In the commercial honey business, conversations usually focus on production volume, supply chain logistics and shelf space. But at Nate’s Honey, we believe responsible, science-backed beekeeping does so much more – it delivers highest-quality honey while acting as a system for restoring nature and keeping our environment thriving.

Central to this mission is the Nate’s Hives Research Grant Program, an initiative dedicated to funding top-tier scientists working on real-world, data-backed solutions for pollinators. We’re proud to announce our support for a groundbreaking research project at Montana State University that targets one of the leading threats to honey bees today: viral infections, specifically deformed wing virus (DWV).

A Viral Threat to Honey Bee Survival

Commercial beekeepers are currently grappling with an ongoing crisis of high annual colony losses, which averaged 40% in the U.S. over the past 17 years and spiked to a staggering 62% in 2025. Because a colony’s population size directly dictates its total honey yield, beekeepers frequently split strong colonies to recover their numbers. Unfortunately, these smaller, divided hives are often far less efficient at producing honey.

One of the factors behind these losses is deformed wing virus (DWV-A and DWV-B). This virus is transmitted between infected honey bees as well as by parasitic Varroa destructor mites. DWV infections during development can cause severe wing deformities and death. Even when honey bees show no physical symptoms, DWV is associated with weak and/or collapsing colonies. While current commercial probiotics are frequently used in the field, they rely on bacterial strains meant for human or cattle foods and have proven largely ineffective for honey bees.

Sourcing Solutions from the Honey Bee Gut

To tackle this challenge, the Flenniken Lab at Montana State University proposed a sophisticated solution: building a tailored, immune-stimulating cocktail that combines native gut bacteria (probiotics) with other immune-boosting compounds.

Unlike off-the-shelf treatments, this cocktail uses nine bacterial species native to the honey bee gut. Sourcing directly from the honey bee’s natural microbiome allows for superior gut colonization and triggers essential immune pathways that help honey bees limit viral infections.

Inside the Field Lab

The Nate’s Hives grant provides funding to support a comprehensive 18-month research workflow executed across two full beekeeping seasons:

• Assembling the Probiotic: The research team will isolate and culture vital native bacterial strains – including Snodgrassella alvi, Lactobacillus sp., and Bifidobacterium sp. – under specialized microaerophilic conditions to build a highly robust, multi-species formula.
• Validating Colonization: Researchers will track newly emerged honey bees to verify exactly how well the administered native microbes successfully colonize the honey bee digestive tract.
• Prophylactic and Therapeutic Trials: In controlled trials, individual honey bees will receive the product both before viral exposure (as a preventive shield) and after infection (as an active treatment). The team will monitor survivorship, body weight, viral abundance and the activation of key immune genes.

Meet the MSU Research Team

This high-impact study is driven by two leading scientists operating out of MSU’s Department of Plant Sciences and Plant Pathology and the MSU Pollinator Health Center:

Dr. Michelle Flenniken (Co-Director & Lead Investigator)
A renowned virologist with more than 15 years of honey bee research experience, Dr. Flenniken oversees the project’s macro-strategy, ensuring the research directly addresses the real-world production realities faced by commercial beekeepers.

Dr. Lauren Jonas (Postdoctoral Researcher)
With eight years of advanced microbiology and molecular biology expertise, Dr. Jonas handles the precise execution of the laboratory trials. Notably, Dr. Jonas completed the National Science Foundation Regional Innovation Corps (I-Corp) program, conducting extensive interviews with commercial beekeepers to align this laboratory science with market needs.

Linking Laboratory Discovery to the Global Supply Chain

By moving away from failing synthetic options and leaning into natural, sequence-specific immune stimulants, this study aims to deliver an affordable, shippable, freeze-dried treatment to protect honey bees at a cellular level.

For the operations at Nate’s Hives, investing in peer-reviewed, cutting-edge science isn’t just about environmental stewardship – it is a foundational necessity. Ensuring robust pollinator health directly safeguards global agrifood systems, stabilizes rural economies and preserves the natural world that makes commercial honey production possible.