Credit FILE PHOTO: Seth Tackett / WTIU Indiana University researchers have found a helpful microbe in the stomachs of queen bees and their larvae that can fight deadly funguses. Researchers hope this discovery will eventually lead to medicine that can protect the honey bees that Indiana farmers rely on. More than 40 percent of honey bee colonies in the U.S. die every year — threatening the nation’s food security. The queen is important to the colony's survival. IU graduate student Delaney Miller is the lead author of the study. She said researchers are now looking to find the exact molecule in the microbe that fights fungal diseases. This discovery could eventually lead to a medicine that can help worker bees or other innovations.