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Albanian beekeepers anticipate “Golden Year” as bees thrive during the pandemic

Source: Pixabay

While Albania has been on lockdown due to COVID-19, the country’s bees have been working overtime, with beekeepers expecting an bumper honey harvest thanks to a respite from pollution and pesticides.

Albania’s Bee-Keepers abuzz Over Anticipated best ever honey harvest

With industry and freight silenced by the coronavirus shutdown, Albania’s bees have been busier than ever, causing excitement among beekeepers expecting an unparalleled honey harvest, thanks to a respite from pollution and pesticides. Dressed in a protective bee suit on the base of Morava mountain in southeast Albania, 68-year-old Gezim Skermo had this heartening declaration to make: “It’s been a golden year for bees.” At least, in Albania that is the case. During his 50 years in beekeeping, Skermo told AFP he has “never seen a season like this”, hailing it as “rebirth for nature and the bees”. 

In the area around Morava, the restrictions have brought quiet, cleaner air and less pesticide-spraying from farmers who curbed production in the face of economic uncertainty from the virus,
Beekeepers attribute the sudden buzz to the coronavirus measures, which froze public and industrial life after Albania detected its first cases of the novel coronavirus in early March. In the area around Morava, the restrictions have brought quiet, cleaner air and less pesticide-spraying from farmers who curbed production in the face of economic uncertainty from the virus, Source: Gent SHKULLAKU AFP

“There was no noise, no pollution, nothing that could disturb them”

Gezim Skermo’s bee farm, home to some 300 colourfully-painted hive boxes, is one of the biggest in Albania and the only operation in the Balkan state to export its honey abroad.

The beekeeper attributes the sudden buzz to the coronavirus measures, which froze public and industrial life after Albania detected its first cases of the novel coronavirus in early March.

In the area around Morava, the restrictions have brought quiet, cleaner air and less pesticide-spraying from farmers who curbed production in the face of economic uncertainty from the virus, which has claimed some 30 lives in the Balkan state.

"This year we didn’t have any losses, unlike in previous years when we found dead bees in front of the hives," said Skermo. "There was no noise, no pollution, nothing that could disturb them".

Around him the pollinating insects performed their dance between surrounding flowers where they gather nectar, a water trough for refuelling and their hives, where the honey is made.

In front of the entrance to each hive, four female bees stood guard to keep out intruders from other colonies.

"Each bee has its own job and position, with the queen, the (egg) layer, in charge of all the inner life," explains Ermal Benga, who oversees production, as he uses his bee-smoker to calm the insects down before opening a hive.

Source: France24/AFP

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It also collects and processes tonnes of honey from beekeepers all over Albania, where there are some 360,000 registered hives.
Skermo’s Morava farm normally produces between five and 15 tonnes of honey a year. It also collects and processes tonnes of honey from beekeepers all over Albania, where there are some 360,000 registered hives. Source: Unsplash/SophieNengel

While people have been shut up at home, Albania’s bees have been working very hard

Skermo’s Morava farm normally produces between five and 15 tonnes of honey a year, in varieties ranging from white clover to pine, rapeseed, wild thyme and chestnut, depending on which flowers are in season.

It also collects and processes tonnes of honey from beekeepers all over Albania, where there are some 360,000 registered hives.

This year Morava’s beekeepers are planning to start collecting the golden foodstuff earlier than normal in order to make two harvests instead of one.

It is a huge turnaround from the devastation of 2016 and 2017, when 40% of Albania’s hives collapsed and losses topped €60 million.

Experts blamed the ruin on an "epidemic" of the varroa mite parasite, whose rise was helped by deforestation, plus the use of neonicotinoids, a common class of insecticides used in agriculture. The chemicals, which attack the nervous system of insects, have since been banned in the European Union but not in Albania.

Today, however, Albania’s "conditions are optimal for the bees, which are real ecological sentinels," Skermo’s 44-year-old son Eugen told AFP, referring to species that can provide an advance warning of risks, such as canaries in a coal mine.

In addition to the domestic market, Morava exports some 40 tonnes annually to the United States, Switzerland, Singapore and China. But although the company has an analysis laboratory donated by the EU, it is not allowed to export its honey to the bloc because of a ban on Albanian products of animal origin.

Out of superstition, founder Skermo refuses to give specific figures from how much honey will be produced this season, but he insists the yield will be abundant and of the highest quality.

"While people have been shut up at home, the bees have not been confined," he said. "They have been working very hard."

Source: France24/AFP

Lockdown gives Albanian beekeepers a 'golden year' Albanian beekeepers are expecting a 'golden year' for the honey harvest as bees ramp up activity amid the quiet of the coronavirus pandemic. Source: YouTube/AFP
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HOW TO HELP BEES: 8 PRACTICAL ACTION STEPS YOU CAN TAKE TO BEFRIEND BEES AND MAKE A REAL DIFFERENCE

The good news is there are plenty of ways you can get involved and you don’t need to become a beekeeper — unless that kind of thing gives you a buzz!