> > Bee fat body protein levels increased with consumption of pollen
>
> G Kleinschmidt (Australia) did work on this.  Initiated, I think,
> trying to understand why some Aussie colonies would 'collapse'
> before/during a flow.  He monitored the protein levels to determine
> that for a colony to have sustainability, it needed high grade
> pollens X weeks before the anticipated flow...

Graham Kleinschmidt has many papers on nutrition of honey bees.  One titled "The Effect of Dietary Protein on Colony Performance" has as its summary:-

"The level of body protein varied between 21% and 67% and was closely related to colony requirements.

Under heavy honeyflow conditions, bees in colonies with a rapid decrease in body protein lived 20-26 days whereas in colonies which maintained body protein above 40% bees had a lifespan of 46-50 days. Colony reproduction did not completely compensate for deaths when longevity was short, whereas increased longevity allowed colonies to maintain large populations during a twelve week honey flow.

Management should be designed to reduce extreme fluctuations in body protein and to maintain it above 40% whenever possible."

I should also shortly put down my take home messages from Apimondia.  There are many and will vary greatly from those people from North America.  I was sorry that I did not get to the Bee-L meeting till it was almost over but I was attending a presentation on "Cryopreservation of honey bee embryos".

Trevor Weatherhead
AUSTRALIA