Fact 1

Our bees are definitely of the gentle variety and even come to “cuddle”.

Fact 2

All our bees do around 3 weeks of indoor service in the hive and 3 weeks of outdoor service collecting.

Fact 3

They produce about 15-20 kg of honey per colony, depending on the season.

Fact 4

In summer, around 40,000 bees live in our hive, in winter only 5,000.

Fact 5

We currently have 4 colonies of bees at our site and we plan to have more in the future.

Fact 6

In our bee colony there is a strong surplus of females, drones only make up a few hundred animals per hive.

Fact 7

Our beekeeper Werner recognises the ripe honey when our bees put a wax layer over the honey.

January/February:

At the beginning of the year, smaller preparations are made, such as scraping off wax residues or checking whether the flight hole is blocked. Our Werner has little work with the bees per se during this time, because they are in a state of rest during these cold months. By the way, a constant cold is best for our bees.

March:

From about 10-12 °C our bees make a cleaning flight, during which they empty their excrement bladder.

Insider tip from Werner:

On the first warm days in spring, do not hang up any white laundry outside, otherwise it could be used as a bee toilet.

To find out how the bees are doing and whether they are bringing in pollen, Werner observes the flights. If necessary, they have to be fed again.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)

April:

From 18-20 °C, the busy season begins, where the colony must be checked regularly. At the beginning of April or around the time of the cherry blossom, the bees get a second brood chamber, as the queen lays a lot of eggs during this time (up to 2,000/day).

Interesting facts:

Unfertilised eggs become drones, i.e. males, within 24 days and fertilised eggs become workers within 21 days. Since there should only be one queen, usually only workers are raised from the fertilised eggs.

May/June:

The colony must be observed more often to detect swarming at an early stage. The bees do not have enough space in their hive and breed a second queen. This queen leaves with about half of the hive. To avoid this, so-called swarm cells must be removed.

In addition, the first honey extraction is due at the beginning of June.

July:

Honey is extracted for the second time in mid-July. Afterwards, the animals are fed with sugar water to become strong for the winter and so that the queen can still lay numerous eggs.

August – December:

Winter feeding takes place, the honey chamber is removed and the hive is prepared for winter.

If you would like to know more about the tasks of a beekeeper, you can find further informationHERE.