A survey dataset to better understand the honey bee industry, use and value of natural resources and challenges for beekeepers in Western Australia: A beekeepers’ perspective

The summary data presented in this paper describes beekeeping practices, use of natural resources and economic attributes associated with honey bee products, native flora and environmental challenges relating to apiary sites. Despite being a well-established industry, information and data about productivity and the behavior of beekeepers, particularly those who migrate across the state of Western Australia, is lacking. We developed an online quantitative survey, the Natural Resources for Beekeepers Questionnaire (Western Australia) 2020-21, the first comprehensive, spatially referenced survey of beekeepers in Western Australia since 1990. It is also the first survey of small-scale amateur beekeepers that estimates their supply to the local honey market. For commercial beekeepers, a focus of the survey was to estimate the value of apiary sites and the productivity of migratory beekeepers. The data gives measures related to the production system and profitability of the Western Australian beekeeping industry, focusing on the 2019-2020 season and historical production. It includes tables describing memberships and certification; years beekeeping; hive types; apiary site availability, productivity, use, exchange and value; logistics; pollination services; honey bee products, sales and distribution; yields by season and site; targeted flora and commercial significance; recovery after bush fire and logging; labour details; operating costs; and asset values. The dataset in this paper is a subset of the survey results as aggregated summary statistics, categorized by type of beekeeper (Backyard, Hobbyist-Amateur and Commercial) and across eight regions (IBRA7 - Interim Biogeographic Regionalization for Australia). The online survey questionnaire is provided with this paper. Access to the survey offers the opportunity for reproducibility of a complex online questionnaire in the future and/or for other regions. This dataset will allow a more comprehensive assessment of the implications of natural resource management decisions in the future and the potential for strategic development of the beekeeping industry.