CREATING A BUZZ

USDA Approves World’s First Vaccine for Honeybees

The shot is designed to protect the insects against a disease that devastates colonies.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has greenlit the use of a groundbreaking vaccine that offers protection to honeybees against a disease, biotech company Dalan Animal Health announced Wednesday. The world’s first vaccine for honeybees has been granted a conditional license in an effort to defend colonies from American foulbrood disease—a bacterial menace that kills developing bee larvae and requires beekeepers to burn and bury their hive and related equipment once it’s been clinically detected. “Global population growth and changing climates will increase the importance of honeybee pollination to secure our food supply,” Dalan CEO Dr. Annette Kleiser said in a statement. “Our vaccine is a breakthrough in protecting honeybees. We are ready to change how we care for insects, impacting food production on a global scale.”