The authorities will support beekeepers who have lost bees in Stavropol

In the Stavropol Territory, support measures will be introduced for beekeepers of the Ipatovsky district who have lost bees due to the treatment of fields with pesticides. Governor Vladimir Vladimirov instructed to work out these measures.

StavropolMedia news agency writes that the death of bees was recently recorded in several local farms. Eyewitnesses posted photos on social media of lifeless insect carcasses covering areas near the hives. At the same time, they noted that the insects became aggressive, fell and spun.

The head of the region gave the Ministry of Agriculture and the district administration a week to figure out the causes of the incident. Officials should meet with beekeepers, assess the damage they have suffered and offer support measures. In addition, the specialists will have to establish who owns the fields, how they were processed and for what reason the beekeepers were not warned about the upcoming work.

In April, the Federal Scientific Center for Beekeeping reported that in recent decades there has been a decline in the number of bee populations in Russia. According to the center, the situation is of concern to both scientists and beekeepers. Among the main reasons are climatic changes leading to abnormal weather conditions, as well as the active use of agrochemicals. Experts stressed that herbicides and insecticides of high hazard classes, which have a toxic effect on bee colonies, pose a particular threat.