Cover story · Communication

How a colonydecides to move house

A swarm hangs from a branch and has to choose a home. Scouts dance for competing cavities until a quorum builds at the site itself — a decision with no centre, reached in one to three days.

Read the cover story9 min read · also in German

In this issue

Magazine pieces, also in German

Diseases & varroaVarroa, year after yearVarroa destructor remains the main reason colonies die. What treatment schemes achieve — and what they do not.Health · 7 min

Forage plantsA hundred plants, one bee yearFrom sallow in March to ivy in October: the forage calendar as a map rather than a list.Forage · 6 min

Honey varietiesWhy lime honey tastes of mintSingle-origin honeys are made in the flower, not in the jar. A sensory round of seven — and what crystallisation gives away.Honey · 8 min

Biology & anatomy21 daysFrom egg to worker: what happens in three weeks inside a cell held at 35 °C.Biology · 5 min

Wild bees & conservationThe other 590Besides Apis mellifera, Germany holds around 590 wild bee species. Most live alone — and most are on the red list.Wild bees · 7 min

Propolis & hive productsPropolis, looked at closelyPropolis seals gaps and keeps the hive low in microbes. What is in it, how it is harvested, and where caution applies.Hive products · 6 min

Data module

The bee year

Colony strength across the season, with what happens inside the hive and at the apiary. Click a month.

Colony strength in thousands of bees — guide values, Carnica, Central Europe

Research & news

Briefly explained

JournalHow precise is the waggle dance?High-speed footage shows a scatter of several degrees. It is good enough — the search flight at the target absorbs the error.

Bee instituteTreating varroa by the weatherTemperature and humidity govern how well organic acids work. Treatment windows can be estimated day by day.

MonitoringThe July forage gapAfter lime blossom the nectar flow collapses in many regions. Catch crops and late forage cushion it.

Look it up

Reference

Honey varieties, forage plants and beekeeping terms in one searchable body of entries — the core of the old site, reordered.

Acacia honey Mountain blossom honey Buckwheat honey Chestnut honey Alpine blossom honey Heather honey Clover honey Manuka honey Fruit blossom honey

Open the reference

The Hive Letter

Every fortnight: one subject from bee science, one forage note, one picture. Bilingual, cancel any time.

Beekeeper directory

Apiaries, associations and inspectors by region — honey at the gate, swarm collection, beginners' courses.