ABSTRACT
The parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni (Oudemans) infests honey-bee colonies and has become a major obstacle to profitable beekeeping in many parts of the world. Honey-bees derive their protein, vitamins, minerals and some carbohydrates from pollens. Since no single pollen source provides all their nutritional needs, honey-bees must have a number of pollens available to them to remain healthy and to produce the royal jelly required to feed the queen and rear the brood. Insecticides, herbicides and cultivation practices have reduced feral bee populations in many areas. Beekeepers, who feed their colonies high fructose com syrup, use that syrup to formulate patties that maintain their moisture well because fructose attracts moisture. Fatter bees, with more stored nutrients, winter better and rear more brood the next spring than non fed bees (Dris, 1999a, b). Growers of horticultural crops rely on honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) colonies to meet their pollination needs. Regardless of colony size, weather factors such as temperature, wind, velocity, solar radiation and relative humidity determine the percentage of a colony's foraging population that will leave the hive to forage at any given time.
