Following the severe fires in the north, the beehives were also damaged - what might be the cost of the damage and is there anything that can be done to restore them?
The severe fires in the north of the country as a result of the war take a heavy toll not only on the residents but also on nature, as thousands of dunams of forest and dozens of beehives were completely burned. This is a serious ecological and agricultural damage, since bees are Among the most important pollinators in nature, but their situation in Israel and in the world is not alarming - in recent years it has disappeared over a third from the bee population, with the main reason for this being the human factor. Fires like the ones we are witnessing these days only increase the damage to the bee population in Israel.
One of the reasons for the disappearance of the bees is damage to the open areas due to human expansion, and less natural environment also means Reduction in the amount of flowers the bees feed on. according to Studies, other factors that negatively affect the bee population are: crisis the climate, extensive use of pesticides, undiverse food and various parasites. The honey bee is indeed the most famous species, but it is not the only one that has been affected, as there are others in the world כ-25 Thousand sexual vernacular bar disappearing For the same reasons and also due to the competition with the honey bees for resources such as food.
There is smoke without fire
"Honey bees are used to smoke," says Dr. Victoria (Vicky) Soroker from the Director of Agricultural Research at the Volcanic Institute. "When there is a fire, bees go deep into the hive to protect the larvae and the queen, and also to fill their bellies with honey in order to store energy for the day after the fire." According to her, there have always been fires in nature, and this behavior apparently evolved to help the bees deal with a lack of food after the fire, and to produce food reserves for a certain period of time, until the blossoms from which they feed are renewed. "In addition to that, the humans also taught the bees that the care of the hive is done through the use of smoke," she says. "When a beekeeper opens the hive, he smokes it to calm the bees, so they are not afraid of smoke and have no urge to run away from it."
However, there is a difference in the survival of the bees in the wild compared to the industrial hives. "In nature, the bees lived in caves or in tree trunks, and the thickness of the tree probably protected them when they entered the depth of the hive," explains Soroker. In the case of the hives we know today, the outer wooden shell of the hive does not protect the bees in the same way. "The wood of the beehives in agriculture is not similar to a thick tree trunk, so during a fire everything ignites," she says. "The hive is built so that the honey covers the hives from the outside, so it is the one that will be consumed first. The wax melts from the heat, and since the bees stay in the hive, they die.' According to her the damage is twofold; Even if the bees themselves were not dead, their food was burned because the fire damages their pastures.
One for all and all for one
Besides their ecological importance, the agriculture industry also relies on the pollination of bees ו-80 Percent from the crops the farmers The world depends on them. The fruits and vegetables we know are pollinated mainly by honeybees, but also by bees of the ground bumblebee species. which are considered for pollinators favors יותר Thanks to their unique pollination method. It has been 142 years since the honey industry has existed in Israel, and today it is close ל-80,000 beehives outposts near agricultural crops throughout the country for pollination.
According to Soroker, to start a new hive you need one queen and at least 400 workers, and this is because they maintain the temperature inside the hive, build the hives and are responsible for childbirth and food production. "Bees are a super-organism, that is, they are part of an entity that is the hive - even if a few bees managed to be saved from a fire, they cannot exist, because they require the hive and the queen, without which there is no work. Therefore, those who survived will simply grow old and die," she explains.
"We saw a similar thing in the fires in Otef, where quite a few beehives were also burned during the period terrorism the kites and the incendiary balloons," says Soroker. According to her, when there is a fire there is an impact on the next year's pollination - this is a hit to the pocket of both the farmer and the consumer, and restoration operations will be required both to restore the bee population and to help the farmers. "These fires and the damage to agriculture as a result of them, may affect the increase in the prices of vegetables and fruits and we need to mobilize to help the growers."
Despite the tragic fate of the hives and bees in the north, there is still hope to restore the honey bee population in Israel. "We have more hives in Israel, so the option is to take a strong hive and split it into several small hives that will slowly develop and grow. But it will take time for farmers to make up for the shortfall created." Splitting a hive is a process that usually happens in the spring when there is a bloom, but in Israel it also happens in the fall. "Now is not a good season for splitting because the hives are full of honey, summer is the storage season because the bees don't have enough food," Soroker explains.
The situation of the wild bees is even worse. "Not only honey bees were affected: Bees migrate, and if the pastures (areas where the bees forage for food, RA) were burned in the north, So other bees were also affected, including wild bees," Sorokar says. According to her, it is impossible to split wild bees because they are a single entity and not part of a hive. "Maybe ground-nesting bumblebees managed to survive, but other species such as masons whose nest is a ball of mud on a rock have no chance of survival - And even if there are some that survived, Their situation is even worse because these species do not have honey reserves, and in the summer it is difficult for the bees to find food. That's why the damage from the fire is huge for them.'
You don't have to love honey to understand my dimensions The damage caused to agriculture and consequently to security the food our. These tragic events remind us that every creature - even the tiniest - It is very important for the proper functioning of the ecosystem and also for our lives; Without open spaces with wild flowers the bees cannot exist, and we cannot grow our food without their pollination abilities. "We will only be able to estimate the extent of the damage next year. We must be prepared for the possible impact This has to do with the prices of vegetables and fruits," Surkar concludes.
