Indirect adulteration in Stingless (Kelulut) bee honey: influence of artificial feeding on yield and colony response

Indirect adulteration of honey is a growing concern in the Stingless Bee (Kelulut) industry. Indirect adulteration is often difficult to detect, and it can negatively impact the reputation of honey producers. This study aimed to optimize the confinement feeding method for Stingless (Kelulut) bees and to evaluate the impact of indirect adulteration on honey production. The influence of feeding different concentrations (40%, 60%, 80%, 100%) of sucrose and coconut palm sap (Cocos nucifera) syrup as feed sources for 4 colonies in bee hives of bees from two Stingless (Kelulut) bee species, Heterotrigona itama and Geniotrigona thoracica, was investigated. The bees were confined in their hives for up to 3 days while being fed a solution, rather than being allowed to forage for nectar. Four hives of each species were fed 4 times daily for three days. The research spanned June to August 2022 for sucrose feeding and July to September 2023 for CPS feeding. Feed utilization (%) and honey yield (%) were analyzed using one-way ANOVA with Tukey’s post-hoc test (p < 0.05). Stingless bees showed a significantly higher preference for sucrose syrup (100%) compared with CPS (p < 0.05). For H. itama, sucrose feeding resulted in the highest utilization (96.43 ± 4.29%), which was statistically similar to that of fresh CPS (91.43 ± 4.05%). For G. thoracica, sucrose (91.67 ± 5.83%) was significantly preferred over fresh CPS (78.33 ± 7.57%). Powdered CPS showed extremely low utilization for both species (p < 0.001). The Type C mesh covering only the entrance, with the log wrapped in black plastic, recorded the lowest mean scores for mortality, escape, and stress indicators and was therefore selected as the optimal method. Honey production analyses showed that H. itama exhibited increasing yields with sucrose concentration up to 80%, while G. thoracica showed inconsistent patterns, with several concentrations producing minimal or no honey. Sucrose syrup is the preferred feeding source for both H. itama and G. thoracica, and confinement Type C provides the most stable, stress-free conditions for feeding experiments. Powdered CPS is unsuitable due to extremely low acceptance. These findings strengthen the understanding of the impacts of indirect adulteration and support the future development of honey authentication strategies in Malaysia.

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