Researchers have engineered yeast to produce essential sterol molecules found in pollen, creating a nutritionally complete superfood for honeybees, which could help address colony decline.

Managed honeybees are crucial for global agriculture due to their pollination services, but their health is increasingly threatened by nutritional deficiencies caused by limited floral resources, leading to colony losses and reduced crop yields.

Natural pollen contains diverse sterols, but honeybees primarily utilize 24-methylenecholesterol (24-MC), which is not sufficiently available in quantities that can be scaled for commercial bee feed.

Laboratory trials showed that colonies fed with this engineered yeast diet produced up to 15 times more bees reaching adulthood, extended brood rearing, and improved overall colony health.

Bees on the enriched diet maintained brood production throughout a 90-day trial, unlike those on sterol-deficient diets, which largely stopped rearing brood early.

This technology enables beekeepers to supplement or replace pollen with a nutritionally complete diet, potentially improving hive health and longevity.

If successful, the supplement could be commercially available to farmers within two years, offering a new tool to combat bee declines linked to climate change, pesticides, and habitat loss.

Feeding bees with this sterol-enriched diet also extended the lifespan of their offspring, demonstrating significant benefits over traditional diets.

Analysis of pupal tissues shows that sterol composition varies among pupal types, with 24-MC constituting 60–70% of sterols, and other sterols present in smaller amounts.

Large-scale trials are underway to evaluate the long-term effects of this superfood, with potential availability to beekeepers and farmers within two years.

The development, led by Oxford scientists over 15 years, marks a significant milestone, with further large-scale field tests planned to assess long-term impacts on colony health and pollination.

Sterols are essential for honeybee cell functions, and six key sterols, especially 24-MC, are critical for brood development, which natural pollen supplies in limited quantities.