TY - GEN A1 - Bundschuh, Jana A1 - Rappel, Herbert A1 - Bock, Andreas A1 - Balleisen, Ute A1 - Daiser, Markus A1 - Friedmann, Günter A1 - König, Werner A1 - Miltenberger, Tobias A1 - Müller, Manuela A1 - Müller, Robert A1 - Poeplau, Norbert A1 - Roosen, Alix A1 - Schlotter, Alexander A1 - Sedlmair, Christian A1 - Weiler, Michael A1 - Thewes, Christoph A1 - Brock, Christopher T1 - Effects of queen excluders on the colony dynamics of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) under biodynamic management T2 - Apidologie N2 - The evaluation of beekeeping management practices (BMPs) is important for beekeepers worldwide because their choice affects health and survival of managed honeybee (A. mellifera L.) colonies and touches ethical and economic questions. This study focusses on queen excluders, a common hive addition in contemporary beekeeping. Its impacts are controversially discussed but have not been studied scientifically yet. Within a 4-year participatory on-farm experiment, we assessed the effects on colony dynamics in 64 hives in 8 apiaries during one season in Germany using the Liebefeld estimation method. We found no significant deviation for parameters of colony dynamics between hives managed with and without queen excluders. A qualitative decision-making tool (Pugh decision matrix) facilitated concept selection only for specific beekeepers. Y1 - 2024 UR - https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13592-023-01041-9 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-023-01041-9 SN - 1297-9678 SN - 0044-8435 VL - 55 IS - 16 ER -