Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Reza Kalateh ¹
• Behrouz Dastar ²
• Ahmad Nadimi ³
• Shahram Kotook ⁴
• Fatemeh Sarvarzadeh ⁵
• Ehsan Kord ⁶

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

² Department of Animal and Poultry Nutrition, Faculty of Animal Science, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran

³ Department of Entomology, Faculty of Plant Production, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

⁴ Department of Animal and Poultry Nutrition, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

⁵ Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, Kaushgar Sepehr Javan Company

⁶ Ph.D. in Plant Breeding, Kaushgar Sepehr Javan Company

Abstract

Inadequate feeding of the honey bee colony causes a decrease in the queen's reproduction and, subsequently, a gradual decrease in the colony's production and products. Therefore, supplementary nutrition is given to honey bees to meet the nutritional needs of the colony whenever natural food (pollen, nectar, or honey) is unavailable. This research aimed to investigate the effects of a special bee booster powder called Prody 400, containing essential amino acids, minerals, and vitamins, on the amount of pupa, pollen storage, honey production, and defense performance of honey bees. This research was conducted with three treatments and seven replications in a completely randomized design. The experimental treatments included the group without supplements (control treatment), the treatment using the supplement in dilute sucrose syrup, and the treatment using the supplement in sweet paste. The results showed that the amount of pupae in syrup treatment with supplement was significantly higher than other treatments (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference between the treatments for pollen storage and honey production; however, the values were numerically higher in the syrup and sweet paste supplemental treatments than in the control treatment. The defensive performance in syrup treatment with supplement was significantly higher than in control treatment (P < 0.05). This research shows that using Prody 400 in sucrose syrup positively affects the amount of pupation and defensive performance of honey bees and can increase the efficiency of the honey bee colony.

Keywords

• Honey bee
• pollen storage
• honey production
• Prody 400 supplement

Main Subjects

• Entomology