Nectar Feeding and Dearth Period Management in Indian Honey Bee Apis cerana (F)

Authors

  • Bismat Un Nisa Division of Entomology, Sher e Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Horticulture, Shalimar, Jammu & Kashmir
  • Muneer Ahmed Section of Entomology, Dryland Agriculture Research Station, Rangreth, Jammu & Kashmir
  • S. S. Pathania Division of Entomology, Sher e Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Horticulture, Shalimar, Jammu & Kashmir
  • Humira Mushtaq Division of Entomology, Sher e Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Horticulture, Shalimar, Jammu & Kashmir
  • Ikra Manzoor Division of Fruit Science, Sher e Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Horticulture, Shalimar, Jammu & Kashmir
  • Mohd Firdoos Division of Entomology, Sher e Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Horticulture, Shalimar, Jammu & Kashmir
  • Arifa Gulzar Division of Plant Pathology, Sher e Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Faculty of Horticulture, Shalimar, Jammu & Kashmir

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55446/IJE.2024.1654

Keywords:

Apis cerana, feeding substitutes, apple juice, brood, carbohydrate, sugar, colony performance index, dearth period, egg laying, supplements, egg, larvae, pupae, space coverage

Abstract

There have been many attempts to reduce the loss of Indian honey bee Apis cerana (F) colonies during the dearth period by supplementing nectar feeding substitutes. An experiment on development and evaluation of nectar feeding substitutes was conducted at an apiary maintained at the Division of Entomology, SKUAST-K, Shalimar from July to September during 2020-21. Syrup containing apple juice, sugar and mixture of both were evaluated as a diet supplement to develop an efficient feeding substitute. These include: T1 - apple juice and sugar in the ratio of 1:1; T2 - apple juice and sugar in the ratio of 1.5:1; T3- apple juice alone and T4 - sugar syrup in the ratio of 1:1 and compared with T5 natural feeding to determine their impact on desirable attributes of colonies. A gradual increase in the colony performance index (CPI), space covered by eggs (sq cm), larvae (sq cm) and pupae (sq cm) was observed, which were maximum with apple juice and sugar in the ratio of 1.5:1 viz; CPI (13.28); space covered by eggs (204.25 sq cm); larvae (296.12 sq cm); pupae (484.41 sq cm). All parameters were found to be least in T5 (natural feeding). Thus, apple juice and sugar in the ratio of 1.5:1 (T2 ) was the best nectar feeding substitute.

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Published

2024-06-04

How to Cite

Un Nisa, B., Ahmed, M., Pathania, S. S., Mushtaq, H., Manzoor, I., Firdoos, M., & Gulzar, A. (2024). Nectar Feeding and Dearth Period Management in Indian Honey Bee <i>Apis cerana</i> (F). Indian Journal of Entomology, 1–5. https://doi.org/10.55446/IJE.2024.1654

Issue

Online First

Section

Research Communications
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Europe PMC

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