Unique Israeli research reveals why honeybees are dying
September 19, 2017
From: Israel21c
Fewer wildflower choices thwart bees’ natural inclination to choose a balanced diet and they suffer cognitively from lack of omega-3 acids.
A bee in the Benjamin Triwaks Bee Research Center in Rehovot. Photo by Shlomi Zarchin
***
“Our specific research is on understanding bee diets and how they choose their diets. We know they need nectar and pollen, and that all comes from flowers,” Bee Research Center director Prof. Sharoni Shafir tells ISRAEL21c.
“Beekeepers can give them sugar water if there’s not enough nectar but lack of pollen is a more acute problem because it’s complex. There are essential amino acids they can only get from pollen, and the amount of essential fatty acids — omega-3 and omega-6 – varies from pollen to pollen. We are working in an international consortium to understand how to formulate an artificial diet that will be as good as pollen,” he says.
Prof. Sharoni Shafir, second from left, with staff and researchers at the Benjamin Triwaks Bee Research Center of Hebrew University. Photo: courtesy
Leave a Comment