Honey and Perga as food of bees
For normal life and reproduction, animals, including bees, should receive with food the following nutrients: proteins, fats, carbohydrates, mineral salts, vitamins and water. All these substances are complex, high-molecular, have a large energy reserve. In the body they decompose to simple compounds, eventually forming simple low-molecular substances that are removed from the body by the respiratory and excretory systems.
Food processing is a complex process, which is based on hydrolysis, as a result of which simpler substances dissolve in water and can penetrate (absorbed) through the walls of the intestine into the blood, the latter carries them to all cells, tissues and organs of the body.
In the intestine, food processing is carried out under the influence of enzymes (biological catalysts). The action of enzymes requires an optimal temperature and a certain acidity or alkalinity of the medium. In bees, enzymes are most active at a temperature of 34-35 њ C; such a temperature of the bee and are maintained in its nest during the spring-summer active period, when they grow brood and consume pollen (perga) a lot. In winter, when the temperature in the nest is much lower, bees eat ready-made honey, and it contains mainly sugars, already decomposed by the enzymes of bees in the summer.
Proteins are substances characterized by the content of nitrogen, as a result of which they are called nitrogenous substances. They contain 15-18% nitrogen, 50-55 – carbon, 6-7 – hydrogen, 0.3-2.5% sulfur and in smaller quantities – phosphorus, iron, magnesium and some other substances. Proteins have a very complex chemical composition, but in the body during digestion they decompose into final products – Amino acids . There are up to 30 different amino acids. They can be considered “bricks”, of which proteins form in different combinations. Proteins are very diverse
Physiologically, amino acids are divided into two groups: irreplaceable, which animals can not synthesize and they must enter the body in ready form, and replaceable, which, if necessary, can be synthesized in the body cells from simpler substances. Indispensable amino acids include: lysine, tryptophan, histidine, leucine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, threonine, methionine, valine, arginine.
In addition to proteins, the composition of food should include nitrogenous compounds, called amides, in which amino acids are combined with other substances.
Of the proteins and amides, the main constituent parts of the animal cells are constructed. When the protein is decomposed, carbon dioxide, water and substances containing nitrogen (urea, uric acid), as well as organic and inorganic salts, form in the body cells. These substances are excreted from the body by excretory organs: in higher animals – by the kidneys, and in insects (and bees) – by malpighian vessels.
Of proteins, the bulk of the cells of the body are built. The process of life is a constant change in the composition of the protein. These changes (dissimilation and assimilation) constitute the metabolism – the basic property of a living organism. In this case, energy is released, ie, the chemical energy of nutrients is converted into thermal energy, motion, electromagnetic fields, etc. The destroyed animal protein particles replenish due to food intake. The need for protein in growing organisms is especially great.
Protein substances of the bee are obtained from the pollen of different plants, which they mix in a hive, resulting in a complete set of amino acids and amides. Especially a lot of pollen is consumed by bees during the intensive brood rearing.
Fats are part of the cytoplasm of cells and are absolutely necessary for intracellular metabolism. In the intestinal canal, fats decompose into final products: glycerin and fatty acids, which attach a metal molecule (saponified) to them and are converted into water-soluble substances. They are carried by blood to the cells and tissues of the body, where they are synthesized again.
In physiological terms, fats are the most concentrated sources of heat. Combining with the oxygen of the air, fats decompose to molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide, thus releasing a large amount of heat: 1 g of fat – 9.3 calories of heat. Fats are deposited in the body in reserve and are consumed when their intake is insufficient with food. Bees receive fats from pollen (perga).
Carbohydrates are substances consisting of oxygen, hydrogen and carbon, consumed in the body as a current energy material for the formation of heat and the work of muscles. Carbohydrates include sugars, starch, glycogen, fiber and other nitrogen-free substances. For bees, sugars, of which the bulk of nectar and honey consists, are of primary importance. The usual sugar, starch and glycogen in the intestines of the bee decompose to simple sugars – glucose and fructose, which then enter the blood and are carried throughout the body.
Excess simple sugars are converted to fat or glycogen and in this form is deposited in the fat body of bees. With a decrease in the sugar content in the blood, the reverse process occurs – glycogen turns into sugar. In this way, the consistency of the sugar content in the blood of higher animals is maintained. The bee has the same process, but the sugar content in the blood (hemolymph) is not as constant as that of higher animals, and fluctuates due to its condition and work. One gram of carbohydrates, decomposing in the body, releases 4.1 calories of heat. Fiber from which the shells of pollen grains consist, bees do not absorb.
Mineral salts are included in the body cells in pure form or in combination with proteins, fats and carbohydrates; they play an important role in the metabolism and energy. In the body of animals contains from 6 to 7% of mineral substances, which include calcium, magnesium, iron, sulfur, phosphorus, chlorine, etc. All these and other mineral substances of the bee are obtained from pollen (perga), but sometimes bees fly and collect the liquid on the slop pits, manure puddles and other places and take water with the salts dissolved in it.
If the bees eat in the winter in autumn-fed sugar, which does not contain salts, then in their body the amount of certain minerals decreases; Addition of the necessary salts in the feed improves hibernation.
Vitamins are divided into two groups: soluble in water (vitamins C and B) and soluble in fats (vitamins A, D, E, K). Vitamins play a big role in the metabolism. Thus, vitamin C (ascorbic acid) regulates metabolic processes in the cells of the body. Vitamin A – is called a vitamin of growth, since its absence in food causes a growth retardation. Vitamin D is an antirachitic, takes part in the regulation of phosphorus-calcium metabolism. Vitamin E – participates in the regulation of reproduction processes; its absence causes the death of germ cells in the testes and the inability of females to bear eggs.
Vitamins are necessary for normal growth, development and vital activity of bees.
The main source of all vitamins needed for bees is pollen and pergus. Some sources of vitamins are microorganisms that live in the intestines of bees.
Water – an indispensable component of the body of the bee, plays an important role in the exchange process. In the body tissues, the bee is 75-80% water. Water is also used by bees to regulate the moisture regime in the nest. With a lack of moisture, they evaporate water, and in excess – removes from the hive by active ventilation (flapping wings).
The bees satisfy the need for water by keeping it in nectar, introduced into the hive (nectar on average contains 50% water). When there is no nectar in nature, bees bring water, taking it to honey crabs, from various ponds, morning dew, puddles, ponds or drinking bowls, specially installed in the apiary. Especially great is the need for bees in spring water, when bees eat thick honey and grow a lot of brood.
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