His Bees Had Not Produced As Much Honey For 20 Years. The Cause, The Absence Of Humans And The Reduction Of Pollution
Pierre Stéphane, a beekeeper based in Lichtenberg, a French town near the Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park, had never seen such abundant honey production from his bees: ” In 20 years, my bees have never produced so much honey “the beekeeper wonders. Pierre did not expect such a surprise and speculates that it could have something to do with the general containment which is affecting many nations around the world due to the coronavirus epidemic.
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In 20 years of activity, Pierre Stéphane had never seen anything like it: 4 kg of honey per day! According to beekeeper, such a phenomenon could be due to two main reasons. It is certain that less human activity has generally contributed to determining more favorable conditions for the bees. forestry activity has been completely suspended, the absence of chainsaws and loggers has made the environment calmer and many tourists were forced to abandon their walks. There is no more circulation and the bees can feed on the nectar of the flowers in peace. hawthorn, dandelion, and all the fruit trees become their natural “prey”.
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Agriculture is also quite small and thanks to the favorable climate of this year 2020, the bees find the best possible living conditions. “Last year we had a long and cold spring, rain and frost, then it got too hot and there was a drought. This year we have sun, good temperatures … If we had a little more rain, it would be ideal “commented the French beekeeper.
Pierre had been put off in 2019 by low production and weather conditions, but in 2020 he’s seeing a real renaissance, which bodes well.
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A spring of 2020 that has brought a breath of fresh air and life, at least in the natural world, if we exclude the persistence of the dreaded Covid-19 which frightens human beings. In short, more tranquility and less pollution have certainly improved the living conditions of bees and their honey production has been positively affected. Pierre is very happy to sell his highly sought after organic honey, especially in a time like the one we are living in, where local and organic products are even more prized. However, Pierre does not want to increase his prices: for less than 10 euros, you can buy his honey “Les abeilles de Corentin”, a name he chose to honor his son, Corentin, who died at only 11 years of age. ‘a serious handicap.
source used : France 3 info