Over the last four and a half years, B-GOOD partners have been busy with dedicated research, extensive field studies, innovative technologies development and knowledge exchange. They had the opportunity to work together and pave the way towards healthy and sustainable beekeeping within the European Union. By following a collaborative and interdisciplinary approach, B-GOOD managed to provide guidance for beekeepers and help them make better and more informed decisions.

Achieving resilient beekeeping and restoring harmony and balance, both inside the honey bee colony and between the colony and its environment, however, is a long process. Honey bee colonies are often poorly adapted to cope with external stressors like climate change, pesticide challenges and parasite attacks, amplified by modern beekeeping practices. A new project funded under the Horizon Europe framework, Better-B, is set to build on the legacy of B-GOOD and continue the work towards a better future for bees and better beekeeping practices.

Better-B logo

‟The key to resilient beekeeping is to harness the power of nature to restore harmony and balance inside the honey bee colony and between the colony and the environment", says Prof. Dirk de Graaf (Ghent University), project coordinator of B-GOOD and Better-B.

The follow-up project started in June 2023 and will build on the results of B-GOOD to continue investigating the sustainability of beekeeping in Europe and resilience to diverse stressors. The B-GOOD work packages feed into Better-B as follows:

• WP1: Mini-apiaries at five locations

• WP1: BEEP base hive monitoring systems

• WP2: Accelerometers and electromagnetic shakers to determine a colony's vibrational signal

• WP3: Phenology models of floral resources for bees

• WP5: The pollen and nectar modelling

• WP6: B-GOOD EU-wide Bee Health Data Portal (and Application Programming Interface)

• WP6: BEEP app alert sending functionality

• WP7: Stakeholder network, test of dissemination channels

Better-B kick-off meeting, 3 and 4 July 2023 in Ghent (Belgium), credit: Better-B

The consortium comprises 18 partners from 14 countries and brings extensive knowledge and experience. Over the next 4 years, they will focus on improving the resilience of beekeeping to abiotic stressors such as climate change, habitat loss and hazardous chemicals. Their solution is to understand the processes and mechanisms that are selected in nature and to adapt modern beekeeping practices accordingly, when appropriate using the benefits of advanced technologies. The implementation of the new approach to apicultural management will be undertaken in close collaboration with the stakeholder beekeepers. The restoration of harmony and balance will take place on three levels: the environment, the honey bee and beekeeping practices, all levels of which will be addressed in the Better-B project. 

You can visit the Better-B website and follow them on LinkedIn to learn more about the project.