Construction of a collective honey house for the Pays Nantais (area around the city of Nantes) and a conservation apiary for the European dark bee

Today, the European dark bee makes up only 10% of the total honey bee population in France. In an attempt to reintroduce the species in the Loire-Atlantique department, queen bees from the island of Ouessant will be transferred to a conservation apiary adjoining the collective honey house described below. The queens will be raised with the help of a laboratory.

It should also be noted that in 2018 almost half the country’s hives were wiped out, with some beekeepers losing up to 95% of their bees. This decline in numbers places further strain on beekeepers caught between constantly changing regulations, the need to offer high-quality products, and the import of foreign honey.

The aim of this project, implemented by CETA (Centre d’Étude Technique Apicole de Loire Atlantique), is to respond to these challenges. Setting up a collective honey house will offer both professional and amateur beekeepers material assistance, providing high-quality equipment to enable them to work in the best possible conditions and meet current European standards. To reduce their financial burden, extraction, packing, storage and artificial insemination equipment will be available on a cost-sharing basis. Finally, a training and knowledge-sharing network will be created. This collective honey house is one of the first to be set up in France.

Check out this video introducing the project (in French):