Application of stimulating products in autumn feeding and wintering of the bee colonies (Apis mellifera L.)

Rositsa Shumkova, Ivanka Zhelyazkova, Svilen Lazarov

Abstract: The effect of stimulanting products on some parameters which characterize the wintering of the bees such as degree of the worker honeybees fat body, amount of dead bees and quantity of food consumption in the winter was investigated. For stimulating feeding of the bee colonies the products “Apimix”, “Apipasta”, “Probee-41” and “Baikal EM1” were used. The experiment was carried out in 2018 during the autumn feeding of the bee colonies at Research Center of Stockbreeding and Agriculture, town of Smolyan. Samples of worker bees were taken to determine the condition of the fat body at the end of the experiment before preparing of the bees for winter period. The degree of fat body development was determined by 5-point scale proposed by Maurizio (1954). For the characterization of the parameters of the wintering, two reviews of the bee colonies were carried out (during wintering in October 2018 and in March 2019). Strength of the bee colonies (amount of bees in the beehive) and amount of honey supplies (the capped honey in the honeycombs) were reported. It was found that the autumn feeding of the bee colonies with the addition of the microbiological product “Baikal EM1”, the plant product “Probee 41” and the product “Apipasta” before the wintering has a positive effect on the development of the worker bees fat body. In the bee colonies which received with their food before wintering stimulating products “Apimix”, “Apipasta”, “Probee 41” and “Baikal EM1”, the honey consumption for 1 kg of bees in the winter was reduced. The highest percentage of dead bees (winter loss) in the control groups of bee colonies C1 and C2 was established (P ≤ 0.05 – P ≤ 0.01). Winter loss under 20% was found in the colonies which received “Probee 41” and “Baikal EM1” during the autumn feeding.

Keywords: fat body; honeybees; stimulating products; wintering

Date published: 2019-12-30