ミツバチの数かずが減少げんしょう 巣すの高温こうおんが女王じょおうバチの産卵さんらんに影響えいきょう

Due to the prolonged heatwave, honeybees—which are essential for honey production and the pollination of agricultural crops—are being affected.

At the apiary, when the hive gets too hot, the queen bee stops laying eggs, so this year there are fewer eggs and the number of honeybees is decreasing.

At a beekeeping farm headquartered in Asakura City, Fukuoka Prefecture, approximately 100 tons of honey are produced each year, and about 60 million Western honeybees are raised in various locations across Japan, including Hokkaido.

At this time of year, we are raising pollination bees to lend to farmers for pollination work on crops such as strawberries and for collecting honey next year.

The inside of a beehive is kept at around 34 degrees Celsius, but if it gets any hotter, the worker bees become sluggish, the queen stops laying eggs, and the number of eggs in the hive decreases.

It is said that a Western honeybee queen usually lays between 2,000 and 3,000 eggs a day, but when I was shown inside the hive, there were cases where only the central part of the comb, where eggs are usually laid all over, had eggs.

At the apiary in Asakura City, they believe that this years short rainy season, the early rise in temperatures, and the continued extremely hot days have affected the queen bees egg-laying.

In this apiary, they tried to raise the bees in cooler areas by moving the hives to the mountains and keeping them in the shade of trees to avoid sunlight, but it is expected that the number of bees will be about 20% less than the planned 750,000.

Chairman Keizo Fujii of the apiary said, Just at a glance, there are fewer eggs this year.

Normally, even at this time of year, I would hope theyd still be laying a bit more eggs.

It’s also possible that, under normal circumstances, egg-laying would pick up again heading into autumn, but this year, even in September, the heat is still lingering, so it’s tough.

If there are few honeybees, it could have a significant impact on crop production.

There are some aspects of changes in the natural environment that we cant do anything about, but I want to think of ways to raise bees even in this environment, he said.

The impact of the extreme heat also extends to farmers who purchase honeybees from beekeepers.

Honeybees are used for pollinating many crops such as strawberries and melons, but if the intense heat continues for a long time, their activity decreases, which could affect crop growth, so measures are being taken to deal with the heat.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, honeybees are used for pollination of crops such as strawberries, melons, watermelons, and cucumbers in Japan, and in particular, more than 80% of strawberry farms use them.

The National Agriculture and Food Research Organization estimates that the economic impact of pollination by honeybees amounts to approximately 180 billion yen.

At Kazuhiro Akahoris farm in Kakegawa City, Shizuoka Prefecture, a total of 1

Honeybees are essential for strawberry production in agricultural greenhouses covering an area of 8 hectares.

If pollination by honeybees goes well, strawberries will have a good shape and higher nutritional value. On the other hand, if pollination is insufficient, the strawberries may become misshapen or poorly colored, so the activity of honeybees greatly affects shipping and other processes.

We plan to release honeybees into the greenhouse in late September, but the optimal temperature inside the greenhouse is around 20 to 25 degrees Celsius. It is said that if the temperature exceeds 30 degrees, their activity slows down and they stop pollinating.

In Shizuoka Prefecture, there have been many days this year with temperatures exceeding 35 degrees, and since it is expected that the heat will continue with temperatures over 30 degrees even in September, Mr. Akahori has, for the first time during this season, sprayed shading material on the greenhouse to create an environment that avoids direct sunlight, prevents the temperature inside the greenhouse from rising, and ensures a suitable environment for both growing seedlings and for bees to be active.

Mr. Akahori said, Honeybees are absolutely essential for growing strawberries.

It is important to create a good environment inside the greenhouse for both strawberries and bees, so we want to create conditions that make pollination easier and grow delicious strawberries, they said.

Expert: “It is quite possible that this will affect our dining tables.” Professor Kenichi Harano of the Tamagawa University Bee Science Research Center, who is well-versed in bee ecology, said, “Bees are relatively good at managing temperature, but in extremely high temperatures like this summer, they cannot cope adequately.”

It has been pointed out that, as a result of the temperature inside the nest becoming higher than usual, the queen bee may stop laying eggs, or the worker bees may become exhausted and unable to properly care for the queen, which can ultimately lead to the queen bee ceasing to lay eggs.

Professor Harano said, If this level of heat continues, honeybees wont be able to produce enough, which could lead to a shortage of bees for pollination, or the worker bees may not pollinate properly due to the high temperatures. This could negatively affect agricultural production and, in turn, our dining tables.