May 03, 2018
A dozen years ago beekeepers started reporting that frightening numbers of their honeybees (Apis mellifera) were mysteriously dying. Scientists have since discovered multiple reasons, but “diseases are by far the main cause of problems with honeybee health right now,” says Leonard Foster, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of British Columbia. The insects are afflicted by scourges ranging from varroosis (caused by mites) to the bacterial disease American foulbrood. Now a new study reveals how the smell of dead honeybees could be used to help identify and breed healthier colonies.
Source: Scientifc American
http://ow.ly/SHhU30jGblk
Related: Leonard Foster and Amro Zayed’s LSARP project “Sustaining and securing Canada’s honey bees using ‘omic tools.” Find the details here: https://www.genomebc.ca/projects/sustaining-securing-canadas-honey-bees-using-omic-tools/?sf_data=all&_sf_s=bees
