Hygienic bees
The forager bee is a key element of biodiversity thanks to its pollination work.
REUTERS / Vasily Fedosenko
By: Sayouba Traoré
2 min
Researchers have just discovered that there are worker bees that are able to protect the hive from infestations, and they called them hygienic bees.
In the hive, the parasitized alveoli emit a specific cocktail of molecules, which alerts the hygienic bees.
They pierce the opercula, and reject the contaminated alveoli and all their contents out of the colony.
Publicity
Agriculture is not possible without bees and other pollinators.
For the beekeeper, he must produce enough honey to make profitable his investment and his working time.
Like any living being, the bee also has its enemies.
Industrialists who deal with the agricultural world know how to produce chemical molecules to fight against the enemies of a colony of bees.
Problem: These chemicals leave traces and residues in the honey produced.
And that's where scientific research comes in. We see all the benefits of this discovery by scientists.
The problem is how and with what tools could the beekeeper intervene.
And at this level too, we will have to innovate.
Guest:
-
Yves Le Conte,
researcher in the Bees and Environment unit of the National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and the Environment (INRAE).
(Replay of February 14, 2021).
Production: Sayouba Traoré
Director: Ewa Piedel.
Introduction of modern beehives in the village of Kokolgo in Burkina Faso.
© RFI / Sayouba Traoré
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