JWSS - Journal of Water and Soil Science

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To estimate the relationship between honey yield and some of the morphological characters, five queen-daughters from each of 30 queen-mothers were studied. The queen-mothers were selected randomly from the apiary of Research Center of Animal Science and Natural Resources in Isfahan Province. Summer honey yield was measured from the difference of honey comb before and after honey extraction while fall honey production was calculated from area of sealed honey combs. Morphological characters were recorded using a stereodissecting microscope fitted with a calibrated micrometer reticule according to Ruttner’s procedures. The mean of honey yield for a year was estimated to be 10.05 kg. Phenotypic correlations between yearly honey production and summer and fall honey productions were estimated to be 0.49 and 0.88, respectively, while the correlation between summer and fall honey yields was low (0.019). There were significant correlations between summer honey yield with cubital-b index, tibia length and forewing width (0.28, 0.27 and 0.25, respectively). Also there were significant correlations between metatarus width with total and fall honey yields (0.22 and 0.23, respectively). Genetic correlations between metatarus length and cubital index with summer honey yield were negative (-0.75 and -0.45, respectively). It may be concluded that due to the high correlation between summer honey production and total honey yield, one could improve yearly honey production by selecting on the basis of summer yield of colonies. Among morphological traits, metatarus length, forewing width and cubital index could be used in the breeding plan in order to increase honey yield.

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In order to study the effects of different protein feeds on honey bees (Apis mellifera L), experiments were conducted in a completely randomized block design with 15 treatments and 4 replicates. The nutritional effects of different treatments on caged bees were studied through recording half-life time (50% mortality). Pollen substitutes were soybean flour, soybean meal, bread yeast, wheat gluten, soybean flour + soybean meal, soybean flour + bread yeast, soybean flour + wheat gluten, soybean meal + wheat gluten, and wheat gluten + bread yeast. Pollen supplements were wheat gluten + pollen , soybean flour + pollen, soybean meal + pollen, bread yeast + pollen and two controls as pollen and honey. The nutritional effects of different protein sources provided by pollen substitutes and supplements were recorded on the amount of carcass protein and fatbody of honey bee workers in experimental colonies. The wheat gluten supplement and the soybean substitute showed the longest (60.58 days) and the shortest (10.53 days) half-life time of worker bees, respectively. The amount of food consumption in different treatments was not significantly different (P>0.05). The greatest DM of worker bees (dry matter of carcass) was related to soybean (34%) and the least related to yeast supplement (31.54%), which were significantly different (P<0.05). The highest carcass protein belonged to wheat gluten supplement (22.57%) and the lowest was related to yeast supplement (20.01%). The greatest carcass fat was related to soybean supplement (4.75%) and the lowest to wheat gluten supplement (3.84%). Results of the present experiments showed that soybean flour, soybean meal, wheat gluten and bread yeast can be used in pollen supplement and substitute cakes.