The digestive index as a benchmark to quantify the digestive capabilities of honey bees (Apis mellifera) Gruenwald K., Gruenwald J.1,* Karl-Franzens-University, Department of Zoology, Universitaetsplatz 2, 8010, Graz, Austria 1Gruenwald Laboratories, Taxberg 50, 5660, Taxenbach, Austria *Email: jgruenwald@g-labs.eu
Online published on 27 July, 2018. Abstract An easy method to obtain the digestive index as a benchmark number for measuring the digestion capabilities of Apis mellifera is developed and presented in this paper. The aim of this method is to provide an entity that allows to quantifying digestion efficiency of the western honey bee. This will enable a fundamental understanding of digestive illnesses in bee hives as well as a general insight into the biological mechanisms into the digestive apparatus. Although the methodology presented in this work is based on experimental data of honey bees it can, in principle, be applied to other insects as well, provided that the necessary experimental data can be made available. A small number of seven bees is used to provide an example of how to calculate the digestive index. The bowels were extracted from these seven dead honey bees and their mass in fresh and dried condition was used for the determination of the digestive index. The mathematical model for the calculation of the digestive index is described. Thus, it is demonstrated that the digestion capability of honey bees can be quantified by the simple method outlined in this paper. Top Keywords European honey bee, digestive index, characteristic number, quantification, digestive capability, bowel extraction, mathematical model. Top |