Food supplements for honeybees could help the insects better withstand temperature stresses linked to a changing climate, early research suggests.
Scientists found that worker bees fed a mixture of probiotics and inulin, a plant-derived prebiotic, survived prolonged cold exposure better than bees given an ordinary sugar diet.
But the supplements offered little meaningful protection against extreme heat.
In laboratory tests at 40C, all the bees died within days, regardless of diet, though some of those receiving higher supplement doses survived slightly longer.
Temperature extremes are becoming increasingly common globally as the burning of fossil fuels causes the planet to heat, though the link between the climate crisis and unusual cold in some regions is complex.
Broader Implications for Pollinator Health
Dr. Najmeh Sahebzadeh, an associate professor at the University of Zabol, Iran, and the lead scientist in the study, commented on the broader implications of these findings.
"As nutritional shortages, pathogens and extreme weather continue to compound one another, the study is relevant not only to pollinator health but also to broader ecosystem stability and the services that food systems depend on."
The study's findings suggest nutrition may give managed bees an additional line of defense against some extreme temperatures.
Peter Graystock, an assistant professor in human and animal health at Imperial College London, who was not involved in the study, shared his perspective on the research.
"It is interesting that this suggests microbes may be important for changes in climate, which isn’t something that has been looked at very much."
