A Bavarian club of beekeepers has managed to create interest in apiculture among residents as a dozen of newbies started looking after hives, it has emerged.
Karlheinz Dausch – who heads the Schwarzenfeld Association of Beekeepers – revealed that 12 newcomers had begun managing 20 honeybee colonies overall in 2022. They have been given advice all along the way by experienced apiarists who act as mentors, Karlheinz explained.
In recent years, the association – which currently has around 170 members – intensified its attempts to present beekeeping as an attractive leisure-time activity with enormous environmental benefits.
Karlheinz – whose organisation runs a popular apiculture museum – also confirmed that there would be various workshops and courses on offer this year following the wide acclaim of lectures in 2022.
A two-hour information event aimed at beginners will take place on 12th February (2.30pm) whereas an eight-hour workshop focusing on hornets starts at 9am on 11th March.
In 2022, the Schwarzenfeld beekeepers’ blossom honey harvest figures rose again for the first time in three years, according to a report presented at the union’s recent annual summit.
The beekeepers of Schwarzenfeld – which is situated between Nuremberg and the German-Czech border – are currently monitoring 850 colonies, according to the Mittelbayerische Zeitung newspaper.
As of December 2021, the German Association of Beekeepers had 135,700 members. Most of them are non-professionals who dedicate their free time to apiculture.
In 2021, Germany’s beekeepers managed 982,000 hives. The activity is most popular in the Free State of Bavaria where more than 33,000 union members are based.
