Ohio researchers develop new breed of bees to fight pests

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Honey bees (Apis) fly to the entrance hole of their hive on a summer day. Photo: Wolfram Steinberg/dpa Photo: Wolfram Steinberg/dpa (Photo by Wolfram Steinberg/picture alliance via Getty Images)

WILBURFORCE, Ohio – As bees face many threats that have led to significant population declines, a team of researchers from Central Ohio State University is making great strides in genetic research to combat one of the main causes of colony loss: parasitic mites.

Their research paved the way for the development of a new breed of bee that has the potential to reduce mite infestations in hives and improve long-term bee sustainability.

The university’s breeding program aims to develop worker bees, known as OB1 or “Ohio Mite Biters”, which possess a hygienic trait and develop smaller mandibles.

Bees with smaller mandibles are better groomers and can bite off parts of the mites, preventing them from attaching to brood or adult bees. Currently, only about 10% of bees exhibit this trait. By using wild bees instead of domesticated beesthe university’s research, in collaboration with Purdue University, aims to replicate the biting trait in a greater percentage of bees in a hive.

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“It’s a long process, which is why you don’t see many other universities taking the time to do it,” said Dr. Hongmei Li-Byarlay, associate professor of entomology at Central State. “These [wild] bees are potentially bred by natural selection for many, many years, so we were interested in studying these genes.”

To introduce new strains of bees to the hive, the researchers collected drones from hives that have a high percentage of mite-biting bees. These drones will be used for artificial insemination of the queen – a process that requires 15-20 drones in the wild, but increases dramatically to 50-60 for artificial insemination.

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Research at Central State University comes at a crucial time as bees continue to face threats to their existence.

An annual survey conducted by the University of Maryland and Auburn University’s Bee Informed Project found that beekeepers lost almost half (48%) of their managed colonies in the last year. This is a significant increase from the 12-year average of 39.6% colonies lost each year.

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Bees play a vital role in pollinating more than 100 essential crops for the nation food supply.

Yet, the overall bee colony population remains relatively stable due to the efforts of beekeepers to create new colonies and repopulate hives.

Although the loss figures are troubling, experts believe the situation is not as dire as it was in the past. Beekeepers have learned to bounce back from major losses, although challenges remain.

“We now have our own breeding stock, so we hope to work with more people to bring a different variety of genetics into this line to improve it,” Li-Byarlay said. “Beekeepers want the colonies to be strong, as managed pollinators they are certainly very important to our agricultural production, so we need to protect them.”

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The development of OB1 bees through genetic research gives hope for the future of bee populations by addressing the problem of mite infestations and promoting hive health.

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