Effect of using a food supplement with sugar on the growth and development of hypopharyngeal glands, body weight, and carcass compositions of nurse honey bees raised in laboratory cages

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Department of Animal and Poultry Nutrition, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran

2 Department of Entomology, Faculty of Plant Production, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran

3 Kavoshgar Sepehr Javan Company, Dezful, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Supplemental nutrition is valuable to overcome periods of resource scarcity and support colony development, bee growth, rearing, grazing behavior, and resistance to diseases under stressful conditions. It is necessary to provide protein food to stimulate colony strength in maximizing honey production and plant pollination. If young worker bees do not consume the required protein, their mammary (hypopharyngeal) glands will not develop ultimately. So, the royal jelly does not support the normal growth and development of worker larvae or egg production in the adult queen. This experiment was designed to evaluate the effects of the use of a honey bee enhancer supplement called Prody 400 on the weight of different body parts, the growth of hypopharyngeal glands, and the carcass composition of nurse bees
Materials and methods: This experiment was conducted with three treatments and four repetitions in laboratory cages. The experiment was done from the middle of September to the beginning of October 2022. The experimental treatments included: 1) The group without the use of supplements (control treatment), 2) The treatment using the supplement in diluted sucrose syrup, and 3) The treatment using the supplement in a sweet paste. Kaushgar Sepehr Javan Company prepared Prody 400 enhancer supplement. Carcass composition data were analyzed in the form of a randomized complete block design using the SAS software based on the GLM procedure, and data related to head weight, breast weight, belly weight, and hypopharyngeal gland growth were analyzed in the form of a repeated measure design based on the Mixed procedure. A comparison of average treatments and the age of nurse bees was done using a protected t-test. The results are reported as least squares means with standard error.
Results and discussion: In the treatments of syrup and sweet paste with supplements, as well as the average of different ages, a significant difference was observed in the growth of hypopharyngeal glands, so that the highest growth was observed at 9 days, then at 6 days, at 12 days, and finally at 3 days (P<0.05), while in the control treatment, there was no significant difference in the growth of hypopharyngeal glands at different ages. Comparing the average of different treatments as well as the ages of 6 and 9 days, the highest growth of hypopharyngeal glands was in the sucrose syrup treatment with supplements, which was significantly different from the other two treatments (P<0.05). The trend of head and chest weight changes in the sucrose syrup treatment with supplements was different from the other two treatments in a way that at the ages of 6, 9, and 12 days, the head weight was significantly higher than at the age of 3 days (P<0.05). The results of the experiment also showed that the weight of the bee head has a positive correlation with the growth of the hypopharyngeal glands and can be used as an indicator of the growth rate of the hypopharyngeal glands. In the present experiment, the nurse bees' head weight and the growth rate of hypopharyngeal gland acini at 6 and 9 days in syrup treatment with supplements were higher compared to other ages, which is consistent with other studies that reported that amino acid supplement feeding causes colony growth. The bees that received the Prody 400 supplement had a higher breast weight compared to the control group. Other research reports also showed that the chest weight of honey bees increases when using amino acid supplements. This issue is important from the point of view that the flight muscle mass increases with bee grazing and, consequently, colony growth. Adult honey bees, which are responsible for grazing, need strong flight muscles of the thorax to collect pollen and nectar. The fresh and dry weight of the thorax is a measure of flight muscle growth.
Conclusions: The use of the Prody 400 supplement during the absence or deficiency of protein substances (pollen) can affect the growth of hypopharyngeal glands as well as growth. The chest has a positive effect on better performance in the grazing periods of honey bees. Also, the use of this supplement increased the colony population by strengthening the nurse bees to produce more royal jelly. The results of this experiment also showed that the head weight of nurse bees had a positive correlation with the growth of hypopharyngeal glands and can be used as an indicator of the degree of growth of hypopharyngeal glands.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Abbasian, A. R., & Ebadi. R. (2002) Nutritional Effect of Some Protein Sources on Longevity, Protein and Fatbody of Bee Workers (Apis mellifera L.). Journal of Water and Soil Science, 6(2), 149-158. [In Persian]
Altaye, S, Z., Pirk, C. W., Crewe, R. M., & Nicolson, S. W. (2010). Convergence of carbohydrate-biased intake targets in caged worker honeybees fed different protein sources. Journal of Experimental Biology, 213(19), 3311-3318.‏ doi: 10.1242/jeb.046953 
Avni, D., Hendriksma, H. P., Dag, A., Uni, Z., & Shafir, S. (2014). Nutritional aspects of honey bee-collected pollen and constraints on colony development in the eastern Mediterranean. Journal of Insect Physiology, 69, 65-73.‏  doi: 10.1101/008524 
Black, J. (2006). Honeybee nutrition: review of research and practices. Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation. Canberra, Australia.‏ Pp. 11-30
Bonoan, R. E., O'Connor, L. D., & Starks, P. T. (2018). Seasonality of honey bee (Apis mellifera) micronutrient supplementation and environmental limitation. Journal of Insect Physiology, 107, 23-28.‏ doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2018.02.002 
Brodschneider, R., & Crailsheim, K. (2010). Nutrition and health in honey bees. Apidologie, 41(3), 278-294.‏
Brodschneider, R., Riessberger-Gallé, U., & Crailsheim, K. (2009). Flight performance of artificially reared honeybees (Apis mellifera). Apidologie, 40(4), 441-449.‏ doi: 10.1051/apido/2009006 
Corby-Harris, V., & Snyder, L. A. (2018). Measuring hypopharyngeal gland acinus size in honey bee (Apis mellifera) workers. Journal of Visualized Experiments, 139, e58261.‏ doi: 10.3791/58261-v 
Darvishzadeh, A. (2015). Effect of proline as a nutrient on hypopharyngeal glands during development of Apis mellifera (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Arthropods, 4(4), 137.‏
De Groot, A. P. (1952). Amino acid requirements for growth of the honeybee (Apis mellifica L.). Experientia, 8(5), 192-194. doi: 10.1007/bf02173740
DeGrandi-Hoffman, G., Chen, Y., Rivera, R., Carroll, M., Chambers, M. E., Hidalgo, G., & Watkins deJong, E. (2016). Honey bee colonies provided with natural forage have lower pathogen loads and higher overwinter survival than those fed protein supplements. Apidologie, 47, 186-196. doi: 10.1007/s13592-015-0386-6 
DeGrandi-Hoffman, G., Gage, S. L., Corby-Harris, V., Carroll, M., Chambers, M., Graham, H., Watkins deJong, E., Hidalgo, G, Calle S, Azzouz-Olden, F., Meador, C., Snyder, L., & Ziolkowski, N. (2018). Connecting the nutrient composition of seasonal pollens with changing nutritional needs of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies. Journal of Insect Physiology, 109, 114-124. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2018.07.002 
DeGrandi-Hoffman, G., Wardell, G., Ahumada-Segura, F., Rinderer, T., Danka, R., & Pettis, J. (2008). Comparisons of pollen substitute diets for honey bees: consumption rates by colonies and effects on brood and adult populations. Journal of Apicultural Research, 47(4), 265-270.‏ doi: 10.3896/ibra.1.47.4.06 
Dolezal, A. G., & Toth, A. L. (2018). Feedback between nutrition and disease in honey bee health. Current Opinion in Insect Science, 26, 114-119.‏ doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2018.02.006  
Hendriksma, H. P., Pachow, C. D., & Nieh, J. C. (2019). Effects of essential amino acid supplementation to promote honey bee gland and muscle development in cages and colonies. Journal of Insect Physiology, 117, 103906.‏ doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2019.103906 
Hrassnigg, N., & Crailsheim, K. (1998). Adaptation of hypopharyngeal gland development to the brood status of honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies. Journal of Insect Physiology, 44(10), 929-939.‏ doi: 10.1016/s0022-1910(98)00058-4 
Huang, Z. Y., & Otis, G. W. (1989). Factors determining hypopharyngeal gland activity of worker honey bees (Apis mellifera L.). Insectes Sociaux, 36(4), 264-276. doi: 10.1007/bf02224880 ‏
Kalateh, R., & Dastar, B. (2023). Introduction and considerations of using laboratory cages in bee experiments. Honeybee Science Journal, 14(26), 2-17. doi: 10.22034/hbsj.2023.129867 [In Persian]
López-Alonso, M. (2012). Trace minerals and livestock: Not too much not too little. ISRN Veterinary Science, 2, 704825. doi: 10.5402/2012/704825 
Mattila, H. R., & Otis, G. W. (2006). Effects of pollen availability and Nosema infection during the spring on division of labor and survival of worker honey bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae). Environmental Entomology, 35(3), 708-717.‏ doi: 10.1603/0046-225x-35.3.708 
Mohebodini, H., Maqsoudlou, A., Dastar, B., & Tahmasebi, Gh. (2018). Royal jelly production, amount of royal jelly thiamine and hypopharyngeal glands development in Iranian honey bee (Apis mellifera Meda) colonies fed with different levels of thiamine. Journal of Animal Research (Iranian Journal of Biology), 31(4), 417-425. [In Persian]
Nehzati, G. A., Nikkhah, A., Tahmasbi, G. H., & Moradi Shahr Babak, M. (2009). Effect of supplemental diets of corn gluten, soybean meal and bakery yeast on body weight, protein and fat percent in worker honey bees. Iranian Journal of Animal Science, 39(1), 49-56. [In Persian]
Saffari, A., Kevan, P. G., & Atkinson, J. (2010). Consumption of three dry pollen substitutes in commercial apiaries. Journal of Apicultural Science, 54(1), 5-12.
Salama, S. A. (2020). Effect of some food additives on honey bee hypopharyngeal glands (Apis mellifera) in the south of Saudi Arabia. World Wide Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Development, 6(11), 53-60.‏
Somerville, D. (2000). Honey bee nutrition and supplementary feeding. Agnote DAI/178. NSW Agriculture.
Steen, S. (2007). Effect of a home-made pollen substitute on honey bee. Sterols in the honey bee and the yellow fever mosquito. Journal of Apicultural Research, 46(2), 114-119. doi: 10.3896/ibra.1.46.2.09 
Tosi, S., Nieh, J. C., Sgolastra, F., Cabbri, R., & Medrzycki, P. (2017). Neonicotinoid pesticides and nutritional stress synergistically reduce survival in honey bees. Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, 284(1869), 20171711.‏ doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1711 
Vaezi, H., Rezayazdi, K., Nehzati, G. A., & Ghorbani, V. (2023). Effect of feeding different levels of the isoleucine amino acid on hemolymph protein concentration and growth of hypopharyngeal glands in worker bees (Apis mellifera). Animal Production Research, 11(4), 91-102. doi: 10.22124/ar.2022.22023.1696 [In Persian]
Wang, D. I., & Mofller, F. E. (1970). The division of labor and queen attendance behavior of Nosema-infected worker honey bees. Journal of Economic Entomology, 63(5), 1539-1541.‏ doi: 10.1093/jee/63.5.1539 
Zahra, A., & Talal, M. (2008). Impact of pollen supplements and vitamins on the development of hypopharyngeal glands and on brood number in honey bees. Journal of Apicultural Science, 52(2), 5-12.‏
Animal Production Research
Volume 14, Issue 2
June 2025
Pages 93-101

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics