Imagine opening up a jar of honey and finding, rather than the usual gold, blue or green honey. Ick, right? Unfortunately, that’s exactly what some French beekeepers have been finding, as they discovered that their bees desperately need a color management system. And the reason for it is one of those things that isn’t really funny but kind of is:
Bees in a cluster of beehives in northeastern France have been making honey in shades of blue in green, alarming bee keepers and leaving scientists to discover the reason of the occurrence. It’s now been determined that the bees have developed a taste preference for the residue from containers of the candy M&M’s processed at a nearby plant.
It could be worse: it could be Skittles. I await news of an impending obeesity epidemic. The honey is unsellable and, coupled with increased bee mortality rates and low honey production following a rough winter, French honey producers are finding themselves in a real sticky situation. I jest, but, again, it's really not all that funny:
France is one of the largest honey producers within the European Union, and releases 18,330 tons annually. Ribeauville has been best known for its vineyards, but there are about 2,400 beekeepers in Alsace who tend to 35,000 bee colonies and produce about 1,000 tons of honey per year.