Natural Bee Space and Comb Cell Dimensions of Honey Bee Colonies in Mwinkantsi Village, Babati District, Tanzania

The use of improved beehives in beekeeping is emphasized to facilitate easier colony manipulations. The improved beehives used in Tanzania are either imported or manufactured locally by adopting dimensions for European honey bees. However, the dimensions adopted are faulty to the dimensions of local honey bees, leading to cross-combing problems which hinder realization of the expected management advantages. This study assessed the characteristic natural bee space and comb cell dimensions of honey bee colonies occupied the traditional split log hives in Mwinkantsi village, Babati district. Results showed that honey bee colonies in Mwinkantsi village exhibited an overall bee space of 11.82 ± 0.36 mm, larger than a range of 7.5 ± 1.5 mm bee space reported for European honey bees. The colonies also exhibited 22.21 ± 0.62 mm overall average comb thickness, 12.01 ± 0.57 mm comb cell depth, and 5.05 ± 0.46 mm comb cell width. Moreover, both bee space and cell dimensions showed significant variations influenced by comb type. These findings add to the body of knowledge and suggest extensive agroecological investigations on natural characteristic dimensions of local honey bee colonies in Tanzania. This will inform the construction of improved hives that suit local honey bee colonies. Keywords: Honey bees; Bee space; Comb thickness; Cell dimensions; Tanzania.