DOI: https://doi.org/10.5513/JCEA01/27.1.4790

2026, 27 (1)   p. 89-101

Tatjana TUŠEK, Elena MIHALIĆ, Damir ALAGIĆ, Marijana VRBANČIĆ IGRIĆ, Miomir STOJNOVIĆ, Goran MIKEC, Marija JAKUŠ HRESTAK

Abstract

The paper examines climate variations in three climatic regions of the Republic of Croatia and their impact on bee colonies, monitored in the period from 2019 to 2023. The research was conducted in five regions of the Republic of Croatia. One city was selected from each region to be the centre of the research. The selected regions are: Central Croatia (Križevci), Eastern Croatia (Osijek), Highlands (Gospić), Northern Croatian Littoral (Pula), Southern Croatian Littoral (Split). By monitoring the average annual dry-bulb temperatures, precipitation amounts, the number of clear days and the number of days with precipitation over the past five years in the Republic of Croatia, insight was gained into year-to-year climatic changes, including increasingly frequent dry periods, milder winters, and warmer summers. All of this ultimately has a negative impact on bee colonies, which is primarily reflected in reduced honey yields, weaker bee colonies, weaker bee resistance to diseases, a changed flowering calendar of honey plants, more difficult adaptation of conventional beekeeping technology to the newly created climate conditions, and the increasingly frequent occurrence of extreme weather that destroy honey plants (the main bee pasture). We cannot influence extreme weather, but we can respond in a timely manner if we include new digital technologies to predict critical situations and make decisions to avoid them. Therefore, the education of beekeepers in the application of new digital technologies could result in timely decisions to avoid the negative impact of climate variation on the activity of bees in and outside the hives.

Keywords

climate variation, bee colonies, honey plants, digital technologies

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