Regions-Originale: Beekeeper Kurt Kriegl, the King of Bees

"Just like others ski, play golf, or ride bikes, I have beekeeping as a hobby!", Kurt proudly shares. He is an amateur beekeeper out of passion. But he never really chose this hobby for himself – rather, he was born into it. "I have always had bees around me my whole life because my father was a beekeeper too," Kurt says. So, he practically has honey in his blood.

"Isn't that quite a dangerous hobby?" we ask. After all, bees know how to defend themselves quite painfully if you get too close, right? "On the contrary!" Kurt says. It's actually a very harmless and, above all, peaceful hobby. This calmness radiates from Kurt himself – he speaks thoughtfully and calmly, with a singing dialect. You can imagine that the bees feel comfortable with him.

"You don't need to be afraid of bees!" In his whole life, Kurt may have worn protective gear while working with his bees two or three times – bees only sting very rarely. And when Kurt does get stung, he sees it as medicine; after all, bee venom has been used for thousands of years for rheumatism or in warming salves. However, he does feel sorry when a bee stings him – after all, it pays for it with its life. And Kurt loves each and every one of his bees. "Hardly anyone knows how intelligent and social they actually are!" he says.

Being a beekeeper not only means having delicious honey – that might just be the icing on the cake of the job. "A beekeeper has many responsibilities," reveals Kurt. First, he ensures that the bees are doing well: They need a hive where they can live well throughout the year. In winter, there must be enough food available to help them survive the cold months. This is particularly important because honey serves as the bees' food source. When the beekeeper takes this away from them, they are given sugar water as a "replacement." "I also always leave honey in the combs for the bees, so they can utilize the valuable nutrients – always with measure and intent," Kurt shares. Additionally, he makes sure that the bees can find a variety of food in the summer.

His wife, Burgi, helps him with this; she is well-versed in perennials, wild herbs, and flowers that produce plenty of pollen and nectar. Burgi is an expert in plants and API medicine (Kurt explains: "That’s the 'medicine from the beehive': pollen, propolis, royal jelly, wax, bee venom, and honey"). "Without her support, I couldn’t do any of this!" Kurt expresses his gratitude. Their work also benefits all other insects: caterpillars, butterflies, beetles, and all other beneficial creatures.

In a beehive, there can be up to 70,000 bees – at least in the summer. In winter, there are "only" about 20,000. The bee colony grows in summer – almost explosively. This is because the bees are particularly busy during the warm season, also in reproducing offspring. The calculation is quite simple: The queen lays 2,000 to 2,500 eggs per day at her peak. (That's about 1.5 times her own body weight!) After 21 days, the bees hatch – this means that up to 2,500 bees are born each day in summer. So it’s a huge cycle. By the way, bees live for different lengths of time depending on the season: In summer, a bee only lives for about 6 weeks. During this time, she has to work a lot, fly around, and bring in honey. In winter, on the other hand, when she does not fly, she can live for a whole 6 to 8 months. However, the queen bee surpasses everything: She can live up to 5 years. This is because her colony takes special care of her. Thus, she is allowed to enjoy special food: "Royal Jelly," which is also known as "queen juice." A secretion produced by the bees in their glands on their heads. Only the best for the queen.

The bee, the smallest domestic animal in the world, is a true survivor. For example, during winter – there is much more going on in the hive than one might think. Did you know that bees form a cluster in winter to protect themselves and the queen? In the core of this cluster, a cozy 25 degrees is always maintained. The queen sits there and is fed by the worker bees. There is always movement so that all bees can get to the warmer areas and to the food. This way, even temperatures as low as -25 degrees Celsius do not affect the bees at all!

And did you know that the bee is a master in navigation? Each queen bee releases its own pheromone, which reflects her vitality – and creates a completely "unique" scent. This way, each bee can find the small entrance to its own colony even among many hives. True wonders, those little bees!

The decline of bee populations is no longer a myth but a reality that has also reached bees in Europe. For several decades, beekeepers have observed that entire colonies are dying and that bees are in danger. But what is causing this? Several factors have contributed to this issue. "One of them is certainly pesticides and glyphosate." These are neonicotinoids, or nerve poisons, that are used in agriculture to combat insect infestations, explains Kurt. These pesticides harm all beneficial insects—not just bees, but also butterflies, beneficial beetles, and many others.

Another reason for the decline of bees is the Varroa mite. "This is a type of spider that infests bees. You can think of it like a tick in humans," explains Kurt. The Varroa mite latches onto the bee, poisons its bloodstream, and introduces viruses. Therefore, beekeepers must protect their colonies from the Varroa mite as much as possible. However, wild bee swarms are left to fend for themselves: There is no one to protect them from the deadly mite.

But is there something we can do to help the bees? The good news is: Yes. And even better: It's quite easy! If we plant flowers in our gardens and on our balconies that provide food for the bees, we have already done a lot. The rule is: Everything that has "unfilled flowers", meaning it produces a lot of pollen and nectar, is good. Annual plants, on the other hand, are useless. "My saying is always: Courage to be messy!", says Kurt. "A little bit of mess is happiness for many living beings!" Additionally, we can save on pesticides and leave a few wild plants and herbs. The nettle, for example – it is the food plant for many butterfly larvae and is even healthy for us humans as a soup, spinach, or the seeds in a salad.