Research project on field data collection for honey bee colony model evaluation – datasets

Description of the datasets

The file 00_MUSTB_field_data_model.docx contains the data model according to which the data collected in the context of the MUSTB field data collection were reported to EFSA. The current data model description includes some modifications with respect to the specifications published before the beginning of the project (EFSA, 2017, https://doi.org/10.2903/sp.efsa.2017.EN-1234). All the tables included in the data model are published here in csv format. The underlying schemas are also published in xsd format.

Sites: General information about the sites where the data collection took place;

Polygons: General information about the polygons where the botanical survey took place.

Table I: Pesticide application, reporting data on experimental spraying events;

Table II: Resource providing unit and landscape fitness, reporting data on abundance of flowering plants in polygons mostly within 1.5 km, but in some cases up to 3 km of the experimental colony;

Table III: Master list of all hives included in the study;

Table IV: Colony management, reporting the log of the beekeeper regarding input (if material was added to the hive: e.g. empty frames, chemicals for varroa treatment, sugar), output (if material was removed from the hive, e.g. honey combs, supers), queen loss, swarming, or clinical signs observed in the experimental hives;

Table V: Hive inspection, reporting data on in-hive measurements in the experimental colonies. This table contained several types of data, including:

• Data on brood development and food provision (“cell utilization”) obtained from image analysis of combs;
• Data on forager activity obtained from automatic video recordings and image analysis by a bee counter;
• Data on hive weight obtained from automatic logging by a hive scale;
• Data on adult bee strength, obtained by weight assessment of combs with and without adult bees (“bees per comb data”);

Table VI: SSD2, reporting data on results of laboratory analyses of pollen, pesticide residues and parasites/pathogens. These four types of laboratory analyses involved different methods, and were reported according to different standards. Therefore, a number of the fields in the technical specifications for the SSD2 table (EFSA, 2017) were not applicable for records reporting results of some analyses, in particular palynological, parasite and pathogen analyses. These fields were left empty;

Table VII: Colony observation, reporting observations of honey bee waggle dances from observation hives. Orientation denotes the angle of the waggling phase relative to the vertical axis on the comb. Direction denotes the actual direction in the landscape, as calculated from the orientation of the waggle dance.

In all the csv files, columns with the suffix "_desc" have been included, wh