A novel Fish Protein Hydrolysate supplement enhances honey bee foraging activity and colony strength: A pilot study

Abstract

Honey bees require diverse nectar and pollen sources for optimal nutrition, especially during late winter and early spring. This study evaluated the effect of a tuna fish protein hydrolysate (FPH)-based dietary supplement on honey bee colonies during winter season. FPH was extracted with Spasmodigestin® tablets, which increased protein content and the availability of 15 amino acids. Colonies were fed 2% FPH extract in sugar syrup (50% W/V) weekly for six weeks, while control colonies received only sugar syrup. The size of brood, honey, and bee bread areas were measured every two weeks, while foraging activity (number of incoming and outgoing foragers) was evaluated weekly. FPH-fed colonies showed improved foraging activity (130 ± 10.65%), larger brood areas (116 ± 11.10%), and higher reserves of honey (152 ± 61.87%) and bee bread (132 ± 61.39%). These findings highlight the potential of tuna FPH-based supplements to strengthen honey bee colonies during periods of limited forage availability.

Fig 1. Displays the diagrammatic steps of tuna fish protein hydrolysate (FPH) extraction and the experimental design, including the time of feeding and the number of colonies employed per treatment.

Fig 2. Effects of winter weekly feeding of honey bee colonies (n = 3) for 6 weeks on sugar syrup spiked with 2% fish protein hydrolysate (FPH) extract on comb areas (cm²) of honey (left), bee bread (middle), and bee brood (right) before and after treatment.

Smoothed lines show the predicted relationships of the LMMs, and shaded areas indicate the 95% confidence intervals. Dots and triangles show raw data. Comb areas of honey, bee bread, and bee brood significantly increased (p < 0.05) in treated colonies compared to control. For statistical details (see Table 3).

Fig 3. Effects of winter weekly feeding of honey bee colonies (n

= 3) for 6 weeks on sugar syrup spiked with 2% tuna fish protein hydrolysate (FPH) extract on foragers activity: number of incoming foragers (left) and number of outgoing foragers (right) before and after treatment. Smoothed lines show the predicted relationships of the LMMs, and shaded areas indicate the 95% confidence intervals. Dots and triangles show raw data. Number of incoming foragers significantly increased (p < 0.05) in treated colonies compared to control. For statistical details (see Table 3).