He knows to heal himself

Honeybees have a 'technology' to cure fungal diseases themselves when the disease spreads in their nests, according to the Science Daily newspaper, citing American scientists' work.

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Research author Michel Simone-Finstrom, University of North Carolina (USA) said: When the beehive appears fungal pathogens and some individuals have been infected, worker bees immediately change the task. case: instead of sucking on the pistil to make wax, they gravitate to a plant resin that has antifungal effect. Obviously, they understand what needs priority, what to do first, what to do later.

Honey bees are able to cure fungal diseases themselves when the disease spreads in the nest.

Under normal conditions, the job of the worker is to provide wax to the nest, but standing in front of the threat of populations, they temporarily 'transfer work' : search for antifungal plastic, evacuate the infected larvae to the isolation cells to prevent the formation of fungal spores and stop the proliferation of fungi.

In addition, in an emergency, workers don't forget the main task. They try to increase 'labor productivity' . The amount of wax they brought to the nest increased by an average of 45%. According to scientists, it is also a protective measure because beeswax also has fungicidal properties, preventing the spread of this parasitic plant.

The researchers also noted that bees are able to 'diagnose' the disease. Their observations have shown that they can distinguish between parasitic pathogens and harmless fungi.

Although honey bee prevention and self-healing mechanisms are very effective, their abilities are not limitless. Knowing how to fight fungal diseases, but for the types caused by bacteria, the bees do not know how to protect themselves.

Beeswax is also antiseptic, but according to Simon-Finstorm: "At the risk of common disease, bees produce more wax than real, but that amount is not enough to prevent infection."

In his opinion, the results of this study are very useful for beekeepers: 'Usually, beekeepers only prefer little wax hives because sticky wax makes it difficult to harvest honey. Now that we understand many waxes, it means that at that time, the fungus has appeared, it needs to be eliminated. '