Bees are proverbially busy, but they prefer to stay in the hive when it is raining and cold – and produce less honey. This year, however, nothing stands in the way of bee diligence.
Munich (dpa / lby) – Bavaria’s bees have been much luckier in honey production this year than in the rainy previous year. Each bee colony in Bavaria produced an average of 18 kilograms of honey in the so-called “spring costume”, according to figures published on Friday by the German Beekeepers’ Association. Last year it was almost six kilos less.
2,092 beekeepers in Bavaria took part in the nationwide survey conducted by the Bees and Beekeeping Center – abbreviation FBI. The nationwide average is even higher at 21.2 kilograms. These numbers reflect the results of beekeepers who actually harvested the honey, with a single-digit percentage leaving the honey in the hives. Cold and wet conditions reduce the yield because the bees fly out less often.
The vast majority of beekeepers in Bavaria keep bees in their free time or as a part-time job. The state association of Bavarian beekeepers has a total of 33,600 members with more than 200,000 bee colonies.
