Healthier honey bees could help increase crop yields by improving pollination efficiency.

Scientists have developed a new food source capable of sustaining honey bee colonies indefinitely without the need for natural pollen.

Published on April 16 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study from Washington State University and APIX Biosciences NV in Belgium reports that nutritionally stressed bee colonies used in commercial crop pollination in Washington state thrived when fed the new diet.

Similar to the formulated diets used for livestock and pets, this bee feed contains all the essential nutrients required for colony health. It offers a promising solution to address rising colony collapse rates and to protect global food production, which depends heavily on bee pollination.

The feed resembles human “Power Bars” and is placed directly into hives. Young bees then process and distribute the nutrients throughout the colony, supporting both larvae and adults.

The nutrition problem facing pollinators

This breakthrough addresses one of the growing challenges faced by honey bees: lack of adequate nutrition in their environment.

“Changes in land use, urban expansion, and extreme weather all negatively impact nutrition for honey bees and other pollinators,” said Brandon Hopkins, P.F. Thurber Endowed Distinguished Professor of Pollinator Ecology at WSU and a co-author of the paper. “Honey bees are generalists and do not get all their nutrition from a single source. They need variety in their diet to survive but find it increasingly difficult to find the continuous supply of pollen they need to sustain the colony.”

Dr. Patrick Pilkington, CEO of APIX Biosciences US, emphasized the significance of this development.

“Until this study, honey bees were the only livestock that could not be maintained on a man-made feed,” Pilkington said. “The reported scientific work shows in commercial field conditions that providing nutritionally stressed colonies with our pollen-replacing feed results in a major measurable step change in colony health compared to current best practices. Our product has the potential to change the way honey bees are managed.”

Global collaboration made it possible

The research, a culmination of over a decade of work, involved extensive collaboration. Thierry Bogaert, lead author and chairman of APIX Biosciences, highlighted the collaborative effort.

“The newly published work is the result of a herculean scientific effort of three teams,” Bogaert said. “First, the founders and scientists of APIX Biosciences who tested thousands of combinations of ingredients on honey bees over more than 10 years to create this feed. Second, the WSU team with leading honey bee and field expertise, and, third, leading beekeepers in California together with extension teams. They made large-scale and science-based field testing of feeds possible. Paper co-author Anne Marie Fauvel managed that third aspect.”

A critical discovery within the research is the role of isofucosterol, a molecule found naturally in pollen that acts as a vital nutrient for honey bees. Colonies fed with isofucosterol-enriched food survived an entire season without pollen access, while those without it experienced severe declines, including reduced larval production, adult paralysis, and colony collapse. The new feed also contains a comprehensive blend of the other nutrients honey bees require.

Real-world testing shows remarkable results

To validate the efficacy of the new food source under real-world conditions, WSU conducted field trials with nutritionally stressed colonies in blueberry and sunflower fields, both known for poor pollen quality for bees. Compared to colonies receiving standard commercial feed or no supplementation, those fed the new food source thrived, demonstrating increased survival and colony growth.

“Some beekeepers don’t pollinate blueberries anymore because colonies suffer or die and the pollination fees don’t cover the losses,” Hopkins said. “Blueberry pollen isn’t very nutritious for honey bees, and they aren’t adapted well to pollinating that crop. But if they have this supplemental food source, beekeepers may return to pollinating those fields since they know their bees are more likely to survive.”

The severe challenge of high annual colony mortality, with recent reports indicating crisis-level losses, underscores the urgency of this innovation.

Pilkington expressed optimism about the discovery’s impact.

“We are confident that the product will positively impact beekeepers and growers once it’s available to purchase in the US, which is targeted for mid-2026,” he said. “Meanwhile, we are working with WSU and the beekeeping community across the USA to develop the best way to make use of this new tool in agricultural settings.”

Reference: “A nutritionally complete pollen-replacing diet protects honeybee colonies during stressful commercial pollination—requirement for isofucosterol” by Thierry Bogaert, Taylor Reams, Isabelle Maillet, Kelly Kulhanek, Maarten Duyck, Frank Eertmans, Anne Marie Fauvel, Brandon Hopkins and Jan Bogaert, 31 March 2025, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2024.3078

Funding: APIX Biosciences NV