The stingless bee keeping has been improved considerably in the last years and, consequently, the demand for colonies has increased. However, the breeding techniques still need to be improved to reach the necessary production scale. The feeding system is one of the issues that must be studied and improved, because long periods of low availability of food resources constraint the production of new colonies. The present study aimed to test an artificial diet to replace the pollen for Melipona flavolineata. It was investigated the nutritional composition of their natural food (stored pollen) and of the artificial diet (based on soybean extract). The effect of the artificial diet was tested at the survival and size of brood and longevity of adult workers. The artificial diet presented a different nutritional composition compared to the stored pollen. It was richer in carbohydrates and lipids, but poorer in proteins. However, this difference did not affect the survival and size of brood and longevity of adult workers, but not drastically. It is recommended to reduce the amount of sugar and to add new ingredients with higher protein content in future diets. The diet based on soybean extract showed to be a good substitute for pollen, but not perfect. Small changes can be adressed based on the results of the present contribution to reach an artificial diet with better quality.
|
