Nutritional value of certain bee bread types and their effects on honey bee workers [electronic resource].

Includes reference.

The nutritional value of certain bee bread types from monofloral sources was evaluated on honey bee workers under laboratory conditions, by determining the bee bread consumption and development degree of hypopharyngeal glands. The greatest rate of consumed food was recorded during the first six days (c. 79.7%), specially the first three days (c. 44.7%) from total consumption. The cumulative bee bread consumptions by bees during feeding period were 60.7,58.7,58.0, 57.1,56.6, 5\.6 and 50.6 mg/bee/21 days for caper, broad bean fennel, maize, Egyptian clover, canola and coriander bee bread, respectively. The highest degree of glands development was recorded in bees fed on canola (3.6) or broad bean bee bread (3.56), whereas the lowest score was obtained in bees fed on fennel bee bread. According to results the bee bread types could be classified into three categories depending on their nutritional values in relation to hypopharyngeaJ glands development as follows: the first group (most effective), the gland degree was more than 3.5, included canola and broad bean bee bread. The second category (considerably effective) ranged from 3 to 3.5, included Egyptian clover.

Summary in Arabic.

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