Protein levels and colony development of Africanized and European honey bees fed natural and artificial diets

Author(s)

Morais, M. M. ^{[1, 2]} ; Turcatto, A. P. ^[3] ; Pereira, R. A. ^[3] ; Francoy, T. M. ^[4] ; Guidugli-Lazzarini, K. R. ^[3] ; Goncalves, L. S. ^{[2, 5]} ; de Almeida, J. M. V. ^[2] ; Ellis, J. D. ^[6] ; De Jong, D. ^[3]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Sao Jose Dos Campos, SP - Brazil

^[2] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Filosofia Ciencias & Letras Ribeirao Preto, Dept Biol, Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Med Ribeirao Preto, Dept Genet, Ribeirao Preto, SP - Brazil

^[4] Univ Sao Paulo, Escola Artes Ciencias & Humanidades, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[5] Univ Fed Rural Semi Arido, Ctr Tecnol Apicultura & Meliponicultura Rio Grand, Dept Ciencias Anim, Mossoro, RN - Brazil

^[6] Univ Florida, Dept Entomol & Nematol, Gainesville, FL 32611 - USA

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: Genetics and Molecular Research; v. 12, n. 4, p. 6915-6922, 2013.
• Web of Science Citations: 4

Abstract

Pollen substitute diets are a valuable resource for maintaining strong and health honey bee colonies. Specific diets may be useful in one region or country and inadequate or economically unviable in others. We compared two artificial protein diets that had been formulated from locally-available ingredients in Brazil with bee bread and a non-protein sucrose diet. Groups of 100 newly-emerged, adult workers of Africanized honey bees in Brazil and European honey bees in the USA were confined in small cages and fed on one of four diets for seven days. The artificial diets included a high protein diet made of soy milk powder and albumin, and a lower protein level diet consisting of soy milk powder, brewer's yeast and rice bran. The initial protein levels in newly emerged bees were approximately 18-21 mu g/mu L hemolymph. After feeding on the diets for seven days, the protein levels in the hemolymph were similar among the protein diet groups (similar to 37-49 mu g/mu L after seven days), although Africanized bees acquired higher protein levels, increasing 145 and 100% on diets D1 and D2, respectively, versus 83 and 60% in the European bees. All the protein diets resulted in significantly higher levels of protein than sucrose solution alone. In the field, the two pollen substitute diets were tested during periods of low pollen availability in the field in two regions of Brazil. Food consumption, population development, colony weight, and honey production were evaluated to determine the impact of the diets on colony strength parameters. The colonies fed artificial diets had a significant improvement in all parameters, while control colonies dwindled during the dearth period. We conclude that these two artificial protein diets have good potential as pollen substitutes during dearth periods and that Africanized bees more efficiently utilize artificial protein diets than do European honey bees. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 04/15801-0 - Biodiversity and sustainable use of pollinators, with emphasis on Meliponini bees
• Grantee: Vera Lucia Imperatriz-Fonseca
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants
• FAPESP's process: 07/07701-3 - Development of viable protein diets for honey bees, Apis mellifera
• Grantee: Michelle Manfrini Morais Vátimo
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral