TAIPEI: Under mulberry trees at a bee farm in Taipei’s suburbs, students watched intently as instructor Tsai Ming-hsien wafted smoke over a hive box, explaining to aspiring apiarists how to keep the insects happy in an urban setting.

His audience included entrepreneurs, retirees and even a six-year-old who reached eagerly for a frame pulled from the box, as Tsai demonstrated how bees can be kept calm with a smoker.

“Many join my class out of curiosity,” said the 43-year-old instructor who also heads the Bee and Wasp Conservation Association of Taiwan.

“They want to learn more about this insect, which has important economic values and a crucial role in agriculture.” Bee populations around the world are facing disaster from overuse of pesticides, predatory mites and extreme temperatures due to climate change.

That also spells catastrophe for humans, as three-quarters of the world’s main crops depend on bees to act as key pollinators.

Temperature and weather fluctuations in Taiwan have impacted honey output in recent years. From 2020 to 2021, it jumped nearly 60 per cent to 13,260 tonnes, before dropping to 9,332 tonnes the following year.

Tsai said recreational beekeeping in Taiwan has grown steadily over the past decade, with people tending about a dozen to up to 60 hive boxes in their yards or rooftop gardens. “The city is overdeveloped with less green space and declining biodiversity,” he said. “We hope this creature will act as a key to open more knowledge about nature and ecosystems.”

Published in Dawn, April 14th, 2024