While the destruction has resulted in substantial financial losses for the beekeepers, with a likely slip in honey production, it has also raised concern for the wellbeing of the Cape honeybee (Apis melliferra capensis) on which they all rely.
The Cape honeybee has the smallest distribution of any bee globally, extending through the fynbos tract from Cape Town to Port Elizabeth.
During the recent fires millions of the bees perished in cultivated and wild hives and many bee colonies which were not wiped out will now be swarming, looking for forage, beekeepers said yesterday.
Save Thornhill Bees coordinator Jackie Hume said while there were only three commercial beekeepers in the area, there were many more with hives spread out through Loerie, Wittkelip, Rocklands, Lady Slipper, Van Staden’s Gorge and Longmore – all of which were hit by the fires.
