Like many other people, I have been thinking about the environment and the future of my children for a long time. Climate change conjures up a dark scenario for humanity, I think we must do everything we can to limit its effects as much as possible. This includes preserving biodiversity, which has suffered badly from intensive agriculture, growing traffic and urban sprawl. Insects are particularly badly affected by human activity, and the number of species and individuals has declined. The media used the bee as a striking symbol for man's dependence on nature and this did not fail to have an effect on me. I wanted to help the bee to secure our existence with its pollination. Concretely. But how?
Learning, learning, learning
There I came across the invitation of the Stadtbienen e.v. to a beekeeping taster course in summer 2017. On a long morning interested people like me were introduced to the life and annual cycle of the bee, we learned how to keep bees around their ropes. Everything is very relaxed, it does not cost much time (at most as much as a weekly tennis lesson) and not much money to start with. Ideal starting position when keeping bees to keep bees. I returned from the course highly motivated, but I wanted to be relaxed about things in the face of further commitments. That's why little happened at first.
The Luxembourg Beekeepers' Association FUAL recommends every young beekeeper to become a member of one of the numerous cantonal associations for beekeepers for the first time. I have followed this advice and have not regretted it, on the contrary: the support of the association, the members of the associations and the beekeeper accessory dealers is a great support for prospective beekeepers and also a relief in all doubts.
In January 2018 I attended the theoretical course on beekeeping organized by the FUAL. In five theme packages lasting several hours, the bee consultant informed us about everything a beekeeper needs to know about the bee and its environment. One thing became clear very quickly: the bee advisor sees the bee as the source of the bee products that beekeepers are concerned about. Honey, pollen, propolis, zack - biodiversity yes, but please line up behind. Nevertheless I felt prepared for higher tasks after the course.
At home it was more complicated. There the bee was perceived as a stinging apparatus with a tendency towards bee sting allergy, which is why the family was skeptical about the idea of installing a bee box in our garden - especially next to playing children. But that didn't stop my loved ones from feeding me with all kinds of books and information about the bee and its life. I then instilled the findings into our family conversations in a good manner and - tata - at the end received permission to set up a bee box in our garden.
This in turn led to discussions with other beekeepers from Mersch, whom I met from March 2018 at the practical beekeeping courses offered by the Mersch Beekeepers' Association for its members. The experienced beekeepers thought that in the beginning one should ideally look after at least two colonies in order to have sufficient motivation to continue if one colony is lost. On the apiary of our president Nico Turmes we could follow the life cycle of the bees once a month and the necessary work was demonstrated. Here the theoretical knowledge was underpinned by practical experience, and this was so lasting that even experienced beekeepers participated again and again in these practical courses, because one learns again and again a small trick or practical handle.
Changes
Over time, I noticed a change in myself that probably every beekeeper goes through: I looked at the weather and nature with new eyes. In the future, my observations were more about judging the state of the vegetation and what this could mean for my work with bee colonies. Which trees and plants bloomed? Is this spring costume enough to feed the wintering bee ball? Do I have to feed the people to survive this critical time? When is the costume in full swing so that I can put honey frames on the brood? That was a pleasant realization.
The arrival
In July 2018 I got a call from the president of our association, who also deals with the breeding of bees and from whom I ordered my first colony. My offspring was finished. An offspring is a miniature colony with a queen who is "pulled" out of a strong colony. From this offshoot my people should arise. A Buckfast dream on Dadant.
So I hurried to the beekeeper accessory dealer of my trust, who patiently and comprehensively provided me with tools and equipment. A few days later I set up my first hive in the garden and loaded the offspring into it, which settled there without irritation. I put a tank of sugar solution on top of it to ensure strong growth.
An uplifting feeling grew in me to be a little more part of the local biodiversity. In the future all gardens in the neighbourhood were critically checked for the presence of pollen blooms or nectar sources, gravel gardens and stone deserts hurt a little more in the eye.
Contrary to all the fears of my family, our bees were not stinggy at all, very gentle, always focused on food, only sometimes perhaps a little clumsy. Then it could come to painful meetings between me and the bee, which did not bear this well at all. Too bad.
The summer was marked by two conflicting interests: on the one hand I always wanted to be with my girls in order to study them extensively and learn everything; on the other hand they should not be disturbed or even hindered in their being and growing. And the people grew up.
First winter
In autumn 2018 a stately people had grown up and could be sent into winter after a varroa treatment. I learned this winter that you should reduce the size of the flying hole with a wedge, but never close it completely. It took less than two weeks and the dead bees clogged the entire entrance area. Uncool for the very clean living bees.
In spring I could winter out a very stable colony and the queen laid diligently eggs, in order to increase her subjects again on people strength. The traditional costume came so abundantly that I did not have to feed in March at first, on the contrary I could put on honey frames with middle walls, which were quickly expanded by the bees to whole combs and then filled with the liquid gold.
First harvest
With the first harvest, new equipment became necessary, which I purchased through an advertisement on the FUAL website. The first extraction and filling of the honey was a celebration, I won the first discovery wax and discovered bit by bit the life cycle of the bee. But also the necessary amount of work, which did not correspond to a tennis lesson anymore, and necessary investments, which are comparatively high especially for beginners with few colonies. So if you want to win the honey, it is not a cheap hobby with little time.
On the other hand, the danger of losing a nation left to its own devices is quite high. As with all pets, you naturally have a responsibility towards the animal. So everyone must decide for himself how much care is necessary to live up to this responsibility. I do not regard my bees as farm animals, even if they supply me with honey and other bee products. Accordingly, I reduce my influence on our bees to the necessary minimum, which is life-sustaining. The rest can be decided by the bees themselves.
With the harvest, the question of honey consumption naturally also arose. Our bees were so diligent that we got more honey than we could consume ourselves and so the question arose about further buyers. After the whole family was supplied, we decided to use the remaining surplus to cover our investment costs, i.e. to sell the honey. And that's why we created this internet shop!
Anyone who has read so far has been very diligent and should now rest a little, let what he has read sit down. Best with a cup of tea with delicious Merscher honey!
