Honey bee larvae feed on mandibular and hypopharyngeal gland secretions produced by Apis mellifera L. worker bees.In this study, 1-day-old larvae were transferred to Petri dishes and fed with diets in different sugar ratios. In the larvae fed daily, worker bee survival rate, weight, the number of adult individuals obtained and the probability of obtaining queen bees in individuals fed at different sugar ratios were determined. A 90% rate was achieved in workers who switched to the defecation phase in worker bees. In the queen bee group, a rate of 33% has made the transition to a defecation phase. It has been determined that there is a decrease in the life rate and weight of the larvae with the increase in the sugar content in the honey bee feeding and it is recommended not to feed with a high dose of sugar.

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Abstract

With its low investment cost, beekeeping is an important agricultural activity that can be done without being connected to the soil and allows beekeepers to increase their income levels in a short time. On the other hand, organic beekeeping is a production model made only with allowed inputs without using drugs that are harmful to human health and whose every stage is controlled and certified from production to consumption. This study, it was aimed to examine the structure and production activities of organic beekeeping enterprises. The primary material of the study was data collected from 118 organic beekeeping enterprises. It was determined that 50.70% of the enterprises obtained the queen bee by natural methods, 23.4% by larva transfer, 26.6% from commercial queen bee enterprises, and 64.52% used pure Caucasian or Caucasian hybrid bee races in their colonies. The annual colony loss of the enterprises was 19.44%, and it was observed that colony loss was 50% higher in enterprises that obtained the queen bee commercially and bred it by natural means compared to enterprises that transferred larvae. It was determined that enterprises that considered organic beekeeping as the first profession had a higher number of colonies (P=0.007) and 25% fewer colony losses (P=0.088) than enterprises that saw it in the second and third orders. Finally, it was found that 53.69% of enterprises made additional feeding only with honey they produced, and the production of other organic bee products other than honey in enterprises was very limited.

This study was conducted online survey between November 2019 and January 2020, with the objective of determining the production characteristics and sectoral issues of beekeeping enterprises in Turkey. According to the survey, the Black Sea region accounts for 28% of the total; the Central Anatolia region accounts for 18%; the Marmara region accounts for 17%; the Eastern Anatolia region accounts for 13%; and the Aegean region accounts for 9%. It was conducted with a total of 200 participants, 8.5% of which were beekeepers from the Mediterranean region and 6.5% from the Southeast Anatolia region. 82% of the participants are for income; 18% of them are involved in production activities for backyard purposes. The enterprises have an average of 140 colonies and produce 17.29 kg of honey per colony; 31.5% of the enterprises consider beekeeping to be their first job, and 49% use the migratory beekeeping model. 67% of them attended beekeeping classes. The enterprises collectively produce 90.5% extracted honey, 56.5% comb honey, and 23 % natural honey comb. 37% of them work with Caucasian or crossbred bees, and 32.5 % with Anatolian bees. It has been determined that 63.0% of enterprises meet their queen bee demands solely via their own operations, and 60.6% of enterprises are exposed to the varroa infection. According to our findings, one of the most important concerns for enterprises in the industry is marketing, which accounts for 24%. Following issues, accommodation (17.7%), diseases and pests (15.7%), safety (15.7%), transportation (10.4%), and pesticide applications (7.1%).