In January 2026, HelEx Work Package 3 took the stage at the International Congress of the IUSSI, the global meeting of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects. The congress is the main world forum for researchers working on the biology and conservation of social insects, including honey bees and bumble bees.
Salena Husband (JKI) delivered an oral presentation covering HelEx results on how sunflower cultivar diversity shapes the nutrition and development of bumble bee colonies, drawing on the experimental work carried out within Work Package 3. The talk brought HelEx’s pollinator science to a worldwide audience and generated discussions on methodology, ecological interpretation and possible collaborations.
For HelEx, contributing at this level is a strong signal that the project’s research on pollinator-friendly sunflower breeding is part of the international scientific conversation on pollinator health, and not just a European or national concern.
