For years, he assumed the bees were collecting sugar. And then it occurred to him, maybe the bees were collecting medicine. That concept was borne out in 2018 when Stamets, along with researchers at Washington State University, found that honeybees fed an extract from tinder fungus (Fomes fomentarius) and reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) experienced a significant reduction in their viral load, particularly the lethal deformed-wing virus.