Nectar Feeding and Dearth Period Management in Indian Honey Bee Apis cerana (F)

There have been many attempts to reduce the loss of Indian honey bee _{Apis cerana} (F) colonies during the dearth period by supplementing nectar feeding substitutes. An experiment on development and evaluation of nectar feeding substitutes was conducted at an apiary maintained at the Division of Entomology, SKUAST-K, Shalimar from July to September during 2020-21. Syrup containing apple juice, sugar and mixture of both were evaluated as a diet supplement to develop an efficient feeding substitute. These include: T₁- apple juice and sugar in the ratio of 1:1; T₂- apple juice and sugar in the ratio of 1.5:1; T_3- apple juice alone and T₄- sugar syrup in the ratio of 1:1 and compared with T₅ natural feeding to determine their impact on desirable attributes of colonies. A gradual increase in the colony performance index (CPI), space covered by eggs (sq cm), larvae (sq cm) and pupae (sq cm) was observed, which were maximum with apple juice and sugar in the ratio of 1.5:1 viz; CPI (13.28); space covered by eggs (204.25 sq cm); larvae (296.12 sq cm); pupae (484.41 sq cm). All parameters were found to be least in T₅ (natural feeding). Thus, apple juice and sugar in the ratio of 1.5:1 (T₂) was the best nectar feeding substitute.