From Slurpees to smoothies, scientist aims to put bees on a diet

An Alberta scientist is trying to put beeson a diet.

Many bees are often given a syrup as food after their honey is harvested for humans. But Danica Baines, with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, says right now the busy insectsdrink the equivalent of Slurpees when they should besnacking on fruit smoothies.

"The syrup consists just of sugar so you can imagine if you fed your children sugar all winter long what the outcome would be, versus if you fed them something like a fruit smoothie that had additional things like proteins and amino acids a more complete meal," shesaid on theCalgary EyeopenerTuesday.

The scientistis working inLethbridgeto develop new recipes that includeproteins, vitamins and easily digestible sugars for the buzzing insectsso essential to pollinatingcrops and plants.

Bees are also picky,and want to slurp the feed down smoothly,so they add jello to mimic the natural feed'stexture.

Bainessaid making tasty, healthy dinners thebees will consumeis important because theyare facing a number of threats.

In Albertawhichwashome to roughly 40 per cent of all Canadian coloniesin 2017the bee populationhasbeen in recoveryfor more than a decade after a miteinfestation wiped out thousands of colonies.

Recent harsh winters havecaused the species to suffer locally, as well,according to a reportfrom the Canadian Association of ProfessionalApiculturists.Health Canada is also callingto phase out a common pesticide that it saysharms theinsect.

"We try to come up with recipes that really reflectnectarand pollen,"Bainessaid.

"We take the components that would normally be in nectarand pollen and try and combine them in a single food, so that the bees don't have to work so hard to get the food they need."

Her team is working this summer to develop food forleafcutting bees,a lesser known but important pollinator native to North America.

Bainessays theleafcutters,often hired in batches by Canadian alfalfa farmers to pollinate their crops,area solitary species and don'tform colonies like honey bees.

"Each bee is a little bit different in what they like to eat and how they like to eat it," she said. "So each of our recipes reflects each bee's preferences."

The special diet helps the bees make it through the winterand could also be healthier, so they can reproduce andbetter resist disease and damage from pesticides.

If you are looking to help bees thrive, Bainesrecommendsplantingtrees that bloom in the spring or summer, as well as wildflowers enjoyed by the insect, such as poppies ordelphiniums.

• Listen to the scientist's full interview about bee diets:

• MORE CALGARY NEWS |Muslim kids summer camp all about balancing religious and Canadian identity
• MORE CALGARY NEWS |Hot summer temperatures stunt hay growth in parts of Alberta
• MORE CALGARY NEWS |No-bake chocolate 'rocks' are kid-friendly, nature-inspired summer treats
• Read more articles by CBC Calgary, like us on Facebook for updates and subscribe to our CBC Calgary newsletter for the day's news at a glance.

With files from Kathryn Marlow and the Calgary Eyeopener.