Save the date – Better-B public event, 14 Nov 2024

Join us for half a day of project updates and open forum discussions about Darwinian selection, bee plant catalogue, hive designs for thermoregulation.

This will be a hybrid event (in person and online) in Wageningen, the Netherlands on Thursday 14 Nov 2024, right after the COLOSS conference (11-13 Nov 2024).

Read more and register here

What's new with Better-B ?

Better-B public event in November, final agenda available

Our next Better-B public event is quickly approaching (14 Nov 2024, Wageningen and online) and the final agenda is now available on our dedicated ...

In pursuit of the varroa-tolerant bee: Two days in the life of Better-B

Two days in the life of Better-B were accompanied by Stephen Fleming from BeeCraft. Enjoy reading his story about the search for the varroa-tolerant ...

BETTER-B uses automatic hive monitoring

Automatic hive monitoring is a key element in the honeybee research of BETTER-B. Sensors are used to measure quantitative data on activities of the ...

The key to resilient beekeeping is to harness the power of nature to restore harmony and balance inside the honey bee colony and between the colony and the environment

The overall aim of this 4-year Better-B project is to improve the resilience of beekeeping to abiotic stresses such as climate change, habitat loss and hazardous chemicals. Honey bee colonies are often poorly adapted to cope with these stresses, in no small part due to modern beekeeping practices.

The key to resilient beekeeping is to harness the power of nature to restore harmony and balance inside the honey bee colony and between the colony and the environment, both of which have been disturbed by human activities.

We believe that the path to harmony and balance is shown by Darwinian colonies: abandoned colonies and feral colonies that have survived in the wild. However, such colonies usually lack many favorable characteristics that are important in modern beekeeping. The solution here is to understand the processes and mechanisms that apply in nature and to adapt modern beekeeping practices and decision making accordingly, and when appropriate using the benefits of advanced technologies.

This is what Better-B stands for. The implementation of this new approach in apicultural management will be done in close collaboration with the actors involved. The restoration of harmony and balance must take place on three levels: the environment, the honey bee and beekeeping practices.

Watch our video introductions

Better-B has received funding from the European Union, the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) under the UK government's Horizon Europe funding guarantee (grant number 10068544).

Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union, European Research Executive Agency (REA), SERI or UKRI. Neither the European Union nor the granting authorities can be held responsible for them.

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