Halloween is around the corner and candy factories are in full blast. This is great news for the candy business but for a town in France, the bees are creating honey that can match any colour of candy out there.
The unnatural shades of honey compared to the original appearance.
Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/slideshow/idUSBRE8930MQ20121005#a=1
In the town of Ribeauville, beekeepers found that the bees were making honey in shades of blue and green. Although the honey still tastes normal, beekeepers are unable to sell the honey due to their unnatural shade. They noticed in August that the bees were bringing back colourful substances that were the cause of the honey being different colours. After some investigation, they discovered a company called Agrivalor that owns a biogas plant 4 km away from the town. This company had been processing waste from a Mars plant which created colourful M&M candies. It turns out that they were leaving the waste in open containers which then allowed the bees to take the residues back to their hive.
Anatomy of a Bee, note where the “honey stomach” is located. Source: http://www.bees-online.com/beexray.gif
Bees begin their honey process by gathering nectar from flowers and storing them in a separate stomach that’s considered to be the “nectar backpack” or honey stomach. Since the biogas plant left the waste in the open, this was the easiest sugar source for the bees to gather instead of taking nectar from flowers.
This turn of events troubles the beekeepers as they are unable to profit from honey sales which were already suffering from a decline of the bee population. This decline may be attributable to a couple of factors like habitation loss, pesticides or the colony collapse disorder. Just in the United States, an average of 33% of bee colonies has been lost during the winter months these past years according to the USDA.
The improper disposal of waste has already affected many businesses and the lives of the town residents. Taking shortcuts and using quick fix procedures may help a company in a short run but it may have serious ramifications in the future. Bees are one of the essential organisms that help the world flourish and plants to grow. With bee populations on the decline, they do not need any more human mistakes to add to the growing list of factors affecting their livelihood.
Blog post submitted by: Tiffany Ho
