NAIROBI ― Temperature can increase bee colony loss in dry, hot and wet seasons, but a study has found that beekeepers practicing water provision to the bees experience up to 10% less decrease.

The yearlong research conducted among bee farmers in Kenya revealed that between October 2021 and September 2022, the farmers lost an average of 36% of their honeybee colonies due to climate change effects.

Bees play a vital role in the pollination of plants, with honeybees offering additional benefits to farmers through the production of valuable commodities such as honey, beeswax, royal jelly and propolis. Among the various species of bees, honeybees are particularly significant for agricultural producers due to their substantial economic contributions. The Western honey bee (Apis mellifera L.) is the most preferred species among beekeepers globally.

The study used face-to-face interviews as its method of data collection to estimate honeybee decrease and to explore environmental (temperature and precipitation) and water provision effects on colonies decrease.

It found that the colony losses were greater during the hot and dry periods (up to 31.9%) compared with the wet and cold periods (up to 20.2%). The study was done on a total of 589 beekeepers from different areas including coastal areas, semiarid regions, and tropical forests in Kenya, ensuring a representative sample of climate variations and beekeeping practices.

Despite worldwide programs committed to addressing concerns about the health of managed honey bees, this study found little data available on colony losses in Africa, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.

“This study provides the first large-scale estimates of honeybee livestock decrease in Kenya. It highlights that higher temperatures increase livestock decrease, but precipitation can mitigate these effects,” says Malena Sibaja Leyton, co-author of the study and a Ph.D. candidate at the French National Centre for Scientific Research.

“Additionally, it identifies water supplementation as an adaptive management strategy, reducing livestock [bee colonies] decrease by up to 10% during the dry and hot season. These findings are of interest to beekeepers in Kenya and sub-Saharan Africa, where similar climatic conditions prevail, by helping them to develop strategies to sustain their honeybee livestock,” Leyton tells Mongabay.

“We found that providing water to bees helps reduce livestock decrease during hot and dry periods, which could represent a strategy for beekeepers to maintain their colonies,” she says.

Other than providing water to their colonies, Leyton also explains that seasonal temperature and precipitation patterns could help beekeepers take other preventive measures, such as relocating their colonies, providing supplementary feeding during food shortages or ensuring sufficient shade to protect their colonies from high temperatures.

“The information gathered can be used by beekeepers and policymakers as evidence for supporting sustainable beekeeping initiatives. Scientists can also use our findings for further research on climate-bee interactions in the tropics and to explore further factors we did not consider,” Leyton adds.

Daniel Waigwa, a beekeeper and manager of Urban Beekeepers, a beekeeping consulting company, understands the economic value of bees, and as such has a hands-on approach when managing his honeybee farm in Nyeri county in Kenya.

Waigwa concurs with the study, saying there is a direct effect of climate change on honeybee production.

“We do indeed experience losses in honeybee production during certain periods, especially in cases [of] extended drought seasons,” Waigwa tells Mongabay.

“Such periods are characterized by dried-up water points and limited access to plants and fruits such as mangoes, which are a honeybee favorite. Also, while precipitation can support plant growth and provide forage for bees, its variability matters,” he says.

“Honeybee losses translate into money losses [for] people who rely on their products as our primary source of income,” he adds.

Waigwa says there is a need to come up with lasting solutions to counter the adverse effects of climate change on their livestock and produce.

“Kenyan beekeepers may need to adapt their practices, such as relocating hives, providing supplementary feeding or water and selecting bee strains more resilient to heat and the ever-changing environmental conditions,” Waigwa tells Mongabay.

According to Ezekiel Ndunda, a lecturer in environmental and natural resource economics at Kenya’s Kenyatta University, studies should be conducted over several years to determine how declines in honeybee populations fluctuate with longer-term climatic patterns and variability.

“The interaction between temperature and precipitation emphasizes the complexity of climate impacts on beekeeping, thus the need for even longer study periods. We need to integrate climate change models to predict future scenarios for honeybee populations, examining how projected changes in temperature and precipitation will likely affect beekeeping,” Ndunda says.

“These findings highlight the necessity for adaptive management practices in beekeeping to improve colony survival amid climate change. The potential for water supplementation as a mitigation strategy is encouraging, implying that beekeepers could adopt supportive practices to lessen the negative effects of climate variability,” he adds.

Ndunda emphasizes the need to investigate other regions in sub-Saharan Africa to compare results and understand how different climates impact honeybee survival.

Also, he proposes an evaluation of the impact of beekeeping education on the adoption of climate adaptation practices, such as water supplementation, and to identify what types of training would be most beneficial for Kenyan beekeepers.

“We should also combine climatic data with socioeconomic factors, such as market access and beekeeping practices, to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the challenges faced by beekeepers,” Ndunda says.

Banner image: Honey Bee, Apis mellifera flying back to its hive carrying pollen in a pollen basket. Image courtesy of Muhammad Mahdi Karim via Wikimedia Commons (GNU Free Documentation License).

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Citation:

Sibaja Leyton, M., Lattorff, H. M., Kiatoko, N., & Requier, F. (2025). Climate effects on honey bees can be mitigated by beekeeping management in Kenya. Journal of Environmental Management, 374, 123879. doi:10.1016/j.jenvman.2024.123879