Insufficient rainfall and high diurnal temperature variations are likely to affect flowering and consequently honey production as well as the wellbeing of bees, Ion Maxim, president of the National Association of Beekeepers, has told IPN.

“It could be exactly like 2020, which was a dry year. If humidity levels are low, flowers will not produce enough nectar and the bees won’t have much to collect. If daytime temperatures continue to stay at +10 degrees or more, while nighttime temperatures continue to fall to -5 degrees, the bees will not be able to develop properly in terms of honey production. In 2020, trees had flowers, but the harvest was compromised, because it was cold and the bees could not fly to pollinate and collect nectar”, said Ion Maxim.

To sustain bee families through cold spells, beekeepers incur additional costs. “Whereas in previous years we started stimulation on March 10-15, this year we started intervening on February 10-15. This means additional costs. At the same time, it is unclear how the trees will bloom this year. If bees sense a food shortage when they lay their young, they stop reproducing and the development of their families stagnates. If the weather doesn’t warm up soon, there will not be many young bees, and they will not be able to collect nectar from acacias, from which most of the honey comes”, says Ion Maxim.