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Surprise Study: Bees Detect Viruses in Food... But Don't Avoid Them
🇬🇷 Greece /Health & Science

Surprise Study: Bees Detect Viruses in Food... But Don't Avoid Them

From Ta Nea · (6m ago) Greek

Translated from Greek, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

TLDR

  • Bees possess the ability to detect viruses and pathogens in their environment, potentially guiding their behavior and protecting them from disease.
  • A study published in Biology Letters suggests bees can not only detect viruses in food but sometimes even prefer contaminated food.
  • This finding may offer insights into how diseases spread within bee colonies and could inform strategies to protect these vital pollinators.

A surprising study from the USDA-ARS Honey Bee Breeding Genetics and Physiology Laboratory reveals that bees have a remarkable ability to detect viruses in their food sources. While previous research indicated bees could sense indirect cues of infection, this new work, published in Biology Letters, directly addresses their capacity to perceive viruses outside their bodies.

Liz Walsh, ARS Research Scientist, κι εγώ σκεφτήκαμε αυτό το έργο μελετώντας πώς οι μέλισσες εκτίθενται σε ιούς στα άνθη και στους σταθμούς σίτισης και αναρωτηθήκαμε αν αποφεύγουν τη μολυσμένη τροφή

— Mike Simone-FinstromThe lead author of the study explains the initial inspiration behind the research.

Researchers Mike Simone-Finstrom and Liz Walsh were inspired by observing bees' interactions with flowers and feeding stations. They questioned whether bees actively avoid contaminated food, a crucial behavior for social insects like bees, where colony survival depends on preventing pathogen spread. The study involved feeding bees sugar water with and without various bee-infecting viruses to observe their preferences.

Οι μελέτες συμπεριφοράς των ζώων είναι κάτι που αγαπάμε να κάνουμε και προσφέρουν εξαιρετικές ευκαιρίες μάθησης για τους φοιτητές. Είχαμε την ευκαιρία να συνεργαστούμε με έναν μαθητή λυκείου για ένα επιστημονικό έργο, και θεωρήσαμε ότι το ερώτημα “Μπορούν οι μέλισσες να ανιχνεύουν ιούς στην τροφή τους;” ήταν ιδανικό για μια απλή, αλλά ουσιαστική έρευνα

— Mike Simone-FinstromSimone-Finstrom discusses the collaborative nature of the research and the suitability of the research question for a high school science project.

Intriguingly, the findings suggest that bees can indeed detect viruses in their food. Even more surprisingly, in some instances, they appear to prefer the contaminated food. This behavior, while unexpected, could be key to understanding how diseases propagate within bee colonies. The research offers a fascinating glimpse into the complex sensory world of bees and their role in the ecosystem, highlighting their importance beyond pollination.

Για να διαπιστώσουμε αν οι μέλισσες μπορούν να ανιχνεύουν ιούς στην τροφή και αν τους αποφεύγουν ή έλκονται από αυτούς, απλώς τους δώσαμε μια επιλογή

— Simone-FinstromSimone-Finstrom describes the experimental setup where bees were offered choices of contaminated and uncontaminated food.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Ta Nea in Greek. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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