Fungus provides powerful medicine in fighting honey bee viruses

[DianeBees]

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2 ... 100044.htm
Fungus provides powerful medicine in fighting honey bee viruses

Which in turn references: Extracts of Polypore Mushroom Mycelia Reduce Viruses in Honey Bees https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-32194-8

In field trials, colonies fed Ganoderma resinaceum extract exhibited a 79-fold reduction in DWV and a 45,000-fold reduction in LSV compared to control colonies

[Fishman]

These kind of findings are really interesting, I would be very interested to find out if the fungus used or those that have this kind of effect are found in natural hives. Phil Chandler with his natural floored hive was looking at this to see if the natural biota found in the hive might have a role in resistance / well being of the hive as whole.

[Alan_A]

As a woodturner I often use spalted wood. Spalting occurs when wood, living or dead, is attacked by various species of fungus and as the mycelia penetrate the wood it causes dark veins and staining that make the wood more interesting and more appealing to woodworkers.
It stands to reason that bees in the wild that nest in hollow trees would come into contact with the fungus that is present in the walls of the nest. Although the species that cause spalting may be different from those mentioned its possible they may have some of the same properties. Another interesting fact is that research shows that some of the fungi that cause spalting prefer species of trees that have a higher level of sucrose and I wonder if bees in the wild seek out nest sites for the same reason.

[thewoodgatherer]

As we learn more we are realising that in order to thrive bees, humans and other creatures of this planet have complex needs tied to nature in order to not just survive but thrive. A plastic hive box with wooden frames provides a habitable home but just like living long term in a high rise flat, long-term wellness is compromised. That said in many ways man made hives offer advantages over those chosen by bees in nature so maybe we just need to learn from this and make some alterations or additions to our man-made bee house. What about a tray at the bottom of the hive containing rotting wood and leaves as would be found at the bottom of a natural tree hollow.

[NigelP]

Hate to be the party poopper...but until varroa ceases to be a problem everything else is a bit academic.

[Patrick]

Party pooper..

One of the fungi quoted is something derived from Amadou or Horse hoof fungus sometimes seen on birch etc. It’s used when processed as both a tinder material and also turned into a leather like strip used to be very popular for drying trout flies.

I can’t see that bees would necessarily encounter it apart from theoretically through mycelium but it’s a stretch. I suspect the effect is just similar to other medicinal things tested by trial and error and a lot are derived from plants and fungi. There was something recently on the radio about most antibiotics being derived from soil borne organisms, which was news to me.

I know varroa is the big ticket item but bees have always carried disease burdens it’s when they become significant we and they have the problem, so every little may help.

[NigelP]

Aye, but keeping varroa levels down helps prevent most of the viruses they transmit from replicating. The cynic in me says if you are treating for viral infections it's (generally) too late. Although the prevalent outbreaks of Chronic Bee Paralysis virus warrants a close look..

[Fishman]

Anything that can help bees deal with viruses warrants further investigation the 3 hives I check (1 completely feral, 2 other in trees which are unopened since being put up) are going really well and do have verroa as I have see DWV on drones at kick out time in Autumn. But they weather the disease load really well, although granted they have no honey removed and so have their full stores. Verroa does seem to be a major factor in dictating the direction of bee keeping, when Asian hornets become endemic here they may become the new driving force dictating bee keeping. Unfortunately this makes use lose sight a little bit of what is best for bees and how they interact with their environment especially when it flies in the face of widely accepted treatment regimes.
The main trouble is the complete lack of good quality research which has covered these areas. At the moment we are working on what works for one bee keeper and spreading that with very little in the way of conclusive evidence based research behind it.