Researchers have discovered honey beehives act as 'living immune systems' that help protect the bee colony, their offspring, and food supplies from disease.
The finding underlines the need to protect bee habitat, to ensure their health.
In a remarkable example of insect engineering each part of the hive – from the beeswax, honey and pollen to the propolis, a sticky material bees collect from plants – is 'built in' strategically across different compartments of the hive.
The location of these hive materials, combined with their unique antimicrobial and chemical properties, work together to repel disease and to encourage helpful fungi and bacteria.
This is similar to how the human immune system helps manage both helpful and harmful microbes in our body, such as in our gut.
However, there's a catch. Researchers found the hive's natural defences depended heavily on the surrounding environment and acted like a mirror to the ecosystem. Honey bees can only build strong hive defence systems from the quality of resources available to create the building materials.
Beehives that were located closer to native bushland or agricultural land showed measurably different chemical defences, revealing the unseen impact of ecosystems on a hive's capacity to fend off disease.
"Hives are not only homes for bees, but also act as their workplaces, restaurants and hospitals, and now we can add immune systems to the list," says lead researcher Dr Kenya Fernandes .
"We already know honey, beeswax and propolis have antimicrobial properties independently. But what came as a surprise was how these materials were placed in the hive wasn't random, but organised. The hive's antimicrobial properties worked together to protect the eggs and larvae, as well as the fermented pollen the bees consume."
Published in ISME Communications , the researchers collected honey, pollen, beeswax and propolis samples from 24 honey bee colonies across five apiaries at Tocal College, New South Wales and analysed their antimicrobial and chemical properties. The team also sampled bees to examine the microbial communities living inside their guts, and the antimicrobial properties of their secretions and body tissues.
A beehive is made of beeswax combs which act as storage units. The hive's natural immune system was organised in layers to protect the eggs and larvae at the centre of the hive.
Hive areas exposed to the outside environment had the strongest natural defences. Honey from these hives was found to have the most potent antimicrobial abilities, alongside propolis, which is used by bees to seal gaps and cracks. The honey and propolis analysed were consistently found to be rich in bioactive compounds, including hydrogen peroxide in honey, and plant-derived compounds called flavonoids in propolis.
"As we travel closer to the hive centre, the antimicrobial defences became more targeted, with wax comb, stored pollen, and the bee's own bodies helping to filter out harmful bacteria and fungi, whilst encouraging helpful species," Dr Fernandes, a 2026 NSW Tall Young Poppy awardee, said.
The researchers also found many bacteria and fungi present in hive materials likely came from floral nectar, showing the influence of the surrounding environment where bees forage.
Hive defences were found to be more strongly tuned to protect against bacteria than fungi. This is most likely a cost-benefit trade-off, where the hive invests more heavily against the most severe threat posed by bacterial diseases. One example is American foulbrood, a common, fatal and highly contagious bacterial disease affecting honey bee larvae which can wipe out a hive.
"This shows healthy hives depend on and are influenced by healthy ecosystems. Land clearing and intensive farming could be quietly eroding the bees' natural defences. This builds a strong case for protecting diverse flowering habitats that support healthy hives," says co-author Elizabeth Frost, Technical Specialist Bees at the NSW Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD).
"There are direct threats to bee populations such as the varroa mite, but many don't realise the indirect threats: the shrinking of healthy ecosystems has a domino effect. Landscapes with diverse plant species can increase the bees' chances of being resilient to disease."
The study focused on the European honey bee, but Dr Fernandes is interested in investigating whether a similar system exists for Australian native stingless bee species, which are social with big colonies.
"I'd love to see if other social insects such as native stingless bees, ants and termites, which also build incredibly complex homes, also have the same system," Dr Fernandes said.
Dr Fernandes is an Australian Research Council DECRA Fellow in the School of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Sydney. She is also a member of the Sydney Infectious Diseases Institute and the Centre for Drug Discovery Innovation .
