> We compared honeybee workers under different food regimes with regards to their life expectancy, soluble protein content, and ISC replication rate. In addition, we monitored hive brood production and pollen collection. Overall, the results suggested that individual, physiological responses to nutritional differences may not be very pronounced in honeybees, which might be facilitated by demographic plasticity at the colony level. The experimental manipulations did not significantly affect worker life expectancy and all treatment hives retained adults throughout our study and beyond.  

> Our experimental manipulations also failed to affect the protein status of newly emerging workers. These workers were raised during the experimental period and experienced the effect of the experimental manipulations. We predicted that a shortage of readily available protein would particularly affect growing individuals. Body size effects had been previously reported. However, our results do not indicate a major effect on soluble protein quantities that persist into adulthood. 

 -- excerpted from "Food manipulation in honeybees induces physiological responses at the individual and colony level".  Laura Evins WILLARD et al. Apidologie (2011) 42:508–518

> Pollen nutrition enhances metabolism and activates tissue growth and development. It also contains nutrients that stimulate the expression of genes involved in longevity. However, the negative impacts of varroa on the bee metabolism and immune functions could not be reversed by pollen feeding. By inhibiting the macromolecule metabolism (notably proteins), varroa parasitism prevented bees from accessing the beneficial effects of pollen. This demonstrates that pathology associated to varroa is extremely virulent and difficult to reverse, probably due to the multiplication of multiple viruses transmitted by the mite.

 -- excerpted from "Nutrigenomics in honey bees: digital gene expression analysis of pollen's nutritive effects on healthy and varroa-parasitized bees". Alaux et al.  BMC Genomics 2011, 12:496

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