Country

Belgium

Belgium has a surprisingly strong honey story. In February 2025, Miel wallon became a protected geographical indication, tying the honey specifically to Wallonia and to a regional method of carefully controlled crystallization that creates an unusually fine, spreadable texture. Southern Belgium also holds something rarer: around Chimay and Momignies, beekeepers are protecting the European dark honeybee, Apis mellifera mellifera. Chimay created a protected zone for the bee in 2004, and modern conservation work includes controlled queen mating designed to maintain and distribute dark-bee genetics. Belgian honey therefore offers two different Atlas stories close together: a newly protected regional honey tradition and a conservation effort around an old native bee population.