The bees died in a strip of land of around 6 kilometres between Brescia and Cremona in Italy. The cause of the deaths of millions of the insects on August 7 and 8 is not yet known.
Beekeeper Edoardo Mombelli described the deaths of the bees as “inexplicable”.
He said: “In my experience as a beekeeper I have never witnessed such a violent and massive phenomenon, truly inexplicable even for fellow beekeepers in the area.
“The balance is heavy and not yet definitive, but we will strive to restore the local beekeeping heritage as soon as possible.
“Fortunately this is a limited area, and the hives located in neighbouring municipalities and in other areas of the province have not experienced any problems.”
The Forestry Corps and the Ats of Brescia and Cremona have launched an investigation.
They have taken samples of bees and honey in a bid to work out what happened.
Farming organisation Coldiretti described the deaths as a “catastrophe” due to the importance of bees to the environment.
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Beekeepers are very active in the area.
In Brescia the dead bees were found in Villagana and Bompensiero.
In Cremona they were discovered in Azzanello and Genivolta.
The mysterious deaths of the bees in Italy comes as numbers of the insects have been falling in recent years.
Research by the Institute of Beekeeping at the University of Bern has recorded spikes of up to 40 percent in deaths of bees in winter.
The research also found increasing deaths during the spring and summer.
Bees are important as they pollinate around a third of the food we eat.
Additional reporting by Maria Ortega.