Nutritional Composition of Honey Bee Drones of Two Subspecies Relative to Their Pupal Developmental Stages
We examined the contents of nutritional importance, i.e., amino acids, fatty acids and minerals of different developmental stages of drones of two honey bee subspecies, namely <i>Apis mellifera carnica</i> and <i>A. m. mellifera</i>. The results revealed that, in general, ind...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
MDPI AG
2021-08-01
|
Series: | Insects |
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/8/759 |
id |
doaj-4e15fcc363544927b7a485373a0e820b |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-4e15fcc363544927b7a485373a0e820b2021-08-26T13:54:46ZengMDPI AGInsects2075-44502021-08-011275975910.3390/insects12080759Nutritional Composition of Honey Bee Drones of Two Subspecies Relative to Their Pupal Developmental StagesSampat Ghosh0Pascal Herren1Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow2Chuleui Jung3Agriculture Science and Technology Research Institute, Andong National University, Andong 36729, KoreaInstitute of Natural Resource Sciences, Zürich Campus Grueental, University of Applied Sciences (ZHAW), 8820 Waedenswil, SwitzerlandAgriculture Science and Technology Research Institute, Andong National University, Andong 36729, KoreaAgriculture Science and Technology Research Institute, Andong National University, Andong 36729, KoreaWe examined the contents of nutritional importance, i.e., amino acids, fatty acids and minerals of different developmental stages of drones of two honey bee subspecies, namely <i>Apis mellifera carnica</i> and <i>A. m. mellifera</i>. The results revealed that, in general, individual amino acid amounts and therefore the total protein increased along with the developmental stages of the drones. No statistically significant differences were found between the same developmental stages of the two subspecies. The reverse, i.e., a decrease with developmental stage occurred in relation to the fatty acid composition. Most of the minerals were higher at advanced developmental stages. Overall, the high protein content (31.4–43.4%), small amount of fat (9.5–11.5%) and abundance of minerals such asiron and zinc, make drones a suitable nutritional resource. Even though nutrient content, especially protein, was higher in the pupae than the prepupae, we propose prepupae also as a commercial product based on their higher biomass production. Provided standard production protocols maintaining hygiene and safety will be adhered to, we propose that drone honey bees can be utilized as human food or animal feed.https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/8/759<i>Apis mellifera carnica</i><i>Apis m. mellifera</i>beekeepinghealthamino acidsfatty acids |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Sampat Ghosh Pascal Herren Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow Chuleui Jung |
spellingShingle |
Sampat Ghosh Pascal Herren Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow Chuleui Jung Nutritional Composition of Honey Bee Drones of Two Subspecies Relative to Their Pupal Developmental Stages Insects <i>Apis mellifera carnica</i> <i>Apis m. mellifera</i> beekeeping health amino acids fatty acids |
author_facet |
Sampat Ghosh Pascal Herren Victor Benno Meyer-Rochow Chuleui Jung |
author_sort |
Sampat Ghosh |
title |
Nutritional Composition of Honey Bee Drones of Two Subspecies Relative to Their Pupal Developmental Stages |
title_short |
Nutritional Composition of Honey Bee Drones of Two Subspecies Relative to Their Pupal Developmental Stages |
title_full |
Nutritional Composition of Honey Bee Drones of Two Subspecies Relative to Their Pupal Developmental Stages |
title_fullStr |
Nutritional Composition of Honey Bee Drones of Two Subspecies Relative to Their Pupal Developmental Stages |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nutritional Composition of Honey Bee Drones of Two Subspecies Relative to Their Pupal Developmental Stages |
title_sort |
nutritional composition of honey bee drones of two subspecies relative to their pupal developmental stages |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
Insects |
issn |
2075-4450 |
publishDate |
2021-08-01 |
description |
We examined the contents of nutritional importance, i.e., amino acids, fatty acids and minerals of different developmental stages of drones of two honey bee subspecies, namely <i>Apis mellifera carnica</i> and <i>A. m. mellifera</i>. The results revealed that, in general, individual amino acid amounts and therefore the total protein increased along with the developmental stages of the drones. No statistically significant differences were found between the same developmental stages of the two subspecies. The reverse, i.e., a decrease with developmental stage occurred in relation to the fatty acid composition. Most of the minerals were higher at advanced developmental stages. Overall, the high protein content (31.4–43.4%), small amount of fat (9.5–11.5%) and abundance of minerals such asiron and zinc, make drones a suitable nutritional resource. Even though nutrient content, especially protein, was higher in the pupae than the prepupae, we propose prepupae also as a commercial product based on their higher biomass production. Provided standard production protocols maintaining hygiene and safety will be adhered to, we propose that drone honey bees can be utilized as human food or animal feed. |
topic |
<i>Apis mellifera carnica</i> <i>Apis m. mellifera</i> beekeeping health amino acids fatty acids |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4450/12/8/759 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT sampatghosh nutritionalcompositionofhoneybeedronesoftwosubspeciesrelativetotheirpupaldevelopmentalstages AT pascalherren nutritionalcompositionofhoneybeedronesoftwosubspeciesrelativetotheirpupaldevelopmentalstages AT victorbennomeyerrochow nutritionalcompositionofhoneybeedronesoftwosubspeciesrelativetotheirpupaldevelopmentalstages AT chuleuijung nutritionalcompositionofhoneybeedronesoftwosubspeciesrelativetotheirpupaldevelopmentalstages |
_version_ |
1721192363729092608 |