Gourmet Christmas dinner: Understanding lipid content of overwintering hive supplements

Honey bees (Apis mellifera) face a variety of stressors including extreme temperatures, pesticides, and pathogens. Beekeepers will often provide their hive with pollen supplements during a dearth or throughout the overwintering months. These supplements serve as nutrition during periods where foraging is not possible due to limited resources or the inability to leave the hive. There are several supplements on the market available in dry and patty formulations including “Ultra Bee Rocket Fuel,” “Hive Alive,” and “AP23 Pollen Substitute patties”. This experiment uses liquid chromatography-high resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) to assess the lipid content of commercially available supplements to determine which options have the highest levels of key sterols. Sterols are a type of lipid that can play a role in honey bee development. 24-methylenecholesterol is one of the more prominent sterols in honey bee diets and can help combat immune system stress. Commercial overwintering supplements containing higher levels of these sterols may be more suitable options for supporting honey bee health during periods of vulnerability. This applied research serves to support hobbyist and commercial beekeepers, especially those who may have been impacted by significant colony loss during the 2024-2025 beekeeping season.