As we walk into the new year, bee lovers see pockets of good news to smile about. Those include: reports of a promising vaccine against disease, bumble bees who fight off Asian hornets, and states adopting measures to limit the use of neonics, a family of chemicals that wreaks havoc on pollinators.
Scientists had long believed that insects don’t create antibodies, so vaccines wouldn’t work on them. But researchers discovered that bees have a primitive immune system. A queen bee had an immune response when exposed to bacteria. The University of Georgia, partnered with a private animal health corporation, discovered that a vaccinated queen will pass immunity to her numerous offspring. A scientist said it was “like magic.”
The vaccine can combat foulbrood, a bacterial disease that until now has been incurable. Our government, along with those of other countries, requires infected bees, hives, and all beekeeping equipment, to be burned and buried. The disease can wipe out a commercial or backyard beekeeper.
The new vaccine is expected to protect against other diseases and viruses, too. And maybe some pests.
So far, negative side effects have not been observed in colonies, and the vaccine hasn’t had an impact on the honey.
The yellow-legged Asian hornet has invaded mainland Europe, where it has no natural enemies, parts of east Asia, and for the first time has been spotted in the US. Sightings in the UK and mainland Europe are at an all-time high, and people fear for the bees.
But scientists in the UK found that a certain species of bumblebee will fight back, and defeat the hornets. The bumblebees drop to the ground when the hornets attack, and carry the pests with them. Hornets lose their grip as they drop, or the bee raises its stinger and fights until the hornet gives up.
Surprised scientists watched 120 attacks that had the same outcome. The bumblebees triumphed.
Hornets hover outside the nests of bees, and attack returning foragers. But when the hornets try the same thing with bumblebees, they fail.
But the attacks are energetically costly for the bumblebees. And if hornet populations are high, it can be a major problem for foraging bees.
“Hornets consume nectar from flowers, meaning they compete with bees for food and harass them at flower patches,” a scientist said.
The team has placed colonies of the buff-tailed bumblebees in several locations in Spain, where Asian hornets have invaded.
California became the latest state to restrict the use of neonics. The new law takes neonics out of the hands of homeowners, but allows lawn care companies to continue using them. California law falls short of the strongest state laws in Nevada, New Jersy and Maine, which have eliminated all outdoor, nonagricultural uses of these chemicals, even by lawn care companies.
In June, 2023, Nevada became the third state to ban lawn and garden use of neonics. Colorado prohibits homeowner use of land and garden neonic products, which resembles laws in Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. Minnesota recently banned neonic use on state lands and granted home-rule subdivisions the authority to ban “pollinator-lethal pesticides.”
Bee advocates who worry about declining bee population celebrate these steps in the right direction. But the state-level restrictions pale in comparison to robust protections in the European Union (EU). The EU has banned neonicotinoid pesticide use on all outdoor areas, allowing use only in enclosed greenhouses.
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