Propolis produced by selected bees Apis mellifera were collected from March to June of 2013 and in March of 2015 and analyzed in order to evaluate the influence of climate, colony of origin, and food supplementation of colonies on the content of total phenolic and flavonoid by chromatographic analysis and antioxidant activity by radical scavenging of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl hydrate (DPPH) and 2,2’-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid) (ABTS) and ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) methods. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was carried out with propolis collected in 2013 and two clusters were formed. Propolis produced in the months of March and April showed a higher content of total phenolic compounds (TPC) and antioxidant capacity than those produced in May and June. The results of PCA obtained from samples collected in March of 2013 and 2015 showed two clusters, and propolis collected in 2015 were more bioactive and presented a higher content of TPC. The chromatographic analysis of extracts allowed the identification of phenolic acids p-coumaric, ferulic and caffeic with similar chemical profiles that could be closely related to the botanical origin of propolis. It can be concluded that the season and food supplementation of colonies influenced the chemical composition and the biological activity of samples analysed.

The research aimed to evaluate the effect of Beauveria bassiana and Metarhizium anisopliae on Africanized Apis mellifera L. 1758 (Hymenoptera: Apidae). The application methods of entomopathogens suspensions were: 1) sprayed on eucalyptus leaves; 2) sprayed directly onto workers honey bees; and 3) incorporated in a candy paste. Sterilized distilled water that was offered to bees was used as a control. Each treatment consisted of five replicates of 20 bees. The longevity of the workers was checked from one to 144 hours. To study the effect of entomopathogenic fungi on morphometric parameters of produced queens, two cycles were performed: A) B. bassiana and control and B) M. anisopliae and control. For this, the transfer of worker larvae to acrylic domes containing royal jelly incorporated with the treatments was carried out. After nine days, the queen cells were placed in glass jars individually and stored in an acclimatized chamber until emergence, at which point the measurements of live weight were taken and morphometric analyses were performed. Beauveria bassiana caused a reduction in the survival of workers in the direct spray bioassay and when the entomopathogen was incorporated into the candy paste, while M. anisopliae caused a reduction in the survival in the three bioassays. The entomopathogenic fungi did not interfere negatively with the parameters evaluated for queens produced.