Determination of honeybees preference for dry protein replacement diets at different locations

Abstract

Honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) are the best known and most effective pollinating insects. Not enough information is available on the nutrition of these insects. Various products are used as protein sources for the diet of bees, and these products are usually given to the colony in the form of cake. There is little research on dry protein substitutes used for feeding bees outside the colony. In this study, the preference of bees for different dry protein substitutes was investigated in continental and subtropical climates. The results show that the seven different formulations are most preferred by the bees. In the subtropical climate, the bees showed no interest in these feeds, while in the continental climate they showed considerable interest. In addition, bees visited dark-colored baits more. In addition, baits close to the colonies were preferred more.