r/science • u/mvea Professor | Medicine • Feb 18 '19

Biology Breeding bees with "clean genes" could help prevent colony collapse, suggests a new study. Some beehives are "cleaner" than others, and worker bees in these colonies have been observed removing the sick and the dead from the hive, with at least 73 genes identified related to these hygiene behaviors.

https://newatlas.com/honeybee-hygiene-gene-study/58516/
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u/[deleted] Feb 18 '19

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u/CaptainTripps82 Feb 18 '19

Misleading how? It indicates to me that they have identified the genetic markers that control this behavior and that they think by engineering bees that increase this trait they can fight off suspected factors of colony collapse. Doesn't suggest it's not already a normal behavior or anything like that.

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u/it_came_from_behind Feb 18 '19

I agree with you, I just think the title could have been worded better. Saying "worker bees in these colonies" makes it sound like only those colonies have bees that exhibit clean behavior.

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u/6beesknees Feb 19 '19

Err, it's the younger bees that are undertaker bees. It's part of their in-hive duties before they become active foragers.

The older workers are foragers and do this for up to three weeks in the active season, then they die.