Economic Benefits of Using Essential Oils in Food Stimulation Administrated to Bee Colonies

Abstract

Bees are the most important pollinators of agricultural plants. The decline of bee colonies is caused by a multitude of factors of which diseases, pesticides, and climate change seem to be the most important. Losses can be huge when several factors act together. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of alternative sources such as medicinal plants in the form of extracts or essential oils. The purpose of our research was to evaluate the economic efficiency of the use of essential oils of basil (Ocimum basilicum), cinnamon (Cinnamomum veruum), clove (Syzgium aromaticum), juniper (Juniperus communis L.), oregano (Oreganum vulgare), mint (Mentha piperita), rosemary (Rosmarius officinalis), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) in the additional feeding of bee colonies in the spring. Ninety colonies of Apis mellifera bees were used, which were additionally fed with sugar syrup and one of the essential oils. Our results showed strong positive correlations between the total number of germs in the gut of worker bees and the number of brood cells when using the essential oil of oregano (Oreganum vulgare) (R2 = 0.786) and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) (R2 = 0.729), and between the total number of germs and the yield of honey obtained at the first harvest in the case of the essential oil of basil (Ocimum basilicum) (R2 = 1), mint (Mentha piperita) (R2 = 0.718), oregano (Oreganum vulgare) (R2 = 0.621), and Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L) (R2 = 0.859). The best profit from the sale of honey was obtained in the case of the use of essential oils of mint, oregano, thyme, and basil, in a range of EUR 139.16–144.73/bee colony.

Evaluation of the Essential Oils Used in the Production of Biopesticides: Assessing Their Toxicity toward Both Arthropod Target Species and Beneficial Pollinators

“…The supplementary feeding of honeybees with sugar syrup to which mint essential oil was added at a concentration of 0.1 mL/L resulted in an increased honey production per hive by stimulating the feeding process (32.16 kg honey per honeybee colony compared to 25.09 kg in the control variant) [79].…”

The Pollinators in Agricultural Ecosystems

“…The appropriate compositions of essential compounds can also affect factors such as the total number of germs in the guts of worker bees, the number of brood cells and between the total number of germs and the honey yield. Such a study was conducted by Pătruică et al (2023) [3] on bee colonies during the spring, involving the feeding of essential oils of basil (Ocimum basilicum), cinnamon (Cinnamomum veruum), clove (Syzgium aromaticum), juniper (Juniperus communis L.), oregano (Oreganum vulgare), mint (Mentha piperita), rosemary (Rosmarius officinalis), and thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.). The results obtained by these authors confirm that the adequate spring supplementation of bees can affect both the total number of brood in the colony and the honey yield in A. mellifera colonies.…”