The latest Slow Food Presidium is a bee and not a product of the earth, an artisanal product, or a product of livestock farming, sheep farming or the sea, but it is as old as the world. To get a concrete idea, theoldest bee was found in Myanmar, within an amber whose age exceeds 100 million years. Because when man appeared on earth, bees had already completed their evolution and were already making their precious contribution to human nutrition, as attested by a very ancient cave painting of over 10.000 years ago in which a man can be seen who drives away bees with fire from a beehive to seize honeycombs.
The bee in question with which Slow Food celebrates World Bee Day is theApe nera del Ponente Ligure is a native bee, an ecotype resulting from a stable natural hybridization that has been going on for millennia: that between the blond bee, the Apis mellifera ligustica endemic to the Italian peninsula, and the black Apis mellifera mellifera, coming from nearby France. The area in which this occurs is limited and roughly coincides with the province of Imperia, at the western end of Liguria: «A harsh and harsh border area, between the sea and the mountains and partly uninhabited» he says Luciano Barbieri, trustee of the Slow Food Val Nervia Convivium and Eight Places. An area characterized by narrow and long valleys that are often inaccessible and wild where this population of bees has found the ideal habitat to develop.
In fact, the black bee has perfectly adapted to the microclimate and flora of western Liguria, learning to manage resources and to fly even in adverse weather conditions. «It is a very resistant ecotype, I would say almost rustic, but it can also be very generous and economically advantageous in breeding precisely because it is already adapted to its environment and constantly evolving with it» he explains Fabrizio Zagni, beekeeper, beekeeping technician from Apiliguria, contact person for the three Presidium producers.
Le beekeepers which preserve the black bee of Ponente Liguria are from small size: from the breeding of bees they obtain honey - mainly wildflowers of Mediterranean scrub, heather, chestnut, propolis and pollen. In the management of beehives it is the practice of beekeepers to leave families with a sufficient quantity of honey to face the winter period
Fabrizio, now XNUMX, became passionate about the black bee of Western Liguria about twenty years ago: «It was Nuccio Lanteri, also a technician from the Imperia section of the Apiliguria association, who introduced me to this job» he explains. Since that day, the association has been promoting the breeding of the local black bee following non-invasive practices that respect the needs of this ecotype. «Personally, I consider myself more of a keeper than an owner of my bees - says Zagni -. Raising an insect on which a large part of pollination and common well-being depends is a great responsibility. Introducing other subspecies in this area, on the other hand, means damaging our native bees and our work".
The most interesting characteristic of the black bee of Western Liguria lies in its ability to resist the threats that endanger the survival of many other bees, and especially the mite called Varroa destroyer: «Together with pesticides and climate change, Varroa is the main cause of all beekeepers' ills – continues Zagni -. In the early XNUMXs we began to observe the wild colonies of black bees in the area, noting how often they managed to survive this mite without any treatment or intervention from the beekeeper”
Among the factors that help bees to survive is being autochthonous, i.e. native to this area. For them, knowing the climate and the environment is a plus because they can adapt more easily. In fact, it is precisely the environment that has selected them over the millennia: they have evolved and adapted, they have overcome enormous challenges and we believe that they will still be able to continue to do so, if only we give them the chance».
But there are dangers. Even this bee, in fact, in addition to dealing with the disastrous effects of climate change, the use of pesticides in agriculture and attacks by Vespa velutina (an insect also known as the Asian hornet which feeds its larvae by hunting bees in flight), must also deal with genetic erosion. In other words, the black bee of western Liguria risks disappearing due to the repeated introduction by man of other subspecies of bees or commercial hybrids.
The reproduction of bees, unlike what happens for many other farmed animal species, does not in fact take place in a controlled environment, but in the so-called nuptial flight: «The risk is that the queen bee is fertilized by drones (the males of the bees, ed ) of other subspecies and that thus the work of selection and the adaptation made by nature is dispersed. We have simply avoided introducing other subspecies, breeding the one that survived: those who have done so are now observing the benefits – continues Zagni -. At least in our area and with our bees, we believe it is right to practice beekeeping that allows bees to draw from their ancient genetic makeup the resources necessary to overcome future challenges".
“For this reason we believe and invest in beekeeping practices that allow bees to find the answers to increasingly difficult environmental challenges in their genetic resources. For us, the Slow Food Presidium is the recognition of a long and silent journey, which continues today, made by beekeepers and researchers together».
On this occasion, Slow Food invites everyone to contribute to reaching 1 million signatures to ask the European Union to put an end to the use of harmful pesticides, the main causes of bee deaths, by joining the European Citizens' Initiative Let's save bees and farmers.
