Mitigating Competition Between Apis mellifera Workers and Reintroduced Birds by Natural Repellent Use

Apis mellifera competes with reintroduced birds for nests and feeders, reducing bird useof these resources and affecting their breeding success. Conversely, control measures such as insecticide use may negatively impact native bee populations. Identifying natural repellents is key to conserving both taxa. This study focused on evaluating the effectiveness of citronella, lemongrass, peppermint, clove basil oils, and 2‐heptanone as bee repellents and assessed the impact of the most effective substance as a repellent on bird and bee presence in a bird reintroduction area. Petri dishes containing a food attractant were placed in an apiary, with the test substances sprayed around the outer edge of each dish. Repellency was evaluated by measuring the following: time until the first bee arrived at the dish, time to deplete the attractant, and number of bees during exposure. Then, we recorded the number of birds and bees feeding at feeders in the reintroduction area before and after repellent application. Clove basil was the most effective bee repellent. At the feeders, we found a negative association between bee and bird presence, and repelling bees increased bird visitation. These results highlight the potential of natural repellents as a conservation tool to mitigate interspecific competition in similar conservation scenarios.