Effects Of Different Liquid Protein Feeds On Bee Colony Development And Royal Jelly Quality In Honeybee (Apis Mellifera Ligustica)

In beekeeping,the lack of nectar and pollen resources leading to malnutrition of bees.In order to maintain the breeding of bee colonies and meet the protein requirements for production,it is necessary to supply bee colonies with pollen;However,commercial pollen is scarce and expensive usually,so it is crucial to develop artificially formulated bee protein feeds.Currently,there are many artificial bee protein feeds in the market,including fermented feeds,powdered feeds,etc.Although they have the advantages of comprehensive nutrition and moderate prices,the feeding and production process are complex and require a lot of labor.Theoretically,it is easy to make and feed liquid protein feed for bees,but the actual feeding effect is unclear,and there’s no report on feeding liquid protein feed for bees.In this study,four protein sources,including soy protein isolate,wheat hydrolyzed protein,peanut protein,and pea protein,were used to feed honeybee(Apis mellifera ligustica)during periods of lack of pollen.The changes in colony potential and the quality of royal jelly were measured to explore the availability of liquid protein feeds.The effects of different protein sources were compared to provide reference for the formulation and utilization of liquid protein feed.In this experiment,20 colonies of honeybees with similar colony potential were randomly divided into 4 groups,with 5 replicates in each group,and 1 colony of each replicate.Feed liquid protein feeds with a crude protein content of 11%,prepared using soy protein isolate,wheat hydrolyzed protein,peanut protein,and pea protein as protein sources and using syrup as a carrier,respectively.The feeds were placed in a feeder inside a beehive to allow bees to intake ad libitum.Using conventional methods to produce royal jelly every 3 days.The prefeeding period is 15 days,the trial period is 60 days.The feed intake of the colonies were recorded every 3 days and the acceptance rate and royal jelly production were measured.The components of royal jelly,including crude protein,10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid(10-HDA),water,main minerals,and amino acid are tested.The colony potential and capping amounts of the bee colony are recorded on the d 12,24 and 36 of the trial period.In the middle and later stages of the trial,the marked 7 d and 14 d worker bees were collected to obtain the activity of digestive enzymes in the midgut,antioxidant and immune related indicators of bee tissue,and the content of crude protein and dry matter in the bee body.By comparing the feeding effects of four protein sources on liquid protein feeds,the results showed that:1)The colony potential of the bees fed liquid peanut protein feed on the 36 th day was significantly higher than that of the bees fed liquid wheat hydrolyzed protein feed and liquid pea protein feed(P < 0.05),indicating the beneficial effects of supply of liquid peanut protein feed on the reproductive performance of the bees.2)The royal jelly yield and royal jelly acceptance ratio of bee colonies fed liquid peanut protein feed was significantly higher than other three liquid protein feeds(P < 0.05).3)The primary protein content of royal jelly in bee colonies fed liquid peanut protein feed was significantly higher than that in other groups(P < 0.05),and the content of manganese was significantly higher than that in the soy protein isolate group and the wheat hydrolyzed protein group(P < 0.05).4)Compared with other groups,feeding liquid peanut protein feed significantly increased the crude protein content and dry matter content of workers bees(P < 0.05),and significantly increased the levels of albumin,triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein in worker bee lymph.5)Compared with other groups,feeding liquid peanut protein feed significantly increased the trypsin and amylase level of worker bees(P < 0.05),and the activities of worker bee body lysozyme,phenol oxidase and manganese superoxide dismutase were significantly increased(P < 0.05),but significantly decreased the malondialdehyde content of worker bees for 14 d(P < 0.05).The results show that the liquid protein feeding method using syrup as a carrier can provide the protein for the bee colony.The feeding effect of liquid peanut protein feed was better than other three liquid protein feeds.From the results of the determination,liquid peanut protein feed can enhance the reproductive ability of bee colonies and the quality and yield of royal jelly.Significantly increased the dry matter and crude protein content of worker bee bodies and the contents of albumin,triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein in hemolymph.It significantly increased the activity of worker bee amylase,trypsin,superoxide dismutase,lysozyme and phenol oxidase,significantly reduced the reactive oxygen malondialdehyde content of worker bees,and improved the digestive,antioxidant and immune capacity of worker bees.