In the middle of the southeastern Pacific Ocean, Easter Island is home to a natural treasure that could help save the world’s most important pollinator: the bees. Rapa Nui’s bees are isolated from all the pathogens and pesticides that plague the world’s bee population, and as a result, produce the purest honey on the planet.
Interestingly, tests have shown that Easter Island bees are not related to the rest of the world’s bees, suggesting that the pollinators here are really different and may one day become the saviors of the species.
Not only are Easter Island bees the healthiest in the world, but they are also the most productive. Due to the pleasant climate of the island, spring almost all year round, the bees remain active throughout the year, along with the flowering of the plants.
According to the report of Oddity Central, colonies on the island produce between 90 and 120 kilograms of honey a year, compared to 20 kilograms produced by bee hives of similar size elsewhere.
The analysis of beekeepers
Due to the lack of bee diseases on Easter Island, beekeepers do not need antibiotics of any kind, and there is no risk of pesticide contamination. As a result, the honey produced here is considered the purest in the world.
Rapanui honey, as this nectar is sometimes called, it also has a more runny consistency than regular honey due to high moisture. “Here the farmers practically do not use pesticides, they use ancestral cultivation techniques”, said beekeeper Rodrigo Labras.
“The water is also completely natural, collected from the rain. They have clean water sources all over the island. But the main thing is that unlike bees in the world, they are not associated with any type of disease. And therefore we don’t have to apply any chemicals to the hive or to the bees.”.
Beekeepers on Easter Island in Chile are aware of the importance of their bees and how they can become the salvation of the species. With bee colonies around the world struggling to survive serious threats like pesticide poisoning, new diseases and climate change, Easter Island bees are probably the only bees in the world still unaffected by these issues.
