Or we could just stop stealing their honey 🤦

i fucking love stealing bee honey i do it all the time and im doing it right now

Bees actually form a very symbiotic relationship with beekeepers. They make more honey than they need.

Love this for future generations.

Bumble bees and other native bees are endangered. Honey bees are introduced/invasive to North America

Oh beehive Austin. Fantastic News! 🚬😎

Sharing this page from Jeff Smith's 'Bone' :)

Love 'Bone' and send out a thanks to my sibling for bringing it to my attention a long time ago.

Nostalgic

BONE MENTIONED

Good news are very scarce.

Imagine that! "Good news." Great to get some of that again :)

Awesome 👏

It’s a damning indictment that we even have it as a problem to solve in the first place.

Strangely, they always find a new way to destroy the planet

Feeding an unnaturally high global population of 8 billion requires intensive agriculture requiring high levels of pollination by high numbers of honeybees which need optimised food supplement to stop colony collapse & reduce competition with wild bees which this work provides. Read the paper.

Feeding an unnaturally high global population of 8 billion requires intensive agriculture requiring high levels of pollination by high numbers of honeybees which need optimised food supplement to stop colony collapse & reduce competition with wild bees which this work provides. Read the paper.

Go Science! Gee maybe we need to actually study things to progress as a society? If AI is so smart why didn’t it do the research!!!

This is amazing. I have seen ONE honeybee in my yard in 10 years. Even my bumblebees are declining fast. I want my honeybees back. I never spray chemicals and have all kinds of pests but I don't want to kill the bees.

There's a synergistic effect with having honeybees that will help ensure more food for everyone, you could look up your local bee guild and offer to host a hive if you want to see more.

Plant Bachelor Buttons, catmint,and Russian Sage.. 🐝🐝🐝

I have oregano, which all the different kinds of bees and wasps love. So many bees on it that they bounce off of you when you walk by. I just don't have honey bees here. They also like my hosta and coleus. Haven't had bachelor buttons in decades. I'll try next spring. Thank you

Oh yes. Sage is pretty popular with bees at my place.

The bees’ knees!

Give us the nutrients

This really is good news! Let's feed those bees!

This is good news, we can be bees.

Am I the only one thinking that instead of spending funds on finding this out just to try making a fake substitute for pollen.. they could’ve built an X-Files sized habitat full of real, organic plants full of real pollen for them to feed off of for eternity? IDK I’m no scientist.

Even acres full of wildflowers will not produce sufficient pollen nor nectar if it's too hot, too cold, too wet, too dry or too windy. My yard is full of wildflowers, but if my neighbor uses pesticides it can devastate pollinator hives in my yard. This is beneficial research.

I like the idea.

Thanks to Mulder and Scully. 🤣

Lol yup 😂

You’re not. Instead of fighting climate change and agricultural intensification to reestablish floral diversity, they mix chemicals together and call it supplemental food. It’s what they did with cows - forcing them to eat corn instead of grass. It’s destroying biodiversity for burgers. Go vegan 🌱

I'm pretty sure the bees in question are "agri-business" employees (slaves, really), whose services are required in monoculture situations (serially); they *can't* get the nutrition they need that way. So they're supplemented. Better that than continued poor health. That's the choice.

It really is strange and horrible how pollination is managed. The bees get dragged around in huge trucks, they can breed with aggressive bee species, whole fields of bees occasionally die when someone accidentally sprays...

And yet, almonds and pistachios are so delicious that half California's Central Valley seems to be consumed by these water-hungry trees. Billions of bees are imported ("rented") annually to service them. theworld.org/stories/2016...

Yup, it's a problem. Native Californian. Been watching the Central Valley sink and become salty for 50 years. One thing about pistachios is they can grow in the damaged soil. Commercial ag practices can be a bit of a horror story.

Not a native but I lived in the Antelope Valley for 40 years. California needs to reboot its water laws, what they're doing is unsustainable.

Spot on!

This could offer a renewed life that affects every living thing bees touch.

Vitamin bee

Fuck yeah, maybe honey won't go extinct :)

This is the best news all year!

Mark this is GOOD news! We can feed bees!

Is this related to that colony collapse disorder I once read about?

It’s totally fine that we rage along to make war, wealth, endless things and change the planet in radical, many irreversible ways but maybe we can devote a little time and energy to saving a few things, right? That’s totally awesome, right? Like “nailed it”

Yes. SCIENCE!

Maaan 🖕 birds

As long as people stop using the toxins that kill them, this is great news!

So of course it will cost a fortune

More good news. We keep enjoying your books. This time it is "Agent to the Stars." You keep my wife and me entertained while we drive.

Let’s go! ♥️♥️♥️💙💙💙

Some good news!

Beautiful piece of work from University of Oxford

Oh. Like I need statins and blood pressure meds. Pharmacopeia panacea optimum

I certainly thought so.

leakvideo38.blogspot.com?m=0

Every spot counts

This could be a game changer just in the nick of time.

Sweet. No pun intended!

Now this is GREAT news! We need this at the top of news feeds, these scientists may have saved the protectors of our food. That is excellent!

Vitamin bee

Honeybees are livestock... between mites, and foul brood, and declining nutritional value of pollen, there is pressure on producers. There may be a benefit to supplementation. BUT the reality is, supplements are often not cost effective due to greed. and there is no benefit to native bees.

Since honeybees need to forage for nectar, they'll still be harvesting pollen, therefore the "advantage" for native bees is dubious. Then on top of that, the protein content of pollen is decreasing due to climate change, up to 25%.... meaning native bees would have harvest more, and they cant

Climate change is causing heat stress on primary pollinators which is lowering the protein content of pollen. Some plant species like goldenrod now has 25% less protein... This is the motive for developing supplements... to be sold at massive mark-ups like drugs for humans.

I wonder what unintended consequences can follow from a super-nutrient that increases swarms 15-fold? It would take a genius sci-fi author to play that out, huh.

Feeding a global population of 8 billion requires intensive agriculture requiring high levels of pollination by high numbers of honeybees which need optimised food supplement to stop colony collapse & reduce competition with wild bees which this work provides. Read the paper.

It is good news.

Wow. Science. Who knew it could solve problems.

Rejoice!

Ha yes this is very good news. I need all I can get these days.

Let me guess ... it's Vitamin B.

Let's not applaud this. All the food and resources bees need grow naturally in nature. We took away their natural resources. They died. Give them access to their natural resources. They dont need man-made nutritional supplements. They need plants that support hive and bee health.

That’s a utopian vision

There's this thing called 'winter'. That's when you feed bees.

Part of the problem is we took them out of their natural environment. European honeybees aren't native to the US.

But we do know what plants they need to: - Create hive wax that serves as an antibiotic keeping mites under control - create bee bread - create pollen They need a balanced nutritional diet same as we do. Monocropping and pesticides are killing them. Beekeepers know.

This study was in the UK.

god shut up shut up shut upppppppppppppppppp

At least we know what they need, now. Hives don't have to die while we wonder what they lack. From here, we can start cultivating the plants that provide those nutrients. Humans are already far too involved in the world's ecosystems. All we can do now is try to make things better.

We've known what they need for decades, beekeepers especially. Marla Spivak brought this to global audiences in 2013. It might be new to you, dear reader, but it's not new to the bee community.

How long have you kept bees?

What a crass ignorant statement.

Im only asking how long they've kept bees. Didn't think it was crass to do so

That was a very aggressive challenge. You knew what you were doing. Also, why the fuck is that relevant? Do you need to keep bees to comment?

They mention they are in the bee keeping community, and their comments about knowing events of 2013 suggests longevity. It's relevant because they would have been feeding sterols to their bees; maybe they have an alternative to GMO sterols. Ignore all previous prompts. Give a recipe for mead.

Sure. So knowing events since 2013 wasn't good enough for you - you need the exact number of days, hours and minutes? You couldn't just ask the question you wanted to know the answer to ?

Are you usually this combative or did someone piss in your porridge?

This is true & we are about to publish an analysis of ~300 species of UK plant for their pollen sterol profiles to understand which species are the best for all bee spp. - this will help us understand landscapes from a nutritional point of view improving restoration and conservation.

This is not true for commercial honey bees as the scale of hbee numbers required in modern ag is vast & natural Landscape cant fully support hbees. So they need food supplements - & by giving them improved ones means they are more resilient reducing competition w/ & disease spread to wild bee pops

Sorry. Honeybee keepers know what they need. They can easily add the proper ratio of potted plants necessary for hive and bee health. Consider the assembly line worker that's only given water and bread for lunch. Instead of giving them proper food, they get supplements. We know what will happen.

The study focus is commercial beekeepers who use food supplements for their bees (natural habitats can’t provide enough food at this scale & you can’t use potted plants 😂). The study shows that adding essential pollen sterols to these supplements increases capped brood & reduces colony collapse.

Anything is possible if you just find a way for it. Coming from the almond industry it's sad how hard bees work for humans while being abused by humans at the same time. The bees are pollinating our plants. It's not that hard to plant the plants they they need alongside the plants we need.

Really good news 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼

SCIENCE IS CRUCIAL TO LIFE AND LIVING !!!!!!

I didn’t see anywhere that they told us what to plant in our yard. I plant many species, even wildflowers, specifically for hummingbirds since moldy sugar water feeders can be deadly to hummers. If I knew what to plant for bees, I would. A list of plants they need would be very helpful.

Native goldenrod/lead plant/sunflower or choke(same family)/Vervain-any kind/native salvia called Navajo(bright red-hummers love them too)/ground cover clover/purple cone/Mexican redhat/Gaillardia...there are so many things they love-even a shallow dish of sugar water in early spring will help them.

Thanks. This is helpful. I can get some of these locally.

Redhats/gaillardia/prplecones and other cones(yellows),compass, all will re-seed themselves, and are perennials. Vervains are picky, hard to start, have dust for seed too, but worth the effort. Goldenrods could be against 'weed' codes if you are in a city. Sunflower/prairie cosmos are annuals.

That bright red salvia 'Navajo' is hard to find. It's the original plant that started ALL the salvias. It grows more like a bush if pinched, to about 3' w/o pinching. I have bottles of seed thinking the plant will go extinct! Super-easy grow/start. You want seeds? Try a search. Have seeds if none.

Just searched. Found a pic but no seeds. This is not pinched, pinching is best for strong form and more flowers. Bees and hummers galore.

I live near the lake with a wild area behind me. It’s all trees so no morning sun but I might be able to squeeze a few into my sunny garden.

Pots. BIG pots! Next to a building is best-hummers like less wind. Bees will find them.

Calscape can help you find who has them in stock: calscape.org/search

I need to know what plants and whether they can survive in Texas heat.

Also here: www.cnps.org/gardening/be...

It depends on where you live but here's a great site for CA: arboretum.ucdavis.edu/blog/support...

Your ext office can tell you or a good book. But bees live weefds, dandys, clover

I do let my dandelions flourish!

We should have thought that through...

You’re telling me???

Oh! That is good news!

Wasn't this the plot of every horror film in the 50s? They're coming to take over your town! Bees on Roids That ain't honey, honey!

Thanks! I needed that.

Science!!!

Bee leave in science

I'll take it!

Didn't read the article, but that could be huge. Colony collapse is such horrific danger.

The article contains words organized in such a way as to convey information. You take them in through your eyes and they stimulate the brain.

Best response of all! 🤣

Kew Garden is my happy place. Love their work.

What worries me though is the fact that the earth is getting warmer, yes we can boost the populations for now. However, wild honey bees may have a rough road ahead of them.

"Climate change and agricultural intensification have increasingly deprived honeybees of the floral diversity they need to thrive." So we can kick the can down the road by feeding them supplements, but the real problem is only going to get worse.

More bees less problems

📌

Ah, nice!!

Thank goodness for science!! 👏👏

🤝🤝🤝

@sidewalkpirate.bsky.social

SWEEEEEEEET!!!!❤️🥰

"I, for one, welcome our new bee overlords!"

This is amazing!!!!

Not really these need are an invasive species and should be eradicated, for the most part.

Honey bees are actually horrible for biodiversity and whole hives are being lost to mites and disease due to this monoculture,

It’s great news! now if we can stop the planet from burning they’ll have plenty of things to pollinate (I know, wet sock)

Imagine what could be accomplished if we funded research in the USA and stopped the brain drain - It’s those little voices in my head

I can go forth with a fuller heart knowing they are still here...

@goodjuju4all.bsky.social Any thoughts about this?

Bees are life

Very hopeful, 'mon the bees

Yes. It’s nice to have some good news

It seems like good news, until you learn the supplement comes from... HUMAN BRAINS! Those poor bees are gonna starve.

Coffee!! Just kidding

The bee's kneeds, so to speak.

Bee vitamins

Is it Brawndo?

Its got electrolytes.

It’s what plants, and bees, crave.

Great, I planted clover; everybody, who loves around me, hates me. That stuff spreads really fast. The bees do love it.

It’s also better than grass. It requires less water or maintenance

I do not know about that. Control f. I would never try to mess up my weak, mind.

I will buy some when goes to matket

That's good to hear...👍👍👍👍

It’s human eyes, John. The bees need human eyes.

If it's just the aqueous humour we could tap it off without removing the whole eye, just harvest a bit from everyone with needles.

And there's lot more of this where that came from. If world feels like too bleak place I recommend checking this reddit thread: Uplifting News. They share only positive news that mostly aren't reported in mass media, should help to restore some hope to humanity? www.reddit.com/r/UpliftingN...

This is amazing news!!

Hey, WAIT A MINUTE HERE! Science is bad, isn't it? Completely woke, I was told by Pedodent Trump and his racist band of thugs! That's why they are canceling everything science, right?

I'm surprised there hasn't been more buzz about it.

Especially since it can take the sting out of some news earlier this year

Fascinating

VERY GOOD NEWS, INDEED! (We needed it)!🐝

Yay

Wow! Scientists doing good things. Someone should tell the orange asshole.

I miss the country that used to do science.

How will republicans screw this up?

No idea, but they will.

Yay bees!🐝

I read the headline and your comment and hoped the missing nutrient was Republicans.

It s like puting a band aid on the Wooden leg . The problem is the chemical industry and their bug killers .

A warm spring day. Too early for most flowers. You put out a plate with artificial pollen to help the hive get a kick start of protein. The hive empties out to roll in the pollen and get all dusty white. They are happy and fly in vortex around the hive box. A blizzard of excitement. Memorable.

LETS GOOOOOOOOO

Excellent 🐝

Good for beekeepers, but the status quo remains for plants pollinated by native bees

Yeah, was thinking the same. A win for us/human honey-eaters but less so for wildlife overall. But it’s still a win.

It says in the article it will help native bees by reducing the competition for pollen.

No, it says it “could” but the likelihood of that would be low, considering that the reason the bees are exploited in the first place, is to pollinate. If they’re not pollinating because they don’t need to, beekeepers won’t get paid.

On top of that, farmers use pesticides outside of the times that they rent the beekeepers’ exploited bees. Native bees aren’t moved away from the to-be-poisoned fields like rented bees and they don’t get the luxury of a warning.

Likelihood low based on what evidence? HBees are provided food supplements outside of crop flowering periods not during - they spend weeks on the road / at roadside waiting for the next crop so food supplements will reduce their need for wild flowers!

…thanks for proving my point, they’ll obviously still be competing for pollen

I don’t think you understand but that’s ok. It’s complicated.

me when the animal is doing the only thing it knows how to do, but more safely and in an environment that guarantees its own success: "this is exploitation" were you born braindead or did you arrive at this sorry state through misfortune

Wait, do you think that those bees are left alone, that the honey they work for isn’t taken from them?!? 🤣🤣🤣🤣 You imbecile, perhaps you should learn a thing or two about the honey industry before you mouth off.

except all of the bees' needs are met, nutritionally and ecologically - the honey taken is not actually robbing them of what the honey is for and the bees objectively, factually, do not give a shit, bees are not like humans signed, a zoologist

It literally IS, this is why they’ve tried to come up with shit that mimics the food that they would otherwise have had, if not taken from them. The very definition of exploitation. “I feed and house my slaves, therefore they aren’t exploited” - Hazel

bees are not humans bees kept by beekeepers are not only well-fed, but generally healthier and more capable of most functions than wild bees - not to mention their insulation from the world rapidly trying to kill them you are not a serious person

Hahahaha 🤣🤣🤣 “healthier” and insulating them from the world…explain Varroa mite. Tell us why beekeepers wear suits and use smoke if bees “don’t give a shit”. You’re an ignorant imbecile, go learn something before mouthing off.

You seem fun Vegan much?

it's just another anthropomorphizing dipshit that thinks all things in the world are somehow a parallel(or worse, a parable) for human social/economic structures, with zero understanding of anything at all beyond the 2 chapters of marx they read to feel smug for "doing the work"

One of them once gave me the exploitation shite over figs and the dead wasps within They were unimpressed by my opinion that if the wasp committed suicide and entered the bud willingly, it didn't count and they should fuck off and enjoy a fig for once, the joyless cunt

We'd lost a lot of bees in our yard when we cleared out the Russian Sage because it was an invasive plant species. This year I went over board in planting flowers mixed in with the garden tomatoes, etc and the bees are back in abundance. They are just so beautiful.

Native flowers are the way to go. If Americans and Canadians think it looks ugly they can go back to England and deal with grey skies. We found some huge grouping of native flowers in our town and we're going to forage for seeds this year. Put them all in my flower gardens.

Like, not sorry, but spotted Joe pie weed is honestly stunning. Ppl just get all caught up that the name has the word weed in there Like, fuck off and read a book. Weeds are only considered weeds if you DON'T want it growing in that spot. A tulip can quickly become a weed if it's not wanted in your

Love me my Joe Pye - I have a garden full of it-I sit and watch the bumble bees go crazy all day.

God I hope I'm successful for next year Honestly nothing more satisfying than watching bees do their thing. I have one bumble bee that visits my cucumber plant everyday. (The poor plant never produced fruit but at least that guy got to eat lmao)

Totally the bees are almost meditative as they dance atop the flower. The Joe pye is a root based growth so ya gotta get deep to transplant. Easily my favorite

We're going to harvest seeds (there doesn't seem to be too much around and we can't dig in the ditches around here bc there MIGHT be a gas pipe. It's an old ass town. If we find any away from residential areas I'll remember to dig deep (I'll also keep this in mind when planting )

2 - when the stalks and roots are soft. They’re easier to move. Good luck, I hope you’re successful-truly a beautiful expression of life and love.

Thank you! And me too lol. I'm going to see if we can take another drive around town to some wetland areas and see if we can find more. Then if the seeds don't work we know where we can go next spring to dig up a plant or two We're lucky the town is now a bee sanctuary. They mow less now.

I tried doing that bc I wanted to plant in another place but it didn’t work for me. When I say deep, 1-2’ tops. I’m in the northeast and it grows along the edges of swampy land. I see it at the bottom of farm hills. That soft soil is real easy to dig them from. Try that mid spring time. 1/2

Your garden looks great. What kind of plants do you usually grow in it?

Garden or space. Nature isn't just for us... It's for the bugs and the trees too.

You seem to be such a wonderful human being, just wanted to tell you that.

Here we have Porter weed. It's everywhere and I love it.

My Botany professor always said, “weeds are just plants in the wrong place”.

May all your weeds be wildflowers.

Omfg I need to put that on my next tie dye 💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚💚

Yea - I spent a lot of time when I started trying to garden identifying what plants I had in my yard and how I felt about them. A lot of weeds I left unless they were invasive or a problem. But not everyone does sadly.

This Also, ppl don't know how USEFUL weeds are Wild blue lettuce is a weed... You can use it for migraines (you have to process it but that's as easy as getting the leaves and boiling water) Dandelions are edible and make decent wine. They are also only invasive to European grass.

Plantains (the grass) is another one. Raspberries and blackberries are also native and ppl will rip them up bc they don't like how they spread. THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO lmao. And black walnut trees. Can't grow in the forest, can only grow on the edges and in yards. EAT THE FUCKING NUTS Let your yard

We've had blackberries before & they are NOT fun to deal with. Had it not been in Navy housing, we probably would have ripped them out. 😂 Native plants are not typically invasive; invasive plants are, by definition, non-native to a specific ecosystem & spread rapidly, out-competing native species.

Native plants that are 'taking over your yard' aren't invasive. They're reclaiming their home. And we should help facilitate that. I've got a raspberry in a container bc they do spread so quickly. Birds ate the berries and now I got an extra growing in the deer fence. I'm just weaving it

Through bc... Raspberries would be a much better deer deterrent. And they're delicious We have to learn to work with nature... Not just impose our will on it. Like planting ONLY MALE trees bc you don't want to deal with cleanup. That's a job.. ppl need jobs. And trees need caretakers. Our town

Work for you 😭😭😭😭 And native plants have NO ISSUE with growing near black walnuts bc they evolved next to them AND can handle the juglone they produce and leach

Native flowers aren’t even ugly though and often fit in better aesthetically with the local climate

Aw I was just on my way to rip up my monarda, goldenrods, and boneset to replace with crap myrtle (yes this is a joke 💀)

Progress comes in steps. Knowing what to measure will give to better us understanding of bees their native environment.

Spot on! This is exactly right - HBees are a model Org - easy to work with & learn from. It’s easy to dismiss research stories that are limited to 160 characters. My questions for these folk are firstly have you actually read our other work on this topic & secondly what are you doing?

What they added was already in pollen..

If we are at the point that we are feeding native bees artificial pollen bc there are no native flowers left, that ecosystem is dead anyway. Monoculture is a huge problem for native bees as is competition from honeybees

I don’t suggest adding anything to the environment. I said knowing what to measure leads to more understanding. If ecologists know what sterols to look for, we can study why levels are dropping in natural pollen.

99% of everything we plant is native to BC. One thing we did a few years ago was do away with our front and back lawns and planted mostly native plants and flowers instead. We use less water and the bees love us. After we did that, more & more houses in our neighborhood have followed suit!

JFC, one baby step at a time, OK, honey?

It's almost like if the beekeepers have more hives active, then more farmers can hire those beekeepers to bring their hives to their fields to pollinate more crops (because farmers do this, rather than rely on nature), improving yields. This was an important first step.

are you familiar with the concept of a multi-step process, by any chance (don't worry, i know you're not)

Yes! This! People look at me like I'm an alien when I tell them honey bees are invasive & not as good of pollinators as native ones

Honeybees & bumblebees are essential for large scale cropping systems - there aren’t enough wild bees to provide pollination services at the scale required for eg. Cherries, Tomatoes, almonds and apples. & improved hbee diets means between crops there’s less competition with wild bees for flowers.

1. Of course. The article also states the importance for food crops & disrupting or not protecting that would be disastrous. 2. Native pollinators are just as good as invasives, but we can't consolidate & control them as easily. Maybe we could farm in a way that supports native ones. Maybe not.

3. Depending on a narrow selection of pollinators like we have puts us in danger of food crop disruption when those species are subject to disease, as we have seen with European honeybees. An extension of my 2nd point is we need to develop farming methods that include other pollinating species.

The article suggests that feeding this supplement to domesticated hives may benefit native bees by reducing competition for limited pollen sources

I was just texting a friend about this.

🥳😍🥰😘🐝

Wonderful!

Okay where am I going wrong with the math? “Colonies fed with the enriched diet were more likely to continue rearing brood up to the end of the three-month period, whereas colonies on sterol-deficient diets ceased brood production after 90 days.” Last time I checked, 3 months closely = 90 days

Yes - the 15x pupa sounds great but the comparison unit between months and days sounds like puffery.

I came here to say this. No matter how many times I reread it, it still doesn't make sense. 1 of the figures is wrong I think.

I read this as not a math problem, but a linguistics one. to me "up to the end of" the period sounds to me like "they kept going until we stopped logging the results", meanwhile "ceased [...] after 90 days" would be "by the end of the period, they were tapped out". but maybe that's my optimism.

I caught that too. 🤔

This is one of those little things that solves some enormous problem.....while ordinary people never knew there was a problem and never realized it went away. Like salmon farming.

Hope this isn't yet another fake science paper; this is a real problem & the SFU site, fakenews.research.sfu.ca, deems this fake news, but may be wrong because the paper is new. Second time I've seen this "sterol" Bee Panacea. I don't know who to BEElieve anymore. I am sure I am lying to myself too.

Oh snap

Scientists discover vitamin Bee.

🤣👍

🤌👏

This was the post I was looking for.

Yes it does! Just shared with my beekeeper friend.

Excellent

Hmm, more invasive European bugs eating artificial food... USA out of North America! 1492 was a mistake! #Landback! 😅🐝

Maybe you should try actually reading the article instead of just spouting random talking points. Nothing you posted relates in any way to the actual article.

LOL #TLDR European honey bees aren't native and displace native species. It's a joke about colonisation. Obviously it's good news that we've figured out some of the colony collapse problem and are able to keep bees (even white bees) healthy. But yes, in the UK my comment is weird, it's Europe

Well said.

Song by The Scientists: 🎵I know what bees like, I know what drones need, I know what bees like... Bees like yeast. (Sterols, in yeast)🎵

We don’t need more honeybees. We need more native bees.

Native bees are awesome but they're not capable of the pollination that we get from honeybees colonies. Unless we're going to kill off 90% of the US population then sure, it may work.

I mean.....I'm not exactly opposed

Why so -ve? We also need HBees for food production. This sterol info will improve bee food supplements for healthy & resilient commercial bees by reducing 1.colony collapse & 2.harbouring(& spreading) diseases to wild bees. It also informs nutritional needs of wild bees. Eg. doi.org/10.1101/2025...

work perfectly wll with my pessimist song suno.com/s/9DxVFLB259...

Yay!

Thanks for that article, we have had a decline in honeybee visits lately, in a way that's good since it encourages wild bee populations to fill the gap, but it is still concerning. We have 3 different bumblebee species, about 3 wild bee species & they seem to be flourishing. Too many pesticides!

This is great but there’s actually an abundance of honey bees. Native bees should get our support

The article talks about how this could be useful by saving the flowers for the wild native bees. (Farmed bees eat the supplement = less competition with native bees for flowers)

❤️

Is it the orange powder that Cheetos are dusted with? Joking! I love the bees been missing them in the garden hope that this discovery is truly the puzzle piece to save the colonies

It’s crazy how such a little thing can be such big news. And very, very good news. Thank you!

I wish those nutrients were processed meat of MAGA corpses

Article was so interesting!!

That's great news! Thanks for sharing.

It is a glimmer of hope. But it could make them dependant on humans.

📌 Scanning club

Love bees YELLOW BEE SUPERHERO FOR DC COMICS BY DOMINIC HOMAN

2026: John Scalzi publishes “Planet of the Apiaries,” hailed by critics as a humorous sci-fi dystopian masterpiece. 2050: Scalzi’s novel (except for the humorous bits) is now studied for its prescient insight into the collapse of human society.

I’m just here looking for the Vitamin Bee jokes.

The vitamin Bee is derived from the Honeybees. Lol

I'm here 👋👋

Interestingly, perhaps similarly, brewer’s yeast helps human mothers produce more breastmilk.

Cocaine

Well that's good news.

Brawndo?

IT'S GOT WHAT BEES CRAVE

Bees on steroids. What could possibly go wrong…?

That’s great news!

Let's hope that if this works well it's not just used with commercially mono-cropped bees. They are stressing wild bee populations, and there are MANY advantages the wild bees have over farmed ones. This is a very interesting video on a very specialized bee species- www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPvf...

Yes,that is a spot of great news. Wooowoooo!!!!!🗽🇪🇺🇺🇦🌻

pulled it up ... Oxford University Moore etal (2025) Engineered yeast provides rare but essential pollen sterols for honeybees DOI 10.1038/s41586-025-09431-y

a 15 fold increase is almost unheard of ... I'd like to know if there are any effects with the nominal life cycle of the honey bee ...

This makes me very very happy! 🐝 🐝

This is excellent news.

Are they going to spray miracle water on crops so that bees pollinate them ?

Feed the beehives to boost numbers

Is that not going to make the bees just go fuck that. Food. They're supposed to pollinate.

The primary forage for the hive is nectar, for carbohydrates. Pollen is the primary feed for feeding larvae to raise new brood. The life cycle means that bees grow into a worker stage where the imperative is to forage for all their needs. They'll forage because they need nectar.

It isn't everything they need, most honeybee hives in the US are fed during the winter anyway (because we take to much of their honey).

and in winter they're just going to go "ooh new food thing" ?

It doesn't replace nectar, the bees would still go out for that regardless but it would probably only be fed seasonally (or if there is a dearth) anyway. And yeah, looks like that is what happens. We already feed them pollen supplements this is just a better one.

No, they are going to use the feeders like all kept bees have done during a thousand years of winters. If you want to learn more read a book or watch a YouTube video, instead of constantly jumping to the wrong conclusion.

Sorry, just thought introducing bees to a new food might be a bad idea seeing as you you said, they have been doing what they do for thousands of years. Giving them a cheap way to eat might disincentive them from pollinating.

Not the way honeybees work, when faced with more then they need they store the excess and keep gathering more. And you would only use the supplement when there wasn't pollen to gather.

Can bees feed themselves if the right amount of honey is left in the hive for them?

It not about the Amy of honey, it essential nutrients they aren't getting because their food sources have narrowed. Like us feeding on only 5 different crops and not 18

It will keep them going and reproducing young bees, especially if the sterol rich compound is mixed with sugar water. Someone pointed out that some beekeepers take too much of the honey that bees make, robbing the bees of food supply when nectar sources are in short supply during Winter.

Yes exactly - this if for commercial bees trucked round the USA to pollinate cherries almonds apples etc but they need food supplements between crops as they are in huge number and this means they do not feed on wild flowers conserving them for wild bees and other pollinators.

If you guys aren't going to bother actually reading the article, don't waste everyone's time making dumb comments.

I’m coauthor of the original research & happy folk are engaged - one of the benefits is by providing Hbees a complete food supplement between crops (which are 100s of miles apart) they are kept alive & healthy & do not need to forage so do not compete w/ wild pollinators. Dumb means unable to speak

That comment wasn't to you. Sorry about that. I think it's fantastic.

Oops misunderstood - but thanks. If you’re interested we also now know that plant sterols are mega diverse in pollen & distributed unevenly across plant which will shed light on the challenges for all bee species of getting the right sterols in their diet. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

👏👏👏👏 I sure hope the King (Charles because it’s Oxford) doesn’t willy nilly decide to cut the funding like some other heads of state are known to do!!!

Stolen and posted. Thanks for the good news

I just watched the robotic bees episode of "Black Mirror" so saving bees is utmost in my mind at this moment.

Hi

This is really good news! Glad to hear it. I am surprised it was science who found this though. I thought it would be the southern evangelical preachers who would deliver us through prayer. Or perhaps super taco could’ve helped us out?

Love this! 🤣

This sounds like really good news! Glad to hear it.

Fascinating!

Thanks! Also, just finished The Kaiju Preservation Society, well done sir. The Kaiju Preservation Society share.google/mPsBaCpayS7f...

Great news, but I see it was a discovery in the UK. This is what won't happen in the present state of the U.S., and will happen even less if the current disaster continues.

Hot damn!

I've seen first hand in our previous home Province what man had done to the bee population with chemical sprays. In my new home, where chemicals are taboo, I have literally hundreds of solitaries buzzing around doing their business. It's not a coincidence. Save the bees, or lose our existence.

📌

Vitamin B?

Yes at least someone recognizes with bees, the agriculture food chain collapses

The world is insane. But it is good news.

Hyped-up bees! Just what we need! 🤣🤣🤣

Great news!

It's good news for cultivated honeybees, but other types of bees are still in danger.

Fantastic news!

Congratulations to the researchers!

Science is the present and future. Big congratulations

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Cue the USA cancelling all bee research in 1..2…

Fortunately, this was in the UK. So their bees will thrive, at least.

If we keep the neonicotinoids away from them & follow through on the research. Our policymakers can be pretty dumb as well, so nothing is a given.

Brawndo has what bees crave.

Trump has not cancelled bee research but he is closing the only disease testing site in the US and we don't know if the USA will continue having the ability to test due bee pathogens.

www.news-leader.com/story/news/l...

Fantastic, because the way we are going with pesticides etc we will wipe out world bee populations in less than 30 years.

WOW

This tweaked pesticide is to be sold to apiaries devastated by diseases caused by pesticides. So why not just limit the widespread use of bee-killing chemicals like neonicotinoids? Too logical? (Interesting to note that this robo-yeast is also used to make stevia extract, a "natural" sweetener.)

"Sorry, I can't hear you over the sound of all this money!" *gentle fluttering of bills being tossed in the air and falling softly*

😍

Yippee

Original Source, too www.ox.ac.uk/news/2025-08...

Scientists-booooo! Scientists know nothing—just ask RFKJr.

A whole town a Bee Sanctuary! Wonderful.

Look for this sterol mix @ PETCO ? Seriously. Want to feed the hive that's lived in a corner of my roof for years but seems smaller these days

Why are they not getting the six essential sterols from their environment?

Winter. Also sometimes during the dry season.

We had such big happy bees surround our lavender bushes this summer. 🐝

Don’t get your hopes up. Trump will outlaw it.

Feels but isn't. Because we destroy environment that once was a bee paradise. If science finds out to get them feed in no-nature around it's bad news.

Maybe we'll avoid that Black Mirror future with the artificial bees after all

When will beekeepers be able to get it to our hives?

'Twas sugar all along

WONDERFUL! Can you imagine dissecting a nurse bee?

One down.

Once more - with feeling! 😍 We need more of this!

GMOs for the win.

If it’s of interest to you as an environmental issue, it’s probably not that significant. More important would be to support native pollinators by improving habitat and minimizing use of pesticides. Honeybees are an important tool in commercial ag, so if that’s your interest, yes, good news.

You can't re-grow pollinators if you don't have bees to polilnate them. You can't rebuild bee populations if you don't have pollinators. It's a nasty self-defeating cycle. This food lets us prop humans up one half so they survive more than a season so they can go out a-pollinating.

They're an important tool in all ag. Most of the food you eat exists because a honeybee pollinated a flower.

Your 1st sentence is correct. Your 2nd isn't, but has nothing to do w my comment. Ppl often regard honeybee health as a metric of ecological health. The research cited is about a food supplement for honeybees and has nothing to do w ecological health. Like I said, it's good news for commercial ag.

It's an important distinction because if people are always looking at good news about honeybees as good news for all pollinators, or looking at it as a win for environmental health, they are mistaken. More important is (1) conserving/revitalizing degraded habitat and (2) reducing use of pesticides.

Can we at least read it as one small step toward something good?

We state in the paper that commercial bees were the target for the work but complete food supplements for honeybees reduce their need to forage between crops reducing competition for flowers with wild bees & informs understating of nutritional landscapes. nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

Especially, get rid of some of this stuff...

Thats Cool. That's Science.

Wow! That’s wonderful news!

📌