Viña Aresti conducts bee study in Curicó valley

Chilean winery Viña Aresti has carried out a study in order to better understand and protect the bombus dahlbomii, a species of bumblebee native to South America.

Carried out in conjunction with Universidad Católica del Maule, the study, started in October last year, aims to protect the endangered bee, which is close to extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Aresti aims to evaluate and learn more about the bee as part of study conducted in three areas in which the winery operates.

Matías Rivera, general manager of Aresti, said: “With this study, we mean to add value to our products and to bolster our role as one of the main wine producers in the Curicó valley, protecting and conserving the biodiversity of both plant species and the native bees associated in the fields.”

As a result of the study’s findings, Aresti will plant the plants that have proved the most popular and visited by the bees in order to preserve their habit.

Dr. Víctor Monzón, from the Department of Biological and Chemical Sciences at Universidad Católica del Maule, added: “Since the native bees are biological indicators, we can say that the environments studied are healthy, since we find species in all the study areas.”