Testing the effectiveness of a commercially sold probiotic on restoring the gut microbiota of honey bees: a field study

Abstract

Antibiotic use in apiculture is often necessary to ensure the survival of honey bee colonies. However, beekeepers are faced with the dilemma of needing to combat bacterial brood infections while also knowing that antibiotics kill beneficial bacteria important for bee health. In recent years, bee probiotics have become increasingly purchased by beekeepers because of product claims like being able to "replenish the microbes lost due to agricultural modifications of honey bees environment" or "promote optimal gut health." Unfortunately, these products have little scientific evidence to support their efficacy, and previous lab experiments have refuted some of their claims. Here, we performed hive-level field experiments to test the effectiveness of SuperDFM-HoneyBee -the most commonly purchased honey bee probiotic in the United States- on restoring the honey bee gut microbiota after antibiotic treatment. We found slight but significant changes in the microbiota composition of bees following oxytetracycline (TerraPro) treatment and no difference between the microbiota of antibiotic treated bees with or without subsequent probiotic supplementation. Moreover, the microorganisms in the probiotic supplement were never found in the guts of the worker bee samples. These results highlight that more research is needed to test the efficacy and outcomes of currently available commercial honey bee probiotic supplements.