According to a 2018 study published in Nature Scientific Reports, a specific type of mushroom extract can help honeybees fight off a devastating virus that is suspected of contributing to massive bee die-offs in recent years. The study was conducted by researchers at Washington State University, with help from the USDA and a Washington based business called Fungi Perfecti.
The researchers found that bee colonies that were given mycelium extract from amadou and reishi fungi saw a 79-fold reduction in deformed wing virus and a 45,000-fold reduction in Lake Sinai virus.
One of the paper’s authors, WSU entomology professor Steve Sheppard, says that he hopes this finding will make this deadly virus a thing of the past.