Scientists are celebrating a breakthrough discovery that could allow honeybees to get the nutrients they need to survive.
ScienceDaily recently reported on a University of Oxford study in which researchers engineered a food supplement for honeybees. The supplement mimics nutrients found in plant pollen and could help keep honeybees alive when their food supplies are low.
“We rely on honeybees to pollinate one in three bites of our food, yet bees face many stressors,” said Danielle Downey, executive director of honeybee research nonprofit Project Apis m., per ScienceDaily. “Good nutrition is one way to improve their resilience to these threats, and in landscapes with dwindling natural forage for bees, a more complete diet supplement could be a game changer.”
The supplement specifically imitates lipids (like fats) called sterols that are typically found in pollen. At the end of the study, scientists found that colonies that received the supplement had up to 15 times more larvae than those that did not.
There were also more robust bee populations in those colonies for the entire three-month feeding period. Populations that received the control diet usually stopped producing after about 90 days.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, honeybees pollinate up to $15 billion worth of crops annually. These include many different kinds of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. While these bees aren’t native to the U.S., they’re crucial for keeping our food supply chains running.
ScienceDaily said that scientists could replicate and tailor the supplement in the University of Oxford study for other pollinators. Additional trials will need to happen first for the supplement to be made available. Researchers hope the honeybee supplement will be available for use in the next two years.
This supplement could also be a good stepping stone while researchers find a way to strengthen our agriculture sector. The price of honey in places like Moldova has gone up because of severe weather events. While weather-resistant crops that grow in alignment with bees’ pollinating habits are in the works, a honeybee supplement could be life-saving.
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