RDNHoneybees in Australia collect spores of myrtle rust, an invasive fungus that kills eucalyptus and other trees. The rust spores are nutritionally equivalent to pollen, but they survive inside hives for over a week, so commercial transport of hives may foster the spread of the rust.
Summary: https://phys.org/news/2026-05-bees-food-source-reshape-destructive.html
Original paper: https://neobiota.pensoft.net/article/169027/
#Science #InvasiveSpecies #Ecology #Bees #Honeybees #MyrtleRust #Fungus
Bees found an unlikely new food source, and it could reshape how a destructive forest disease travels
New research published in NeoBiota has found that the Western honey bee—an introduced species to Australia—and the devastating, invasive plant fungus known as myrtle rust (Austropuccinia psidii) may have formed a mutually beneficial relationship known as "invasional mutualism."