Fat body of honey bee

[Finman]

The role of fat bodies in bee health

All insects have fat bodies—tissues that contain lipids, glycogen, triglycerides, and some protein. Fat bodies store and release energy according to the demands of the insect. The energy stored within these tissues is especially important during larval growth and other periods when feeding is restricted.

The metabolic action of fat bodies is often compared to the vertebrate liver because they store nutrients and synthesize proteins, lipids, and carbohydrates that circulate throughout the body. In another similarity to the liver, fat bodies detoxify nitrogenous waste products which they extract from the hemolymph (blood-like substance) of the insect.

Summer honey bees, which live only 4 to 6 weeks, have very few fat bodies. However, winter bees have large numbers of fat bodies distributed throughout the abdomen. Presumably these help the winter bees to live the 4 to 9 months until spring, and help provide the energy needed by the workers to keep the internal cluster at 93 degrees F.

Similarly, bumble bee queens eat as much as possible before winter in order to enlarge their fat bodies. These reserves must sustain them through the winter hibernation period much like the fat accumulated by a bear. So although bumble bee queens hibernate and honey bee colonies do not, both are dependent on fat bodies to see them through the winter.

 

[Finman]

The curve of growth of the queen bee larva is exponential during 4 days from hatching of the egg, the weight increasing by a factor of 5 each 24 hours. The weight of the worker larva deviates from this curve and after two days increases at a decreasing rate. The worker matures later than does the queen larva. Volumes both of the cells of the fat body and of their nuclei increase at a decreasing rate. The cytoplasm increases much more rapidly than does the nucleus, from about one-half the cell volume at hatching to nine-tenths at larval maturity. The nuclear changes initiated at beginning of metamorphosis precede the cessation of feeding, and in the queen larva nearly coincide with the sealing over of the wax ceIl, after which the larva continues to feed during cocoon spinning on material previously deposited in the cell. No mitoses occur in the fat body cells after hatching, though nuclear content of chromatin material increases with increase of nuclear volume, presumably by polyteny. During pupation the cell cytoplasm disintegrates but the stripped nuclei persist for some time with deeply staining granules and nuclear membrane. The fat body tissue at larval maturity constitutes approximately 60% of body weight, and 80% of the formed tissue after drainage of blood. The larval DNA content increases at a higher rate than does the nuclear volume. Thymidine-C14 uptake in vitro, previously determined, increases approximately proportionally to nuclear volume but less rapidly than the DNA accumulates. This suggests a storage of nuclear material not reproducing itself, in addition to an accumulation of material which does so. No nucleolus is detectable in these cells that might represent such non-reproducing material. It might constitute the stainable granules of stripped nuclei which persist after dissolution of the cytoplasm during pupation.

https://w3.avignon.inra.fr/dspace/handle/2174/454

more reading
http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0024794

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[Finman]

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Worker's fat body

Food storage occurs with the fat body.
It is a layer of conspicuous creamy cells concentrated on the floor and roof of the abdomen.
There are 2 kinds fat body cells; 1) “fat cells” contain mostly fat and some albumen (protein), and some glycogen, 2) oenocytes, thought to have functions associated with wax production

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google INTERNAL ANATOMY OF HONEY BEES

 

[oliver90owner]

Yes Finman. May be very interesting to a few - but for most beekeepers, what has this got to do with the price of sliced bread?

Presumably very old or of US origin (the funny Fahrenheit temperature system used)

 

[Cazza]

Yes Finman. May be very interesting to a few - but for most beekeepers, what has this got to do with the price of sliced bread?

Presumably very old or of US origin (the funny Fahrenheit temperature system used)

Rab, that's a bit harsh. I for one, am interested. It doesn't have to have anything to do with bread to be worth knowing about!

Keep em coming Finman.
Cazza

 

[Finman]

Yes Finman. May be very interesting to a few -)

Thanks Oliver


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[REDWOOD]

what has this got to do with the price of sliced bread?

Ha That depends if it has honey on it !

 

[Luminos]

Is it bee bread?

 

[Black Comb]

Interesting post Finman.
I've didn't know the fat bodies detoxified the nitrogenous waste?
I understood that it was filtered from the haemolymph by the malpighian tubes.

 

[beeno]

Hi Finman,
Thanks for trying to educate us - much appreciated. On this subject can you please enlighten me on another point much simpler. Someone said on this forum, I think it was Oliver, that the bees store fondant. Now, I did not think this through at the time. Also, apparently they bring in water to dilute the honey before they eat it. In applying OA recently I had a brood frame in one hive full of clear, shiny liquid. Someone else on the forum had just noticed that their hive had got hevier thinking nectar as our bees are bringing in some whitish pollen (could it be winterflowering Heather). I can't imagine that it is nectar. Skyhook has told me they don't store water like that as they dilute the honey and then consume it, so it must be diluted fondant?

 

[Finman]

Hi Finman,
Someone said on this forum, I think it was Oliver, that the bees store fondant. Now, I did not think this through at the time.


Also, apparently they bring in water to dilute the honey before they eat it. In applying OA recently I had a brood frame in one hive full of clear, shiny liquid. Someone else on the forum had just noticed that their hive had got hevier thinking nectar as our bees are bringing in some whitish pollen (could it be winterflowering Heather). I can't imagine that it is nectar. Skyhook has told me they don't store water like that as they dilute the honey and then consume it, so it must be diluted fondant?

Difficult to say what is happening there. You have just now 10C warm, and I think that it is not usual in Jaunuary. We have here -5C to -20C

We have in October day temps 10C and bees are then in wintering mode.
They do not want eate winter food or they do not want to do nothing but bee in winter cluster.

I do not believe that you flowers can secrete nectar in January when they did not secrete it in last June.

If the hive becomes heavier, I believe it if the hive rob some another hive nearby.

Bees have habit to move stores from peripheria to centre frames and that is why you may meet "nectar" there.

I do not think that bees store water. When I feed pollen patty in spring to hives, hives are really thirsty when they make food to larvae. They must slow down or even stop patty eating if they do not get drinking water outside.

I see often busy "foraging" in the morning even in summer and then it stops before midday. When I taste the honey belly, it is water what they brought to brood.

My climate is as yours in Autumn and in Spring months.


I have read from this forum that you bees forage honey even in rain and in winter, but when we calculate your annual honey yield, I do not think so.

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[keith pierce]

Rab, that's a bit harsh. I for one, am interested. It doesn't have to have anything to do with bread to be worth knowing about!

Keep em coming Finman.
Cazza

Yes, rab. A bit quick off the mark, and on a sunday morning as well.

 

[keith pierce]

Hi Finman,
Thanks for trying to educate us - much appreciated. On this subject can you please enlighten me on another point much simpler. Someone said on this forum, I think it was Oliver, that the bees store fondant. Now, I did not think this through at the time. Also, apparently they bring in water to dilute the honey before they eat it. In applying OA recently I had a brood frame in one hive full of clear, shiny liquid. Someone else on the forum had just noticed that their hive had got hevier thinking nectar as our bees are bringing in some whitish pollen (could it be winterflowering Heather). I can't imagine that it is nectar. Skyhook has told me they don't store water like that as they dilute the honey and then consume it, so it must be diluted fondant?

Hi beeno.
I think that finnman is the wrong one to ask this question of, as he freely admits to feeding over supers and believes that the bees will consume it completely, and none of it will get into the supers. Whereas i believe that anything you give them , can and will be stored in the comb. On cold days i would thing that fondant used in consumed straight away, but on days like today (11c) bees are bringing in yellow pollen and flying well. Also if you lift the roof, you will see that inside the fondant bag, is black with bees as they bring down the fondant and to use as they need it and store the surplus. This is what bees do. They don't need to bring in water into the hive to dilute the fondant as the condensation from the bees breath, constantly leaves the fondant tacky and ready for use.

 

[beeno]

Hi Finman and Keith,
Moving stores into centre fits, but I think the 'liquid' was transparent as I could see the cells clearly. Condensation from bees makes sense as there was a small amount of liquid in the bag. So, perhaps in effect they are making syrup of it which we are not supposed to feed them this time of the year? Do you think it is 2:1 or 1:1.

 

[Finman]

Hi Finm Do you think it is 2:1 or 1:1.

I have followed the need of water when I feed my hives for winter-

I have 2 gold fish pond in the yard and I may see the number of bees which forage winter during feeding.

I can see that if I put strictly 1:2 syrup to the hiver, there are hundreds of bees carrying water and they suck syrup slowly. When I make a little bit lighter like 60%, there is no water foragers.


My opinion is that bees uncap the food cells and moisture goes into the food by itself. My bees are not able to walk around hive during winter.

If there are open food cells in the hive, moisture dilutes the syrup and it will drill down onto bottom. It is quite usual that sugar syrup flows onto bottom during winter.

I have seen in my house store that moisture goes via wax cap into food and it swells from cells.

And too, in autumn if I take a edge frame from the hive and shake it, quite liquid syrup runs off from cells. Respiration moisture condesates partly in the hive, and if those parts have open food, it sucks water. - That is my opinion.
Sometimes I have lost big hives when they have tried to eate all swelling food which is propably fermented parly.

But +10C out temp is very different than real winter cluster conditions.

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[Finman]

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Why I am interested on FAT BODY?

I write just now to Finnish beekeeprs a booklet about honeybee nutrition.

Pollen plays important role in bees life.

There 3 kind of protein stores of bees during winter

1) fat body protein in winter bees which they get when they eate lots of pollen before wintering. Bees need a good store to that after summer. Biggest lack I can see in nucs because nucs have not enough foragers to beed new bees.

2) pollen over winter in hives, which bees eate during wintering and keep their protein balance on.


3) a store which make early build up possible. If there are no such store, bees must wait that nature gives new pollen.
Italian bees tend to consume their all pollen stores in autumn.

after winter protein content of fat body is sometimes very low after winter.
I can see that when I give the first patty and a hive eates it very quickly even if they have not larvae.

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These fat body information helps to undestand phenomenoms what I see with clear eyes. So I do not need to invent my own explanations .

We have discussed about wintering bees and about midd winter feeding and about what ever. But everything is so trange in UK that no research of rest of world can explain what is happening there. That is why UK has no honey bee researching. - Like those marked feral queens in shimneys....


(Actually UK is only one place on European map. There are places in north and in south and in east and in west. Most of researches have been made at same latitude as UK or more south. )

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[Andy Coleman]

Thanks for taking the time to post this Finman, interesting background.