Nutritional content of fresh, bee-collected and stored pollen of Aloe greatheadii var. davyana (Asphodelaceae).

Caste and metamorphosis: hemolymph titers of juvenile hormone and ecdysteroids in last instar honeybee larvae.

Newly-emerged honey bees were placed in cages and fed sucrose syrup and one of the fol- lowing single-pollen diets: Malus domesticaBorkh., Brassica campestrisL., Phacelia tanacetifolia L., Melilotus officinalis(L.) Pall., Helianthus annuus L., Pinus banksiana(Lamb.), artificial supplement (Bee-Pro ® ) or nothing. Hypopharyngeal gland protein was determined at intervals of 0, 3, 8 and 14 days and ovary development was visually scored on day 14. The development of hypopharyngeal glands and ovaries varied with diet and, collectively, proved to be sensitive measures of protein uti- lization and pollen quality. For workers fed 1-year-old Phacelia pollen, protein was utilized in a differential fashion, promoting the development of ovaries over that of hypopharyngeal glands. Development of glands and ovaries was strongly correlated with the amount of protein workers con- sumed from pollen diets, and to a lesser extent, the crude protein content of diets. Storing pollen for 1 year by freezing did not affect gland or ovary development. Apis mellifera / hypopharyngeal gland / ovary / nutrition / protein / pollen

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Pollen quality of fresh and 1-year-old single pollen diets for worker honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)

Plant pollens have distinctive fatty acid profiles; some are characteristically dominant in one or more fatty acids. Pollens with high lipid concentrations and dominated by linoleic, linolenic, myristic and dodecanoic acids probably play a significant role in inhibiting the growth of the spore-forming bacteria, Paenibacillus larvae larvae (American foulbrood), Melissococcus pluton (European foulbrood) and other microbes that inhabit the brood combs of beehives. Those pollens high in oleic and palmitic acids probably have a greater role in honey bee nutrition.

Fatty acids in pollen: a review of their importance for honey bees

Digestion of Pollen Components by Larvae of the Flower-Specialist Bee Chelostoma florisomne (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae)

SummaryA comparative analysis of fatty acids and sterols in colony- and laboratory-stored pollen from the same source revealed some important differences. The sterol ester concentration was 56% higher in pollen stored in the colony; there was also a much lower concentration of the essential fatty acids linoleic (C18: 2) and linolenic (C18: 3), and more of the saturated C16 and C18 acids.

Comparative Lipid Composition of Colony- and Laboratory-Stored Pollen

SummaryThe most important changes in lipid composition during larval development in the honeybee, Apis mellifera, were noted in the total weight of the fatty acid classes. Palmitic acid and a C18:1 acid, presumably oleic, were the most abundant fatty acids in the different lipid classes during larval development, together accounting for more than 70% of the total. The proportions of the fatty acids changed very little during development. Of the sterols, 24-methylene cholesterol was most abundant in both the free and esterified forms except on the first and second days when cholesterol ester was more abundant. Cholesterol-ester concentration decreased in such a way that on the fifth larval day the percentage composition of the sterol esters was almost identical to that of the free sterols. The composition of the free sterols remained practically constant during development.

J. Mattys

Papers

Comparative Lipid Composition of Colony- and Laboratory-Stored Pollen

Fatty Acid and Sterol Composition During Larval Development in the Honeybee