Adaptabilidade e produção de abelhas (Apis mellifera, Linnaeus, 1758) em colmeias construídas com materiais alternativos.

Abstract

Due to criteria of economic and environmental sustainability, new alternatives for the construction of hives are constantly tested, analyzing information related to cost, availability of materials, thermal comfort for bees and durability. Given this, the research aimed to analyze the physical, mechanical and thermal properties of concretes with different percentages of Styrofoam and expanded clay, in the manufacture of Langstroth hives, with a view to the adaptability and production of Apis mellifera bees. The research was conducted in two stages, the first in a completely randomized design, with five treatments (T1 - simple concrete bodies, T2 - lightweight concrete bodies with 50% styrofoam, T3 - bodies with 100% styrofoam, T4 - lightweight concrete bodies with 50% expanded clay, T5 - bodies with 100% expanded clay) and ten repetitions, in which resistance to simple compression, water absorption capacity, void indices, specific dry mass and saturated, real specific mass of specimens of different materials and their thermal conductivity. The second stage was conducted in a randomized block design, with the manufacture of Langstroth hives with five treatments from step 1 and six repetitions, where the adaptability and production of bees were analyzed. The replacement of gravel in concrete by Styrofoam and expanded clay reduced the resistance to axial compression and increased the water absorption capacity and void indices of the specimens. The thermal conductivities of the slabs showed a significant statistical effect (P<0.05), where slabs with simple concrete and light concrete with 50% expanded clay were higher, and the replacement of gravel in the concrete with styrofoam and expanded clay reduced the thermal conductivity in concrete plates. Queen bee was present in the hives and the size of the bee population does not depend on the type of concrete used in its construction. The hives built with light concrete, have a lower number of frames with bees and, the hives with simple concrete interfered negatively in the production of honey.