Honey bees returned unusually late from winter this year. Frequent cold snaps made the so-called wintering phase start later than usual, said the head of the bee institute at the Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture (LWG) in Veitshöchheim (Würzburg district), Stefan Berg. The wintering phase usually begins in March. “But bees only fly above ten degrees,” explains Berg. Nectar production is also reduced in cold weather. Therefore, this year there was a risk that the bees would starve.
According to Berg, the temperatures are now good and the bees can fly. However, it is not yet clear how many honey bees have not survived the winter. A survey among beekeepers is still ongoing. According to the LWG, an intermediate result with around 700 responses shows a loss of ten to twelve percent in the Free State. “That’s relatively low and less than feared in the fall,” said Berg.
Many bees are troubled by the after-effects of the Varroa mite in winter. The varroa mite damages the winter bees that hatch in the fall. This means they die earlier. “Then it will also be difficult for the other bees,” says Berg. Because the winter bees have the task of keeping the heat in the hive and warming the queen. According to the LWG, there are around 42,000 apiaries in Bavaria. This means that every fourth beekeeping in Germany is in Bavaria.