Indiana University researchers have identified a specific bacterial microbe that, when fed to honey bee larvae, can reduce the effects of nutritional stress on developing bees -- one of the leading causes of honey bee decline.
Indiana University researchers have identified a specific bacterial microbe that, when fed to honey bee larvae, can reduce the effects of nutritional stress on developing bees -- one of the leading causes of honey bee decline.
Their findings were recently published in the International Society for Microbial Ecology Journal.
Humans rely on honey bees for food security. Because they will pollinate almost anything, honey bees are extremely useful for agriculture. But over the past few decades, the honey bee population has experienced dramatic declines caused by the effects of multiple stressors, the most pervasive of which is limited nutrition. Beekeepers in the United States reported losing 40.5 percent of their managed colonies between 2015 and 2016 alone, according to a national survey.
"The effects of poor nutrition are most damaging in the developing larvae of honey bees, who mature into workers unable to meet the needs of their colony," said Irene Newton, a professor in the IU Bloomington College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Biology, who led the study. "It is therefore essential that we better understand the nutritional landscape experienced by honey bee larvae."
Read more at Indiana University
Image: Many honey bees in the U.S. lack the floral diversity they need to eat a balanced diet, causing poor nutrition. (Credit: Photo by James Brosher, Indiana University)
