The Brazilian stingless bee larva, shown here in vitro, rely on the fungus for food. A video of a larvae eating the fungus is available here. (Image and Video credit: Cristiano Menezes)
An accident in the lab has lead to the discovery that a specific species of bee, native to Brazil, farms fungus for their larvae to eat. This finding raises concerns about the use of fungicides in agriculture.
Researchers made the discovery while attempting to breed queen bees, but found white fungus growing out of control, and assumed it was from a contaminant. However the researchers noticed less fungus in the brood-combs, and a little experimenting later, determined the larvae rely upon the fungus for food: When raised in sterile dishes without the fungus larvae only survive eight per cent of the time, with the fungus they survive 76 per cent of the time.
Original research paper published in Current Biology on October 22, 2015.
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