Beekeeping: Feeding Sugar and Feeding Pollen
| CATEGORIES: Production technologies: Animal production | GLOBAL FARMING SYSTEMS: Wetland Rice Based, Smallholder Rainfed Dry-Cold, Dualistic | TECHNICAL ECONOMIC FINANCIAL SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ATTRIBUTES: Improves efficient utilization of scarce resources, Incorporates indigenous knowledge |
LANGUAGE: en
COUNTRY: Ecuador,
SYNOPSIS: Since honey usually commands a high price in Asian markets, many beekeepers harvest most of their colonies' honey stores and replace them with a cheaper source of energy: sugar syrup. Notwithstanding a common belief that feeding bees on sugar is not necessarily required in the tropics, there is in fact a relatively long nectar-dearth period in the evergreen vegetation of many tropical areas
DESCRIPTION OF THE TECHNOLOGY:
The syrup used consists of sugar dissolved in an equal weight of hot water; the solution is allowed to cool before being given to the bees. Where unrefined cane sugar (brown sugar) is available, it may be found to be less expensive than refined (white) sugar, particularly if it can be bought in quantity directly from a sugar mill.
It may however he necessary to strain brown-sugar syrup through a double layer of cheese-cloth before feeding it to the bees. The feeding methods most generally preferred are the use of a division-board feeder or a feeding pail.
The amount of sugar required by the colony depends on where it is kept and the time of year. In temperate regions, the beekeeper may have to give a colony 15-20 kg of sugar or more to ensure that it will survive the winter. In the tropics, the colony should be inspected frequently to ensure that at least 5 kg of honey or sugar are available in the storage comb whenever there is no honey flow: especially under tropical conditions, a food shortage causes the colony to dwindle rapidly.
When feeding sugar syrup to a honeybee colony, the beekeeper should bear in mind that if unused syrup remains in the storage combs at the time of the honey flow it will result in contamination of the pure honey. As soon as the honey flow begins, therefore, any comb containing sugar must he removed from the hive, and feeding should stop immediately
Another problem that can arise as a result of overfeeding is a condition in which the combs are "honey-bound". It occurs when the workers have used so much comb for storing sugar that the queen no longer has enough space in which to lay eggs. The difficulty can he remedied, at least in part, by stopping feeding and by providing extra space between the frames.
Feeding Pollen, Pollen Supplement and Pollen Substitute
Brood-rearing requires a substantial amount of pollen as a source of protein, fat and vitamins: it is estimated that one cell of pollen is needed by the trees to rear a larva until it reaches the pupa stage. A shortage of pollen is therefore most critical to a colony, particularly before the honey-flow season arrives, and the beekeeper often has to provide a pollen supplement or substitute as an alternative source of protein to stimulate brood-rearing.
A pollen supplement is composed of the pollen collected by the bees, mixed with other protein compounds such as soybean flour, dried brewer's yeast or dry skim milk; honey or sugar is also added to make the mixture more palatable to the trees. While Formulas for pollen supplement vary, it should contain at least one third of fresh or dried pollen: the general rule is that the more pollen is contained in the mixture, the better.
Bees' pollen must be stored properly; otherwise, much of its nutritive value is lost. The simplest way of storing pollen, unless it is too moist, is to mix two parts of fresh pollen with one part of granulated sugar and pack the mixture tightly in a sealed container. Pollen can also be dried at room temperature, or by direct sunlight, and stored in a refrigerator until needed for feeding, either directly or in a supplement mix.
A pollen substitute is a proteinaceous mixture of bee diets with no added pollen. The most popular formula for a substitute is one part each by weight of soybean flour, dried brewer's yeast and dry skim milk, with honey or sugar added to form it into pellets.
While under some circumstances provisioning honeybee colonies with pollen supplement or substitute is beneficial in increasing the number of brood reared, no mixture can replace fresh pollen. Moving the bees to places where pollen is naturally available, whenever this is possible, is always the best remedy for a pollen shortage. If moving the bees is difficult, the beekeeper's next best solution is to trap pollen during the high season and save it for the dearth period.
During severe shortages of natural pollen, bees have been known to collect various kinds of materials in the form of fine particles. Rice bran, fishmeal, animal feeds and even sawdust are sometimes collected and carried back to the hive in the same manner as pollen. Although some of these materials are edible and have some nutritive value they cannot be used as replacements for natural pollen.
ADDITIONAL EXTERNAL RESOUCES: For additional information see: http://www.fao.org/docrep/X0083E/X0083E07.htm#D.%20Colony%20management
SOURCE(s): FAO Beekeeping in Asia by by Pongthep Akratanakul http://www.fao.org/docrep/X0083E/X0083E00.htm#Contents
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| Author: daniela |