What can we do to make beekeeping more resilient to the stresses imposed by climate change?

Land restoration in Alehuay, Ethiopia

Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humanity in the 21st century. Based on the latest reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the UN and the wider scientific community, there is consensus that climate change will cause rising temperatures, shifts in precipitation patterns and seasons, as well as increase the frequency of severe and extreme weather events. These environmental changes will have severe consequences for agriculture and therefore threaten food security across the world – beekeeping will not be immune from the effects of climate change.

The majority of beekeepers manage Western honey bees, Apis mellifera, with there being over 90 million colonies worldwide. A. mellifera has the remarkable ability to adapt and thrive within a wide range of geographical and climatic conditions. Its scientific name means ‘honey bearing’ or ‘honey producing’ bee which refers to its ability to collect and process nectar and to store it as honey allowing it to survive periods when food is scarce. Despite this ability to adapt and thrive, there is clear evidence that climate change has already had an impact on beekeeping.

Tigared Mengistu (right), beekeeper trained by Bees for Development Ethiopia with mentor, Alemnesh Dessalegn, Amhara Region, Ethiopia.

Natural disasters such as severe flooding and wildfires have become more frequent, increasing the chances of honey bee colony losses. Global rising temperatures mean that the brood-free period for colonies will be shorter or even completely absent and a shift in the seasons and extending periods without rainfall will result in reduced forage. Unpredictable forage caused by climate change will result in the need for bees and beekeepers to adapt to new conditions. Honey bees exposed to malnutrition are known to have reduced immune and detoxification capacities making them more vulnerable to environmental stressors such as pathogens or xenobiotics. Climate change is also likely to benefit a number of invasive species and pests, particularly the impact of Varroa mites and their associated viruses on honey bees and beekeeping.

Kojabator, a very remote village across the Volta River on the edges of the Digya National Park, Ghana

Afram Plains, Ghana, these fragile ecosystems are at risk from bush burning and selling of charcoal.

The scenario outlined here for the western honey bee A Mellifera, almost certainly holds true for any managed bees such as Eastern honey bees, stingless bees, Apis Cerana, bumble bees and even solitary bees . Climate change is omnipresent and will impose additional unprecedented environmental stress on all of these bees and their keepers, thereby calling for respective adjusted management.

Beekeepers around the world are already combatting the effects of climate change by planting trees to increase shade in apiaries, restoring local flora and protecting natural habitats to ensure their bees are provided with suitable forage.

The use of Nature-Based Beekeeping, local materials and hive styles ensures that should natural disaster strike, local communities can quickly rebuild their apiaries – as costs are kept low.

The willingness of the beekeeping community to adapt to the problems of climate change will be key in overcoming these challenges.

Local hive making, Uganda

Apis Cerana beekeeping training with Keystone Foundation, India

This blog was inspired by an article in the Journal of Apicultural Research titled ‘Beekeeping under climate change’ by Peter Neumann and Lars Straub.

Visit our Resource Centre to read about the importance of keeping Indigenous bees to ensure climate change resilience.

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, South India