Comparative assessment of various supplementary diets on commercial honey bee (Apis mellifera) health and colony performance

Abstract

A healthy honey bee stock is critical to the beekeeping industry and the sustainability of the ecosystem. The quality of the supplemental diet influences the development and strength of the colony, especially during the pollen dearth period in the surrounding environment. However, the extent to which pollen substitute protein feeding affects honey bee colony parameters is not fully known. We conducted this study to test the influence of various supplemental diets on foraging effort, pollen load, capped brood area, population density, and honey yield. The treatment groups were supplied with patties of pollen substitute diets, whereas sugar syrup was given to the control group. Our results indicated that honey bees consumed a significantly higher amount of Diet 1 (45 g soybean flour + 15 g Brewer’s yeast + 75 g powdered sugar + 7.5 g skimmed milk + 7.5 g date palm pollen + 200 mL sugar syrup supplement with Vitamin C) followed by others supplemented diets. Further, pollen load, worker-sealed brood area, population strength, and honey yield differed significantly when Diet 1 was consumed instead of other supplemental diets. The proportion of biological parameters was less in the control group as compared to other treatments. This study highlights the potential of supplemental diets to improve the bee’s health and colony development when the pollens availability and diversity are insufficient.

Honey bee (Apis mellifera jemenitica) colony performance and queen fecundity in response to different nutritional practices

“…Similar findings have been reported in the sealed brood area in previous literature ( Sihag and Gupta, 2011 , Lamontagne-Drolet et al, 2019 , Ahmad et al, 2021b ); various pollen substitutes increased the worker brood area. However, our results are inconsistent with the findings of Ali (2011), who reported that the worker brood area was 2813.13 cm 2 /colony, 1730.94, and 1867 cm 2 /colony in different groups.…”

“…Honey bee colonies are fed on commercially available pollen substitute diets when the natural pollen resources are scarce. Artificial pollen substitutes may affect bee physiology in addition to their primary nutritional role ( Al-Ghamdi et al, 2011 , Ahmad et al, 2021b ). For instance, sugar syrup is the most often used artificial diet for honey bees.…”

The Effect of Supplementary Feeding with Different Pollens in Autumn on Colony Development under Natural Environment and In Vitro Lifespan of Honey Bees

“…In cases where the flora is insufficient, the quality of supplementary feeding affects the development and strength of the colony [50]. In the study conducted by Ahmed et al (2021), it was determined that feeding with pollen substituted diet increased the number of bee frames and brood area, while it was determined that the consumption amount was higher compared with the control [50]. Contrary to our findings, Mortensen et al (2019) reported that there is no change depending on the presence and source of protein [51].…”

“…In addition, a significant improvement in the antioxidant system was reported in bee colonies given a supplemental diet for 18 weeks compared with other treatments and controls [ 49 ]. In cases where the flora is insufficient, the quality of supplementary feeding affects the development and strength of the colony [ 50 ]. In the study conducted by Ahmed et al (2021), it was determined that feeding with pollen substituted diet increased the number of bee frames and brood area, while it was determined that the consumption amount was higher compared with the control [ 50 ].…”

Вплив Пробіотичних Препаратів На Розвиток Бджолиних Сімей У Весняний Період

“…Часто пасічники у певні періоди протягом активного сезону здійснюють підгодівлю бджіл різними стимулюючими добавками (Gemeda, 2014;Shumkova et al, 2017;Разанова & Голубенко, 2018; Barroso-Arévalo et al, 2019). У бджільництві на даний час застосовують значну кількість стимуляторів, які позитивно впливають на обмін речовин, покращуючи використання корму, прискорюють ріст бджолиних сімей (Tawfik et al, 2020; Разанов та ін., 2020; Saranchuk et al, 2021), сприяють поліпшенню результатів зимівлі (Guler et al, 2018), збільшенню прийому личинок на маточне виховання (Gençer et al, 2000) та підвищенню продуктивності бджолиних сімей (Ahmad et al, 2021;Разанова, 2021;Ullah et al, 2022).…”