How drought and pesticides are taking a toll on Chile’s crucial honeybees

Honeybees approaching the entrance of their hive at a farm in Colina on the outskirts of Santiago, Chile. Photos: Esteban Felix/AP

A drought has gripped Chile for 13 years and the flowers that fed Carlos Peralta’s honeybees around the central town of Colina have grown increasingly scarce.

He said he had lost about 300 hives since the start of last November and was left with a choice: try to keep the 900 that remained alive with an artificial nectar or move them to a place where flowers and pollen are more abundant.