BEES: A THERMOMETER FOR CLIMACTIC CHANGE. COLONIES IN TILT DUE TO DROUGHT, EARLY FLOWERING, AND CHEMICAL TREATMENTS. ITALIAN HONEY HARVEST FOR 2007 RECORDS A NET DECLINE (110,000 QUINTALS)

Bees are considered a true thermometer of climactic changes. In fact, colonies go into tilt as a result of above average heat and drought which causes flowers to bud early thus disturbing the balance between the complex social mechanisms of the bee and the botanical resources that should be available to it. And where climactic changes have not caused damage, there have been chemical treatments that have decimated Italian apiaries (of which there are 1.1 million in Italy, hosting 55 billion bees, cared for by 50,000 beekeepers). And evidence of damage has been the notable decrease in Italian honey production for 2007, which usually averages between 100 – 110,000 quintals per year.

These are the forecasts for the 2007 Italian honey harvest, which will also be discussed during the “Settimana del Miele” (Honey Week) that will be held in Montalcino from 7 – 9 September. This is the most important event for Italian apiculture, a sector that earns about 60 million euros per year, or rather 2.5 billion euros if the pollination that is carried out by bees for agriculture is also considered.

Temperatures that registered far above average in 2007 had a significant effect on flowering processes, making it difficult for bees to find pollen at the right time. The result was overlapping production of different types of honey from different flowers and an overall decrease in this production, as well as a sort of “impurity” of honey varieties.
The hardest hit was acacia honey (the favorite of Italian consumers), which registered a decrease of 20%, and chestnut honey, which registered a 40% decrease and will be “mixed” with lime-tree nectar because of an unusual simultaneous flowering of the two species.
“And if this wasn’t enough, it must also be considered” – explained Francesco Panella, President of the National Italian Apiarist Union – the decrease in the aviary population, throughout Italy, is also due to the inconsiderate use of some insecticides. While in France, the use of these deadly chemical products has been banned, our Health Ministry, until now, has not even taken into consideration the numerous signs of the massacre of bees and insects that are helpful for the environment and agriculture”.

Panella continued to explain, “The effect of the interaction between drought and powder insecticides that have been dispersed on crops (in particular on corn this past spring) has caused the disappearance of all “field bees” dedicated to collecting pollen in the Po valley, sparing only the “house bees”. Thousands of bee families, therefore, were unable to produce the coveted springtime honey of northern Italy”.