Beyond The Comino Massacre: Maltese Honey Bees Are In More Danger Than We Thought

Outrage was sparked from both the public and concerned beekeepers when photos of an alleged Comino bee massacre surfaced online. Now, it turns out Malta’s honeybees are in more danger than we thought… and bee genocide isn’t even the main cause of it.

Following last week’s series of disturbing photos and videos, Malta Beekeepers’ Association (MBA) condemned the action and any other actions that are damaging towards honey bees. MBA also took the opportunity to raise awareness on the current situation; that the native honeybee of Malta (Apis mellifera ruttneri) is in serious danger despite this episode.

“We would like also to emphasise that a much greater damage is happening everyday to our local honey bees”

Damage is being made by the movement of non-native bees into the Maltese Islands, which threatens the Maltese honey bees in their native environment. The native bee is “one subspecies out of only 10 residing in Europe and it is currently being genetically polluted from other non-native honey bees,” Vice President of MBA, Jorge Spiteri, told Lovin Malta.

The MBA is currently urging authorities to take on measures towards the conservation of the unique native honey bee, as it is only a matter of time before it becomes a truly endangered species.

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