The dynamic metabolome of honey bee (Apis mellifera) under starvation and suboptimal nutrition

The biochemical profiles of honey bees during a nutritional decline and recovery were explored and correlated with hive health and performance indicators. Using lipidomic and metabolomic analyses, we investigated the molecular process of mobilizing fat reverses and how honey bees under starvation switch from using sugar to protein and lipid reserves. We show that the increase of unsaturations in lipids is an early modification in the accessibility of energy from fat reserves during bee starvation. We identified potential enzymes involved in this lipid modification that could be used to develop a molecular assay for measuring malnutrition in honey bees. We found that specific amino acids are likely indispensable for the larval developmental stage of honey bees. These findings are valuable for formulating better supplementary diets to improve brood production in the colonies.