The role of phagostimulant in diet choices and it’s nutritional value of diets in honey bees (Apis mellifera L) were studied in Laboratory. Feeding preferences were observed on young honey bees (1-3 days old) offered a choices of diets between “test diets + Phagostimulants” and “test diets” only. Several commercial diets and dietary ingredients were tested in these studies, including as Beltsville Bee Diet, Dadant, Kelley, Bee Pro, Bee Pol, Rice Protein and Casein Protein Diets. Phagostimulants were given as Extract Pollen. Then we observed feeding preferences of honey bees consuming these diets and their survival rates. The results show that phagostimulant plays an important role in feeding preference and survival of honey bees.
Species 1: Hymenoptera Apidae Apis mellifera (honey bee)
Keywords: bee diets, phagostimulants
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