Identification of major honeybee pests and predators’ andassociated risk factors: Emphasis to bee-eater birds (meropidae) in west Shewa zone of Oromia regional state, Ethiopia

摘要

Across-sectionalstudywasconductedtoidentifymajorhoneybeepestsandpredators#8217;,associatedriskfactorsandtoassesscommunityknowledgeonbeekeepingactivityfromSeptember2014toAugust2015inwestShewazoneofOromiaregionalstate.Inthisstudy,asemistructuredquestionnairesandorinterviewswereusedandatotalof168representativehouseholdswereparticipated.Sex,age,educationlevel,andpreviousbeekeepingexperienceofrespondentswereconsideredinstratifyingrespondentstominimizeconfounder.Season,hivetype;agro-ecologyandtimeinadaywerealsootherstudyvariables.Ourstudyresultindicatedbee-eaterbirds(meropidae),ants(dorylusfulvus),waxmoth(galleriamellonella),spider(misumenavatia)andhoneybadger(mellivoracapensis)werethemostsignificanthoneybeepetsandpredatorsamongothers,intheirdescendingorder.Specifically,49.4%oftherespondentsmentionedbee-eaterbirdsasthetopchallenginghoneybeepredatorwithrankindexof0.24inthearea.Phenotypictaxonomicclassificationofbee-eaterbirds(meropidae)wwasalsoconductedfromlivebirdscaughtandpicturesweretakenduringobservationalfieldstudy.Theeffectofpestsandpredatorshadvariationwithtimeinadayandamongseasons,wheretheseriousdamagingeffect63.79%and35.52%,werefoundatanytimeinadayandduringthewinter,respectively.Despiteallpestsandpredatorsconstraints,beekeeperswererecommendedtohavetrainingonhoneybeemarketingandmanagement.Furtherstudiesshouldalsobeconductedtoclearlyidentifysignificanthoneybeepestsandpredators#8217;inwestShewa.