Towards sustainable beekeeping: Warrè (people’s) vs Dadant-Blatt hives. Evaluation of chemical and aromatic profile of Sicilian Acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia) Honey

Organic and sustainable beekeeping practices have gained global attention for their positive impact on honey products, bee health, and environmental conservation. These practices ensure high-quality bee products and support bee population well-being. Warré hives are designed for minimal inspections and are considered bee-friendly, simple, and cost-effective. However, no studies have evaluated the impact of this hive type on honey quality. Thus, the main goal of our work was to compare the quality of honey produced by bees in Warré hives (WH) and Dadant-Blatt hives (DB). Black Sicilian honey bees (Apis Mellifera Siciliana) were used, and four WH and four DB hives were set up in an apiary in Sicily, in an area known for producing monofloral honey during the acacia (Robinia pseudoacacia) flowering in May. Three honey samples per hive were taken and analyzed for pH, electrical conductivity (mS/cm), soluble solids content (brix %), Baumé degree (°B), moisture (g/100g), total polyphenols (mg GAE/100g), free acidity (meq/kg), combined acidity (meq/kg), total acidity (meq/kg), mineral content (Na, Ca, P, K, Mg) (mg/100g), heavy metals (As, Hg, Cd, Pb) (mg/kg), and sugar content (fructose, glucose, sucrose, maltose, total sugars) (g/100g). Free volatile components were determined by GC-MS (pg/kg). Most results showed no significant differences. However, honey from WH had higher K content (67.09mg/100g vs. 62.71mg/100g in DB, p=0.008) and lower sucrose (1.07g/100g vs. 0.90¢/100g in DB, p=0.003). Some variations were also observed in the volatile compounds, likely due to differences in bee fumigation treatments or the wood used for the hives. DB honey contained vanillin and 4-vinylguaiacol (2 and 9 pg/kg), typical of lignin degradation during wood toasting. WH lacked vanillin, but methyl vanillate (516- 13 pg/kg in DB) indicated prolonged toasting. Furfural (33 pg/kg) in WH, absent in DB, supports this hypothesis. Wax extraction differences may also exist: DB had higher levels of palmitic acid (1143 vs. 541 pg/kg) and lauric acid (182 pg/kg), absent in WH, where oleic, octanoic, and stearic acids were present (5776, 79, and 252 pg/kg). While further research is necessary, this study provides valuable insights for guiding sustainable beekeeping practices.