THE EFFECTS OF PROTEIN SUPPLEMENT ON CAGED LABORATORY A. MELLIFERA MORTALITY RATES

The average lifespan of the caged honey bee, Apis mellifera, has been significantly declining over the last fifty years. Caged Apis are essential in studying the ecological and neurological implications that relate to the honey bee's role in our environment. Studies suggest that providing caged bees with tap water and MegaBee, a plant based protein supplement, in addition to the standard normal sucrose (a carbohydrate source) decreases mortality rates. MegaBee has recently been released into the market as a supplement for honey bees consisting of all the essential dietary amino acids dissolved in a concentrated syrup. Previous reports demonstrate that these additional supplements increase Apis median lifespan by more than 20 days. Our goal is to increase the lifespan of honey bees in order to better study and understand the long-term effects of pesticides in a controlled cage environment. We placed twenty bees in each cage with a different combination of MegaBee, water, and/or sucrose. The number of bees alive and the change in weight of each food source was measured daily. Results show us that Apis prefer MegaBee, and cages with this supplement survived 21+ more days than those without it. 

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