Main practices, challenges and expected solution identified in the Mediterranean beekeeping industry

Globally honeybees are threatened by a plethora of biotic and abiotic stressors. One factor of great concern is climate change due to its direct impact on wild and agricultural ecosystems. Indeed beekeeping, with its symbiotic interdependence with vegetation, is an industry that will be strongly affected by climate change. Although the Mediterranean is a region that is highly vulnerable to climate change, no study has comprehensively analysed the possible effects on honeybees. The MEDIBEES project aims to remedy this situation by studying the honeybee subspecies native to the Mediterranean region and their resilience to climate change, in an attempt to safeguard the beekeeping sector. In this framework, the following approaches were adopted to determine the common Practices, Challenges and Problems in the region and to identify scientific gaps and solutions expected by beekeepers: • Review of the effects of biotic and abiotic stressors on honeybee colonies as well as legislation in the MEDIBEES consortium to identify common threats. • Study of current challenges, priority areas considered by beekeepers as important to survive as an industry, beekeeping practices and existing resources in each country to determine common trends and challenges across the Mediterranean. • Analysis of the responses to a questionnaire distributed among 1160 beekeepers to obtain information on stakeholder practices, challenges faced and the main problems encountered. In this way, a profile of beekeeping activity and beekeepers in the region was obtained. The main challenges and problems identified were: a) changes in weather patterns that could be affect colony dynamics, production losses and increasing mortality; b) of incidence of pathogens in the area (Varroa destructor, Nosema ceranae, SBV and DWV) and the lack of training programmes to control them; c) agricultural insecticides and acaricide residues. As main areas of interest, beekeepers pointed out the possible existence of adapted ecotypes, the need for training to distinguish between hybrids and purebreds, and the study of the effect that climate change will have on phenology and plant availability and on changes in the distribution areas of pathogens in the area. This project is part of the PRIMA programme supported by the European Union.

Keywords

Medibees Beekeeping

URI

http://hdl.handle.net/10198/26045

Citation

Mangion, Marion Zammit; Farrugia, Dylan; Martín-Hernández, Raquel; Nanetti, Antonio; Pinto, M. Alice; Muz, Mustafa Necati; Haddad, Nizar; Hosri, Chadi; Adjlane, Noureddine; Daour, Ahmad Yousef (2022). Main practices, challenges and expected solution identified in the Mediterranean beekeeping industry. In 47th APIMONDIA International Apicultural Congress. Istambul