IOSR Journal of Agriculture and Veterinary Science (IOSR-JAVS) e-ISSN: 2319-2380, p-ISSN: 2319-2372. Volume 8, Issue 2 Ver. II (Feb. 2015), PP 68-72 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/2380-08226872 www.iosrjournals.org 68 | Page Co-existence and interactions of pest with bee-wax baited Gmelina arborea (Roxb.) woodhives in Abeokuta, Nigeria 1 Adedeji, G. A., 1 Aiyeloja, A. A. and 2 Emerhi, E. A. 1 Department of Forestry and Wildlife Management, University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria 2 Department of Forestry and Wildlife, Delta State University, Asaba, Nigeria Abstract: Wooden hives set for honeybees’ colonization are often attractive to pests. However, little is known about the interaction among these pests with the hives and more so, impacts of baiting materials on the attractiveness of these pests other than honeybees. Therefore, the interaction of other insects and colonization response of native honeybees to Gmelina arborea wood made hives baited with honey-wax and non-baited hives were investigated for comparison. Paired choice test of baited and non-baited hives with six replicates were strategically placed within four hectares of matured secondary forest between January and December, 2014 in Abeokuta, Nigeria. Two categories of pests were recognized; cavity nesting and cavity destroying organisms. There were remarkable differences in the pest species composition and their impacts. The use of bait influenced the attraction of honeybees’ enemy pests first, and has negative impacts on colonization rate and economy of the hives. The study revealed October as the best colonization month with 7 hives colonized (58%), followed by December with 2 hives (16%), and February and March with 1 hive colonized (8%) in each month. Non-baited hives recorded faster and complete colonization than the baited hives. This study has demonstrated the non- usefulness of bait in modern beekeeping in South-western Nigeria. Keywords: Appealing, cavity nesting fauna, Nigeria, October, wood I. Introduction Cavities in woody plants are known as important component of forest ecosystem, providing habitats for many diversified organisms including rodents, snails and honeybees. Modern beekeeping employed man-made wooden cavities (hives), and these hives are also attractive to other organisms termed “pests”.However, the depths of interactions between and or among these pests with hives have not been fully explored. While hive colonization can be influenced by a wide variety of interacting factors, it is widely accepted that hive cavity characteristics determine colonization by honeybees [1-7]. In natural habitat [2,4,5,7], an understanding of the selectivity specification in cavity colonization is imperative. As honeybees are being selective, therefore, the man-made cavities are usually constructed to meet their required characteristics in terms of volume in an enclosed system. However, many other cavity nesting/destroying organisms find hives made for beekeeping conservation and studies appealing. Their colonization and interactions appeared to have negative impacts both on the hives and genetic honeybees’ economies. Reducing these impacts require in-depth understanding of underlying factors which determine the attraction of the pests for developing preventive management strategies. The influence of pest infestations to colonization and absconding is usually confounded by the interactions between pests which influence high rate of absconding occasioned by competition between pests and honeybees. Despite the reported low colonization rate and high incidence of pre-colonization pests in modern beekeeping in Nigeria, few studies have linked low colonization with the utilisation of bait materials. Native honeybees are often specialized in colonizing specific wood species cavities such as Vitex doniana, Gmelina arborea, Adansonia digitata, Ficus mucuso, Lophira lanceolata etc. in the wild without any bait placement or inclusion. This specialization has reflected in efficient stable colonization, high fecundity and appreciable yield of modern beekeeping using Gmelina arborea wood [8]. Low colonization has been linked with variety of divergent factors, but the root cause has not been linked with the inclusion of bait materials used. Therefore, the attraction of other insects and colonization response of native honeybees to Gmelina arborea wood made hives baited with honey-wax, and non-baited hives were investigated for comparison between January and December, 2014 in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. II. Materials And Methods The study area The study was conducted in Ereke village (Latitude 7 0 10 ’ 14.59 ” and 7 0 10 ’ 15.09 ” N and Longitude 3 0 28’37.69” and 3 0 28 ’ 41.89” E) via Federal College of Education, Osiele, Abeokuta from January to December, 2014. The climate follows a tropical pattern with the raining season starting about March and ending in November, followed by dry season. The mean annual rainfall was estimated to be about 1600mm. The mean annual temperature was estimated to be 26.6°C while mean monthly temperature ranged between 25.7°C in July