THE BEST OF THE WORLD (ARE AT RISK)
The accomplices of a success
Bees are a crucial component of the life of each of us. It is estimated that about 84% of plant species and 76% of food production in Europe of plant breeding is related to bees and Bombi (their wild cousins). If the plants do not reproduce and herbivores die what would remain to carnivores? Death would be almost inevitable ... and the extinction of bees (not so far unfortunately) it would be the cause. A famous scientist who, as a boy, ran through the mountains and meadows of Liguria said many years ago:
"If bees were to disappear from the surface of the Earth, for man would remain no more than four years of life. No more bees, no more pollination and therefore no men." (Albert Einstein).
Well, also here, in Perti our family from decades owns and breeds bees, the main goal is to pollinate orchard, vineyard, gardens, the honey production (a particular millefiori, with hints of strawberry, giuggiolo, citrus, Oleas fragans, apricot, etc.), is still there but it's at its minimum even though exceptional and affordable. Pollination is difficult especially for the olive grove and is helped by us through bees and the presence of dedicated olive trees ... Our bees are the famous Ligurian bees and just like many bees in the world they are suffering; the number of bees born does not exceed the one of the dead bees. The decrease of hives in Europe (especially in the UE countries) is at 50%, in Italy we have 30% but there is no difference for USA or Japan. Bees appeared about 25 million years ago, their appearance is linked to the development of entomophilous (plants that reproduce themselves thanks to the action of pollinating insects). The ligustica bee is originally from Italy. This subspecies was formed by surviving the era of glaciation (10,000 years ago, the last great one) as the subspecies of Spain and Sicily. It is the world's most popular subspecies of honeybees, and very appreciated among beekeepers, as it has proven to be adaptable to most climates from subtropical to temperate and to have important quality both in man relationship (can be defined as meek) both the high productivity of honey and pollination capacity; Ligurian bee can successfully deal with the cold European winters and enjoy the most temperate and humid seasons.
Years ago, surfing the net I discovered a wonderful truth that perhaps one day could be a lifeline to fight extinction. The "Australian treasure" and the possible importance of Australia for our future. It is not a joke on the similarity between Perti and Perth but a truth. I don't know how many men have ever been in Australia (I do not) but many Ligurian lived there for centuries! Yes, many of us (the bees) because there is a whole society, an example of Ligurian organization that lives in Australia. If you go in South Australia or search it on the net you will discover that there is an uninhabited island, far enough from the coast to make difficult the arrival of insects from the coast itself.
It is Kangaroo Island the third largest island of Australia. The current inhabitants, touting in any way the main product of this island: honey. The island is a paradise for those who love honey. But the surprise is the exaltation of the bees, the producers of this goodness. Ligurian bees, unexpectedly. In fact in the island there are exclusively Ligurian bees. The mystery is revealed by history. At the end of the nineteenth century (1884) it was decided to encourage the production of honey, and what later became the Chamber of Commerce of South Australia decided to officially support the spread of bees on the island.
Searching for the world best bees they chose one species "melliflica ligustica", and they were right. The production provided a wonderful honey, as expected from the best bee of the world. You will find that for some years the bees were already introduced on the island in 1822 since they were "unloaded" from the ship Isabella following a Swiss beekeeper from the Grigioni Canton, then their presence can be dated even at the beginning of the century (800). Hardly bees and other insects could reach the island, far from the mainland coast but to protect the bees, the Australians decided to stop playing with other species and then to ban imports of honey and other bee (there is even a law from 1931 that prohibits the import to preserve the purity of the breed). Try going to Kangaroo and you will be checked, you cannot introduce no honey or bees. Now, this island has become famous not only for its production but also for exporting Ligurian bees.
The island has become a showcase where the Ligurian bees live and can, if desired, be spread where there was the need (they have been sold in the rest of Australia and in various Asian countries like Singapore, Japan, etc.) to reconstruct a gene pool where it was extinguished. To be precise, the ligustica bee or Italian bee (Apis mellifera ligustica Spinola, 1806) is a subspecies of the bee (Apis mellifera). The question is why it is called ligustica. The answer is due to their discoverer, the great botanist Maximilian Spinola (1780 -1857) who was an Italian entomologist, born in France. The Marquis was an ordinary member of the Entomological Society of London. His passion was the insects study (and collection). The Spinola family owned land in many continents in particular in different European countries and in South America, possessions that were very useful in studies.
He studied beetles and wasps and various insects but his most important discoveries were on classifications of bees. Among the treatises he wrote, for me, the most interesting is the famous "1806. Insectorum Liguriae Species novae aut Rariores, quas in agro Ligustico nuper detexit, descripsit, et iconibus illustravi ". Genuæ1806 edition. As you have guessed being a Spinola can only be considered (and thus he considered himself) a Genoese or rather a Ligurian, and in the book, having identified the (first) Italian bee he described and classified it as " Ape mellifer ligustica Spinola in 1806" in order to not forget his birth land. The family of Spinola is one of the most important in the history of Liguria and Genoa; Massimiliano Spinola was a descendant of a famous general in the service of Spain Genoese Ambrogio Spinola (1569-1630) winner for the Spanish Empire of many battles the most popular (the conquest of Breda during the war of Flanders) and beautifully represented by the famous painting Today the Velázquez at the Prado in Madrid.
CHARACTERISTICS:
Apis mellifera ligustica
Domain: Eukaryota, Kingdom: Animalia, Sottoregno: Eumetazoa, Branch: Bilateria, Phylum: Arthropoda, Subphylum: Tracheata, Superclass: Hexapoda, Class: Insecta, Subclass: Pterygota, Coorte: Endopterygota, Superorder: Oligoneoptera, Section: Hymenopteroidea, Order: Hymenoptera, Sottordine: Apocrita, Section: Aculeata, Superfamiglia: Apoide, Family: Apidae, Tribe: Apini, Gender: Apis, Species: Apis mellifera, Subspecies: Apis mellifera ligustica (Spinola, 1806).
ANATOMY
