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Speaker Stefan Luff (right), here next to board member Michael Maier, reported on his work as a migratory beekeeper.
© Closer
Fighting the Varroa mite was an important topic at the district beekeepers' meeting.
Speaker Stefan Luff appealed to his professional colleagues not to become lazy.
Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen/Miesbach - “Varroa resistance 2033: A utopia?” That was the title of the lecture that Stefan Luff gave to a good two dozen beekeepers at the “Altwirt” in Reichersbeuern.
Michael Maier, the district chairman of the Miesbach-Bad Tölz beekeepers group, invited.
He looked back on the events of the past year.
Important topics included honey bee-wild bee competition, the Asian hornet, membership in the advisory board of the Bad Tölz-Wolfratshausen Landscape Conservation Association and new acquisitions for the teaching apiaries.
Report on work as a migratory beekeeper
Speaker Stefan Luff deals with the Carnica and Buckfast bee breeds and is not only the breeding coordinator in the Bavarian Buckfast Beekeepers Association (LVBB), but also the bee specialist.
The association's work in no way prevents him from being directly active with bees himself, namely as a migratory beekeeper.
What initially sounds tranquil to the uninitiated, like distributing a few bee boxes around the region, turned out to be a back-breaking job during Luff's lecture: When the cherry blossoms, it goes to Breisgau, then the rapeseed calls to the Nuremberg region, the black locust beckons to Brandenburg, the sweet chestnut in the Palatinate, the fir in the Black Forest.
“You're crazy,” was his wife's comment when his husband went out with a trailer and crane to drive his beehives across the country, he reported with a smile.
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It was immediately clear to the listeners that it was an advantage to be out and about in “hiking groups”, i.e. with several bee enthusiasts.
No matter whether a tire bursts, heavy boxes filled with honey need to be heaved around, or you need a tool that you don't have at hand: someone can always help.
The photos and videos that Luff showed from these “hiking trips” were very reminiscent of school hiking days and scout camps.
And just like there, all the gentlemen involved seem to be having a lot of fun despite the hard work.
Tips for dealing with Varroa mites
Finally, it was about the tips for dealing with the Varroa mite, which the speaker had from his own many years of experience.
Luff clearly explained that common chemical treatments are rather counterproductive and by no means sustainable. “As long as we cannot yet work without treatment, it must be done with as little treatment as possible.
But freedom of treatment remains the ultimate goal,” is his credo.
“That’s why the breeding goal must always be the best possible resistance to the mite.”
The expert explained how this can be achieved using many well-documented examples. “Bees have always survived without the use of chemicals.
“The greatest evil is the convenience of many beekeepers,” Luff said, because his natural method is undoubtedly more labor-intensive.
“Do instead of complaining and criticizing!” he concluded by warning his colleagues.
(Sabine Closer)