A look back at 2019 where honey was very rare

If you weren't aware, 2019 has been renamed as the "black year" for our French bees and beekeepers. Indeed, in 2018, French honey production experienced a significant recovery with almost 28,000 tonnes of honey produced following a catastrophic harvest in 2016 (16,000 tonnes). But 2019 and its 9,000 tonnes of honey harvested heralded the return of fragile and threatened beekeeping.

But then, what are the causes of a 70% drop in French honey production?
For several years now, bees have been endangered by the presence of pesticides in the environment. But to this were added disastrous weather conditions and all-too-frequent climatic upheavals. Indeed, in 2019, France first experienced a very mild winter, followed by a cold and rainy spring and then was hit by two heatwave episodes destructive of its floral heritage.

A winter that is too mild
The life cycle of bees scrupulously follows the rhythm of the seasons. During winter, the metabolism of bees slows down and they spend their time warming up within the hive and feeding on the honey reserves they have accumulated during spring and summer. The return of more pleasant temperatures with the arrival of spring gives the queen a start to lay eggs and the worker bees to emerge from wintering. This is how last winter, from the end of February, the queens began to lay eggs and the colonies developed abnormally.

A cold and rainy spring
It's March 2019, spring has begun! Unfortunately, it does not live up to our expectations; cold temperatures and frequent showers.
All this therefore had a significant impact on the bees and their rhythm of life. Indeed, spring is synonymous with the flowering of honey flowers and thus the start of honey production by bees. However, the low temperatures of spring 2019 did not allow the flowers to bloom in time to feed the numerous bees born in February. Consequently, the latter die of starvation and even go so far as to devour the males, considered as useless mouths to feed. At the same time, the colonies no longer develop because the queens suffer from lack of heat and the number of males has sharply decreased. As a result, when the flowers bloomed late, there were almost no more bees to collect their precious nectars.

Devastating heatwaves
 The intense heat waves that hit France last June and July were deadly for both flowers and bees. The latter, already suffering from a lack of water, saw themselves starve once again because the French flora, hit hard by extreme temperatures and a blazing sun, dried up at high speed. In addition, the wax has melted in the hives and the bees find themselves trapped. The number of bees, already in sharp decline, has therefore continued to decline.

Assessment and prospects for French honey
 Despite this context of severe scarcity, excellence remains the watchword of the Hédène house thanks to traditional know-how based on cold extraction, non-pasteurization and monofloral certification of the honey. all of our raw honeys. In addition, the establishment of apiaries near plots of wild flowers recognized for their floral density, guarantees a unique taste experience for each Hédène honey.

So, at a time when quality honey is becoming rarer and is increasingly appreciated by the French for all the values ​​it conveys, it is fundamental to pay particular attention to the geographical and floral origins of the honeys purchased. daily.