Honey bees stung by genetics as lifespan halves since 1970s

THE lifespan of honey bees has halved since the 1970s and genetics could be playing a part in the mysterious colony collapses that are happening around the world, scientists have found.

Since the mid-2000s, beekeepers have reported huge numbers of adult honey bees disappearing from hives. The phenomenon has been blamed on pesticides, parasitic mites and a loss of wildflowers but now the University of Maryland in the US has suggested that genetics may have a role.

Researchers found that bees kept in laboratories – free from environmental factors such as mites and pesticides – lived just 17.7 days on average, compared with 34.3 days during similar experiments carried out in the 1970s.

Anthony Nearman, a doctoral student of the department of entomology at Maryland and lead author of the study, said: “When I plotted the lifespans over time, I realised: ‘Wow, there’s actually this huge time effect going on’.

Standardised protocols for rearing honey bees in the lab weren’t really formalised until the 2000s, so you would think that lifespans would be longer or unchanged, because we’re getting better at this, right? Instead, we saw a doubling of the mortality rate.

“We’re isolating bees from the colony life just before they emerge as adults, so whatever is reducing their lifespan is happening before that point.”

Crucially, when the team modelled the effect of a 50 per cent reduction in lifespan on a bee-keeping operation, where lost colonies are replaced annually, the resulting loss rates were around 33 per cent.

The figure is very similar to the average annual loss rates of 30 to 40 per cent reported by beekeepers since colony collapse disorder was first identified.

If the team can find out which genetic factors are at play, they may be able to find a way to reverse the process.

The research was published in the journal