Beekeepers in many regions are having a hard time of it, as their honeybees struggle to find enough pollen to sustain the colony. Scientists are now addressing that problem with a new nutritional supplement which is described as being like "a PowerBar for bees."
Honeybees in commercial hives typically feed on pollen collected from flowers growing relatively nearby. Unfortunately, factors such as climate change and the loss of natural flower-rich landscapes are now making pollen a scarce commodity in various locations.
What's more, bees need pollen from a number of different plants in order to meet all their nutritional needs. Some commercial honeybee feeds are available, but according to scientists at Washington State University (WSU), even those aren't nutritionally complete.
That's where the new supplement comes in.
Developed over a 10-year period via a collaboration between WSU and Belgian company APIX Biosciences, it contains multiple undisclosed ingredients along with six different sterols (naturally occurring steroids) that bees ordinarily obtain from pollen. One of those, isofucosterol, is a particularly crucial nutrient.
Importantly, though, all of the sterols are present in ratios and concentrations similar to those found in natural areas where honeybees gather pollen. The supplement takes the form of flattened patties which are simply placed directly inside the hives.
In field tests, a number of small hives subsisted exclusively on the supplement for one honey-producing season, as they were kept from obtaining pollen by being placed in a tented enclosure. Other hives were given a commercial feed, or were left free to feed on sunflower and blueberry pollen, both of which are known for not being very nutritious for bees.
It was found that the supplement-fed colonies definitely fared best, producing nine consecutive cycles of offspring and two renewals of all worker bees over a 15-week period. By contrast, colonies in the other two groups suffered reduced larval production, adult paralysis, and even complete colony collapses.
"Until this study, honeybees were the only livestock that could not be maintained on a man-made feed," says Dr. Patrick Pilkington, CEO of APIX. "The reported scientific work shows in commercial field conditions that providing nutritionally stressed colonies with our pollen-replacing feed results in a major measurable step change in colony health compared to current best practices. Our product has the potential to change the way honeybees are managed."
It is hoped that the supplement will be commercially available to beekeepers as of the middle of next year. A paper on the research was recently published in the rather appropriately named journal, Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Scientists with the US Agricultural Research Service are additionally developing a "bee chow" that is nutritionally enhanced with microalgae.
Source: Washington State University
