Abstract:
Beehive deterrents are commonly used to mitigate human–elephant conflict
and protect woody vegetation. To ensure hive activity, reduce abscondment
risks, and maintain deterrent effectiveness, resident bee colonies require
supplementary feeding during periods of low resource availability. However,
our study found that ants frequently consume the supplementary feed in open
feeders intended for bees. Anoplolepis custodiens was the most numerically
dominant species that excluded bees from the feeders, followed by Camponotus
and Crematogaster spp. With higher ant abundance, the predicted probability
of zero bees being present at feeders increased up to 82%. This competition
may undermine the efficacy of beehive deterrents as a conflict mitigation tool.
We developed a simple and effective ant exclusion method that raised the overall predicted probability of bees' presence at supplementary feeding stations
from 32% to 68%. Our findings suggest that innovative solutions to exclude ants
from supplementary feed may improve the implementation and success of this
conflict mitigation method across Africa.
