Honey bees perform a crucial pollination service for various horticulture and field crops.
“Our important pollinators are running out of food and if we don’t experience more favourable climatic conditions during winter, the impact of the prolonged drought on South Africa’s bee population could have serious knock-on effects for various agricultural industries,” said Robert Post of the Western Cape Bee Industry Association.
According to Post, the bee population of the Western Cape was also suffering due to the impact of American foulbrood, an infection caused by bacteria that infect the larvae of bees, resulting in their death.
Farmer’s Weekly editor, Denene Erasmus. took a short video of bees collecting pollen from a sunflower growing on a land in Mpumalanga.
Take a closer look!
