The Agriculture Resource Service is organizing a national bee genebank as part of the agency’s response to ongoing problems facing the country’s beekeepers.
The genebank will be located in Fort Collins, Colorado and ARS says the genebank will help preserve the genetic diversity of honey bees, especially for traits such as resistance to pests or diseases and pollination efficiency.
USDA says average losses of managed honey bee colonies have increased to more than 30 percent per year.
The increased losses are threatening the business sustainability of commercial beekeepers.
Included in the new research,ARS researchers are developing better long-term storage techniques for honey bees.
Another component needed to create the new genebank is a species committee, which will decide which species and subspecies to collect and preserve.
