Winter mortality among bees in Flanders is increasing | the animals

The VBI conducts an annual survey among beekeepers about winter mortality. The winter mortality rate has been at 10 percent for decades, but it has not been achieved for a long time.

As with last year, there are significant regional differences. For some beekeepers, losses have exceeded 80 percent. In municipalities such as Elversel, Mariakerke, Herzberg, Illuet, Huart, Hofstad and Diepenbeek, all bee colonies have been lost. The Flemish provinces of Brabant (30 percent) and Antwerp (29 percent) are the provinces with the highest bee mortality rates.

The honey bee is like the canary in the coal mine. If honeybees do poorly, nature as a whole will do poorly.

According to the VBI, there is a “range of factors” underlying winter mortality, “which makes the problem very complex and difficult to manage.” Furthermore, last fall, before the usual winter mortality, there was an apparent loss of bee colonies for the first time due to the presence of the Asian hornet. This invasive alien species has been on the rise in our country for several years and honeybees are considered desirable prey.

The FBI describes the situation as “not rosy.” “The honeybee is like the canary in the coal mine. If the honeybees are doing poorly, then nature as a whole will be doing poorly. Many beekeepers who have lost all their bee colonies give up too.”

look. This is how you recognize the Asian hornet