In May we were delighted to welcome a million, very special new residents to the resort – honeybees. Overseen by Oriol Dalmau (our in-house biologist who looks after the grounds and gardens) and a professional apiculturist, eighteen new hives were installed along the south border of the resort and the bees were welcomed to their new home. Apis Mellifera Iberiensis, commonly known as the black bee, is typical to central Catalunya, but has been endangered since the 1950s and 60s when the use of pesticides and insecticides became more common place. Although agricultural practises have become much more bee friendly since then, the recent invasion of the Asian Wasp, which migrated across the Pyrenees from Southern France, has posed a new threat.
Oriol’s mission is to reintroduce the bee to a happier environment where endemic flora enable it to yield better honey while making inroads into keeping the wasps out. Although typical trapping methods have proven fairly unsuccessful over the years, the use of drones to locate and remove the Asian wasps nests at the top of poplar trees is helping reduce their numbers.
With our hives in place, we expect the first honey harvest by the end of the summer 2017, when the first batch of our Happy Bee Honey will be served at all of the resorts restaurants, and sold at the Pure Food Market at the golf Clubhouse.