Discover the 'honey bee' island in the Sahara

Scientists have discovered honeybee populations of more than 10,000 years old, isolated in an oasis of northern Sahara, the world's largest desert.

Taher Shaibi of Al-Fatah University in TriPoli, Libya has announced a unique discovery in the journal Genetic Conservation. The bees on the species Apis mellifera .

But when scientists studied other bees around the Kufra oasis in Libya, they discovered genetic differences.

The new discovery shows that these bees lived 'isolated' in Kufra 5,000 - 10,000 years ago. The cause is due to climate change that turns a green ancient steppe in the Sahara into an arid desert like it is today.

Analyzing the bees in Kufra, the scientists did not detect the vital signs of Varroa Destructor, the deadly parasite that often lurks in the honey bee world.

The honey bee in the oasis does not contain the Varroa parasite, a world-wide bee killer.

In his article, scientists suggest, Varroa Destructor is the mystery behind the orderly collapse of bee populations around the world. A tenth of the global bee population has left because of this "killer". The most specific is their influence on commercial bee farms in North America and Europe, causing millions of dollars in losses since 2006.

Discovering an extremely important and isolated population of bees and bees, they can be a pure species. Researchers conjecture that Kufra bees may contain a number of genetic traits that may be useful for exporting honey bees worldwide without worrying about spreading germs.

But there is another simple reason given, Kufra was never exposed to the common pathogens of commercial bee populations, so they are still healthy and different. They may have anti-disease antigens that scientists have not found. Scientists hope, a careful breeding program between Kufra bees and commercial bees can bring surprising results.

Source: Discovery