Bees at the heart of transitions

The mortality rate of honeybee colonies in France is currently estimated at between 20 and 30% per year, twice as high as natural mortality. Based on currently available data, it is estimated that 9% of wild bee species are threatened in Europe. The challenge is not only to preserve bees for their service in pollinating crops and wild plants, but also for themselves and their place in biodiversity.

Since the late 1990s, when bee populations in Europe and the rest of the world suddenly suffered severe mortality, unprecedented research efforts have been deployed to understand the causes of the collapse of honeybee colonies. At the same time, a decline in wild bees has been documented, reinforcing scientific and societal concerns about these pollinators. Over the past 15 years, INRAE has carried out numerous research projects which have highlighted the direct effects of pathogens, pesticides (which can also act in interaction), and the importance of pollen resource diversity in these phenomena. Today, scientists are continuing their analysis of these multiple pressures, while developing applied research to meet the need for operational solutions. Since 2010, the institute has been working with ITSAP (Institut technique et scientifique de l'abeille et de la pollinisation) within the UMT PrADE, which brings together various players in research and innovation, to support beekeepers and respond to their problems in the field. New research questions are emerging around bee health, notably concerning the wide variety of products to which bees are exposed, both agricultural and non-agricultural (beekeeping veterinary products, heavy metals, micro-plastics, environmental pollutants), new invasive species such as the small hive beetle or the Asian hornet, and competition between domestic and wild bees for food resources.

To meet the challenges facing beekeepers, farmers and land managers alike, INRAE researchers are adopting new ways of working. Through the use of autonomous recording systems such as the connected hive, researchers are refining their knowledge of the link between honey bees and their environment. They are also integrating genetic work to select bees that are more resistant to parasites, and building bridges with the human and social sciences. The aim is to gain a better understanding of the practices and problems faced by beekeepers, and to propose economically applicable solutions that combine the preservation of biodiversity with beekeeping and agricultural production. The stakes are not only in agrosystems, but also in natural areas and spaces, home to certain rare species whose range is shrinking as a result of climate change. Finally, in towns and cities, tools are available to raise public awareness of the diversity of bees and other pollinators.

More resistant bees

In France, one of the challenges facing beekeeping is to develop queen rearing and selection, with two objectives in mind: to limit dependence on imports and the associated health risks, and to benefit from bees that are adapted to the French production context.

The development of selection tools for the sustainable and efficient management of bee colonies used in beekeeping operations is a major challenge for the years to come. It is in this context that the BeeMuse project (2021-2024), led by INRAE, ITSAP and the Association de Développement Apicole de Provence (ADAPI), was born. The aim? To develop a selection program similar to those used for classic breeding species, but adapted to the bee's biological specificities and to traits of interest to beekeeping, such as honey production, disease resistance and colony food autonomy (which enables the colony to limit sugar intake when floral resources are insufficient). The researchers measured various traits in bee colonies from different apiaries. They looked at classic traits such as honey production, and new ones such as hygienic behavior (cleaning behavior that limits brood diseases) or food autonomy. This enabled them to predict the genetic value of queens for these traits, i.e. their ability to transmit these qualities to their offspring. If the selected queens perform better for a trait than all other candidates for selection, the heritability of this trait must be verified, i.e. the proportion of this superiority transmitted to the next generation. A selection program was therefore set up and monitored by a network of 13 to 15 ADAPI beekeepers over 3 years. In all, almost 1,000 colonies were evaluated for the traits studied throughout the beekeeping season, with a minimum of 330 colonies tested per year. The results show that colony resilience traits (hygienic behavior and food self-sufficiency) are fairly well transmitted from one generation to the next. In fact, their heritability is between 0.25 and 0.40 for food autonomy (measured by honey reserves around the brood), hygienic behavior and honey production. Such heritabilities are classic average values obtained for production and behavior traits in all farmed species, and for which selection is possible. This work shows that selection for classic beekeeping production traits and colony resilience traits is feasible under rearing conditions, and would be effective.

Contact 

• INRAE press office
• Scientific contact UMR GABI : Florence Phocas

Reference :
Basso, B., Kistler, T. & Phocas, F. Genetic parameters, trends, and inbreeding in a honeybee breeding program for royal jelly production and behavioral traits. Apidologie 55, 11 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-023-01055-3  

Kistler T., Kouchner C.., Brascamp E.W., Mondet F., Vignal A., Basso B., Bijma P., Phocas F. Heritability and correlations for production, handling ease and resilience traits in a French honeybee population. Apidologie 55 (2024)  (in press). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13592-024-01088-2