The Effect of Substitute Feeding On Drone Larvae Production Performance in Honey Bee Colonies

Abstract

Objective: In recent years, there has been an increase in interest in functional honey bee products. Due of their high nutritional content, drone larvae (Apilarnil) is capable of a wide range of biological activities. In this study, we compared the individual and total weights of drone larvae obtained from colonies fed with different substitute foods.Material and Methods: 12 out of 100 colonies comparable in queen age, brood status and colony size were used as material. The colonies were divided into three groups: control, sugar syrup and pollen substitute diet. Each group underwent three replications.Results: There was no statistically significant difference in the weight averages of individual drone larvae taken from colonies (p>0.05). The difference in the average weight of total drone larvae collected between the groups was statistically significant (p<0.05). The average weight of total drone larvae produced by the colonies was 23.80 g in the control group, 34.70 g in the honey substitute group, and 44.42 g in the pollen substitute group.Conclusion: In this research, the high average weight of total drone larvae produced in colonies that fed with pollen substitute feed showed that the use of appropriate substitute feeds in colony feeding management in beekeeping practices promotes drone brood production.