Nutritional value of brood and adult workers of the asia honeybee species Apis cerana and Apis dorsata

Abstract

We assessed nutrients composition of the Asian honeybee Apis cerana and giant honeybee Apis dorsata. Abundances of individual amino acids and thus their total amounts were found to be considerably higher in A. cerana pupae than those of A. dorsata pupae. The immature developmental stages of honey bees contained higher amounts of fat than the adults. MUFA proportions were found to be higher in adults than pupae of both A. dorsata and A. cerana. In contrast, A. cerana larvae contained slightly more SFA than MUFA. Mineral contents were lower in both A. dorsata and A. cerana in comparison to previously reported European honeybee A. mellifera, except phosphorus. From our previous as well as present results, we provide evidence that honey bee brood would be an excellent nutritional source which also advocate the conservation of honeybee species and enhance the livelihood of small and medium scale bee keepers.