This week, spring begins. The time when flowers bloom and the hustle and bustle begins in parks, forests, and gardens. A nice opportunity to take a look at what our bees are up to. Our bees?
Yes, adesso insurance solutions has its own hive. After all, we are not only committed to the sustainability is also close to our hearts. That is why we support Project 2028. Our common goal is to grow the bee population in German an Austria by 10 percent within the next 10 years. After all, the honey bee is the third most important farm animal in our country after cattle and pigs. It also plays the greatest ecological role among all pollinators: nearly 80 percent of all crops and wild plants are pollinated by the western honeybee. The honey bee's pollination services ensure the variety of foods that we are familiar with and enjoy. It is therefore crucial for good harvests and ecological biodiversity.
"Bees are busy. No matter how much work they have already put in. Each bee knows its task within the bee colony and makes its individual contribution to the result," says Oliver von Ameln, Managing Director of adesso insurance solutions. "In our company, we also all see ourselves as a part of the whole. That's why we not only appreciate the important role that bees play in our ecosystem, we are also able to view them as our role model."
Now that our beekeeper has gotten the adesso-insurance-solutions bee colony „through the winter“, the start of the season is upon us. For this purpose, at the beginning of the year the hives and frames were cleaned, the wires were stretched, and the foundations were soldered in place. Spring, which has now also begun in calendar terms, lays the foundation for reproduction, and therefore the bee colony's development as well. The bee colony only makes its first excursion when the temperature is around 12 degrees Celsius or higher. Before that it is too cold and there is a risk that the bees will freeze to death. The bee colony begins the year with the so-called "cleansing flight." The bees have persevered in their hive all winter and use this first flight to cleanse their fecal bladder. Immediately after that, we introduce the first measures for expanding the bee colony during the spring. This ensures its survival. To this end, the queen's task in the spring is to boost her egg-laying performance: she lays up to 1,500 eggs a day. At the same time, the bee colony collects important pollen to ensure food security. As result, the bees also take over the pollination work in the spring that is so important for the ecosystem.
And here are some more facts to prove why there is talk of "busy bees":
- for 500 g, honey bees have to travel 120,000 km (3 times around the earth!)
- 20,000 bees "have to pitch in" in order to produce 500 g of honey
- one bee transports approximately. 0.05 g of nectar per flight.
- one bee flies out about 10 times a day, visiting 250-300 flowers
- altogether, they have to fly out 40,000 times in order to collect 1 liter of nectar for us, which then yields about 500 g of honey.
Have you found a feeble bee? This is not uncommon after winter and you can help her quite easily: feed her!
Do you have any questions or comments? Then please leave us a comment.