Mineral Requirements for Brood-Rearing by Honeybees Fed a Synthetic Diet

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Abstract
Summary Honeybees, Apis mellifera, fed a chemically defined diet containing 10 essential and 8 non-essential amino acids, and 10 water-soluble vitamins, were able to rear brood for 10 weeks. When this diet was improved by the addition of pollen ash, bees fed diets containing 1% ash reared more brood than bees fed only the synthetic diet or bees fed 0–5% or 2–8% pollen ash. Quantitative analysis by atomic absorption spectrophotometry revealed that pollen ash contained more potassium and less calcium and sodium than a commercial salt mixture.