--- title: "A “Vaccine” Created from Mushrooms Could Help Save the Bees" description: "A humble mushroom extract might help with many of bees' woes, according to new research — and even, maybe, help rebuild their world population." date: "2018-10-08" modified: "2018-10-08" authors: - name: "Jon Christian" job_title: "Executive Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/jonc" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/vaccine-mushrooms-save-bees" categories: - "Science & Energy" tags: - "colony collapse disorder" - "paul stamets" - "the digest" - "Washington State University" --- # A “Vaccine” Created from Mushrooms Could Help Save the Bees ![]() *\Image: CC0 Creative Commons\* ## Busy Bees If you've been paying any attention to environmental news — or if you at least caught [that Ellen Page documentary]() — you probably already know that honeybees have been dying off in vast numbers for more than decade. Scientists believe that the family of symptoms known as "colony collapse disorder" likely has a range of causes, from pollution to viruses. But according to a [paper]() published Thursday in the journal *Scientific* *Reports,* a humble mushroom extract might help alleviate many of bees' woes — and may even help bolster their numbers worldwide. ## Fungus Among Us *Mother Jones* [got the background]() on the study. Decades ago, a Washington mycologist named Paul Stamets noticed that bees seemed drawn to water droplets on mushrooms in his garden. After the rise of colony collapse disorder, Stamets was reading about the antiviral properties of fungi for humans. For some reason — his thought process is hazy in the *Mother Jones* story — he started to wonder whether the bees in his garden benefited health-wise from the mushroom water. ## Mushroom Broth To evaluate his hunch, Stamets set up an experiment with colleagues at Washington State University. Feeding sugary mushroom broth to bees, they found, helped the insects fight off two viruses linked to colony collapse disorder — while bees that drank only sugar water languished with both viruses. Media reports have used the word "vaccine" to describe the mushroom broth, but Stamets told *Mother Jones* that he suspects that nutrients in the fungi gives the pollinating insects' immune systems a boost — as opposed to an actual vaccine, which immunizes the body against a specific disease. Others will need to replicate the experiment, but its striking results have provided new hope for the future of honeybees. **READ MORE:** [A New Study Shows How Mushrooms Could Save Bees. Yes, Mushrooms.]()\[*BBC*\] ***More on honeybees: [Even if We Save the Honeybee, Other Wild Pollinator Species Will Still Be in Trouble]()*** ## Author I'm responsible for editing, assigning, and scouting at Futurism, as well as occasionally writing for the site. That work involves keeping an eye on a wide range of narratives and issues, but over the past few years I've become increasingly interested in how AI is shaping the future of media, the web, and information itself. My day-to-day often involves collaborating on reporting and commentary projects bylined by my colleagues, but I try to find time to do my own reporting as well; stories I've broken for Futurism have been cited by publications including the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker, Wired, Ars Technica, New York Magazine, the Columbia Journalism Review, Bloomberg, and more. I grew up in Southern Vermont and attended Vanderbilt University. Prior to Futurism, I contributed to outlets including the Boston Globe, Vice, Wired, Slate, the Atlantic, the Outline, Ars Technica and more, and did stints in farming and food service. I currently live in Brooklyn, New York, and in my free time I enjoy pinball, word games, cycling, running, and music production. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()