“If you look at it from the human side, the healthier you are, the better the healthier you are, the better the healthier you are,” Sagili said. “With a better immune system, you are stronger and more resilient. It is similar with bees. Diet is your first line of defense against stressors. “
According to Chakrabarti, optimal nutrition has been shown to improve resistance to stress factors and increase survival and longevity. Although much research has been done to determine the causes of bee deaths, few studies have looked at the underlying problems of bee feeding.
There has been a significant movement in recent years to improve diet and habitat for bees and provide better forage, Chakrabarti said. It’s important for farmers to understand the nutrients found in pollen from major crops like almonds in California, a $ 7 billion industry that relies on honeybees for pollination.
“There are efforts aimed at farmers so that they can grow extra forage in addition to their orchards or fields to provide the extra nutrients the bees need,” Sagili said. “Seventy-five percent of honey hives managed by beekeepers in the United States go to California’s Central Valley in February to pollinate the almonds, and they need food before the almonds bloom.
“That’s a big, big problem,” he said. “There may be wild mustard or dandelions, but it is really lean and there is no other source of pollen for bees.”
