic conditions in agricultural landscapes.
FInAL – Facilitating Insects in Agricultural Landscapes
Project duration: ongoing
In the FInAL project, we monitor honey bee colonies in real agricultural landscapes (“Landschaftslabore”) to assess how insect-promoting measures shape forage availability, pesticide exposure, and colony development across the season. Using standardized colonies and harmonized protocols, we track hive weight and local weather, and we sample stored pollen (bee bread) and nectar/honey monthly to identify botanical origin and analyse residues of plant protection products (PPPs) and biocides. Liebefeld estimates at overwintering and spring build-up, together with health screenings (e.g. Nosema), provide colony-level context, while RFID tracking of marked workers adds individual-level insights under field conditions.
To broaden the picture, commercial Bombus terrestris colonies are deployed alongside our apiaries during key months, allowing comparison of resource use between bumble bees and honey bees and refining assessments of landscape suitability for pollinators.
Our aim within FInAL is to translate high-frequency monitoring into practical guidance for insect-friendly farming by identifying forage gaps, quantifying pesticide exposure pathways, and linking these to honey bee colony performance and health.
NutriBee – Interaction of Abiotic Stressors, Including Food Limitation, on Bee Health and Colony Development in the Field
Project duration: 05/2021 – 12/2024 (completed)
In the NutriBee project, we studied freshly established honey bee colonies during their most vulnerable initial growth phase to quantify how nutritional limitation, pesticide exposure, and their interaction affect colony development. In a nationally replicated field trial, we compared the performance of young honey bee colonies under defined stress scenarios with that of adult colonies, at both individual and colony levels. Key determinants of honey bee health were evaluated using established biomarker candidates.
To improve assessment of bee nutrition quality, a regional and national database was established to characterise the nutritional status of different areas and define quality parameters. This work was supported by a new high-throughput pollen analysis method validated with artificial intelligence (AI) to improve precision and speed.
A further component of NutriBee investigated exposure pathways and within-colony distribution of plant protection products (PPPs), including larval forage such as royal jelly, worker jelly, and drone jelly, to better understand internal exposure dynamics.
VIBEE – Establishing Digital Indicators of Bee Vitality in Agricultural Landscapes
Project duration: 03/2020 – 09/2023 (completed)
Within the VIBEE project, we worked with the BeeCheck system, an electronic measuring device using capacitive sensors to count incoming and outgoing honey bees at the hive entrance over long periods. The technology and software were developed in a three-year DBU project by Gero Messsysteme in cooperation with the Institute for Bee Protection and validated under field conditions, including phases of very strong flight activity.
Validation showed only minor deviations from results obtained by video recording and manual counting. This enabled new research on honey bee behaviour and stressor effects, including pesticide-related endpoints such as homing and foraging-related flight activity, while also providing practical value for beekeeping and colony management.
The digital bee colony concept developed within VIBEE integrated flight activity with influencing factors such as weather and colony weight. Combined with landscape analysis, this allowed links to be drawn between forage availability, food quality, and honey bee colony performance, and supported predictive modelling relevant to monitoring and pesticide risk assessment.