Project supported by LG company to repopulate the peninsula 47 million specimens of Apis mellifera iberiensisThe Iberian bee, better known as the Iberian bee, has arrived in the León region of El Bierzo, where it was started this Wednesday in the municipality of Arganza to ensure the reintroduction of biodiversity studies with a guarantee of success.
In this project called Smart Green Bees, LG El Rincón de la Abeja associationThe technical partners of the initiative are artisanal beekeepers based in Novelda (Alicante) and from different autonomous communities.
The flower load of the region will determine the number of hives
Paola Vecino, president of El Rincón de la Abeja, told EFE that what was done this Wednesday flower charge The number of units will be determined in the area where the hives are planned to be established.
“From here, other bee species in the region will be evaluated and their predators will be revealed, and then monitoring systems will be established,” he said.
These systems consist of scales. this will allow us to determine the demographic expansion of beesIn other words, data will be obtained that will allow the calculation of how each swarm grows and the number of worker bees.
“Then Farrar’s rule is applied, which says that as the population increases, the individual production of each bee will also increase, and the demographic evolution of each swarm can be carried out and expanded to the rest of the apiary.”
The Iberian bee is the only bee that pollinates 100% of species
In short, he continued, the goal of this project is to reverse the decline that this native bee species has experienced in recent years, which is essential to preserving ecosystems because it is the only species that can pollinate ecosystems. 100% of species.
Vecino emphasized that among the reasons for this decline in the Iberian bee population and other species, the first is the human hand through the use of pesticides, which led to the extinction of insects and therefore other species.
He warned that the risk could even reach humans. 70 percent of fruits and vegetables They come from plants with entomophilous pollination, that is, insects.
“So it was necessary to inject something into the ecosystem. Iberian bee load “This could delay the effects of one of the biggest risks, such as the Vespa velutina or Asian hornet, which is a voracious predator of this species and other honey bees and causes damage in Spain, especially in the north.”
He emphasized that Vespa velutina is here to stay and that the ecosystem must be given time for native species to adapt.
“In China, where Vespa velutina originated, the rest of the species evolved a behavior to protect themselves from it, which consisted of covering it in a ball and then raising the temperature until it died,” he explained.
He added that there are Iberian bees “They still don’t know how to do itBut they will probably learn eventually, and so the ecosystem needs to be given time to adapt.”
An Iberian bee for every Spaniard
“The project, which started in 2022, aims to expand Apis mellifera iberiensis across Spain with up to 47 million new bees over a two-year period.”one for each resident”.
To do this, El Rincón de la Abeja selects areas it considers most conducive to this expansion of the swarms, within the scope of sustainable beekeeping that always benefits the ecosystem.
In León, artisan beekeeper Beatriz Figueroa from Miel Camino de Santiago, a local company with a long tradition and sustainable production, is collaborating with the project.
He noted that a hive can house one to two in its initial stages. 5,000 and 6,000 beesAlthough this figure reaches 60,000 copies a few months later, the largest expansion occurs between spring and summer.
The Iberian bee has a morphology that distinguishes it from other races due to its dark color, being smaller than European bees, and having a longer tongue. They also have pale stripes and are tense and irritable. something aggressive.
Project open to new partners against the climate crisis
LG’s Sustainability Director and the person responsible for the project, Iris Marcos, emphasized that the initiative aims to alleviate the effects of the climate crisis.
Marcos’ comment is as follows: The project started in Montroy last year (Valencia) and currently has other locations such as Tenerife, Málaga, Huelva or Guadalajara.
The person responsible for the project appreciated the participation of other companies, such as the Guerlain cosmetics group, and encouraged other companies to join the initiative to “join forces in the pursuit of common interests.”