The honeybee, Apis mellifera, has been used for beekeeping for millennia. Despite the very long relationship between honeybees and humans, this extraordinary insect has never been domesticated
The honeybee has some particular features that make it a key organism for the conservation of biodiversity and therefore of the ecological balance in general. Bees feed by collecting nectar, pollen and honeydew from flowers, which in turn provides pollination and therefore the reproduction of many plants
The pollinating role of bees is closely related to human nutrition and about 1/3 of the world’s agricultural production depends on animal pollination. Bees play an extraordinary role in food production all over the world
The honeybee plays an even greater role in the conservation of spontaneous flora, i.e. the plant world on which all or almost all terrestrial ecosystems depend. Plasticity enables this species to be the main pollinator in vast parts of our planet. In fact, the same flora of much of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia have been shaped by the relationship with the local populations of honeybees
Beekeeping is a source of high-value nutraceutical foods, such as honey, bee-collected pollen and royal jelly, as well as substances of therapeutic value (propolis and bee venom)
CiRAA offers a notable variety of agroecosystems and natural environments that are suitable for beekeeping. This has led to the production of particular and economically important monofloral honey (e.g. sunflower, alfalfa and sulla clover honey) as well as interesting wildflower honey from essences typical of the Mediterranean maquis (e.g. rock-rose, strawberry tree, heather), particularly common in CiRAA’s woodlands
Honeybees, like all Apoidea and other pollinating insects, are threatened by serious anthropogenic environmental factors:
- chemical pollution, especially due to the massive and widespread use of agrochemicals
- environmental changes with a consequent reduction in nectariferous flora
- climate change and the globalization of markets that facilitate the emergence of new pathologies and adversities
The Italian Apiculture Framework law, introduced in 2004, states that apiculture is “an activity of national interest useful for the conservation of the natural environment, the ecosystem and agriculture in general and it is aimed at guaranteeing natural pollination and the biodiversity of bee species … ”
The Charter of San Michele all’ Adige (June 2018), drafted and signed by members of the scientific community and the apiculture world, contains an “Appeal for the protection of the biodiversity of the indigenous subspecies of Apis mellifera Linnaeus, 1758, in Italy”.