تأثیر غلظت های مختلف کمبوچا در شربت شکر روی صفات رفتاری، تولیدمثلی و عملکردی کلنی های زنبورعسل(Apis mellifera L.)

Introduction: Honey bee (Apis mellifera L.), as one of the most effective natural pollinators, plays a vital role in agricultural production, biodiversity conservation, and sustainable development. Honey bees require six groups of nutrients include carbohydrates, proteins, fats, minerals, vitamins, and water to survive and growth. If the pasture is rich, they meet their needs by collecting nectar and pollen from plant flowers in nature. The shortage or reduction of nectar and pollen due to specific climatic conditions leads to a decrease in queen egg production, population growth, bee’s lifespan, resistance to pests and diseases, the colony food reserves, and ultimately weakening and reduction in the health of honey bee colonies. So, supplementary nutrition seems essential to overcome periods of nectar and pollen shortage in nature, supporting colony health, enhancing productivity, and preventing disease outbreaks stressful conditions. Kombucha is a non-alcoholic beverage obtained from the fermentation of sweet tea through the symbiosis of bacteria and yeast. It contains a wide array of bioactive components, including probiotic microorganisms (e.g., acetic acid bacteria), amino acids, tea-derived phenolics, sugars, organic acids, ethanol, water-soluble vitamins, and other functional compounds. Owing to its antioxidant, antimicrobial, antiviral, gut microbiota-modulating, and detoxifying properties, kombucha has recently been proposed as a potential dietary supplement not only for humans but also for livestock, poultry, and honey bees. Evidence suggests that kombucha supplementation may improve digestive efficiency, enhance resistance to pathogens, and support overall productivity. Despite its promising functional properties, the application of kombucha in honey bee nutrition—particularly under conditions of natural pollen and nectar scarcity—remains underexplored. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of different concentrations of kombucha in sugar syrup on the reproductive and functional traits of honey bee colonies in the climatic conditions of Kurdistan province during 2023 to 2025.
Materials and methods: This research was conducted in a completely randomized design with four treatments and seven replications. The kombucha used in this study was prepared from dried tea leaves. Its production followed the protocol described by Jayabalan et al. (2010) with minor modifications. The treatments included a control group and experimental treatments containing 5%, 10%, and 15% kombucha per liter, dissolved in sugar syrup (in a ratio of 1:1). The traits of honey production, pollen collection, population (brood and adults), calmness behavior, aggressive behavior, and overwintering performance of honey bee colonies in experimental treatments were investigated in the present study. Honey bee colonies in experimental treatments were homogenized in terms of queen age and population in the first year of the study (2023). Data were analyzed using the General Linear Model (GLM) procedure in SAS software version 9.4. Additionally, an economic analysis was conducted to assess the effect of kombucha on honey bee colony performance based on honey production and pollen collection.
Results and discussion: The results of analysis of variance revealed that the effect of treatment on the studied traits was significant (p<0.01). The results of mean comparison based on Tukey's test at a probability level of 1% showed that the highest mean traits of honey production (17.60 kg), pollen collection (132.14 g), brood population (6.92 frames), adults population (14.28 frames), calmness behavior (4), aggressive behavior (4), and overwintering performance (0.62) were related to bees treated with 10% kombucha per liter, and the lowest mean traits of honey production (8.64 kg), pollen collection (67.47 g), brood population (3.47 frames), adults population (7.28 frames), calmness behavior (1.3), aggressive behavior (1.3), and overwintering performance (0.43) were related to bees of control treatment. In the present study, an economic analysis of the effect of kombucha on honey bee colony performance was conducted based on honey production and pollen collection. The results indicated that adding kombucha syrup to bee nutrition increased profits from the sale of each colony’s products (honey and pollen) compared to the control. Among the experimental treatments, the highest benefit was observed in the treatment of 10% kombucha per liter, which was identified as the most profitable, yielding 52747010 rials per colony.
Conclusions: The findings of this study showed that adding kombucha to the diet of honey bee colonies significantly (p<0.01) improved the traits of honey production, pollen collection, brood and adults population, calmness behavior, aggressive behavior, and overwintering performance of the bees under study. Economically, it also increased the profit per colony compared to the control. Among the treatments, the concentration of 10% per liter of kombucha had the greatest biological effect and the highest profitability and is recommended as the optimal concentration suggested for improving the functional traits of honey bee colonies and increasing the economic efficiency of apiaries, especially during nectar and pollen scarcity in nature.
Keywords: Apis mellifera, Nutritional supplement, Kombucha, Behavioral, reproductive and functional traits
Ethics statement: This study was conducted with the full consideration of animal welfare and the approval of this study was granted by the Ethics Committee of the Kurdistan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Iran.
Data availability statement: The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.
Conflicts of interest: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
Funding: The authors received no specific funding for this work.