No jiving, as huge ancient Moroccan beehive collapses

MOROCCO’S village of Inzerki is proud to claim it has the world’s oldest and largest collective beehive, but instead of buzzing with springtime activity, the colonies have collapsed amid crippling drought.

Beekeeper Brahim Chatoui says he has lost almost a third of his hives in just two months – and he is not alone.

“At this time of year, this area would normally be buzzing with bees,” said Chatoui, sweating under a blazing springtime sun. “Today, they’re dying at a terrifying rate.”

The North African kingdom has seen a dramatic spike in mass die-offs of the critical pollinators, a phenomenon called “colony collapse disorder”.

Worldwide, experts say such sudden mass deaths of bees are often linked to the destruction of nature and the rampant use of pesticides.

But authorities say these collapses are caused by the worst drought to hit the country in 40 years, which has decimated the plants on which bees rely for food.

The crisis is so acute that the government released 130 million dirhams (about R190m) ), to support beekeepers and investigate the cause of the bee deaths.

Morocco’s National Food Safety Office, which carried out the investigation, ruled out disease as a reason.

Instead, it blamed the spike in hive collapses on an intense drought driven by climate change.

Inzerki’s unique collective beehive sits on a sunny hillside in the heart of the Arganeraie Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO-protected 2.5-million-hectare region, some 415 kilometres south-west of the capital Rabat.

The complex is striking: A five-storeyed structure of wooden struts and dry mud stretch along a hillside, each compartment home to a cylindrical wicker hive, covered with a mix of earth and cow dung. Experts say it is the oldest traditional, collective beehive in the world, dating back to 1850, but today it is under threat amid a changing climate. “This year we hope for rain, because I have lost 40 hives so far,” Chataoui said.

“The aim isn’t to produce honey, but to protect the hives and make sure the bees survive until better days.”