Alternative sources of supplements in Africanized honeybees submitted to royal jelly production

This study was carried out to evaluate the effect of supplements with isolated soy protein, brewer's yeast, a mixture of isolated soy protein with brewer's yeast, linseed oil, palm oil and mixture of linseed oil with palm oil in the production of royal jelly by Africanized honeybee colonies. Total royal jelly production was higher (p < 0.05) in colonies fed with isolated soy protein and brewer's yeast (11.68 g colony-1), followed by linseed oil and palm oil (11.30 g colony-1) and palm oil (9.61 g colony-1), being higher than control I (6.35 g colony-1), and II (6.95 g colony-1). The results demonstrated that the supplementation with a mixture of linseed oil plus palm oil, and isolated soy protein plus brewer's yeast is recommended to increase the royal jelly production on a commercial scale. Besides becoming an important tool for beekeepers by increasing the production, it also contributes to improve the acceptance rate of grafted larvae.