The feasibility of using protein components in the composition of “Kandy” in preparation of bees for wintering

Honey is a valuable foodstuff and an effective remedy, and its use is widespread in the food, pharmaceutical and perfume industries. The demand for natural honey and other bee products in developed countries exceeds their supply. Increase in productivity in beekeeping depends on the breed, quality of worker bees and the intensity of egg laying by the queen bee. In a bee family, there is a very close relationship between the functionality of its members. Growing strong bee families and producing quality mothers depends on the care and nutrition provided by the cooperative efforts of the worker bees. An efficient and healthy bee family guarantees high productivity during both the active and passive phases of life, including successful winter survival. Throughout the year, each bee family requires high quality and sufficient amounts of protein and carbohydrate food. Optimal bee nutrition determines the profitability of the apiary and honey yield. Care must be taken when selecting feed to avoid stimulating bees to leave the hive in search of food. It is important to remember that the use of syrup is not recommended as it can have a negative effect and lead to the death of the bees. Usually winter feeding is carried out with the help of “Kandy”. The effectiveness of using this particular type of self-produced feeding in different formulations has been investigated in our work. At stimulating feeding with pollen in its composition, a high level of average daily egg production was observed in bee mothers in the groups. Thus, egg production of bee mothers when fed “Kandy” + 2.5 % pollen reached its peak on October 3, amounting to 1799.2 eggs/day, while when fed regular “Kandy” on September 21 – 1575.0 eggs/day. Compared to the initial level, it increased 1.83 and 1.64 times, respectively. It was found that the maximum level of average daily egg production of female bees was observed in bee families (maternal, paternal and nursing), where “Kandi” paste with 2.5 % pollen was used for stimulating feeding. It was these bee families that demonstrated better preparation for wintering and can be effectively used in the next season for early hatching of quality bee mothers. The positive effect of using forage with a protein component in its composition was recorded despite the presence of a sufficient supply of perga in bee families.