France’s National Beekeeping Federation has warned that bees, already threatened in the country by intensive farming or Asian wasps, are also suffering greatly from climate change.
“Besides the threats that have affected beekeeping for years, from the impact of pesticides, monoculture, to the disappearance of hedges, Asian hornets and Varroa (parasites), we have another challenge to (overcome) climate change,” reports a local Arabic daily quoting AFP.
He pointed out that the rate of deaths in beehives “is on average about 30% annually, which is a huge percentage.” Kleiman pointed out that “beekeepers, in order to maintain their hives, have to renew them with additional work and additional cost,” and beekeepers warned that “without the presence of beekeepers to renew the cells, we would have already seen a decrease in the number of bees in the region,” while these insects provide “35% of our food resources” through pollination.
With the impact of climate change, “crops are becoming increasingly irregular” and “this greatly complicates the lives of professional beekeepers,” he said.
Beehives can suffer from various effects of climate change, including fires, hail and floods, according to Kleiman. He added, 2021 was the “worst year for beekeeping in France”, with production of less than 10,000 tons; 2022 has started well in most regions thanks to a mild winter, according to Kleiman, who expressed “great concern about the upcoming drought” that hinders plants’ production of nectar.