CUMULATIVE EFFECT OF SUGAR SYRUP ON COLONY SIZE OF HONEYBEES, Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille (1804) (HYMENOPTERA: APIDAE) IN ARTIFICIAL BEEHIVES

Abstract

Cumulative effect of sugar syrup (nectar supplement) on colony size of honeybees, Apis mellifera adansonii Latreille (1804) (Hymenoptera: Apidae), in the Biological Garden of University of Lagos, was studied. The population density (colony size) of honeybees in each hive was monitored monthly for two years. In one treatment of two replicates, 0.1g/ml of sugar syrup was introduced using 350ml jar with the aid of wooden tray feeders, while the second treatment of another two replicates lacked sugar syrup. Colony size was estimated in each of the replicate using gravimetric method. The pattern of colony population of the honeybees fed with sugar syrup was similar to those without sugar syrup initially but unequal during most of the period of observation. The population size of the colonies fed with sugar syrup remained significantly higher (p < 0.05) than those that were not fed with sugar syrup after the first six months of the commencement of the study despite their similar pattern of fluctuation. The practical implication of this study was that regular feeding of sugar syrup at appropriate time to honeybee colonies for long duration (2 years) helped to sustain bee colonies with optimum population for nectar and pollens gathering from the wild against active season, hence increasing colony productivity during nectar flow period.