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Bee pathology

There are numerous pests, pathogens and predators which affect the health of honey bee colonies and further may cause economic loss. Therefore, it is important for beekeepers to know about existing threats and how to treat a possible infestation. In the following chapter, an assessment on honey bee health status, major pests and predators and local treatment methods was conducted. Summarized, there is a wide variety of pests a pathogens that affect honey bee health in Ethiopia and Indonesia. They range from viruses, protozoa, bacteria, fungi and insecta to mites and mammals. In general, the research indicated that beekeepers in both countries underestimate the risk of honey bee diseases and that treatment methods, that are commonly used in the western world are unknown in Ethiopia and Indonesia. It is necessary to work on education dissemination to enlarge the understanding of honey bee biology and further increase the income.

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Possibilities for smart bee management

To assess the status of a honey bee colony, the beekeeper needs to visually inspect the inside of the hive. This procedure is time consuming and may stress the colony. The active monitoring and remote sensing by appropriate ICT solutions may be a useful tool to support the management of honey bee health, colony development and even the bee productivity.

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Knowledge gaps

Wiki site for SAMS project.

Consult the User's Guide for information on using the wiki software.

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