El-Din Hatem Sharaf, Radawan Hossam, Ghramh Hamed A, Al Naggar Yahya
Department of Economic Entomology and Pesticides, Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt.
Bee Venom Production Association, Kafr El-Zayat, Al Gharbiyah, Egypt.
PLoS One. 2025 May 14;20(5):e0323423. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0323423. eCollection 2025.
Honey bees require diverse nectar and pollen sources for optimal nutrition, especially during late winter and early spring. This study evaluated the effect of a tuna fish protein hydrolysate (FPH)-based dietary supplement on honey bee colonies during winter season. FPH was extracted with Spasmodigestin® tablets, which increased protein content and the availability of 15 amino acids. Colonies were fed 2% FPH extract in sugar syrup (50% W/V) weekly for six weeks, while control colonies received only sugar syrup. The size of brood, honey, and bee bread areas were measured every two weeks, while foraging activity (number of incoming and outgoing foragers) was evaluated weekly. FPH-fed colonies showed improved foraging activity (130 ± 10.65%), larger brood areas (116 ± 11.10%), and higher reserves of honey (152 ± 61.87%) and bee bread (132 ± 61.39%). These findings highlight the potential of tuna FPH-based supplements to strengthen honey bee colonies during periods of limited forage availability.
蜜蜂需要多种花蜜和花粉来源以获取最佳营养，尤其是在冬末和早春时节。本研究评估了一种基于金枪鱼鱼蛋白水解物（FPH）的膳食补充剂在冬季对蜂群的影响。FPH是用Spasmodigestin®片剂提取的，这增加了蛋白质含量以及15种氨基酸的可利用性。每周给蜂群喂食2%的FPH提取物糖浆（50%重量/体积），持续六周，而对照蜂群只接受糖浆。每两周测量一次子脾、蜂蜜和蜂粮区域的大小，同时每周评估觅食活动（进出蜂巢的觅食工蜂数量）。喂食FPH的蜂群表现出觅食活动改善（130±10.65%）、子脾区域更大（116±11.10%）以及蜂蜜（152±61.87%）和蜂粮（132±61.39%）储备更高。这些发现凸显了基于金枪鱼FPH的补充剂在饲料供应有限时期增强蜂群的潜力。
