He fulfilled a dream in 1978 and has been a beekeeper with body and soul ever since: klaus becker from herzogenaurach. For more than thirty years, the herzogenaurach beekeepers' association has had a small stand at the herzogenaurach old town festival, trying to bring visitors closer to the valuable work of bees and selling honey and wax products.
But he is worried, the chairman of the beekeepers association and district chairman, worried about the future of the bees. Becker recalls a statement by albert einstein: "once the bee disappears from the earth, man has only four years to live."
The honeybee is the smallest pet, but also one of the most important. Bees pollinate around 80 percent of crops and many wild plants. "The bees and other insects are indispensable to satisfy the hunger of the growing world population, because despite all the technology, agriculture depends on the pollinators. If the bees disappeared, we had a big problem", explained becker.
The reason for the deterioration lies especially in the monotony of agriculture in the region. The supply of nectar- and pollen-rich plants is severely limited by the progressive cultivation of agriculture.
An economic rough
The honeybee is economically a real rude. Around 85 percent of agricultural yields in crop and fruit production in germany depend on pollination by honeybees. Last year, there was already a loss of around 20 percent, reports becker, but the beekeepers were able to compensate for this because many beekeepers had "winterized" their beehives well had. And in the spring of 2012 there was a good "wintering out."
This year everything looks a little different. There were a few nice days at the beginning of march. "The volker were already in the brut", according to becker. But then they could barely fly because of the cold. The people went out of the brood. Now there is little brood and few bees that have followed. "The volks aren't as strong as they should be", becker continues. "This is something the beekeepers have not experienced in recent years."
It has to be above ten degrees plus, because otherwise the bees don't fly. For the bees it was therefore not possible to collect pollen. And pollen is the protein food for the brood. Bees need flowers to survive. Blood pollen is important for the nutrition of bee brood and young bees. Nectar provides the necessary energy for flying, it is something like the fuel of the bees.
Three to four weeks are missing in the development, said becker, because nature sets the pace for the bee. Winter losses among bee colonies, for example, were close to 16 percent. In a normal year, about one tenth of a bee tribe perishes during the winter months. The causes are cold and food shortages. But in recent years the losses have been above average. In the spring of 2012, beekeepers lost about 25 percent of their colonies to the varroa mite: that's almost 300 bees.000 volker.
Man as the enemy of the bee
Apart from the well-known bee diseases, the bees also have another major problem enemy, and that is man of all people. Because monocultures, pesticides, the disappearance of flowery meadows, the creation of sterile gardens, all of this is a problem for the animals.
Klaus becker and the beekeepers are worried not only about the destruction of habitats but also about the use of pesticides. Certain pesticides confused the bees to such an extent that they had difficulty finding their way around and could no longer find their hive.
Klaus becker has the "beekeeper's corner" in obermembach set up, which is open on saturdays from 4 to 6 p.M. In the small museum, old and new items from beekeeping are on display and becker explains everything about bees to arouse interest in beekeeping. The chairman is also available for tours outside opening hours. Registration under: [email protected]