The mystery of the bees that produce blue and green honey

October 5, 2012

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Beekeepers in France were confused after seeing how bees produce honey in colors, blue and green.

Now the mystery was solved after detecting a nearby biogas plant in northeastern France that processed candy M & M.

Since August, beekeepers around the town of Ribeauville in the Alsace region saw bees returning to their hives carrying colorful substances that then transformed the new natural tones of honey.

Determined to solve the mystery, beekeepers embarked on a research and found that a biogas plant to 4 km away was producing M & M candies in red, blue, green, yellow and brown.

About a dozen beekeepers were affected and are dealing with high bee mortality reducing supplies of honey after a hard winter.

Agrivalor, the company that operates the biogas plant, said it had tried to solve the problem after being notified of it by the beekeepers.

France is one of the largest honey producers in the European Union, with 18,330 tons per year, according to a recent audit by the national agency FranceAgriMer farm.