A group of scientists at Yale University led by Dr.Nancy Moran, have discovered that bacteria in the guts of honeybees are highly resistant to the antibiotic tetracycline. This specific antibiotic, which is good in itself, was used for decades in the United States as preventative medication in domesticated hives. As a result, the "good" and "healthy" bacteria that live in honeybees' guts, have been altered, and slowly became resistant or used to the medication. Researchers have identified 8 different tetracycline resistance genes among American honeybees that were treated with this medicine. However, those same genes were almost absent in bees, in countries where this specific antibiotic was banned, (and still banned today).
Therefore this prevention (giving the tetracycline in case the bees become sick) may have been detrimental to the honeybee well being in the long run. Like us, honeybees have a lot of beneficial bacteria that live in their guts. A healthy intestine with healthy living bacteria play important roles in neutralizing toxin's in the bee's food for instance, and also in defending the bee against pathogens, or diseases.
By wanting to prevent diseases and strengthen the colonies this automatic long term treatment may have actually weakened the honeybees internal system making them more susceptible to be sick, and perhaps decline.
From: Journal of the American Society for Microbiology ; Long-Term Exposure to Antibiotics Has Caused Accumulation of Resistance Determinants in the Gut Microbiota of Honeybees, Nancy Moran (http://mbio.asm.org/content/3/6/e00377-12)
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