Supplemental feeds and foraged corn grain dust: a comparison of the number of days survived in vitro by young adult honey bees (Apis mellifera)

Kathryn Thompson, Bryan T. Drew

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1 Scopus citations

Abstract

To investigate the value of atypical foraging behavior of honey bees (Apis mellifera) during dearth, we compared the number of days survived in vitro among young adult honey bees kept in hoarding cages using various feeding strategies. Treatment groups were fed solid patty diets consisting of 100%, 67%, or 33% bee gathered corn grain dust, 100%, 67%, or 33% hand collected corn grain dust, or 100% commercially available pollen substitute. The bees were also provided either 0.5:1 sucrose syrup, 1.5:1 sucrose syrup, or 1.5:1 sucrose syrup in concert with the aforementioned supplements. No significant difference was observed in the number of days survived among groups receiving different types of solid patty feed, demonstrating that atypical feed gathered during dearth, corn grain dust in this instance, may provide sufficient nutrition for survival when preferable forage is unavailable. There was a statistically significant difference in the number of days survived in vitro among groups receiving different syrup types, indicating a potential survival benefit when supplement is included in syrup provided by beekeepers during dearth.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)1-8
Number of pages8
JournalJournal of Apicultural Research
Volume61
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2022

Keywords

  • Honey bee
  • atypical foraging
  • corn grain dust
  • dearth
  • nutrition
  • starch
  • supplement
  • syrup

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Insect Science

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Supplemental feeds and foraged corn grain dust: a comparison of the number of days survived in vitro by young adult honey bees (Apis mellifera)'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this