Beehives in the Muniellos Nature Reserve in the province of Asturias, Spain

© ABB Photo/Shutterstoc

The bears and the bees…. World Honey Bee Day

Why are these beehives in north-west Spain surrounded by a traditional stone wall? It’s to protect them from local brown bears, who have a penchant for honey. Honey bees produce honey to feed their hive community over winter. But as they produce double or triple the amount needed, there’s plenty for the busy beekeepers here in the province of Asturias to collect for us to enjoy too, if they can keep those sticky paws out.

The bear is exalted in Spanish culture and is the symbol of Madrid, but their reputation for plundering honey hives and sometimes killing livestock have made them unpopular with beekeepers and farmers. Spain’s brown bears were once aggressively hunted, and their numbers fell to dangerously low levels by the 1970s. Conservationists won legal protection for the bears, and now there’s a delicate balance between bears and bees in Asturias. Ecotourism here in the Muniellos Nature Reserve helps beekeepers and farmers sustain their businesses, with tours allowing visitors to observe the bears from a distance, while buying local honey.

It is World Honey Bee Day today, saluting their role in pollinating crops and producing delicious honey. Sadly, billions of honey bees have disappeared over the last 15 years in what’s known as colony collapse disorder. There’s no definitive explanation for the die-off, although scientists believe pesticides, loss of habitat, climate change, mite infestation and disease are contributing factors. Now we need to reintroduce bees and other pollinators to safeguard our food system.