Relative Availability of Various Proteins to the Honey Bee1

Abstract

Newly emerged caged honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) were fed diets containing various percentages of the following proteins: egg albumin, skimmed-milk powder, sesame seed, soy flour, cottonseed, castor bean, soy-flour hydrolysate, soy alpha-protein, liver extract, Penicel, zein, lactalbumin, casein, brewer's yeast, and beegathered pollens. The protein source of the control diet was a bee-gathered mixture containing 40% of dandelion and 60% of unidentified pollens. Development of the pharyngeal glands and longevity of the bees were criteria used for the evaluation of the test diets. In promoting pharyngeal gland development egg albumin was equal to the control; mustard, almond, and cherry pollen diets at the 10% level and skimmed-milk powder, sesame seed meal, and soy flour were nearly as effective. There were no significant differences among the pollen diets at the 10% protein level in promoting gland development or longevity. Discrepancies in the lack of correlation between longevity and gland development data indicate differences in the protein requirements of young and old worker bees. A correlation was indicated between the degree of gland development in bees fed a particular protein and the availability to microorganisms of the amino acid in the protein.