Research Center for Advanced Materials Science (RCAMS), King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
Unit of Bee Research and Honey Production, Faculty of Science, King Khalid University, Abha, Saudi Arabia.
PLoS One. 2022 Mar 28;17(3):e0266145. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0266145. eCollection 2022.
Honey bees are crucial for pollination services globally and produce important hive products including honey, royal jelly, pollen, and propolis that are being used commercially in food, cosmetics, and alternative medicinal purposes. Among the bee products, royal jelly (RJ) has long attracted scientists' interest because of its importance in honey caste differentiation. The present research was carried out to determine the acceptance rate of queen cells, and RJ production between the hygienic and non-hygienic lines. Further, this study unveils the effect of pollen substitute diets on the queen cell acceptance rate and RJ yields between both bee stocks. Results showed that the uncapped brood cells and dead brood's removal percentage was significantly more in hygienic bee colonies in comparison to non-hygienic bee colonies (p < 0.05). The average percentage of larval acceptance was statistically higher in hygienic lines (64.33 ± 2.91%) compared to non-hygienic lines (29.67 ± 1.20%). Similarly, the RJ mean weight per colony differed statistically between both bee stocks (p<0.001), which were 12.23 ± 0.52 g and 6.72 ± 0.33 g, respectively. Moreover, our results demonstrated that a significant difference was observed in larval acceptance rate, RJ yields (per colony and per cup) between both bee stocks those fed on various diets. However, no significant difference was recorded in RJ yields (per colony and per cup) between both bee stock that feeds on either commercially available pollen or pollen substitute. This study may provide future applications in helping bee breeders to choose the bees that carry a higher level of hygienic behavior with high RJ production traits.
蜜蜂在全球的授粉服务中至关重要，它们生产的重要蜂产品包括蜂蜜、蜂王浆、花粉和蜂胶，这些产品在食品、化妆品和替代药物方面具有商业用途。在这些蜂产品中，蜂王浆（RJ）因其在蜜蜂群体分化中的重要性而长期吸引着科学家的兴趣。本研究旨在确定卫生和非卫生品系之间的蜂王幼虫接受率和 RJ 产量。此外，本研究揭示了花粉替代饲料对两种蜂群蜂王幼虫接受率和 RJ 产量的影响。结果表明，与非卫生蜂群相比，卫生蜂群中未封盖的巢房和死巢房的清除率显著更高（p < 0.05）。卫生线的幼虫接受平均百分比在统计学上明显更高（64.33 ± 2.91%），而非卫生线的幼虫接受平均百分比为 29.67 ± 1.20%。同样，两种蜂群之间的每群 RJ 平均重量也存在统计学差异（p<0.001），分别为 12.23 ± 0.52 g 和 6.72 ± 0.33 g。此外，我们的研究结果表明，在接受幼虫的比率、RJ 产量（每群和每杯）方面，两种蜂群之间存在显著差异，而在用不同饲料喂养时，这两种蜂群之间的 RJ 产量（每群和每杯）没有差异。然而，在用市售花粉或花粉替代品喂养时，两种蜂群之间的 RJ 产量（每群和每杯）没有差异。本研究可为帮助养蜂人选择具有更高卫生行为水平和高 RJ 产量特性的蜜蜂提供未来的应用。
