It is not true that bees are dying due to the warm winter

Although in recent days there have been frequent reports in the media about the mass death of bee colonies due to the warm winter across Bosnia and Herzegovina, practical beekeepers deny such claims.

Rašid Zorlak, one of the greatest beekeeping experts in BiH, author of two books on practical beekeeping, told the BiH news agency Patria (NAP) that the warm winter could have made life in the hive difficult, increased food consumption in the bee colony, but that it could not have led to the collapse of bee colonies.

- Only beekeepers who did not leave enough food reserves for the bees in the fall can have problems due to the warm winter. But, those beekeepers who were not greedy, who only took the excess honey from the hive, and left enough for the bees for their needs, and a little more on top of that, they do not need to worry – Zorlak told NAP.

The food reserves that a bee colony needs to have from autumn to spring, when the intake of new nectar begins, should be at least 15 kilograms.

- If any of the beekeepers know that their bees do not have enough food in the hive, and that this could cause the colony to perish, they can insert bee cakes into the hive to bridge the time until the first nectar appears in nature – says Zorlak.

Samir Baralija, one of the largest Sarajevo beekeepers, who has more than 600 bee colonies, also does not fear the warm winter.

- At the end of last month, I checked the bee colonies, and I am very satisfied with their condition – said Baralija. He also believes that it is very important for bees to enter winter healthy and with sufficient food reserves.

- If the beekeeper respects the natural needs of the bee colony, then the bees can fight potential problems during the winter on their own – says Baralija for NAP.