the superboost saga: development of a new product …
TRANSCRIPT
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THE SUPERBOOST SAGA: DEVELOPMENT
OF A NEW PRODUCT BASED ON THE
HONEY BEE BROOD PHEROMONE
John H. Borden
Chief Scientific Officer
Contech Enterprises Inc.
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OUTLINE
• Brood pheromone:
how it works
• Product development
and testing
• Product improvement
• Revitalization of overwintered colonies
• Honey yield and economics
• Future prospects
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BROOD PHEROMONE:
HOW IT WORKS
• Blend of 10 fatty-acid
esters.
• Produced in salivary
glands of honey bee
drone, worker, and
queen larvae.
• Pheromone tells
workers we are here
and we are hungry.
Yves LeConte
INRA, Avingon
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BROOD PHEROMONE
PRIMES THE PUMP
• Sustained exposure causes
enriched protein content in the
hypopharyngeal and
mandibular glands.
• This leads to better nutrition of
both larvae and the queen.
• In turn, this results in more
vigorous larvae and greater
oviposition by the queen.
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Tanya Pankiw
Texas A&M
SYNTHETIC BROOD
PHEROMONE MODIFIES
BEHAVIOR
• Up to 150% more pollen
foragers.
• Greater pollen loads returned
to the hive.
• More nectar foragers.
• More frequent foraging trips.
• Greater consumption of
supplementary protein and
sugar in winter.
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Almost……...But it took four long years
while we:
• learned how tostabilize the pheromone by
adding a food-grade antioxidant,
• demonstrated durable stability, and
• experimented with 13 potential release devices
before we found one that worked.
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LUCKY 13!
• Pouch has polyethylene
release membrane
and Mylar backing.
• Non-volatile pheromone
exudes through membrane
at ca. 0.3 mg per day.
• Removal of pheromone allows more to exude.
• Device (SuperBoost) suspended between
frames by wire or plastic holder.
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SUPERBOOST PROTOTYPE HAD SAME
EFFECT AS SYNTHETIC PHEROME
Texas A&M Experiment
September-October 2007
• More pollen foragers.
• More pollen brought
back to the hive.
• More adults.
• More brood.
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WE’RE THERE!
(or so we thought……..)
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Onour Moeri and John Borden
2008 Langley Bee Club
Fall Symposium
• No increase in brood
or adult population after
105 days.
• No positive effect on
foraging.
• Only a little positive feedback from users of
SuperBoost around the world.
• We promised to return.
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After the 2008 Fall Symposium..........
Mike Campbell, our collaborating
beekeeper, reported
- honey harvest two weeks earlier in
SuperBoost-treated colonies, and
- double the honey harvest from treated
colonies (pooled, no statisical analysis)
This gave us hope
through the winter.
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DURING THE WINTER………………
We examined the
product very carefully,
looking for ways in
which its performance
could be improved.
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SEARCH FOR THE
MAGIC BULLET
• Compared commercial device stored at
room temperature to freshly-loaded device.
• Measured brood pheromone release
rates by wiping and gas chromatographic
analysis of removed pheromone.
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SuperBoost devices stored at room temperature
did not perform as expected.
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HYPOTHESIS
The polyethylene membrane becomes fouled
during storage at ambient temperature.
POSSIBLE SOLUTION
Freeze device after
manufacturing and store
in freezer.
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Freezing SuperBoost eliminates the problem.
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Shipping SuperBoost unfrozen for short periods
will not affect performance.
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We were so proud of our
first holder, but it………..
• melted in exuded
pheromone
• required too many steps
to assemble and insert,
• jammed when inserted,
and
• hung at an angle so that
one side was against the
comb.
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Our new holder is easy to assemble and insert, does not
melt in exuded pheromone, and wiggles or rotates against
comb with pheromone membrane exposed.
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REVITALIZATION OF OVERWINTERED
COLONIES
Hypothesis. In the absence of pheromone-
producing larvae, SuperBoost should stimulate
feeding on pollen substitute placed in hives to
revitalize colonies as spring approaches.
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• 12 randomly-selected
colonies received two 5-week
treatments of SuperBoost,
starting on 4 Feb 09.
• 12 untreated control
colonies.
• Surplus of pollen substitute
patties (Bee-Pro®) and sugar
was provided.
• Single blind experiment.
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• Bee-Pro® consumption
weighed 9 times.
• Brood comb area and adult
population size determined
on Days 16 and 70.
• Splits made on Days 50, 83-85
and 94. Daughter colonies
evaluated with mothers.
• SuperBoost retrieved on
Days 37 and 70. Pheromone
release determined by
weight loss.
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SUPERBOOST RELEASED MORE PHEROMONE
THAN LARVAE
• 0.4 mg (661 larval equivalents) per day for first
37 days.
• 0.5 mg (964 larval equivalents) per day for next
33 days.
• On Day 16, there were on
average 131 larvae
per colony.
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SuperBoost-treated colonies consumed 50%
more Bee-Pro® by Day 70.
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On Day 16 there was no significant difference
between SuperBoost-treated and untreated
control colonies in:
• brood comb area, and
• adult population level.
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SuperBoost-treated colonies had a 216% greater
brood comb area by Day 70.
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SuperBoost-treated colonies had a 178% larger adult
population by Day 70 and 5 more splits by Day 94.
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Population size
on Day 16 was a
better predictor
of brood comb
area and adult
population size
on Day 70 for
SuperBoost-
treated colonies
than for control
colonies.
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COLONIES AVAILABLE FOR
POLLINATION SERVICES
• 11 surviving control colonies produced
4 daughters, resulting in 15 colonies by
Day 96.
• 10 surviving colonies treated with
SuperBoost produced 9 daughters,
resulting in 19 colonies by Day 96.
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ECONOMIC BENEFIT TO BEEKEEPER
• Pollination fee (Oregon, 2007, 2.5 crops/colony)
$177/colony.
• 4 extra colonies provide $708 or $59 per
colony (N = 12).
• Cost of 2 treatments with SuperBoost,
$5 + $1 x 2 = $12/colony.
• Net return is
$59 - $12 = $47/colony.
• Possibly better
pollination and more
honey later in year.
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HONEY
PRODUCTION
Hypothesis. If brood
pheromone stimulates
foraging for both pollen and
nectar, then sustained
treatment with SuperBoost
should result in greater
yield of honey over the
summer.
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EXPERIMENTAL DESCRIPTION
• Started with identical 2 lb.
NZ packages.
• 54 colonies untreated
controls, 47 (87%)
survived, 2 splits.
• 59 colonies treated with
SuperBoost, 50 (85%)
survived, 4 splits.
• 3 treatment dates (April 30,
June 3, July 20)
• Weighed all honey harvested.
• Evaluated adult and brood populations,
and honey comb area at end of summer.
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End of summer, 30% more adults (Sept 09)
Means + SE
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Economic benefit (USD) to the beekeeper
NEW COLONIES FROM PACKAGES
CRITERION
VALUE-
ADDED
PRODUCERCOMMODITY
PRODUCER
Honey price (est.) $6.00/lb $1.35/lb
Increased
production/colony (112%)
4.33 lb 4.33 lb
Value of increase $25.98 $5.85
Cost of SuperBoost at
$5.00/unit = ($5 + $1) x 2
$12.00 $12.00
Net gain or loss/colony $13.98 -$6.15
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Economic benefit to the beekeeper
NEW COLONIES FROM PACKAGES
Caveats
• Added benefits: probably better pollination of
target crops, higher adult population, colonies
better prepared for winter.
• Economic benefit would
increase if only one
treatment needed.
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Economic benefit (USD) to the beekeeper
ESTABLISHED COLONIES
CRITERION
VALUE-
ADDED
PRODUCERCOMMODITY
PRODUCER
Honey price (est.) $6.00/lb $1.35/lb
Increased production per
colony (75%, 2 yr,
pumpkins, Alabama)
18.75 lb 18.75 lb
Value of increase $112.50 $25.31
Cost of SuperBoost at
$5.00/unit = $5 + $1
$6.00 $6.00
Net gain or loss/colony $106.50 $19.31
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Economic benefit to the beekeeper
ESTABLISHED COLONIES
Caveats
• Probable added benefits in better pollination of
target crops, and colonies better prepared for
winter.
• Maximum economic benefit
would occur if only one
treatment needed.
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What’s cooking? In 2009
experiments:
• 70% higher visitation of male
flowers in seed carrot fields
pollinated by SuperBoost
treated colonies. Greater crop
yield?
• In fall feeding experiment in
two locations, more diet
consumed, higher brood
comb area and more adults.
Better overwintering survival?
Ramesh Sagili
Oregon State
University
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WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
• SuperBoost is on the market now.
• Research will continue in BC,
Oregon, California, Alabama
(and elsewhere?).
• Ultimately it will be up to each
beekeeper to determine his/her best
use of SuperBoost.
• We wish you every success in your
journey.
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Special Thanks
Cameron Lait
Onour Moeri
Ervin Kovacs
Mike Campbell
Stephen Jones
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