Bees can be protected from pesticides with a food supplement, say scientists at a private university in Colombia.
They say the flavonoid-based food supplement keeps the insects safe from neurological damage.
The research is still underway at Rosario University in Bogota in partnership with the Department of Neuroscience at the University of Arizona and Colombian Universidad Javeriana.
"This is a nutritional solution to the problem bees face when exposed to pesticides," said Andre Riveros, associate professor at Rosario University.
"The food induces them to develop a protection (against pesticides)".
The formula is created with flavonoids, plant-derived secondary metabolites known for their health benefits.
Sedated and then confined to small laboratory tubes, bees were fed one-by-one by scientists during initial development of the supplement.
Testing has now moved to real-world scenarios in a university apiary, said Juan Jose Ovalle, a natural science student at the university.