Bees feeding on a synthetic pollen substitute – credit, Caroline Wood, Oxford U news A study team from Oxford University has identified a fermentation method that creates the perfect balanced diet for honey bees who can’t get enough natural pollen. Synthetic pollen substitutes are often fed to bees as a dietary supplement to natural pollen, but until now it’s been …
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Worker bees feeding in the lab, Oxford Bee Lab. Credit: Caroline Wood Scientists have created a groundbreaking bee “superfood” by engineering yeast to produce six essential sterols normally found in pollen. Colonies given this lab-made diet reared up to 15 times more young than those on standard feeds, thriving with a nutrient profile almost identical to naturally foraged diets. The …
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A new study led by the University of Oxford in collaboration with Royal Botanic Gardens Kew, University of Greenwich, and the Technical University of Denmark could provide a cost-effective and sustainable solution to help tackle the devastating decline in honeybees. An engineered food supplement, designed to provide essential compounds found in plant pollen, was found to significantly enhance colony reproduction. …
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