Dear bee lovers and friends of the foundation,
February has begun and today, for the first time this year, I saw a bee on our porch looking for flowers. After a long search, she found a Christmas rose in a neighboring bed. It's high time to take a look at the past bee year and take stock.
We have structured the report as follows:
Research results 2022/2023.
Understanding bees. A plea for independent research.
Activities 2023
Outlook 2024
Ω Research results 2022/2023
The year began with the first inspection of the test colonies at the end of February, with the happy result that all 10 colonies had survived the winter by then. And that without any Varroa treatment in 2022. We heard “unbelievable” from fellow beekeepers when this result was presented. “Why” was the most frequently asked question in the conversation.
The answer for us is that it is becoming increasingly clear that if the honey harvest does not take place, we can make a significant contribution to bee health. Allowing swarm activity is equivalent. By swarming around 50% of the bee colony, the number of mites is reduced by 50%. The mite load before swarming was around 2.5%. Our measurements after the swarming, on June 30th, showed a load of 1.1%. As in the previous year, the burden was more than halved. As the development cycle continued and intensive breeding activity continued, the mite count rose continuously again and reached values of around 7% in November. The burden on conventionally managed colonies is 3 to 4 times higher than these values!
The third factor, which from our point of view was secondary, was that the bees were rarely disturbed by frequent inspections of the colonies. The honey stocks for all colonies at the end of February were in the range of 1.5 kg to 2.5 kg. This means that honey and pollen were consumed by the bees between 20 kg and 25 kg per colony during the months of November, December, January and February became. The remaining supplies were sufficient for all peoples.
Of course, this also has to do with allowing swarm activity. If this is to be suppressed, nine-day inspections are necessary, at least in the months of April/May to mid-June.
Of course, it is clear to us that these research results are not yet reliable after 3 years. But we see these initial results as confirmation that we are on the right path in the project, which we will continue to pursue consistently.
Here are further research results:
- The test colonies had honey supplies at the beginning of spring and
with the onset of the costume at 2.2 kg. The remaining supplies were
sufficient for all peoples. That would also be the case later
onset costume was the case.
- As in the previous bee year, we only had six
inspection reviews. We do this in the knowledge that every
Sighting is detrimental to bee health. We have the reasons for this
explained in more detail in the 2022/2021 annual report. Viewing dates were:
17.2., 22.6., 28.7., 30.8. and October 3, 2023.
- The bee population before wintering averaged 27,000.
Two colonies recorded populations of less than 15,000 bees, which
probably came about as a result of swarming. The
Honey/pollen supplies were also available to these relatively weak peoples
sufficiently filled.
Ω Understanding bees
It is well known that we can only understand bees to a limited extent. If things were different, the ever-increasing number of bee deaths would not occur. Close observation of the animals, time and patience for it and taking “new” paths help to develop a deeper understanding.
World Bee Day, which takes place every year on May 20th, also aims to understand how to keep bees in a way that is appropriate to their nature. Many useful measures and projects are offered, such as the bee rescuer project. However, upon closer inspection, the picture from our perspective is too one-sided. The criteria for the death of bees are
too little living space,
Lack of food
and toxic pesticides
specified. All three points are correct and important. But from our point of view, that fell short. With the exception of the issue of food supply, we have virtually no ability to influence these points, where we can ensure blooming gardens and balconies. Can we or the beekeepers tell city planners not to seal even more areas? Can we tell agriculture or politics to finally ban toxic environmental toxins known as pesticides? Let's just look at the years-long "wrestle" within the EU over just a single active ingredient (glyphosate).
The way to really do something efficiently for bee health, immediately, is primarily through us. About genuinely interested people, about initiatives that address actionable topics (such as blooming landscapes), about beekeepers who don't simply accept the current situation but fight for better bee health and certainly also about institutions like our foundation, which are reputable and not financed by outside sources Research work thinks about options other than the three points listed above.
The fact that World Bee Day takes place on May 20th, the birthday of Anton Janscha (born 1734), has a memorable aftertaste for us. Mr. Janscha is considered to be the inventor of the hive operation method, which has a lot to do with good “honey harvests” and little to do with proper beekeeping.
Dear readers and friends of the foundation, please do not understand the above statements to mean that we want to create a negative mood against the initiative mentioned here. On the contrary, we welcome any approach that helps more people care and get involved in the endangered bee world. But we have the desire to really make a comprehensive effort. The mite has come into focus since the early 1970s. The major threat quickly became clear to everyone who was informed and the issue has now developed into a major global problem. Many millions of euros or dollars have certainly already been invested in research and, when viewed soberly, have had no effect. It is therefore high time to think in other directions and explore the topic completely freely. The concordiaNATURA Foundation wants to make a contribution to this.
Ω Activities 2023
An important point was once again an “open day”, which was very popular and provided time to answer many questions about bees. We were particularly happy to have some Hungarian guests. With German, English and a few words of Hungarian, communication wasn't easy, but it was definitely fun and helped us understand each other despite the language barriers.
At the beginning of November, a lecture by the foundation took place in Somogyvár under the topic “The fascination of bees – who will save the threatened sky people?” We were very pleased with the very interested audience. You can find more detailed reports on this in another blog post on this website.
November 24th was also an important day. On this day, with 3 participants, we created the “shell” of a log hive from a piece of tree trunk. The loot will be completed in the next few weeks and more will follow.
We met friends and supporters of the foundation on December 22nd. Thank you with a small celebration around the open fire - budget-neutral.
Ω Outlook 2024
We were very pleased to be invited again to another lecture in Somogyvar. The theme this year will be our wild bees. Further information and the date will be announced on this website in due course.
We will also be holding the “Open Day” again, probably in the summer.
The log hive project will accompany us this spring. The move in of additional bee colonies is also planned.
We are currently in the process of taking photos of existing magazine hives with a thermal imaging camera. We will probably be able to present the results in March.
We are looking forward to the new bee year that is now beginning and would like to thank our supporters again. The great response here makes us very happy.
Kind regards and be(e) good,
Yours
Klaus Heinzel
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