Study: gm corn does not harm bee larvae

Also the mortality rate of the animals had not increased. The scientists fed the insect offspring in an artificial honeycomb for five days with genetically modified corn, among other things. One of the three test groups had received pollen of a corn variety containing three pest control genes in its feed juice. The bees had digested the toxic egg white without problems. Tests were also carried out on the MON 810 genetically modified corn variety, which has been banned in germany since 2009.

"This result is in line with the state of the art in science," said scientific staff member stephan hartel of the university’s department of zoology. There is no published scientific study showing that there is a negative effect on the honeybee.

The research team was initially unable to say anything about the effects of genetically modified corn pollen on adult bees. "The bee larvae are the most sensitive to the toxins," however, hartel emphasized. This suggests that even adult bees were not negatively affected by transgenic maize.

To gain concrete insights, the university experts also plan to study the effects of genetically modified potatoes and corn plants on honey bees and wild bees over the next four years.