Improving conservation of endangered birds by the use of an integrated pest management scheme to protect nest cavities from invasive Africanized honey bees

The introduction of the invasive Africanized honey bees (Apis mellifera scutellata) into the Neotropics is a serious problem for many cavity nesting birds, specifically parrots. These invasive bee swarms reproduce by fission, with swarms of bees moving away from natal colonies to form new hives within cavities.  These swarms select cavities, natural and artificial, that are also suitable nest sites for cavity nesting parrots.  This competition results in birds being unable to establish nests for lack of suitable cavities.  When cavities containing established parrot nests are usurped by bees, nestlings are stung to death or starve when their parents cannot access the nests to feed them. 

There is no consensus on a protocol for managing honey bee usurpation of nesting cavities, but current practices include the use of repeated, high doses of permethrin or carbaryl to kill the bees or manually removing swarms multiple times a week and closing up nests immediately after breeding season.  These methods are unsustainable due to the labor involved and the repeated exposure of eggs and nestlings to pesticide.  Development of a protocol for integrated pest management (IPM) is essential to reduce the incidence of honey bee habitation in potential nest cavities of birds to improve conservation efforts.  The application of a push-pull, IPM protocol that will deter bees residing in nest cavities treated with permethrin, while simultaneously attracting them to pheromone-baited swarm traps could reduce honey bee usurpation in nest cavities while decreasing the amount of toxin applied and reducing the ecological impact of insecticide application. 

This study will describe the effectiveness of a push-pull strategy to reduce competition for nest cavities with honey bees in field sites located in Brazil and Florida, USA. Data generated from this study can be used for implementation of this protocol throughout the Neotropics, where parrots are threatened by honey bees for competition with nest cavities.