Study team in Jumla investigating honeybee die-off

A team from the Bee Development Centre in Godavari, Lalitpur, has arrived in Jumla to investigate the recent deaths of honeybees in local households.

The investigation team, led by bee expert Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha, includes members Sunil Kumar Jaiswal and Dharma Jaishi from the Pesticide Development Division.

They have begun gathering data on the condition of the bees by consulting with local apiarists and the District Agriculture Office.

The team has started visiting farmers’ homes to inspect beehives. Balak Ram Devkota, Chief of the Agriculture Development Office in Jumla, reported that the bees in question are of the Apis cerana species.

On Monday, the experts visited Pere village in Patarasi Rural Municipality-1.

Today, they are scheduled to inspect beehives and consult with farmers in Guthi village of Guthichaur Rural Municipality.

In the coming days, the team plans to visit Tatopani and Chandannath to further investigate, including assessing beehives, bee pastures, diseases, and other potential threats.

Local farmers are hopeful that the expert team will provide solutions to the issues affecting their honeybees.