Rearing Honey Bees in Vitro: Effects of Food Quantity on Survival and Development

In vitro honeybee rearing technique was simplified and sophisticated by monitoring the amount of food given to each larva. Honeybees (Apis mellifera L) were reared in individual queen cell cups by feeding them 100 mg, 150 mg, 200 mg, 250 mg and 300 mg basic larval diet. The survival rates were lower in 300 mg food (12.7%) due to drowning of larvae at the later larval stages and at the 100 mg food (32.7 %) due to insufficient food. The survival rates of the larvae and adults were 61.8% and 55.5% in the 150 mg food, 83.6% and 75.5% in the 200 mg food, and 77.3% and 63.6% in the 250 mg food groups respectively. The adult weights and the ovariole numbers were 78.3±7.09 mg and 15.0±8.86 ovarioles in the 100 mg food , 101.8±18.35 mg and 21.8±18.59 ovarioles in the 150 mg food, 125.5±19.45 mg and 29.9±35.44 ovarioles in the 200 mg food and 147.7±14.28 mg and 39.8±36.31 ovarioles in the 250 mg food groups. This new technique reduces the labor in vitro rearing of honeybees and enables to rear any size workers for behavioral studies.