Randy writes: I've not heard this claim before, Pete. Can you please share supportive evidence for it?
Me: yes, it was new to me also. The first mention appears to be:
* Besides nectar, protein food - pollen and bee bread - is of great importance in wax production.
Some interesting data, which show the important role of pollen as a source of protein for wax production, were obtained during experiments carried out on 14 colonies, each of 0.5 kg. When the colonies were formed they were given fertile queens, and combs which were cut out alternately above and below, without any stores of bee bread. Each colony was given 200 g. 50% sugar syrup every 24 hours. The number of bees returning with pollen loads was counted daily at each hive. The wax produced was periodically cut out.
A direct relation was found between the quantity of wax obtained from a colony and the amount of pollen brought into the hive; Table 2 gives the results of the two experiments, with 6 and 8 colonies respectively.
In the absence of stores of bee bread in the nest, a colony's output of wax increases with the increase in numbers of the bees bringing pollen loads into the hive.
Wax production increased in proportion to the rate at which the colonies were fed. On the average the addition of 200 g. of food a day gave an increase in wax production of 35 g.; brood production increased in a similar manner.
The results of the experiment show that if a colony is fed with sugar syrup in such quantity that the bees can take it down continuously during almost the whole 24 hours, then 1 kg. bees in their lifetime can give about 500 g. wax, and feed about 26,000 larvae.
G. F. Taranov (1959) The Production of Wax in the Honeybee Colony, Bee World, 40:5, 113-121, DOI: 10.1080/0005772X.1959.11096711
note: I expect there have been follow up studies
***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software. For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html
|
