Nutritional feeding to honey bee colony during floral dearth responses higher production of quality hive products and medication

Abstract

Honey bee colony of Indian bee keeping industry is suffering with the acute problems, such as scarcity of food source, infestation of bee enemies, diseases and temperature (45 ˚C) of day hours during floral dearth and these were experienced by bees at the same time. The 50 per cent population of bee colony was diminished by these stresses during the month of June to September each year. To overcome such conditions and also for proper growth of bee colony during floral dearth, availability of fresh drinking water in apiary, nutritional feeding with preserved fresh syrups such as mahua (Bassia latifolia) flowers’ syrup, sugar beet (Beta vulgaris), neem (Azadirachta indica) fruit pulp syrups were not only beneficial for development but also serve as strong natural feeding option to surpass the dearth period. These syrups provide the nutritional ingredients to bees as required by them and increased the honey production and multiplication of bee colony. Honey bees are also derived their medication from plant products. Ecosystem of India consists of vast floristic ecological variations, at different temperature and locations at the same time (such as temperature of Leh - 35 to - 45 ˚C and at the same moment in Chennai +40 ˚C to + 48 ˚C). In this region sweet juicy corolla are available just prior to the commencement of floral dearth, which tempted us to prepare the preserved syrup of mahua (B. latifolia) flowers, made from extracted juice of fresh flowers for feeding of bee colony during floral dearth. The number of bee frames, brood and honey storage areas were increased by its feeding during floral dearth as compared to the sugar syrup feeding treatments.