A special 'superfood' for bees could boost crop yields by up to 90 percent, according to an Argentina-based agri-tech company.
Concerns are raising over the future of the insect, responsible for pollinating nearly one-third of all crops worldwide.
Bees and other pollinators are critical to the UK's £100 billion food industry through the work they do to pollinate plants and crops.
But now a new nutrient-packed formula, created by startup 'Beeflow', looks set to makes bees stronger by boosting their immune systems, in turn making them stronger.
According to the firm's CEO Matias Viel, the plant-based superfood enables bees to do seven times more flights in cold temperatures than they would without the formula.
Bees can also carry twice as much pollen when on the formula, which is made up of sugar, water, and proprietary ingredients.
Mr Viel told CNN Business that bees work better with a stronger immune system.
“If you have bad weather, or cold temperatures during that period, and you have a low amount of bee activity hours, your crop won't be that good,” he said.
“We think that with healthier bees and then with a stronger immune system, bees can work better and perform better.”
Beeflow recently performed a trial of the formula on an Argentinian farm, but in-depth analysis of the results are yet to be announced.
Early results do suggest, however, that the bee superfood increased crop yields of almonds, blueberries, apples and kiwis by up to 90 percent, it said.
