The first vaccine created to safeguard honey bees against illness has been approved for use in the US.
It was created to protect colonies from the crippling effects of the bacterium that causes American foulbrood disease, which affects bee larvae.
The biotech business that created the vaccine says this week that the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) granted it a conditional licence.
Bees and other pollinators are crucial to many environmental processes.
Annette Kleiser, CEO of Dalan Animal Health, stated that the immunisation may represent a "breakthrough in preserving honey bees."
The queen can shield her young from illness by feeding them royal jelly that contains a latent strain of the bacteria.
Since 2006, the USDA says that honey bee colony losses have happened yearly in the US.
The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) asserts that a range of dangers, such as parasites, pests, illnesses, and a condition known as colony collapse disorder, in which worker bees leave a hive while the queen stays behind, put honey bees in danger.
A third of the world's food production is dependent on pollinators like bees, birds, and bats, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations.