Germany’s beekeepers harvested well in spring. On average, 18.4 kilos were collected per bee colony and thus 3.1 kilos more than the long-term average, said the specialist center for bees and beekeeping in Mayen, Rhineland-Palatinate, at the request of the dpa. In the same period last year, it was even more at 20 kilos.
It rained for a long time at the beginning of this spring, which is why many bees initially stayed in the hive and the population remained low, says Christoph Otten, head of the specialist center. “The bee year started late, but then went well with good weather.” The bees would have found a lot of pollen and a lot of nectar. “It was an above-average year.”
1.1 million bee colonies in Germany
In Germany there are an estimated 1.1 million bee colonies and 170,000 beekeepers, most of whom do this as a hobby or as a sideline. The specialist center for bees and beekeeping is responsible for an industry survey, in which around 6,400 beekeepers took part this time. It was about the spring harvest, which runs until mid-June, the so-called early forage.
Another survey is still ongoing for the late costume, which ended in mid-July. Separately from the survey, the specialist center obtains information on harvest and bee health from around 600 scales that are attached to beehives nationwide. Recently, the beehives were heavier than last year, so there was quite a lot of honey in them – that can be taken as a good sign that the summer honey bee will also be profitable.
Beekeepers did best in Schleswig-Holstein and in the eastern German states of Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Thuringia, where at least 26 kilos were thrown. However, only relatively few beekeepers took part in the survey there, so the kilograms are only meaningful to a limited extent. “It is clear that rapeseed fields brought in a lot of money again this year,” says beekeeping specialist Otten.
