Ohio researchers develop new species of bees that fight parasites

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A honey bee (Apis) flies to the entrance hole of the hive on a summer day. Photo: Wolfram Steinberg/dpa Photo: Wolfram Steinberg/dpa (Photo credit: Wolfram Steinberg/picture Alliance via Getty Images)

wilberforce, ohio – As honeybees face a number of threats that could lead to massive population declines, a team of bee researchers Central State University of Ohio Genetic research is advancing to combat parasitic mites, one of the leading causes of colony loss.

Their work paved the way for the development of new species of honeybees that could potentially reduce tick infestation within hives and increase long-term bee viability. bee sustainability.

The university’s breeding program aims to develop worker bees known as OB1 or “Ohio tick biters” that have sanitary traits and develop smaller mandibles.

Bees with small mandibles are good groomers and can bite off part of a tick to prevent it from attaching to chicks or adult bees. Currently, only about 10% of bees exhibit this trait. By using wild bees instead, domesticated beesThe university’s research, in collaboration with Purdue University, aims to breed stinging traits in a greater percentage of bees in hives.

Alarming bee mortality continues in US, posing challenges for beekeepers

“It’s a long process, and that’s why we don’t see many other universities taking the time to do this,” said Dr. Hongmei Li Byale, associate professor of entomology at Central State. “these are [wild] We were interested in studying their genes because honeybees may have been selected by natural selection for many years. ”

World Bee Day celebrated as colonies dwindle

May 20th has been recognized by the United Nations as World Bee Day. The United Nations has declared that bees and pollinators such as butterflies, bats and hummingbirds are increasingly threatened by human activity.

To introduce a new kind of bee to the hive, the researchers collected drones from hives with a high percentage of tick-stinging bees. These drones are used for artificial insemination of queen bees. This process requires 15-20 drones in nature, but for artificial insemination he increases significantly to 50-60.

Bee health is driven by government programs aimed at finding optimal environments for insects

The research at Central State University comes at a pivotal time, as honeybees continue to be threatened.

An annual survey conducted by the Bee Informed Project at the University of Maryland and Auburn University found that beekeepers lost nearly half (48%) of colonies managed in the past year. This is a significant increase over the 12-year average of 39.6% of the annual colony loss.

Related: Watch bees take over Times Square

Bees play an important role in pollinating more than 100 crops that are essential to the life of the country. food supply.

Yet, thanks to the efforts of beekeepers to create new colonies and replenish hives, colony-wide bee populations remain relatively stable.

The loss numbers are alarming, but experts say the situation is less dire than in the past.Beekeepers have learned how recovering from a heavy loss, There are still challenges.

“Now that we have our own breeding strain, we want to work with more people to integrate different genetics into this strain to make it a better strain,” Lee said. Bierley said. “Beekeepers want their colonies to be strong. Managed pollinator colonies are undoubtedly very important to our crop production, so we need to protect them.”

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The development of OB1 bees through genetic research offers hope for the future of bee populations by addressing the problem of tick infestation and promoting hive health.

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