Review first half of 2025

• worse start to the new bee year

January 2025. The rosemary is blooming.

When looking at this picture, one wonders about the subheading “worse start to the new bee year.” Unfortunately, this was the case at all locations here. And unfortunately, there are no rosemary fields here to provide sufficient food.

Back in January, we reported here on weather anomalies with extreme temperature fluctuations. These surprised us and, above all, the bees throughout January and February. First, our beefriends were surprised by daytime temperatures between 15° and 20° Celsius. The high daytime temperatures motivated the bees to go on extensive foraging trips. Many then found their way back due to sharp and rapid drops in temperature in the afternoon. The bees that survived these excursions returned without pollen and nectar.

In February, we recorded temperatures of up to 15° Celsius at our research station, even at night. This led to the queens already starting to lay eggs at this point. The energy consumed by egg laying and brood care was not nearly covered by the pollen and nectar collected. Against this backdrop, all reserves for the winter were already depleted by the end of February. The only solution was massive supplementary feeding. However, due to the sharp drop in temperatures at the end of February, this feeding was only partially accepted. It was a disastrous situation that affected all the beekeepers we know in the region. Those who failed to recognize this deficiency often lost up to 100% of their bee colonies. Unfortunately, this was not an isolated case.

Under these circumstances, the loss rate in Hungary rose to around 50%.

In Germany, too, the Center for Bees and Beekeeping in Mayen estimates a loss rate of up to 30%. After the relatively good results in the 2023/2024 bee year, with a loss rate of around 15%, this is a dramatic increase. The Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) is considered the main cause of losses in Germany.

On World Bee Day, BUND once again called for a significant reduction in the use of pesticides in agriculture. Corinna Hölzel (BUND pesticide officer) referred to the death of honey bees and wild bees. Of the approximately 560 species of wild bees still existing in Germany, about 50% are threatened with extinction.

The situation in neighboring Austria is also not satisfactory. The Austrian Beekeepers' Association reports losses of 22.5%. In addition to the spring bloom, there is also concern here about the increasing bee disease Nosema ceranae. This fungal disease occurs in “winter colonies.” The professional association is asking whether these diseases correlate with fungicide spraying. Increased hygiene measures can help with prevention.

A look across the ocean to the US also does not paint a rosy picture. Professional beekeepers lost 62% of their colonies here last season. Among hobby beekeepers, the loss rate was 50% for smaller beekeepers. Beekeepers with up to 500 colonies suffered a loss rate of 54%. This is a sad record result, with a total loss of 1.1 million colonies.

Back to Hungary. The extreme weather conditions also took their toll on our bee populations. We lost 25% of our colonies. The fact that this is significantly less than our neighbors is only a small consolation. The rate is unacceptable. We see starting points for improving the situation in

- timely expansion of the honey chamber, which would give the bees the opportunity to build up larger winter reserves,

- and improving the insulation and cooling of the beehives in summer. Our counts have shown that the number of Varroa mites increases significantly when temperatures in the hive rise.

We are already working on both of these points as part of our research project. We will report on the results.

Overall, the situation shows us that our research work is becoming increasingly important. Setbacks are inevitable, but they spur us on in a positive sense to expand our activities.

With this in mind, best regards and be(e) good,

Yours sincerely,

Klaus Heinzel