Effect of some food additives on caged bees under laboratory conditions

Abstract EN

This work was carried out during spring and early summer of 2015 in Apiculture and
Sericulture Research Laboratory, Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig
University, Egypt for evaluating biological and physiological effects of 18 different diets as compared
with control fed on sucrose syrup (1: 1) on caged worker bees.

The longest leathal time 50 (the time at
which 50% of bees were dead) (LT50) and leathal time 90 (the time at which 90% of bees were dead)
(LT90) and the maximal activity surface area of hypopharyngeal gland (HP) acini were recorded for
caged bees fed on diet 16; composed of 4.5 pollen: 4.5 banana: 1 coriander: 90 sucrose (35.8, 54.1
days and 0.64 mm2, respectively), followed descindingly by diet 18; 4.5 pollen: 4.5 date paste: 1
coriander: 90 sucrose (35.0, 50.2 days and 0.56 mm2, respectively) and diet 12; 4.5 lentil flour: 4.5
date paste: 1 coriander: 90 sucrose (28.9, 38.5 days and 0.54 mm2, respectively).

The heaviest mean
body weight was detected in case of the caged bees fed on diet 14; 4.5 pollen: 4.5 guava: 1 santonica:
90 sucrose (95.33 mg), followed by diet 16; 4.5 pollen: 4.5 banana: 1 coriander: 90 sucrose (88.92
mg), and diet 18; 4.5 pollen: 4.5 date paste: 1 coriander: 90 sucrose (86.38 mg) and diet 12; 4.5 lentil flour:
4.5 date paste: 1 coriander: 90 sucrose (81.75 mg).

Therefore, survival and development of hypopharyngeal
(HP) of caged bees could be depend upon for evaluating the efficiency of the test feed.