Why "Bee" Concerned?
1 out of 3 bites of food you eat is thanks to pollination by honey bees…but bees are under threat!
Since the initial detection of Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) in 2006, honey bee keepers have been losing roughly 30% of their hives annually. Although CCD is not fully understood, it appears to be a destructive synergism of multiple drivers of collapse. These include but are not limited to pesticides, parasitic mites, and increased viral levels.
Where We Began
In 2014, Paul Stamets (leading mycologist, visionary and TED Talk presenter), Dr. Steve Sheppard (Chair, Department of Entomology, Washington State University) and the Washington State Beekeepers Association teamed up in a research initiative called BeeFriendly™ to help reverse devastating declines in the global bee population that are critically threatening the world’s food security.
In 2015, experiments began where honey bees drank different mushroom mycelium extracts. Research is indicating that mushroom mycelium extracts provide essential nutrition that confers an immune benefit to bees. This nutritional support then translates into improved hive health.
Due to the increase in mono-cultured landscapes and loss of biodiversity, bees have lost access to many sources of nutrition that they might have benefited from in the past. Mycelium extracts may prove to be a powerful support for bees as they endure more challenging conditions in our ecosystems.
Where We Are Today
As a result of our Give Bees a Chance program, Fungi Perfecti has directly contributed over $200,000 to fund bee research, specifically studying how mushroom mycelium extracts can help bees stay healthy. In addition to cash contributions, we have also donated countless research hours and materials such as liquid extract to the research efforts.
In total, awareness efforts stemming from Paul Stamets and Fungi Perfecti have cumulatively resulted in nearly $5 million in funding for the Honey Bee & Pollinator Division at Washington State University.
Research efforts have resulted in ground-breaking peer-reviewed research, published in Nature: Scientific Reports where you can search “Stamets” to read the article about Extracts of Polypore Mushroom Mycelia, which documents the benefits of mushroom mycelium extracts for supporting health in honey bee populations.
“As an entomologist with 40+ years of experience studying bees, I am unaware of any reports of materials that extend the life of worker bees more than this.”
–Dr. Steve Sheppard
What's Next
Designed by Paul Stamets and Paul Taylor, the patent-pending BeeMushroomed Feeder™ (BMF™) is a delivery system for mushroom mycelium extract, making this nutritive food easily available to bees to sustain their natural health in this time of crisis.
Our BeeMushroomed Feeder will allow anyone to help feed local bees with a proprietary mushroom mycelium extract. As citizens around the world engage with this mission, we aim to create powerful points of health and nutrition for bees all across our shared landscapes.
The BeeMushroomed Feeder is currently in the development phase, and work is underway to address the regulatory context for this innovative mycotechnology.
While BeeMushroomed Feeders and BeeMushroomed Extract are not currently available for sale, we do encourage you to join our mailing list so you can be among the first notified once the product is ready for distribution.
If you’d like to donate directly to research at Washington State University, please use the button below.
If you’d like to donate directly to research at Washington State University, please use the button below.
Thanks for your interest. Let’s work together to Save the Bees!
Questions?
Contact us at bee@fungi.com!