1. Vanessa Corby-Harris USDA-ARS Carl Hayden Bee Research Center
Progress and Prospects in Developing Dietary Supplements: The Vital Role Beekeepers Are Playing
Vanessa Corby-Harris
USDA-ARS
Carl Hayden Bee Research Center

2. Nutrition affects all of these…
Parasites
Malnutrition
Pesticides
Monoculture
Nutrition is a problem we can tackle!
Management
Weather

3. Natural forage is best!!!... But not always available
Drought (No water = no forage, poor qualit)
Supplemental feed is often necessary
What should we put in the supplement?
Identify what bees need at all stages of life in order to improve artificial diets, inform lab use policy
R. Snyder

4. Some current projects
Field studies to evaluate nutritional supplements
P. apium project
How different pollens impact nurse hypopharyngeal gland (HG) development, individual health
Seasonal pollens and individual health (Gloria’s talk)
Different pollen types (i.e., corn versus almond)

5. Perform initial experiments, ID candidates
More refined lab tests
Our field tests
Give to beekeepers to test
This first part has taken almost 4 years – we are getting close to this last part.
Deliverable
Redesign or retest
Deliverable

6. Some current projects
Field studies to evaluate nutritional supplements
P. apium project
How different pollens impact nurse hypopharyngeal gland (HG) development, individual health
Seasonal pollens and individual health (Gloria’s talk)
Different pollen types (i.e., corn versus almond)
Ultimate goal: Identify what bees need at all stages of life in order to improve artificial diets and better inform land use policy
With beekeepers
~2 years to prime time

7. Probiotics have long been added to human and animal feed
Honey bee probiotics are also available.
Can we use what we know about honey bee bacteria to offer novel probiotic candidates?

8. P. apium (Alpha 2.2) is found in larvae and improves their survival
1st instar
2nd instar
3rd instar
4th instar
5th instar
Alpha 2.2
Lactobacillus kunkeei
Lactobacillus Firm5
Bacillus sp.
Vojvodic et al. 2013

9. P. apium (Alpha 2.2) in patty gets to larvae
CFUs per 100 larvae
Alpha 2.2
Negative (no bacteria)
Wilcoxon/Kruskall-Wallis test
p = 0.036

10. P. apium (Alpha 2.2) reduced Nosema burden by ~40%
Brood frames sampled from 10 hives per treatment (Alpha + or Alpha -)
<18h bees inoculated with 10,000 spores in sugar water
Individuals dissected at 10 days post-inoculation
Bees inoculated with sugar water alone had ~ x 109 spores
t48=3.980, p =

11. P. apium (Alpha 2.2) increased hive strength coming out of winter
This result was non-significant, power analyses show more hives needed.

14. 12 participants, >150 hives
Perform initial experiments, ID candidates
More refined lab tests
P. apium project so far
12 participants, >150 hives
Located in WI, ID, PA, NY, MN, KS, NJ, GA, NC, TX
Bacteria added to hives in Fall of 2016
Expect first data in Spring of 2017
Overwintering success
Our field tests
Give to beekeepers to test
Deliverable
Redesign or retest
Deliverable

15. Pollen types experiment
What plant taxa do bees collect from?
How do different pollens impact growth?
What are the pollens’ nutritional profiles (amounts of amino acids, etc)?
Can elements of beneficial pollens be fed to bees to improve their health?

16. ID pollens with DNA sequence
NE Mississippi
“Rapini”
Bean
Desert
California during almond bloom
Almond

17. HG size differed with pollen type*
Average acinus size (mm2)
Bean
Desert
Almond

18. Pollens have different nutritional potency

19. Bees fed pollens with less protein and more lipids have larger HGs
Total protein
(µg/mL)
Total lipids
(µg/mg pollen)
Average HG size (µm2)
Almond
283
109
21 ± 0.245
Desert
326 93
22 ± 0.250
Bean
414 66
17 ± 0.248
More protein should mean larger HGs (Standifer 1967; Pernal & Currie 2000; Di Pasquale et al. 2013)
Digestibility issue? (DeGrandi-Hoffman et al. 2016)
Value in comparing natural pollens to determine their nutritional value, then ask what differs among them
Fats or nutrient balance need more attention?
Particular AAs or fats that we know have a physiological function?

20. Asparagus and chestnut pollens promote HG growth
(Sunflower)
(Mustard)
(Chestnut)
Omar et al. 2016

21. Phe and Arg are more abundant in potent pollens
Omar et al. 2016
Our results
EAAs higher in potent pollens
Phenylalanine
Arginine
Histidine
Methionine
Leucine
Good pollens
Asparagus
Chestnut
Not as nutritious
Sunflower
Mustard
FeedBee®
Potent pollens
Almond
Desert
Not potent
Bean

22. Pollen types project so far
Perform initial experiments, ID candidates
More refined lab tests
Pollen types project so far
Value in comparing natural pollens, multiple studies
We have some candidates to test further (Arg, Phe)
To beekeepers within 2-3 years if successful
Our field tests
Give to beekeepers to test
Deliverable
Redesign or retest
Deliverable

23. Perform initial experiments, ID candidates
More refined lab tests
Identify what bees need at all stages of life in order to improve artificial diets and better inform land use policy.
Our field tests
Give to beekeepers to test
This first part has taken almost 4 years – we are getting close to this last part.
Deliverable
Redesign or retest
Deliverable

24. Thank you!
Lucy Snyder
Charlotte Meador