< < < Update (2025/08/20) > > >
The Canadian Bee Gut Project has now concluded sample collection and is moving into the data analysis phase. We are currently processing the thousands of samples contributed by beekeepers across Canada, with results expected between Fall 2025 and Spring 2026. We’re excited to share these findings with you as soon as they become available! A huge thank you to all participants for making this nationwide effort possible. Your contributions are helping us uncover how bee gut microbes support colony health and resilience.
For any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at: beegutproject@uoguelph.ca.
The Canadian Bee Gut Project aims to improve our understanding of how the “good”, “bad”, and unknown (unculturable or yet-uncultured) microbes found in bees affect their health and disease outcomes, as well as overwintering survival in Canada.
Our goals:
- Coordinate a nationwide sampling of honeybees from diverse commercial Canadian operations and perform unbiased characterization of microbiomes to establish baseline microbiomes.
- Find previously uncharacterized honeybee-associated microbes which could be used for new microbial therapeutic strategies in honeybees.
- Explore the effects of varying honeybee microbiomes or microbial therapeutic strategies on honeybee social castes and behaviour.
Collaboration.
Dedication.
Innovation.