Pollen-sized Technology Protects Bees from Deadly Insecticides
Published:31 May2021 Source:Cornell University
A Cornell University-developed technology provides beekeepers, consumers and farmers with an antidote for deadly pesticides, which kill wild bees and cause beekeepers to lose around a third of their hives every year on average.
An early version of the technology ¬- which detoxified a widely-used group of insecticides called organophosphates -- is described in a new study, "Pollen-Inspired Enzymatic Microparticles to Reduce Organophosphate Toxicity in Managed Pollinators," published in Nature Food. The antidote delivery method has now been adapted to effectively protect bees from all insecticides, and has inspired a new company, Beemmunity, based in New York state.