Beekeeping: the Mauritian bee and its challenges

Apis mellifera unicolor is a subspecies described by Latreille in 1804. It belongs to the African lineage of Apis mellifera and is considered indigenous to the islands around Madagascar — that is the Comoros, Madagascar, Réunion, and Mauritius. Large-scale mitochondrial DNA analyses published in BMC Genomic Data in 2017 confirmed that it forms a distinct African sub-group private to the south-west Indian Ocean islands⁸.

The situation in Mauritius specifically is nuanced: the same study found Mauritian colonies carried roughly 44% European lineage, compared with under 5% in Réunion. This higher proportion is attributed to recent imports of European queens. The authors note that two apiaries owned by the same beekeeper who imported European queens may skew the figure upward.

Varroa destructor, the parasitic mite behind the collapse of many colonies worldwide, was first suspected in Mauritius in July 2014 and confirmed by two field surveys in September and November 2014⁹. It was detected first in the centre and north of the island and not yet on Rodrigues at that time. The authors identified a strain distinct from the one present in Madagascar, dubbed the Mauritius K strain.

The impact was immediate. National honey production, estimated at around 35 tonnes a year before 2014, fell below 25 tonnes in 2015 under the combined effect of Varroa and the small hive beetle (Aethina tumida). The most recent data from the 2024 Agricultural Census show a recovery to 42 tonnes on Mauritius and 42 tonnes on Rodrigues for 2023–2024⁷.

Beyond Varroa, Mauritian colonies face two further parasites:

• Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida): native to sub-Saharan Africa, it weakens colonies and damages stored honeycomb.
• Bee louse (Braula pretoriensis): historically present on the island, its population has risen in Varroa-infested colonies⁹.

Cyclone season (January–March) adds a mechanical risk: violent wind, heavy rain, frame losses. And pesticide drift from neighbouring crops (sugarcane, market gardens) is a diffuse ongoing threat. We choose our hive sites accordingly.

Our hives are in the Trou d'Eau Douce area, Flacq district, on the east coast. Our core principles:

• Hand harvesting. We extract cold, without industrial heating. The honey keeps its enzymes and aromatic compounds.
• No inter-beekeeper blending. Every batch is traced to a specific apiary and extraction.
• Minimised Varroa treatment. We use methods recognised in organic beekeeping when possible and only the products necessary when parasite load requires it.
• Jar return programme. Our jar return programme lets customers bring back clean jars in exchange for a discount.
• Hive sponsorship. Our hive sponsorship programme supports pollination and local biodiversity in exchange for honey from "your" hive.