Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) – The beekeepers in Hesse harvested significantly more honey this spring than last year. In the so-called early flow, each bee colony produced an average of 24.1 kilograms and thus almost eight kilograms more than in the rainy period of the previous year, said the specialist center bees and beekeeping on dpa request.
The reason for the high harvest value is the good weather. “It was sunny and dry, but at the same time the soil still had a basic moisture content,” said the head of the specialist center, Christoph Otten. “As a result, the plants grew well and the bees were able to collect a lot of nectar.” The harvest – called costumes – is divided into early and summer costumes. The latter is about to be completed, figures on this are not yet available.
764 beekeepers from all over Hesse took part in the harvest survey conducted by the specialist center in cooperation with the German Beekeepers’ Association. The stated harvest value refers to the beekeepers who actually harvested. Around nine percent of beekeepers leave the honey in the hive so that the bees can use it themselves.
