Development of an Innovative Winter Mud House for beekeeping to prevent winter migration and mite infestation Winter loss in honey bees is contributed by multiple factors, but low temperature is most catastrophic causing complete colony loss worldwide. With the onset of cold weather, the life rhythm in honeybees slows down. In India the prolong low temperature in association with food scarcity the population of hives decrease drastically and almost 70 per cent of farmers experienced winter loss of populations upto 45 per cent. According to one estimate about 23.1 per cent of colonies were lost annually in USA. Due to climate changes the harsh winters have increased the colony loss globally. Honey bees don’t accumulate much fats and internal nutritional reserve is only 2 percent. Due to minimum fat reserves the honeybees depend on various other methods to regulate body temperature however when outside hive temperature drops and the bees fail to maintain minimum required temperature to succumb to death. For apiary to be profitable, it is very important to keep them healthy so that they are very strong enough to start work by the beginning of the spring. Under Kashmir conditions the survival of bee colonies during winter season is an issue that leads to hive migration to Haryana and Punjab and beekeeper has to bear multiple charges besides colony damage during transportation and mishandling. The migration process and its expenses are such huge (Aprox.636.36 INR) to discourage young entrepreneurs as beginners fail to start apiculture business from small number of hives. The aim of the current research is to prepare a low cost mud based winter house to protect honeybees from drafts, wind, temperature extremes, and dampness. The mud house will maintain optimal humidity regime and constant temperature under harsh conditions to avoid colony loss. Current research shall encourage unemployed youth to start apiculture business unit at low input cost and to save millions of rupees from already established apiculturists. Further, the study shall assist in mite management to control population decline and to enhance crop pollination at an onset of spring season in various crops. Objectives a) Efficiency of low cost mud house for winter management of honeybees in district Ganderbal b) To determine and manage the mite (Varroa destructor) infestation and colony loss Material and Methods The fieldwork shall take place 2022-2023 and 2023-2024 at an apiary of Faculty of Forestry Ganderbal SKUAST-Kashmir. The raw materials used for the construction of honeybee mud house are shown in figure below. The base of house of size 20x 5.0 feet shall be made from boulders starting from ground zero. The walls shall be made of mud and stones, while as plastering of both walls (inside and outside) shall be made from mud mixed with chopped rice straw. Efficiency of mud house shall be determined through cumulative winter survival, per cent population decline, life span and honey yield. During the winter months commencing from November till March the colonies (N = 24) shall be kept in mud house at proper spacing comprised of 10 frames each and contained populations at an adult developmental phases. Colony loss shall be determined monthly based on mean population (approx. 10 thousands/ hive) and in the month of July the mite infestation shall be monitored from brood area of colonies. From July till November the mite infestation shall be monitored on weekly basis. Brood count shall be determined every two weeks based on total brood area of frame and solid squares. Economics of innovations based on bee hive management, honey yield, colony growth and winter survival shall be determined. Fig 1: Prototype of low cost winter mud house for honey bees Output of the project The problem of underemployment is a major cause of widespread poverty among the rural people of district Ganderbal. This is because the rural population, mainly farmers, have poor yield from their farmland caused by pollination deficit due to insufficient number of honey bees from local hives. The poor technical knowhow of bee keeping affect their earnings and capacity to live above poverty line. A logical solution to underemployment of youth is to engage them in activities that increase their earnings and one of those activities is beekeeping. The introduction of low cost innovative technology of beekeeping will boast the income besides infuse an inspiration among the rural youth for this agribusiness. Beekeeping provides an effective opportunity for poverty eradication because it requires a very low cost to establish, as beehives, low cost winter bee house and other equipment which can be made locally. Also, bees feed themselves and beekeeping activity does not disturb normal work and the people in the community generate income from making and selling beekeeping equipment and products. Under Kashmir conditions the elevated winter loss of honey bee colonies is a major concern, besides the presence of the mite Varroa destructor pressure on bee health. The development of low cost mud house for winter survival and pest control shall surely save the migration charges that has become the another matter of concern to unemployed youth to adapt this agri-business.