Negative effects of excessive heat on colony thermoregulation and population dynamics in honey bees

Insect pollinators, including honey bees (Apis mellifera), are essential for agriculture and terrestrial ecosystem function, yet their responses to warming conditions and heat waves remain poorly understood. Honey bees have well-documented mechanisms to cope with heat exposure that could help them adapt to extreme heat. However, there have been no studies to date that have assessed how natural heat waves affect the capacity of honey bee colonies to thermoregulate and grow. To test the hypothesis that excessive heat impairs honey bee colony growth by exceeding the thermoregulatory capacity, we studied how variation in summer temperatures affected hive temperature regulation and colony growth during a desert summer in which maximal shaded air temperatures intermittently exceeded 40°C. We monitored the growth of nine colonies biweekly for three months and recorded temperatures at the center and edge frames of the brood nest, as well as on combs at the outer edge of the hive body.  Ave..., Colony establishment and maintenance
From May to August 2022, nine colonies of Apis mellifera ligustica were monitored at the Arizona State University Polytechnic campus. Before the experiment commenced, each colony was provided with a new queen (in April 2022), sourced from Pendell Apiaries Inc. in Stonyford, CA (39.376956, -122.558801). Initial colony sizes varied from 3,000 to 13,000 bees, with four double-box hives and five single-box hives.
Colony population assessments
The response of the colonies to climatic conditions was monitored through regular assessments of their growth and development.  We inspected every hive biweekly to estimate the number of adult worker bees and brood levels across all life stages from May 18th, 2022, to August 22nd, 2022. We took two sets of photographs of each side of every frame using a Canon® EOS Rebel T5 camera. The first set, taken with adult bees still on the frame, was analyzed using ImageJ (National Institutes of Health) to estimate the n..., # Negative effects of excessive heat on colony thermoregulation and population dynamics in honey bees

Dataset DOI: [10.5061/dryad.5tb2rbpg5](10.5061/dryad.5tb2rbpg5)

## Description of the data and file structure

This study examined the impact of extreme summer temperatures on honey bee colony thermoregulation and population dynamics.

**1. Overview**

This collection of datasets was compiled to investigate how excessive heat exposures influence honey bee colony population dynamics. The data includes in-hive temperature records, shaded air temperature data, and demographic assessments of colonies.

**2. Data Sources**

• In-hive temperature data were recorded using loggers at various locations within the hive, including the Brood Center (BC), Brood Edge (BE), and Outer Edge (OE).

• Shaded air temperature data were obtained from the nearby airport’s temperature recordings.

• Demographic data were collected biweekly and included the populations of adults, pupae, larvae, and eggs.

**3...,