Beekeepers in flood-affected parts of the Western Cape are reporting major losses due to the recent heavy rains. Beehives have been overwhelmed by rivers that have burst their banks or simply been washed away by torrents of water.
The Western Cape Bee Industry Association (WCBIA) said while the estimates are still being tallied, one commercial beekeeper has reported losing as many as 1 500 hives, which means the number of affected hives could run into the thousands. Among the worst-affected areas are along the Berg River and Citrusdal.
Beekeepers often place their hives close to rivers, where the bees are assured of forage and are close to water. Precautions are usually taken when beehives are situated near rivers, such as placing the hives on 2 m stands, but in some cases the water levels have exceeded this height.
Among the concerns are that the loss of hives and bee colonies will have a negative impact on early season pollination of blueberries and plums. It is important to note that, for biological security reasons, only the Cape honeybee (Apis m. capensis) may be used for pollination in the Western Cape, and so beekeepers from up north will not be able to fill this gap as they work with a different subspecies, the African honeybee (Apis m. Scutelata).
Chris Nicklin, chairman of WCBIA, commented: “It’s devastating for beekeepers when they lose beehives, whatever the number. Particularly distressing is the loss of the bee colonies that occupy these hives.”
For the beekeepers it has been a race against time to rescue their hives, as moving large apiaries is a major logistical exercise. After the initial heavy and persistent rains, some were able to move vulnerable hives to higher ground, but in some instances even this was futile as the floodwaters spread at a such a rapid rate. With dams now filled to capacity and more rain on the horizon, the risk of further flooding remains.
Nicklin said: “A worrying factor is that many of these lost beehives were due to be moved into the fruit orchards in the Western Cape for pollination. This could result in a shortage of beehives for the critical task of pollination, particularly early in the spring season.”
He appeals to the public to keep an eye out for beehives that have been washed down rivers. By law, beekeepers are obliged to mark all their hives with an individual registration number supplied by the national Department of Agriculture, Land Reform and Rural Development. Typically, these numbers begin with the letters WC or CA.
By contacting the WCBA at info@wcba.co.za, and supplying the numbers, members of the public can help beekeepers track down their lost equipment.
This will help them overcome the financial losses of this disaster by recovering their hives but not the sad loss of the honeybees that lived in them.
