Think it’s great when you see a bee die? Well, looks like you’re out of luck because Swedish researchers have developed a medicine to protects bees in Europe and the US from diseases that could wipe out entire populations.

This bee medicine, called SymBeeotic is made of lactic acid bacteria from the stomachs of healthy bees. The bacteria is meant to “boost” the bees’ immune systems, according to foxnews.com, and it should protect against foulbrood disease, which is the main killer of bees.

Bees pollinate a third of our food supply (npr.org), and are the sole source of honey for this entire planet. Without them, life on earth would be very different.

“It’s good that we are saving the bees because they are very important to many aspects of life,” said senior Casey Roemer

Over the years, issues such as pesticides, parasites, and poor nutrition have caused weakened immune systems in bees, and resistance to antibiotics is intensifying. SymBeeotic is being made available to beekeepers as an alternative to antibiotics.

“This is great because we need honey for things like need honey oat nutrigrain bars,” said senior Kimball Bryan.
However, experts say that although diseases are hitting bees across Europe and America hard, the decline of flowers (due to pesticides and herbicides) could also affect bee populations.