Iran-Made Sweet Paste Reduces Honeybee Losses in Cold Season
“The nutritional needs of a honeybee colony change depending on different seasons of the year. During the winter, due to the lack of flowers in nature and the cold weather, which causes these creatures to be inactive and unable to fly, honeybees become consumer and vulnerable creatures,” Mohammad Reza Eyni, the managing director of the knowledge-based company.
“Our product is ready to use without the need for preparation (adding water or other additives) and, due to the presence of natural plant compounds, it easily attracts honeybees. This paste, which contains simple sugars and has a good texture, is quickly and easily consumed and digested by bees, and because it has no residue, it does not contaminate the honey in the hive,” he added.
Eyni noted that consuming sweet paste provides the energy needed and strengthens honey bees, increases egg production, increases colony population, and reduces hive stress.
In a relevant development in 2023, an Iranian researcher succeeded in making an open-floor system beehive for the first time in the country to boost the productivity of bee products.
“Wooden hives that are used to keep bees have major problems causing a decrease in productivity of bee products,” Issa Seifi Salmi, who works at the Incubator Center of Islamic Azad University’s Shahr-e Kord branch, told ANA.
He added that using new technology instead of the old methods in beekeeping increases the productivity of bee products through natural mite killing and prevention of losses during relocation.
“This hive prevents bee losses due to suffocation during moving, bees flying on spraying days, wax weaving on the frames, extreme temperature difference in the hot and cold seasons of the year, wastage of air inside the hive during syrup feeding and nosema disease (a contagious and common disease of adult bees) due to humidity inside the hive,” Seifi Salmi said.
Iranian beekeeping industry can be reformed thanks to smart beehives that have been produced domestically, a report said earlier.
Nader Javadifar, who has designed and manufactured the smart beehives, told ANA that beehive conditions can be monitored systematically.
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