Agroecologia - Apicultura - Geléia Real * Agroecology - Apiculture - Royal Jelly

Agroecologia - Apicultura - Geléia Real * Agroecology - Apiculture - Royal Jelly

Royal jelly is secreted by the hypopharyngeal gland (sometimes called the brood food gland) of young worker (nurse) bees, to feed young larvae and the adult queen bee. Royal jelly is always fed directly to the queen or the larvae as it is secreted; it is not stored. This is why it has not been a traditional beekeeping product. The only situation in which harvesting becomes feasible is during queen rearing, when the larvae destined to become queen bees are supplied with an over-abundance of royal jelly. The queen larvae cannot consume the food as fast as it is provided and royal jelly accumulates in the queen cells (see Figure 6.1). The exact definition of commercially available royal jelly is therefore related to the method of production: it is the food intended for queen bee larvae that are four to five days old.

The differentiation between queen and worker bees is related to feeding during the larval stages. Indeed, all female eggs can produce a queen bee, but this occurs only when, during the whole development of the larvae and particularly the first four days, they are cared for and fed "like a queen". Queen rearing, regulated by complex mechanisms within the hive, induces in a young larva a series of hormonal and biochemical actions and reactions that make it develop into a queen bee.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• Agroecologia
• Apicultura
• Geléia
• Real
• Agroecology
• Apiculture
• Royal
• Jelly