On 28 July 2022, PoshBee published one of its key exploitable results to the Horizon Results Platform. Its publication supports the project’s goal to turn scientific research into innovations that can address our societal, economic and environmental challenges.

Horizon Results Platform

The Horizon Results Platform (HRP), whose motto is "Making results matter", is the place where you can discover the abundance of EU-funded research results and you can get in contact with their creators. Participants of EU Research Framework Programmes can display their results, network and forge partnerships. They can choose to target specific audiences and even get discovered by investors seeking opportunities. Additionally, the HRP contributes to a better-informed policy, as politicians can consult the available research information in the search for valuable insights.

Attracted by what HRP has to offer, two PoshBee partners – the University of Udine and the ​​University of Bern – decided to publish their policy-related key exploitable result called "Sulfoxaflor can benefit Varroa destructor and might interact with a commonly used acaricide". This result shows that field-realistic concentrations of sulfoxaflor can increase the reproduction of the ectoparasitic mite V. destructor. Furthermore, in combination with coumaphos, sulfoxaflor can also cause higher mortality in bee larvae. This data supports that neonicotinoid (-like) insecticides can not only have negative consequences for bees, but also seem to have positive effects on mites.

Sulfoxaflor can benefit Varroa destructor and might interact with a commonly used acaricide

PoshBee partners find this data to be highly relevant for policymakers, who should consider the positive correlation between sulfoxaflor and mite reproduction when assessing the risk of agrochemicals to bees.

Find out more about the result and its potential exploitation here.