Artificial diet offers hope for saving endangered honey bees

In a major breakthrough for global pollinator health, scientists have developed a new man-made food source capable of sustaining honey bee colonies without any natural pollen.

This innovation could revolutionize beekeeping and play a crucial role in curbing the alarming rates of colony collapse that threaten agriculture worldwide.

The research is the result of a decade-long collaboration between Washington State University (WSU) and APIX Biosciences NV in Belgium.

In extensive field trials across commercial crop pollination sites in Washington state, the new diet proved not only viable but highly effective in keeping nutritionally stressed honey bee colonies alive and thriving.

A power bar for pollinators

The new food resembles compact bars – similar in appearance to energy bars for humans – that are placed directly into the hive. These bars are enriched with a complete blend of nutrients that bees would normally obtain from a diverse diet of pollen.

Once inside the colony, young worker bees process the food and distribute it to both larvae and adult bees. Much like how livestock and pets are sustained on commercial feed throughout their lives, this innovation marks the first time honey bees can be maintained entirely on an artificial diet.

“Until this study, honey bees were the only livestock that could not be maintained on a man-made feed,” said Patrick Pilkington, CEO of APIX Biosciences US.

“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.”

Why an artificial diet for bees?

The need for such a feed has become increasingly urgent as honey bees face mounting challenges in their environment.

Changes in land use, widespread urban development, monoculture farming, and extreme weather events have all contributed to a steady decline in available pollen sources.

“Honey bees are generalists and do not get all their nutrition from a single source,” explained Brandon Hopkins, a professor of pollinator ecology at WSU and co-author of the study. “They need variety in their diet to survive but find it increasingly difficult to locate the continuous supply of pollen they need to sustain the colony.”

Without sufficient nutrition, colonies are more vulnerable to disease, parasites, and stress from crop pollination. In recent years, colony mortality rates have soared to levels many beekeepers consider unsustainable.

What’s inside the feed

One of the most significant scientific discoveries in the development of this new artificial diet is the identification of isofucosterol – a plant-derived molecule naturally found in pollen that is critical for bee health.

In the study, colonies fed with isofucosterol-enriched bars were able to survive an entire season without any pollen access.

Colonies that did not receive the molecule, however, showed dramatic declines, including reduced larval production, signs of adult paralysis, and even total collapse.

In addition to isofucosterol, the bars are formulated to include all essential nutrients bees require, ensuring colonies remain healthy even when natural pollen is scarce or of poor quality.

Real-world trials yield promising results

To test the feed under realistic conditions, WSU scientists deployed nutritionally stressed colonies to pollinate blueberries and sunflowers – crops known to offer poor pollen nutrition.

Compared to colonies given standard commercial feeds or no supplementation, those receiving the new diet not only survived but exhibited strong growth and improved survival rates.

“Some beekeepers don’t pollinate blueberries anymore because colonies suffer or die and the pollination fees don’t cover the losses,” Hopkins noted.

“Blueberry pollen isn’t very nutritious for honey bees, and they aren’t adapted well to pollinating that crop. But if they have this supplemental food source, beekeepers may return to pollinating those fields since they know their bees are more likely to survive.”

A decade in the making

The innovation represents over 10 years of research and testing by a multi-institutional team.

Thierry Bogaert, lead author of the study and chairman of APIX Biosciences, highlighted the scale of the effort: “The newly published work is the result of a herculean scientific effort of three teams,” he said.

These included the founders and scientists of APIX who tested thousands of ingredient combinations, WSU’s honey bee specialists, and professional beekeepers and extension teams who enabled large-scale field testing. Study co-author Anne Marie Fauvel coordinated the beekeeping collaborations.

An artificial diet: Looking ahead

As the agriculture industry continues to depend on pollination services from honey bees, the introduction of a reliable, artificial diet could help stabilize colonies in the face of increasing environmental stressors.

“We are confident that the product will positively impact beekeepers and growers once it’s available to purchase in the US, which is targeted for mid-2026,” Pilkington said.

“Meanwhile, we are working with WSU and the beekeeping community across the USA to develop the best way to make use of this new tool in agricultural settings.”

With beekeepers facing crisis-level losses year after year, this breakthrough offers a glimmer of hope – and a concrete way to better support the insects that help feed the world.

The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences.

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