Scientists and beekeepers have been alarmed this winter of the brutal decline in the honey bees in Belgium, but all the other populations of pollinators are also in danger.
Meliferous bee populations fell 22.5 % during the winter in Belgium, according to a study published Monday by the Honeybee Valley Research Platform, from the University of Ghent.
Based on a survey of more than 700 beekeepers, this study reveals a particularly important decline in the Brussels region, where a drop of 44 % was recorded.
Although a decline of bee populations during the winter is normal, the rates are generally closer to 10 %, underlines Ellen Danneels, by Honeybee Valley, for the Belgian press agency Belgian.
Ellen Danneels explains that the decrease in the populations observed is due to a combination of factors, in particular the Varroa Mite parasite, the threat of Asian hornets, the reduction in food availability, the use of pesticides and certain beekeeping practices.
An uncertain trend
For the Beelife bee protection association, these decreases are not specific to Belgium. “” They reflect a broader trend observed throughout the European Union “Explains a spokesperson.
In countries like Spain and Italy, bees are threatened by invasive species such as the Asian hornet and the oriental hornet, according to the NGO.
In 2023, the citizen initiative ” Save bees and farmers “Had collected more than a million signatures, calling on the Commission to propose legislation to gradually eliminate synthetic pesticides by 2035, invoking the” disappearance »Pollinators.
Other data, however, seem to qualify this discourse.
Due to the numerous awareness campaigns warning against the risks of extinction of bees since the 2000s, beekeeping has experienced considerable boom in recent decades, according to the Italian website He post.
And it seems to have an impact. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the number of bee colonies in Europe increased by 13 % between 1990 and 2023, and by almost 50 % worldwide during the same period.
In his response to the initiative ” Save bees and farmers The Commission notably stressed that the EU currently had 8.1 million hives.
Don’t forget the Bourdons
The growing domination of melliferous bees could have negative effects on biodiversity, because Apis Mellifera is in competition for flower resources with other pollinating insects, notes the New York Times.
« Pollinators are not only the melliferous bees », Underlines Euractiv Enrico de Lillo, researcher in environmental sciences and plant protection at the University of Bari.
The latter says to himself ” fairly upset By advertising made by environmental defense NGOs which are focused only on melliferous bees. “” Other pollinators may suffer from the presence of these bees “Show his research.
The populations of wild bees, for example, are also decreasing.
In Belgium, the Flanders region has just published its first official red list of wild bees, revealing that 10 % of species have disappeared and that 30 % is threatened or vulnerable.
What is the EU doing?
The EU has been worried for years of the decline of pollinators, but political measures have often been insufficient.
In 2013, the Commission asked the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to develop guidelines on the risks linked to the use of pesticides for pollinators, but the Member States did not manage to agree on their adoption.
Last year, EFSA updated its guidelines, but political commitments remain vague.
Today, a more restrictive measure could however see the light of day. As part of a new proposal aimed at revising the pesticide labeling rules, the Commission suggested introducing a pictogram ” Dangerous for bees ” – A red triangle representing a dead bee – on products deemed harmful to pollinators.
The pesticide industry opposed this idea and the Member States remain divided, leaving the future of the uncertain proposal.
