BEEKEEPING AND BEE PRODUCTION

The course aims to provide adequate knowledge on the bioethological and environmental aspects of honey bees and solitary bees as well as those relating to beekeeping’s production and pollination of crops, in order to transfer the professionalism necessary for the management of issues related to beekeeping and environmental protection.

In detail, the course aims to provide students with adequate knowledge of morphology, biology, pests and diseases of honey bee as well as its role as a bioindicator. The student will acquire knowledge of the main beekeeping techniques, the laws that regulate beekeeping, as well as the role of the latter in the direct and indirect production of income and as an element of environmental protection and an indicator of the state of health of the territory. The training objectives include the acquisition of knowledge on wild bees and their role in the pollination of crops. At the end of the course, the student will acquire useful skills in the beekeeping sector.

The programme will be executed through lectures and practice in the laboratory; seminars and educational experiences in the field will be eventually used. The lectures will allow to acquire the necessary knowledge and the practical laboratory activities, seminars and field experiences will provide useful tools for acquiring skills.

Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the syllabus.

Elements of systematic and biology of Hymenoptera Apoidea.

Morphology, anatomy, biology, ethology of Apis mellifera.

Social organization of honeybee.

Pests and diseases of Apis mellifera.

Honey bee as bioindicator of the environmental quality.

Hives, beekeeping tools and practices of technical beekeeping.

Production, characteristics and use of the products of the hive.

Regulatory aspects concerning the apiculture.

The pollination service.

Nectar and pollen producing plants for beekeeping.

Qualitative and quantitative effects of insect pollination on the main crops and fruit trees.

Wild bees and their role in crop pollination.

Testo 1: Contessi A., Le api. Biologia, allevamento, prodotti. Edagricole, Bologna, 2018.

Testo 2: Carpana E., Lodesani M., Patologia e avversità dell'alveare. Editore Springer Verlag, 2014

Testo 3: Frilli F., Barbattini R., Milani N., L’ape: forme e funzioni. Edagricole, Bologna, 2001.

Testo 4: Bortolotti L., Marcazzan G. L., I prodotti dell'alveare. Edagricole, 2017

Testo 5: Grout R.A., L’ape e l’arnia. Edagricole, Bologna, 1981.

Testo 6: Gullan P.J., Cranston S., Lineamenti di Entomologia. Zanichelli editore Bologna.