Effect of feeding pollen substitutes to honey bee colonies used for kiwifruit pollination and honey production

Goodwin, Mark; Houten, A. Ten; Perry, J.H.

doi:10.1080/01140671.1994.9513858

Cited by 18 publications

(10 citation statements)

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“…Protein deficiency also affects the ability of honey bees to resist diseases (Matilla and Otis, 2006); consequently, it is suspected to be an important factor involved in "Colony Collapse Disorder" (Cox-Foster et al, 2007). As pollen is not always available, an alternative protein source is sometimes necessary to ensure bee health and continued colony development, as well as to maintain colony strength for pollination, overwintering, and honey production (Standifer et al, 1980;Goodwin et al, 1994;Herbert, 2000). Various supplementary diets (i.e.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollen substitutes increase honey bee haemolymph protein levels as much as or more than does pollen

Jong

Silva

Kevan

et al. 2009

Journal of Apicultural Research

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SummaryAdequate substitutes for pollen are necessary for maintaining healthy bee colonies during periods of pollen dearth, but testing them objectively is both time consuming and expensive. We compared two commercial diets with bee collected pollen and acacia pod flour (used by beekeepers in some parts of Brazil) by measuring their effect on haemolymph protein contents of young bees exclusively fed on these diets, which is a fast and inexpensive assay. The commercial diets included a new, non-soy-based, pollen substitute diet (named Feed-Bee ® ) and a soy-based diet, named Bee-Pro ® . The diets were each given in patty form to groups of 100 Africanized honey bees in hoarding cages, maintained and fed from emergence until six days of age. Sucrose, in the form of sugar syrup, was used as a protein free control. Feed-Bee ® , Bee-Pro ® , pollen and acacia pod flour diets increased protein titers in the haemolymph by factors of 2.65, 2.51, 1.76 and 1.69, respectively, over protein titers in bees fed only sucrose solution. The bees fed Feed-Bee ® and Bee-Pro ® had their haemolymph significantly enriched in protein compared to the controls and those fed acacia pod flour and to titers slightly higher than those fed pollen. All four proteinaceous diets were significantly superior to sucrose alone.Los substitutos del polen incrementan los niveles de proteína en la hemolinfa de la abeja melífera igual o más que el polen. ResumenLos substitutos del polen son necesarios para mantener saludable a la colonia de abeja durante períodos de escasez del polen, pero en los estudios con estos substitutos suele invertirse mucho tiempo y son costosos. Comparamos dos dietas comerciales con polen y una harina de vainas de Acacia (utilizada por apicultores en algunas regiones de Brasil), midiendo su efecto sobre los contenidos proteínicos de la hemolinfa de abejas jóvenes alimentadas exclusivamente con estas dietas, una prueba rápida y barata. A las dietas comerciales, se le incluyó un nuevo substituto de polen, no basado en soja (conocido comercialmente como Feed-Bee ® ) y una dieta a base de soja, conocida como Bee-Pro ® .Cada dieta se aplicó en forma de tarta a grupos de 100 abejas africanizadas en jaulas de observación, a partir de su emergencia hasta los seis días de edad. La sucrosa en jarabe de azúcar, fue utilizada como dieta control sin proteína. Las dietas con el Feed-Bee ® , el Bee-Pro ® , el polen y la harina de vainas de Acacia incrementaron los valores de proteína en la hemolinfa por factores de 2,65, 2,51, 1,76 y 1,69, respectivamente, con respecto a los valores de proteína en las abejas alimentadas solamente con jarabe de sucrosa. Las abejas que fueron alimentadas con Feed-Bee ® y Bee-Pro ® presentaron en su hemolinfa un significativo enriquecimiento de proteína comparada con las del grupo control y valores ligeramente más altos que aquellas alimentadas con polen.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Pollen substitutes increase honey bee haemolymph protein levels as much as or more than does pollen

Jong

Silva

Kevan

et al. 2009

Journal of Apicultural Research

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“…In addition, honey bees have limited foraging opportunities due to inclement weather in early spring, and they thus have fewer chances to gather resources ( Farrar 1934 ). Hence, supplementary diets including pollen or pollen substitutes are sometimes necessary to provide the nutrients required for colonies to rear brood, increase their populations, overwinter, and produce honey ( Herbert 1992 , Goodwin et al 1994 ).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Dietary Protein Levels on the Population Growth, Performance, and Physiology of Honey Bee Workers During Early Spring

Zheng

2014

Journal of Insect Science

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This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary protein levels on honey bee colonies, specifically the population growth, physiology, and longevity of honey bee workers during early spring. Diets containing four different levels of crude protein (25.0, 29.5, 34.0, or 38.5%) and pure pollen (control) were evaluated. Twenty-five colonies of honey bees with sister queens were used in the study. We compared the effects of the different bee diets by measuring population growth, emergent worker weight, midgut proteolytic enzyme activity, hypopharyngeal gland development, and survival. After 48 d, the cumulative number of workers produced by the colonies ranged from 22,420 to 29,519, providing a significant fit to a quadratic equation that predicts the maximum population growth when the diet contains 31.7% crude protein. Significantly greater emergent worker weight, midgut proteolytic enzyme activity, hypopharyngeal gland acini, and survival were observed in the colonies that were fed diets containing 34.0% crude protein compared with the other crude protein levels. Although higher emergent worker weight and survival were observed in the colonies that were fed the control diet, there were no significant differences between the control colonies and the colonies that were fed 34.0% crude protein. Based on these results, we concluded that a dietary crude protein content of 29.5–34.0% is recommended to maximize the reproduction rate of honey bee colonies in early spring.

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“…Feeding pollen has, however, been reported to decrease the amount of pollen a colony collects (Free and Williams, 1971). This effect does not happen in all cases (Goodwin et al, 1994).…”

Section: Feeding Pollenmentioning

confidence: 86%

Standard methods for pollination research withApis mellifera

Delaplane¹,

Dag

Danka

et al. 2013

Journal of Apicultural Research

229

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SummaryIn this chapter we present a synthesis of recommendations for conducting field experiments with honey bees in the context of agricultural pollination. We begin with an overview of methods for determining the mating system requirements of plants and the efficacy of specific pollinators. We describe methods for evaluating the pollen-vectoring capacity of bees at the level of individuals or colonies and follow with methods for determining optimum colony field stocking densities. We include sections for determining post-harvest effects of pollination, the effects of colony management (including glasshouse enclosure) on bee pollination performance, and a brief section on considerations about pesticides and their impact on pollinator performance. A final section gives guidance on determining the economic valuation of honey bee colony inputs at the scale of the farm or region. Métodos estándar para el estudio de polinización con Apis mellifera ResumenEn este capítulo se presenta una síntesis de las recomendaciones para la realización de experimentos de campo con abejas melíferas en el contexto de la polinización agrícola. Comienza con una revisión de los métodos para la determinación de los requisitos del sistema de reproducción de las plantas y de la eficacia de los polinizadores específicos. Se describen métodos para evaluar la capacidad de las abejas como vectores de polen a los niveles de individuos o de colonias, y se continúa con los métodos para la determinación de las densidades óptimas de colonias en campo. Se incluyen secciones para la determinación de los efectos de la polinización en la cosecha, los efectos del manejo de las colonias (incluyendo el cercado en invernaderos) en el rendimiento de polinización de las abejas, y una breve sección sobre consideraciones acerca de los plaguicidas y su impacto en el rendimiento de los polinizadores. Una última sección ofrece una guía para la determinación del valor económico de los gastos de las colonias de abejas melíferas a escala de explotación o de región.

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Effect of feeding pollen substitutes to honey bee colonies used for kiwifruit pollination and honey production

Cited by 18 publications

References 8 publications

Pollen substitutes increase honey bee haemolymph protein levels as much as or more than does pollen

Pollen substitutes increase honey bee haemolymph protein levels as much as or more than does pollen

The Effects of Dietary Protein Levels on the Population Growth, Performance, and Physiology of Honey Bee Workers During Early Spring

Standard methods for pollination research withApis mellifera

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