Contributory project: It is designed by scientists, and citizens participate in data collection. 

Overall goal: Monitor the loss of bee colonies in Argentina.  Specific goal: Measure the mortality rate of honey and stingless bee colonies in Argentina and understand the causes behind it to help to reverse the situation or alleviate this problem. 

Description of citizen participation: A national survey only of beekeepers and meliponiculturists is conducted in person or online (website, email, social media, press media, and beekeeping magazines) to record bee colony losses. This survey is based on internationally standardized methods involving voluntary participation, a national network of beekeepers, a questionnaire, and diverse promotion strategies. Estimates and statistical analyses of colony losses depend on the participation of producers, without which it is not possible to study the mortality causes, nor to provide recommendations for reducing mortality that can inform decision-making for the sector.  Each participant has to answer 35 questions about three topics:  (i) Bee handling (number of beehives, type of honey harvesting, bee genetics, etc.)  (ii) Presence of bio-aggressors (disease symptoms and identification, etc.)  (iii) Colony loss rate (winter and summer colony losses). 

Time frame: 04/01/2016 - N/A. 

Project leaders:  • Fabrice Requier, Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development). • Florencia Riafrecha.

Contact information:  Email: requierf@gmail.com    Web: solatina.org/temas-de-estudio/monitoreo/  Facebook of Sociedad Latinoamericana de Investigación en Abejas (SOLATINA): facebook.com/SoLatInA2017