Discussions on the Decrease of Bee’s Population

Honey producers gathered in Montpelier, France, to discuss about their current crises. Bee’s population declined at an alarming rate over the past years and it is difficult to identify exactly what is causing their loss. It is estimated that one third of hives mysteriously disappear in Asia, Europe, South and North America. At the gathering, many accuse pesticide and monoculture to kill the bees, but this theory is not scientifically proven.

What we can say so far is that chemical products weaken their immune system and expose them to different diseases. Another factor is monoculture, where certain regions record a decrease of bee’s population with the arrival of intensive agriculture, like corn. Bees need floral diversification in order to flourish.

Some countries like Italy decided to ban a family of pesticide and this showed positive results. If this seems to work on a longer term, other countries will adopt similar regulation based on that experience, even though no scientific proof can blame pesticides.