Features of digestion in the middle intestine of the honey bee

Abstract

The midgut of the honey bee is considered the only midgut. Processes related to digestion take place in this department. At the same time, the middle intestine takes part in the processes that indicate the immune status. The purpose of the research was to study the effect of protein feed on the morphometric parameters of the epithelium of the midgut of honeybees and the peretrophic membrane. Two groups of families participated in the study. The first group received bee pollen collected from winter rape with a protein content of 25 % as protein feed. The second group consumed dandelion meal with a protein content of 15 %. After reaching the required age, the insects were taken from the nest, and the midgut was dissected. The conducted studies indicate that the length of the enterocytes of the midgut of a honey bee at the age of 10 days ranges from 18.89 to 34.11 μm. Morphometric differences of midgut enterocytes in the experimental groups did not reveal any significant difference. It has been proven that the thickness of the pertrophic membrane in hive bees is greater than that of flying bees by 22.7 % (P < 0.001). This value depends on the area where it is placed. In particular, in the caudal part, the thickness of the pertrophic membrane is more significant on average by 25.0 % compared to the cranial part (P < 0.01). The decrease in the thickness of the midgut of flying bees is related to the nature of nutrition. Older bees consume less pollen and eat more carbohydrate feed. Along with this, it has been proven that the thickness of the pertrophic membrane depends on the composition of the diet. In hive bees that consumed protein-enriched feed, the thickness of the pertrophic membrane in the caudal part of the midgut is 22.1 % greater (P < 0.001).