Crete and the whole nation of Greece has been recently hit by a snowstorm that most of us did not expect to be so massive. This phenomenon is quite rare in Crete since the last time it happened was 10 years ago, yet it has both pros and cons for our land.
Is Snow Good for Crete?
Regarding our olive oil production, we are still producing olive oil, thus we also need to take care of our trees, our olive trees, from the fierce cold. Olive oil production starts in October and can go on until February.
It is scientifically proven that snow does disinfect everything. This is vital for our olive trees, but also for our beehives and honey production.
Bees are very sensitive to the snow, thus when they feel that it is cold they most probably die. This is because they need more food and it is hard for them to leave the hive under such circumstances.
What do bees do in order to protect themselves from the cold?
Bees have a mechanism that can help them keep the hive’s temperature to 32-33C. They do so by creating a sphere of friction within the hive. Bees start rubbing themselves up to one another. The ones in the center of the sphere start going on the outside part in order for the outer bees to start getting warm. It’s mesmerizing how bees are so smart to do so.
They even long to go outside and work in order to produce honey, they are very work-centered. For this reason, during really cold winter days with sun, they think that spring has come and they go outside of the hive without realizing that it’s too cold, and when they are outside, they die.
As honey producers, we need to be really careful and take really good care of our hives in order to provide you with the best honey in Crete.
