In June 2025, HelEx was represented at the 8th meeting of the IUSSI Central European Section, part of the International Union for the Study of Social Insects. The meeting gathers researchers focused on the biology, ecology and conservation of social insects, including honey bees and bumble bees, and is a key regional forum for presenting new results on pollinator health.
Salena Husband (JKI) presented HelEx findings on the interaction between sunflower varieties and bumble bee colony development, with a focus on floral resources, nutrition and colony performance. The talk gave the project visibility among a community that directly shapes how pollinator research feeds into conservation and agricultural policy.
Contributing to IUSSI matters for HelEx because the project’s impact on pollinator-friendly sunflower breeding depends on how convincingly its evidence is communicated to the biologists who study these insects daily. Engaging with this audience helps ensure HelEx methods and outputs are aligned with the state of the art in pollinator science.
