50,000 new “employees” at Bauerfeind are producing honey
What do these 50,000 new “employees” at Bauerfeind actually do? In a beehive behind the logistics center in Zeulenroda, busy bees have been producing blossom honey for several months.
Beekeeper Tino Ebert and his team from “Die Firmenbiene” check at regular intervals whether the “little Bauerfeinders” are doing well and whether the queen is laying enough eggs. The beekeeper has already started winter preparations in July and is feeding the bees a sugar solution. “By doing this, we create the illusion of a large harvest of pollen for the colony and the queen. This leads to increased egg laying by the queen, and that means the colony has a really strong start going into the next spring,” explains Tino Ebert.
The beekeeper needs good weather for his visits to the hive. “It’s just like for us humans. If someone tore open our window in the rain, we would not exactly be pleased. The sweet littles bees would also get a bit ‘moody’ because then they would have to ‘mop up’ the hive.” If it is too humid in the hive, the honeycomb can become moldy, which is why it is important to control the humidity.
The varroa mite can also have a negative impact on yield. It is described as the most dangerous enemy of the black and yellow insects because an infestation can lead to increased bee mortality. Since Tino Ebert treats the mite infestation proactively with oxalic acid, the insects are doing very well and the honey harvest is going perfectly.
With this project, Bauerfeind Sports is making a small contribution to counteracting the decline of the bee population in the region. One bee pollinates around 4,000 flowers a day in a radius of about four kilometers. This means that each bee is helping to promote the survival of many flowering plants and important crops.
