Give Bees a Chance

This appeared in the March 18, 2021 edition of The Fish Wrap.

Paul Stamets believes mushrooms can save the world. A key component of his inspiring vision to save the world is the bees. I hope we realize soon enough how important bees are. Every food humans eat comes from a plant, either we eat the plant or eat an animal that ate a plant. 1 out of 3 of those plants must be pollinated by carrier insects. 

Bees are disappearing through Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Since 2006, beekeepers have lost 30% of their hives annually and it is unknown how many wild colonies have collapsed. CCD is not fully understood, but its causes include pesticides, mites and viruses, along with disappearing ecosystems.These stressors cause drones to die. To replace them, younger bees are recruited to gather food, leaving behind their duties of caring for young bees, causing the young generation to be lost and the colony to collapse. If we don’t remove the stressors and reverse the trend, the world’s food supply system will collapse as well.

Stamets noticed bees were drawn to mushrooms in his yard and on a hunch, he began research into mushrooms and immunity support in bees. He found that hives fed mycelium droplets had reduced the viral load to almost nothing. Stamets developed a groundbreaking product called MycoHoney by feeding bees mycelium droplets. These bees then produce honey that contains the immune-boosting compounds.

Stamets created a bee food/medicine called BeeMushroomed Extract and a delivery system called the BeeMushroomed Feeder. The feeder looks a bit like a hummingbird feeder. Both are patent pending and they are working through the regulatory process. When it becomes available, all of us will be able to support our local bees with strong immunity! Stamets’ visionary plans for mushrooms extend far beyond the bees. Bee inspired at https://fungi.com.