Will Turkey's bees return after the wildfires? - BBC News

A really sad day. Recently, I posted about Turkish beekeeping, not knowing how the fires would affect the local industry.

"Turkey is one of the biggest honey and bee wax producers of the world. In fact, Turkey produces 92 percent of the world’s pine honey, specifically in its West Mediterranean and South Aegean regions. According to the Beekeepers` Association of Turkey, there are 57,000 registered beekeepers and 6.6 million registered hives in Turkey as of 2014. Beekeeping is a traditional agricultural activity that is carried out in almost every region of Turkey. Twenty percent of the world’s 25 bee sub-species can be found in Turkey. Due to this diversity, bee farmers are encouraged to breed bee species native to their region instead of commercial bees. However, Turkish breeders face the challenge of erratic weather changes, so they request support from the Ministry of Food, Agriculture, and Livestock (MinFAL) to accommodate for unexpected conditions. These conditions also affect the Marchalina hellenica, which is the most important insect for the production of pine honey and honeydew. Since 2006, M. hellenica has been included in the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection alert list. In addition, the Turkish Ministry of Forestry has taken under protection the forests, mostly located in Mugla Province, in which this insect lives. Turkey has strong prospects in beekeeping since all regions of Turkey are available for this activity and 75 percent of beekeepers are migratory. The honey derived from different regions within Turkey has different local traits. Approximately 70 percent of plants in Turkey are floristic and it is believed that apicultural production has great potential, but faces difficulties. It is believed that Turkey will be stronger against global competition with the National Honey Bee Improvement Strategy. This strategy is being prepared by MinFAL, in conjunction with opinions of associations and stakeholders in order to improve beekeeping in Turkey. However, producers in Turkey are not consistent and effective with quality, standards and marketing issues."

Bee biodiversity is super critical to protect modern species such as the European honeybee. When colony collapse disorder spread, beekeepers had to breed aggressive traits into the  gentle Carniolan and Croatian bees in order to survive. It was an unfortunate sacrifice, because it is nice to have calm bees when beekeeping. Hopefully, USAID and other agencies can help the Turkish beekeepers find a way forward.