Plant secondary metabolites enhance survival and pathogen tolerance in the European honey bee: a structure-function study

Adequate nutrition is essential for European honey bee (Apis mellifera) colony growth, and productivity, yet foraging limitations resulting from factors such as habitat loss often lead to dietary deficiencies. Plant secondary metabolites are key constituents of floral nectar that support physiological processes in honey bees, however, these compounds are only available to bees with access to a diversity of floral resources. Furthermore, the relationship between different classes of plant secondary metabolites and their function within honey bee diets requires further investigation. Using a structure-function framework, we evaluated whether four structurally similar plant secondary metabolites found in the nectar of common agricultural crops elicit comparable effects on honey bee survival and pathogen tolerance. The addition of plant secondary metabolites to artificial nectar solution enhanced median survival, in some cases more than doubling the lifespan of worker honey bees. Moreover, plant secondary metabolites demonstrated nutraceutical effects, and sometimes elicited medicinal effects on honey bees infected with Nosema ceranae. Our findings provide a platform to identify plant secondary metabolites which can augment current management techniques to support the long-term sustainability of the apiculture industry.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (M.S.)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Ecology

Grantor dc:publisher

Colorado State University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2019

Authors dc:creator

• Hogeboom, Alison, author
• Norton, Andrew, advisor
• Bjostad, Louis, committee member
• Uchanski, Mark, committee member

• honey bee
• plant secondary metabolites
• nosema ceranae
• chemical ecology

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.

Language dc:language.iso

eng, English

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25675/3.018827

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mountainscholar.org:10217/195399