This topic is part of the Community Center Festival of Sustainability
The original topic was posted in the French-speaking Community Center by @Dominique1233 and we have translated it below.
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Hi everyone,
I have a place in Savoie, France.
My partner and I have had an apiary for several years (non-professionally).
It's been a disaster since about 4 years ago...!
The winters are too mild, the summers are too dry, it seems like there aren't any real seasons anymore.
The result: nature evolves in a disastrous way, thunderstorms and winds, which means: fewer flowers, less pollen to forage, everything is washed away by the wind and heavy rains. Chestnut trees and other trees are diseased and hopelessly dry.
And the summers are so dry and arid that there is nothing left to naturally feed our bees. The flowers look sad. After the honey from last July, we had to feed them with syrup until December so that they could have winter bees and not die of hunger and thirst. But, in spite of that, the clusters that should warm the queen and the hive were too small. Winter was too hot, some even went outside to sunbathe. And the cluster has shrunk to death, despite the honey left in the hives and the candy that we give them.
No more bodies to heat the hive and the brood that the queen had laid because she thought it was spring!
We lost 1/3 of our livestock this winter, which is huge, and it has been truly devastating.
And it's a national issue.
Hives have died, and we have been able to do nothing but watch the disaster unfold!
Currently, we have very cold weather again. They can't go out, there is just a little brood, we can't open for the spring visitโฆ We are going to try to make more swarms, but we are not sure that they will reach term and that the young queens will be correctly fertilised.
There are more and more hive thieves by day and by night. Last week, 19 were found in Spain. Where will we end up?
Not to mention the Asian hornet that has arrived in our country, (passing through foreign borders) that makes huge nests and eats a hive within a few hours. It's a massacre we're struggling to deal with, despite our vigilance. If the bee disappears, that's the end of life. They are essential for the survival of humans, crops, food, animal life, etc.
But how can we protect them and help them more than we do now?
To better understand the situation, you can watch the film: Des abeilles et des hommes (More than Honey)
I live in Honey Harbour on the shores of Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada. We have briefly seen the Asian Hornet here but it has not been as impacting as what you see. Our biggest predator is the Bear.
Our Honey Bee Festival tries to celebrate the good work of the bee and the importance that the Honey Bee (Vital) brings to the world, to our food and to our plants.
I am with you in solidarity..
Jennifer
We keep bees in our garden - and I stay in a respectful distance:
