Artificial Diet Supplementation and Its Role in Enhancing Winter Survival and Productivity of Honey Bee Colonies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.13102/sociobiology.v72i4.11690Keywords:
foraging, Apis mellifera, queen fecundity, brood rearingAbstract
Artificial diets are crucial for the survival of honey bee colonies in winter. A pollen-rich diet provides protein to the colonies and enhances their performance. To investigate the effect of artificial diets on the performance of honeybee colonies (Apis mellifera) during winter, a study was conducted at the Agriculture Research Institute, Tarnab, Peshawar, from November 2023 to January 2024. The experiment had a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with three replications, involving ten artificial diets. The diets (D1–D10) were formulated using powdered sugar, powdered pollen, and soybean flour. Diets 1, 2, and 3 consisted of only one ingredient each at 100%, while Diets 4, 5, and 6 combined powdered sugar and soybean flour in three different ratios: 75:25, 50:50, and 25:75. Diets 7, 8, and 9 mixed powdered pollen and soybean flour in the same respective ratios. Diet 10 was a mixture of all three ingredients in roughly equal proportions. Significant differences in diet consumption were observed, with Diet 10 showing the highest intake, followed by Diets 2, 4, and 5. The foraging behaviour, measured by pollen collection, was significantly higher in Diet 1 (67 pollen balls/5 minutes). However, Diet 10 demonstrated superior results in queen fecundity (98 eggs/24 hours), brood area (285.8 cm²), and colony weight gain (8.7 kg) compared to the other diets. Additionally, Diet 10 resulted in the highest honey production (9 kg/colony/season) and frame coverage (8 frames/colony). In contrast, Diet 1 showed the poorest performance across all parameters. These findings highlight the importance of diet composition in promoting honeybee colony health and productivity during periods of dearth. It is recommended to use Diet-10 with a balanced formulation to enhance colony performance, as it significantly improves queen fecundity, brood rearing, honeybee population growth, weight gains, and honey yield. It is also suitable for winter feeding.
Downloads
References
Abd El-Wahab, T.E., Ghania, A.M.M. & Zidan, E.W. (2016). Assessment of a new pollen supplement diet for honey bee colonies and their effects on some biological activities. Journal of Agricultural Technology, 12: 55-62.
Ali, H., Iqbal, J., Raweh, H.S. & Alqarni, A.S. (2021). Proboscis behavioral response of four honey bee Apis species towards different concentrations of sucrose, glucose, and fructose. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 28: 3275-3283.
Aziz, M.A., Azeem, M., Ahmed, M.S., Siddique, F. & Jamal, M. (2015). Control of Varroa destructor Anderson and Trueman (Acari: Varroidae) on Apis mellifera L.by using thymol and formic acid in the pothwar region of Punjab, Pakistan. Asian Journal of Agriculture and Biology, 3: 150-154.
Burgett, D.M., Fisher, G.C., Mayer, D.F. & Johansen, C.A. (1984). Evaluating honeybee colonies for pollination: A guide for growers and beekeepers. PNW Extn. Publ. No. 245, Oregon, Idaho, Washington, USA. pp. 1-8.
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: 265-270.
Fèvre, D.P., & Dearden, P.K. (2024). Influence of nutrition on honeybee queen egg-laying. Apidologie, 55: 53.
Funari, S.R., Rocha, A.C., Sforcin, J.M., Curi, P.R., Funari, A.R.M. & Orsi, R.O. (2003). Effects of pollen collection on colony development and in the bromatological composition Apis mellifera L. pupae. Archivos Latinoamericanos de Producción Animal, 11: 2.
Garibaldi, L.A., Steffan-Dewenter, I., Winfree, R., Aizen, M.A., Bommarco, R., Cunningham, S.A. & Klein, A.M. (2013). Wild pollinators enhance fruit set of crops regardless of honey bee abundance. Science, 339: 1608-1611.
Islam, S. U., Aqueel, M. A., Yousuf, M. U., Abbasi, A., Yasin, M., Iqbal, R., ... & Rebouh, N. Y. (2024). Evaluating the Influence of Different Artificial Diets on Apis mellifera L. Using Health Biomarkers and Performance Metrics. Insects, 15: 905.
Khan, K.A., Ghramh, H.A. & Ahmad, Z. (2022). Honey bee (Apis mellifera jemenitica) colony performance and queen fecundity in response to different nutritional practices. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 29: 3151-3156.
Khan, K.A., Ansari, M.J., Al-Ghamdi, A., Sharma, D. & Ali, H. (2014). Biodiversity and relative abundance of different honeybee species (Hymenoptera: Apidae) in Murree-Punjab, Pakistan. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 2: 324-327.
Kumar, M., Abrol, D.P., Sharma, D., Vikram, U.S. & Singh, A.K. (2021). Impact of artificial diets on performance of Apis mellifera colonies during dearth periods. Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies, 9: 404-409.
Lamontagne-Drolet, M., Samson-Robert, O., Giovenazzo, P. & Fournier, V. (2019). The impacts of two protein supplements on commercial honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies. Journal of Apicultural Research, 58: 800-813.
Mahmood, R., Wagchoure, E.S. & Sarwar, G. (2013). Influence of supplemental diets on Apis mellifera L. colonies for honey production. Pakistan Journal of Agricultural Research, 26: 290-294.
Mattila, H.R., & Otis, G.W. (2006). Influence of pollen diet in spring on development of honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) colonies. Journal of Economic Entomology, 99: 604-613.
Mortensen, A.N., Cameron, J.J., Bustamante, T.A., Schmehl, D.R. & Ellis, J.D. (2019). Effects of Supplemental Pollen Feeding on Honey Bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) Colony Strength and Nosema spp. infection. Journal of Economic Entomology, 112: 60-66.
Pereira, F.D.M., Freitas, B.M., Vieira Neto, J.M., Lopes, M.T.D.R., Barbosa, A.D.L. & Camargo, R.C.R.D. (2006). Desenvolvimento de colônias de abelhas com diferentes alimentos protéicos. Pesquisa Agropecuária Brasileira, 41: 1-7.
Pernal, S.F., & Currie, R.W. (2001). The influence of pollen quality on foraging behavior in honeybees (Apis mellifera L.). Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 51: 53-68.
Ricigliano, V.A., Williams, S.T. & Oliver, R. (2022). Effects of different artificial diets on commercial honey bee colony performance, health biomarkers, and gut microbiota. BMC Veterinary Research, 18: 52.
Shakeel, M., Ahmad, S., Ali, H., Al-Kahtani, S. N., Ghramh, H. A. & Khan, K. A. (2020). Seasonal impact and comparative analysis of hypopharyngeal glands in worker and forager honey bees of two different species: Apis mellifera and A. cerana. Fresenius Environmental Bulletin, 29: 9024-9030.
Sihag, R.C. & Gupta, M. (2011). Development of an artificial pollen substitute/supplement diet to help tide the colonies of honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) over the dearth season. Journal of Apicultural Science, 55: 15-29.
Skubida, P., Semkiw, P. & Pohorecka, K. (2008). Stimulative feeding of bees as one factor in preparing colonies for early nectar flows.
Standifer, L. N., McCaughey, W. F., Todd, F. E. & Kemmerer, A. R. (1960). Relative availability of various proteins to the honey bee. Annals of the Entomological Society of America, 53: 618-625.
Sultana, N., Reza, M.E., Alam, M.N., Siddiquee, M.N.A., Islam, M.S., Rahman, M.A. & Rahman, M.M. (2024). Evaluating the efficiency of supplementary feeding as a management strategy for enhancing honeybee (Apis mellifera L.) colony growth and productivity. Frontiers in Bee Science, 2: 1386799.
Topal, E., Mărgăoan, R., Bay, V., Takma, Ç., Yücel, B., Oskay, D., Düz, G., Acar, S. & Kösoğlu, M. (2022). The Effect of Supplementary Feeding with Different Pollens in Autumn on Colony Development under Natural Environment and In Vitro Lifespan of Honey Bees. Insects, 13: 588.
Ullah, A., Shahzad, M. F., Iqbal, J. & Baloch, M. S. (2021). Nutritional effects of supplementary diets on brood development, biological activities and honey production of Apis mellifera L. Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences, 28: 6861-6868.
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: 5-12.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Naqeeb Ullah Shah, Hussain Ali, Amjad Usman, Khalid Ali Khan, Hamed A. Ghramh, Mirzakhmedov Mukhammadjon Fazliddin-Ogli, Embergenov Muratbay Amanbaevich, Muhammad Shakeel
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Sociobiology is a diamond open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles in this journal without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
eISSN 2447-8067
