Highs and lows of Tuscany's honey harvest - According to the Apiculture Association of Siena, Grosseto and Arezzo, 'multiflower' Tuscan honey has witnessed a 50% increase in production since the end of 2006.
With 20,000 tons of honey so far this year, the region currently produces 15% of all the honey harvested in Italy.
Just the small town of Moltalcino, which recently celebrated its 31st edition of 'Honey Week', produces 1.1% of the national total.
While honey from multiple flowers has doubled in volume, single-bloom varieties are becoming harder to come by.
Honeys made with acacia, oak chestnut, clover, eucalyptus and rosemary have all seen a drastic fall in production.
"Last winter's extremely mild temperatures and the varied climate we experienced in the first half of 2007, created a bit of instability. As flowering periods inevitably start to overlap, bees become disoriented by the simultaneous availability of many types of pollens. We're starting to see mixtures we've never seen before , explained ASGA President Hubert Ciacci.
