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Hargassner:
Together for bees’ sake

Provincial Councillor visited Energy World

Landesrätin Michaela Langer-Weninger (Mitte) mit dem erweiterten Vorstand der Bienenzuchtgruppe Oberösterreich- Salzburg | Hargassner

Image: Provincial Councillor Michaela Langer-Weninger (centre) with the extended board of the Upper Austria-Salzburg beekeeping association

Upper Austria has around 8600 beekeepers with an average of ten colonies, making it the province with the most bees. However, there is still room for improvement. Honey self-sufficiency is below 50% and parasites such as the Varroa mite are a major threat. To safeguard the population, the Upper Austria-Salzburg Bee Breeding Group carries out an elaborate insemination of queens over several days at the Hargassner Centre – every year from 2019.

Up to twenty-five beekeepers from the Upper Austria-Salzburg Beekeepers’ Association work diligently for several days in May/June at the Hargassner Energy World. Under a microscope, queen bees are artificially inseminated in a process known as SDI (single drone insemination). This involves the mating of specific defence mechanisms against the Varroa mite. The colonies are counted in August. The beekeeping group then tests whether the queens and their offspring pass on resistance to the Varroa mite.

Initial Resistance to Mites

The association is already seeing success. The first resistant bee colonies that can cope with the mite naturally without treatment (SMR/suppressed mite reproduction) have already been established.

Nahaufnahme Kontrolle der Bienen-Brutzellen | Hargassner

This is, of course, a great ray of hope in the fight against the mite. Now that the foundations have been laid, these defence mechanisms need to be stabilised and further developed.

Rieder Marcel | Chairman of the Beekeeping Group

Side by Side with Politicians in the Fight Against Bee Mortality

Provincial councillor Michaela Langer-Weninger (ÖVP) visited the Hargassner Energy World at the end of August to see for herself the success of the breeding programme and the approach taken to combat the mite. The province of Upper Austria set up the independent Upper Austrian Bee Centre a few years ago to bring together all relevant partners and raise awareness. Other projects, such as flower strips, have been a resounding success with the public. Langer-Weninger was a member of the Upper Austrian provincial government. As part of her portfolio, which includes agricultural issues, she is also responsible for the welfare of bees.

Hargassner: A key „BEE“ Partner

Regional sponsors such as biomass specialist Hargassner are essential for the beekeeping group. For years, Energy World has served as the location for the association’s important voluntary work. A new show apiary with ten colonies for workshops and training courses on the Hargassner premises underlines this commitment.

Image caption: Managing Director Markus Hargassner checks the bee brood cells
© Bienenzuchtgruppe Oberösterreich-Salzburg

GF Markus Hargassner kontrolliert Bienen-Brutzellen (c) Bienenzuchtgruppe Oberösterreich-Salzburg

Bees are not only fascinating creatures; their health and pollination services are essential for many crops that provide our food supply. We need to raise awareness about the protection of bees and their habitats to support beekeeping in agriculture, pollination and food production. This will also keep value added in the country.

Michaela Langer-Weninger | Provincial Councillor

To meet the future challenges for Austria’s bee colonies, a great deal of commitment is now required, for example, from the Upper Austria-Salzburg Beekeepers’ Association and business partners as ‘BEE sponsors’ such as Hargassner Heiztechnik.

A small insight