The effect of different doses of ascorbic acid on the egg-laying of queen, body weight of nurse bees, behavior of worker bees and the amount of royal jelly production in honey bee during the hot season

Abstract

Introduction: Heat stress in honey bees causes a decrease in queen egg laying and the life
span of workers on royal jelly production cells. In order to reduce the effects of heat stress
and increase the body resistance of bees, heat stress problems can be minimized by
providing antioxidant substances. The current research aimed to determine the effect of
different doses of vitamin C on queen egg laying, antioxidant status and body weight of
nurse bees, larval acceptance percentage, and royal jelly production.
Materials & Methods: A total of 30 honey bee colonies (Mellifera meda) were equalized
and organized for royal jelly production in July and used in a completely random design.
Colonies were fed vitamin C in concentrations of zero, 1000, 1500, 2000, 2500, and 3000
mg/liter for 30 days. The body's antioxidant capacity, weight and composition of the body of
nurse bees, the percentage of larval acceptance, and the amount of royal jelly produced in
each cup were determined.
Results: The lowest body weight of nurse bees belonged to colonies that received 2500 and
3000 mg of vitamin C per liter of syrup. The lowest antioxidant capacity of the body was
observed in the control group, and the highest mean was in the group receiving 3000 mg of
vitamin C per liter of syrup. The control group had the lowest egg-laying area, and the
colonies receiving 2000 mg of vitamin C per liter of syrup had the highest egg-laying area of
the queen. The highest percentage of larvae acceptance was observed in the group receiving
2500 mg of vitamin C per liter of syrup. The lowest percentage of larva acceptance was
observed in the control group. The lowest amount of royal jelly produced belonged to the
control group, and the groups receiving 2000 and 2500 mg of vitamin C per liter of syrup
had the highest amount of royal jelly per cell. Colonies receiving 2500 and 3000 mg of
vitamin C per liter of syrup were highly aggressive.
Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that supplementation of 2000 mg
vitamin C per liter of syrup increases larval acceptance and royal jelly production and
improves queen egg laying. By supplementation of vitamin C, the aggressive behavior of
worker bees increases, which leads to increases in the risk of the bees' stings.