Scientists make game-changing discovery about the hidden factor threatening honeybees worldwide: 'May need to adapt their practices'

Scientists are developing strategies for sub-Saharan beekeepers to contend with the changing climate and allow their honeybee colonies to shine.

Mongabay reported on the results of a yearlong study in Kenya that was published in the Journal of Environmental Management. It revealed that effects from climate change cost beekeepers 36% of their colonies on average.

The biggest culprit for the beekeepers was hot and dry conditions, which created losses of up to 31.9%. Wet and cold periods produced losses of up to 20.2%. The study included interviews with 589 Kenyan beekeepers from a variety of the country's microclimates.

Honeybees play a huge role in the Kenyan economy. They aid agriculture as crucial pollinators of plants, and are moneymakers for beekeepers as producers of coveted products like honey, beeswax, and royal jelly. For those reasons, there are worldwide programs devoted to honeybee conservation.

Despite that, scientists had very little to go on when it came to the climate's effect on Kenyan honeybee colonies, per Mongabay. Study co-author Malena Sibaja Leyton noted the study provided the "first large-scale estimates of honeybee livestock decrease in Kenya."

While the study uncovered the negative effects of heat waves and stormy periods, there were some remedies for Kenyan beekeepers. Leyton said the study found "water supplementation as an adaptive management strategy, reducing livestock decrease by up to 10% during the dry and hot season."

Other strategies suggested by Leyton included relocating bee colonies, supplementing feeding, and creating shade for the bees during hot periods. Daniel Waigwa, a beekeeper manager of Urban Beekeepers, agreed with the study's conclusions in comments to Mongabay.

"Kenyan beekeepers may need to adapt their practices, such as relocating hives, providing supplementary feeding or water and selecting bee strains more resilient to heat and the ever-changing environmental conditions," Waigwa said.

With global temperatures reaching record highs in the summer of 2024, the impacts are increasingly being felt by global agriculture. These changes have struck close to home in Kenya when it comes to plum farming, which local farmers had to jettison due to failing crops.

While honeybees have shown remarkable resilience to hot weather by altering their flying patterns, this study shows that it does negatively affect them. There are concerning signs when it comes to honeybees' survival, and mounting threats like light pollution could test them even more.

Ezekiel Ndunda, a lecturer at Kenya's Kenyatta University, told Mongabay that the next step for scientists is to expand the scope of their study.

"The interaction between temperature and precipitation emphasizes the complexity of climate impacts on beekeeping, thus the need for even longer study periods," Ndunda explained. "We need to integrate climate change models to predict future scenarios for honeybee populations, examining how projected changes in temperature and precipitation will likely affect beekeeping."

Ndunda concluded by suggesting investigating other parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and taking into account socioeconomic factors to help guide Kenyan beekeepers as effectively as possible.

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