Bees 'Self-Medicate' With Propolis To Fight Infection, Study Suggests

When faced with pathogenic fungi, bees line their hives with more propolis — the waxy, yellow substance seen here.

By: Jennifer Welsh, LiveScience Staff Writer
Published: 03/31/2012 09:09 AM EDT on LiveScience

When they get sick, bees raid their own "medicine cabinet," researchers have found. Specifically, when infected with fungi, they collect loads of antifungal plant extracts and coat their hives with them.

The mix of plant resins and wax that the bees usually use to line their hives, called propolis, have antifungal properties.

The new research could help beekeepers ward off fungal infection in their colonies, Michael Simone-Finstrom of North Carolina State University said in a statement. "Historically, U.S. beekeepers preferred colonies that used less of this resin, because it is sticky and can be difficult to work with," he said. "Now we know that this is a characteristic worth promoting, because it seems to offer the bees some natural defense."

The researchers studied 23 colonies, 12 of which had hives coated with "natural" amounts of resin, and 11 with the low amounts normally used in beekeeping. They then challenged the colonies with fungal and bacterial infections, and analyzed how many bees went out to fetch resin for the propolis in each hive, to see if the hive was sending out more foragers to get resin.

The researchers found that when facing a fungal threat the bees brought in 45 percent more of the waxy creation to line their hives, and physically removed fungally-infected larvae from their area. Interestingly, that means they have a better grasp of the germ theory of disease than humans did before the 19th century — things that come into contact with microbes tend to cause further infection, the researchers noted.

"The colony is willing to expend the energy and effort of its worker bees to collect these resins," Simone-Finstrom said in a statement. "So, clearly this behavior has evolved because the benefit to the colony exceeds the cost."

The bees were even aware of which fungi were harmful and which weren't. When infected with fungus that didn't cause disease, the bees didn't ramp up their propolis deposition in response.

Though this waxy substance can also defend the hive against bacteria, the bees don't seem to use it to the same advantage. The researchers saw what looked like a small increase in propolis in the hives infected with disease-causing bacteria, but the effect wasn't significant. "There was a slight increase, but it was not statistically significant," Simone-Finstrom said. "That is something we plan to follow up on."

The study was published March 29 in the journal PLoS ONE.

You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter @microbelover. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.

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Comments

[Ayafoue]

05:24 PM on 04/05/2012

I find to be interesting that honey bees can fight against fungal infection. It could be advantageous if this information could be utilized to know how to protect bees more. I have a post on the subject of your article and quoted you. I invite you to check it out at: http://www.guidetobeekeeping.info/did-you-know-this-about-honey-bees/

[stargazer13]

01:06 AM on 04/04/2012

best medicine very powerful

been using it for 24 years

great for burns seals them

sore throat ? no problem gone is the pain in minute ,s
anti viral anti-bac anti fungal

I never leave home with out it :)
just took it a few days ago when glands in throat became swollen
with in hours no more pain or swelling

had a very bad burn from grease a couple of thanksgivings ago was cooking 18 Cornish game hen.s when I pulled them from the over the grease slopped over both my wrists put it on to relieve the pain
next day not even a blister

made a believer out of my brother that night for he was sure I would have to go to the hospital for 3 rd degree burn ,s not even a blister the next day !! healed with no scaring

he could not believe it when he came over the next morning to see how I was doing
I told him the brown waxy substance sealed the burn so I did not lose any body fluid

now he uses it for every thing to :)

suggested it to a women who had herpes 2 she used it 3 different time,s and has never had to use it again when she saw me a year later she said I was her saving grace for she had no more breakouts !!

[lynx781]

01:05 AM on 04/03/2012

How do bees bring plant resin back to the hive?

[Waiting4Something]

04:23 PM on 04/02/2012

propolis. I get emails about that stuff all the time. Promises to enlarge your stinger.

[urisk]

03:53 PM on 04/02/2012

Silly wabbit, Bees have absolutely no "grasp of germ theory".

[StephenJK]

03:57 PM on 04/02/2012

Are you being serious?

[urisk]

06:36 PM on 04/02/2012

Of course, I am being serious. An individual bee does not grasp any theory. They have evolved to react to their environment.

[SocietalSilence]

11:24 PM on 04/02/2012

True that. They act on instinct, not thought.

[rolor]

03:46 PM on 04/02/2012

Bees have a socialist government?

[gmcinahuff]

03:44 PM on 04/02/2012

Well the Republicans are fighting Obama over his Obama-care health plan that includes preventative care. Next time Republicans tell the Dems to stay out of the concept of healthcare for everyone, and to 'mind your own bees wax' , we now know the hypocrisy in such a term.

Minding our own Bees Wax is about Healthcare for all. The bee's wax is all about Healthcare Prevention For the Entire Colony. Even the Bee's understand the simple concept that one affects many.

[gmcinahuff]

03:03 PM on 04/02/2012

Hmmmm Healthcare Prevention for their Hive to protect their workers and colony.
Sounds like BeeHive-O-Care to me. Just sayin'

[AVoiceInThe Darkness]

03:17 PM on 04/02/2012

Cute.

[gmcinahuff]

03:36 PM on 04/02/2012

You know the saying, teach your kids about the Birds and the Bees. Maybe the universe is trying to tell us something...

[Justtheobvious]

02:52 PM on 04/02/2012

Hmm, What a coincidence. I self medicate too.

[andyc1110]

02:38 PM on 04/02/2012

I am assuming "physically removed fungally-infected larvae from their area" involves the death of those larvae. Could it be? Is this God's brilliant plan? Sure sounds like the bees are aborting some non-viable larvae.

[shewolf2002]

03:04 PM on 04/02/2012

Don't let Rick Santorum hear about this.

[GrimReverb]

03:42 PM on 04/02/2012

Murderous, atheist bees. We'll have to start bombing these bee hives.

[Capn Scott]

02:10 PM on 04/02/2012

Again we see here how the current 'standard' of beekeeping practice....attempting to limit the amount of propolis to make managing the hive 'easier', affects the bees overall health.
Now if only we can convince the beekeeping industry to stop the practice of increasing cell size on foundation, and go back to the cell size that bees normally make when left to themselves.
These things may help to eliminate, or at least reduce, CCD (colony collapse disorder) in beekeeping.

[roscoewpa]

01:05 AM on 04/04/2012

Here's the buzz: American honey bees are disappearing at an alarming rate and the government knows why.

Scientists say a pesticide called clothianidin, made by chemical giant Bayer, is strongly linked to the rapid decline in bee populations. When exposed to the chemical, bees get lost: they are literally unable to find their way home back to the hive and drop dead from exhaustion.
Many countries recognize this as the cause of CCD . But according to the EPA in the usa they claim its not the cause. Go figure same pesticide and roughly the same gentic make up and were the only country were it doesnt affect bees in a negative way.

[Dragun]

12:12 PM on 04/02/2012

Yet another lesson to learn from the natural world. Wonder how long it'll be before big Pharma starts after this information....

[TakeSake]

12:50 PM on 04/02/2012

They'll patent it, then they'll sue the bees for using it without permission.

[youarenotimportant]

01:06 PM on 04/02/2012

Yeah, I hate having all these medicines available too. We should def be eating more beeswax.

[gmcinahuff]

11:51 AM on 04/02/2012

"The colony is willing to expend the energy and effort of its worker bees to collect these resins," Simone-Finstrom said in a statement. "So, clearly this behavior has evolved because the benefit to the colony exceeds the cost."
__________________
Prevention is key. Universal Health Care for the American hive is essential for the worker bees and for the overall economic survival of the hive.

[pfz]

11:40 AM on 04/02/2012

Bee are not bugs. I certainly hope the writers of headlines for AOL are not paid very much.

[Brandon Baier]

12:15 PM on 04/02/2012

Really? They have an exoskeleton, antenae, 6 legs, exactly what would you classify them as I am just curious?

[pfz]

12:16 PM on 04/02/2012

Insects.

[SocietalSilence]

11:28 PM on 04/02/2012

I thought "bug" was a synonym for insect? I mean, it vaguely implies small, scary thing but still...

But if you wanted to get technical, we'll just call them Apis.

[pfz]

10:18 AM on 04/03/2012

all bugs are insects but not all insects are bugs. Bees are insects aphids are bugs. Isn't' Apis a god of some sort?