TY - JOUR

T1 - Feed supplementation with molybdenum complexes improves honey bee health

AU - Fuior, Arcadie

AU - Colin-Duchevet, Loïc

AU - Cebotari, Valentina

AU - Noël, Amélie

AU - Ribaud, Isabelle

AU - Gérard, Isabelle

AU - Garbuz, Olga

AU - Fregnaux, Mathieu

AU - López, Xavier

AU - Larcher, Virginie

AU - Shestopalov, Michael A.

AU - Solovieva, Anastasiya O.

AU - Pozmogova, Tatiana N.

AU - Gliga, Olesea

AU - Railean, Nadejda

AU - Cochard, Précillia

AU - Poirot, Benjamin

AU - Charistos, Leonidas

AU - Hatjina, Fani

AU - Somogyi, Andrea

AU - Medjoubi, Kadda

AU - Gaumer, Sébastien

AU - Gulea, Aurelian

AU - Toderas, Ion

AU - Sandoz, Jean Christophe

AU - Floquet, Sébastien

N1 - University of Versailles, the “Institut Universitaire de France, IUF” and the CNRS are gratefully acknowledged for financial support. AF gratefully acknowledge Campus France for Excellence Eiffel grant as well as State University of Moldova for funding his PhD thesis. This work was funded by the Labex Charmmmat (project “COMPA”), the IDEX Paris-Saclay (project “COMPA2”), the “lune de miel” foundation, the UVSQ foundation (project “COMPA3”), the CNRS MITI (call Metallomix, project “MOLYBEE”), and the SATT Paris-Saclay (projects “COMPA4” and “APIMONA”). The financial support from National Agency for Research and Development (ANCD) of the Republic of Moldova (Project No. 20.80009.5007.10) is also acknowledged. Dr Clémence Riva is gratefully acknowledged for her help for the statistical analyses. The NIIC team thanks the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation (No. 121031700321-3). AOS acknowledges the support of assays by state funding of RICEL—Branch of IC&G SB RAS. Mrs Aneta Ozieranska and Dr Karen Wright from Institut Lavoisier of Versailles are gratefully acknowledged for English correction.

PY - 2025/6/30

Y1 - 2025/6/30

N2 - This study investigates the effects of dietary supplementation with molybdenum-based compounds on honey bee health. Among a series of dinuclear Mo(v) complexes, the most stable and non-toxic complexes were selected and tested over an extensive eight-year field campaign involving more than 700 beehives across diverse environmental conditions in Moldova, France, Greece and the United States. In a first part, we established that the administration of a few milligrams of the compounds Na-Mo2O4-EDTA or Li-Mo2O4-EDTA in spring or autumn enhanced colony performance: queen fecundity, hygienic behaviour, and honey production increased, while Varroa destructor infestation rates and winter losses were substantially reduced. A second part of the work focused on understanding these effects in beehives. Hive monitoring showed that the Mo-containing syrup can be consumed over 1.5 months and is well assimilated by larvae and workers. In particular, Mo levels increased significantly in the head of the bees. X-ray fluorescence measurements demonstrated that Na-Mo2O4-EDTA increases Mo levels in the brain, neurolemma and hypopharyngeal glands, which play a crucial role in honey bee health. The metabolism of Mo complexes was addressed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) on bee fæces, which revealed that the complexes are oxidized into Mo(vi), suggesting that Mo complexes may function as antioxidant agents in bees. These findings offer promising solutions for the beekeeping industry, struggling with weakening honey bee colonies.

AB - This study investigates the effects of dietary supplementation with molybdenum-based compounds on honey bee health. Among a series of dinuclear Mo(v) complexes, the most stable and non-toxic complexes were selected and tested over an extensive eight-year field campaign involving more than 700 beehives across diverse environmental conditions in Moldova, France, Greece and the United States. In a first part, we established that the administration of a few milligrams of the compounds Na-Mo2O4-EDTA or Li-Mo2O4-EDTA in spring or autumn enhanced colony performance: queen fecundity, hygienic behaviour, and honey production increased, while Varroa destructor infestation rates and winter losses were substantially reduced. A second part of the work focused on understanding these effects in beehives. Hive monitoring showed that the Mo-containing syrup can be consumed over 1.5 months and is well assimilated by larvae and workers. In particular, Mo levels increased significantly in the head of the bees. X-ray fluorescence measurements demonstrated that Na-Mo2O4-EDTA increases Mo levels in the brain, neurolemma and hypopharyngeal glands, which play a crucial role in honey bee health. The metabolism of Mo complexes was addressed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) on bee fæces, which revealed that the complexes are oxidized into Mo(vi), suggesting that Mo complexes may function as antioxidant agents in bees. These findings offer promising solutions for the beekeeping industry, struggling with weakening honey bee colonies.

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/a24c1374-1bd6-3190-b7a5-6a3b3d4a6422/

UR - https://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?partnerID=HzOxMe3b&scp=105010209579&origin=inward

U2 - 10.1039/d5qi00878f

DO - 10.1039/d5qi00878f

M3 - Article

JO - Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers

JF - Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers

SN - 2052-1545

ER -