Strong, resilient colonies don’t happen by chance. They depend on the right balance of nutrients; and one of the most overlooked is zinc.

Strong, thriving bee colonies don’t just depend on good weather and plentiful flowers. Just like humans, bees require a balanced diet of essential nutrients to stay healthy, resist disease, and produce honey. When bees lack access to the right nutrients, their colonies become more vulnerable, leading to weaker brood, lower honey yields, and higher stress levels.

Bees today face a wide range of stressors: pesticides, parasites, climate fluctuations, transport, and even competition for forage. These pressures take a toll on colony health, often resulting in weaker hives, reduced productivity, and higher mortality rates. While beekeepers cannot eliminate every external factor, there is a powerful way to help bees build resilience from within: nutrition.

Bees are remarkably resilient creatures, yet modern beekeeping challenges — pesticides, habitat loss, parasites, and poor nutrition — constantly test their immune systems. While we often focus on proteins, carbohydrates, and vitamins in a colony’s diet, there’s another crucial layer that is often overlooked: trace elements.