Busy collecting pollen, honey and data
A campaign by German supermarkets made it clear how important bees are for the world. A few days before World Bee Day on May 20, 2018, they removed all products that depend on pollinator insects from their shelves: Not only honey was missing, but also most fruit and vegetables, coffee, cocoa, chocolate and juices. Even frozen pizza was missing: its dough contains sunflower oil. In total, 60 percent of all products were missing.
Jürgen Tautz has long known how important bees are. "What helps the bees helps all living things, and we're involved too," he says. The 69-year-old biologist and behavioral scientist has been campaigning for bee protection for years. Now he is also active on Mallorca.
The eco-finca Es Fangar near Felanitx is to house one of around one hundred international research stations for his new project. He wants to discover what holds the superorganism beehive together at its core.
"We know very little about the second-by-second interactions between, say, 50,000 bees, and that is beyond our comprehension."
Technology should help. For over two years, he and his team of IT specialists have been working on equipping bee stations with the same technical standards. Probes and infrared cameras should record what is happening in the hive, but microchips on the bees' bodies should also provide information. The chips identify individual animals with their personal number and date of birth, allowing conclusions to be drawn about their everyday lives and lifelong development. The big data is analyzed at the University of Würzburg, where it is collated in real time. Ultimately, the data will be made available to schools, museums, associations and other interest groups for the dissemination of knowledge. The long-term project is funded by the Audi Environmental Foundation and Marmeladenfabrik Schwartau Werke.
The eco-finca Es Fangar on Mallorca is intended to serve as a positive reference in comparison to other locations with more stressful living conditions, such as near quarries or transportation companies, where the earth vibrates. Jürgen Tautz is also interested in a comparison with monoculture areas, where the flowering period is very short and the choice of flowers is very limited. Ultimately, he wants to recognize where the stress limits lie. "Bees can withstand an incredible amount," he says, "and that is also their problem. We want to see how far they can move away from the natural system."
The professor emeritus strolls between colorful meadows, orchards and extensive forests, contemplating the diversity of the landscape. "All the bees' wishes are fulfilled here," he says.
Wild bee species: Apis mellifera iberica
Europe is home to a number of wild bee species as well as the western honey bee Apis mellifera, which is divided into two subspecies: the dark bee from northern and western Europe with five subspecies or breeds, and the Carinthian bee group, also known as the Carnica group. It originates from south-eastern Europe and has six subspecies. In total, there are eleven bee breeds on our continent. Two breeds are kept on Es Fangar, the Iberian honey bee (Apis mellifera iberica), which belongs to the dark bee group, and the Italian bee (Apis mellifera ligustica), which belongs to the Carnica group. Tautz will be researching these two honey bees, including colonies living freely in the forest. He also expects to find regionally adapted eco-types with color variants.
Tautz wants to lure the swarms more into the forest, their actual home. This is because life in hollow trees is very healthy for bees. There are organisms there that are unintentionally transported by them into the hives and play an important role in the health of the colonies. 40 bee colonies live on the estate. They are not inoculated. "We don't need the honey, we have great sweet fruit," says Gabriele Kofler, an employee at the finca. The bees keep their honey for their own consumption. This gives them enough immune substances and energy for their work, such as cooling the honeycombs in summer by flapping their wings.
Professor Tautz expects the project to result in better global networking and access to data from other beekeepers. "In this way, we can also help to understand bee mortality and improve the situation," he says, "Es Fangar should be part of these projects as a central location in the Mediterranean region." The finca is also interesting because of its location. The Mediterranean offers bees different living conditions to those in Central and Northern Europe.
There, most colonies die in winter because of the cold, whereas in southern Europe, summer is the critical phase. "We can learn a lot there, because they are the same bees," says Tautz. And the bees do not come into contact with pesticides here, as their flight radius is smaller than the size of the property. Gabriele Kofler attaches particular importance to this. 400 hectares are under nature conservation, the rest is cultivated according to the rules of organic farming, for example with orchards and vineyards. Interference with the natural rhythm is kept to a minimum, mowing only takes place after the end of the bird breeding season, and the land is mulched once the plants have shed their seeds. When the Swiss entrepreneurial family Eisenmann acquired the finca 15 years ago, it was completely barren, says Kofler, and sheep had eaten everything bare. Now it is full of life: It hums and buzzes everywhere, hoopoes and partridges run across the paths, red kites and booted eagles circle around, turtles, pheasants and lots of butterflies live on the estate.
The owners of the property are volunteers, as are the beekeepers at the Munich police headquarters, several schools in Baden-Württemberg and Vorarlberg and museums in Frankfurt and Cuxhaven. Tautz is also in talks with interested parties in Egypt and Italy. Many beekeepers want to support his project and collect data, because bees are popular. "There are many interesting organisms worth protecting, earthworms or dragonflies for example," says Tautz, "but the bee simply brings people together." (bk)
Guided tours with a visit to the
Beehives in Es Fangar:
see below
The bees keep their honey for their own consumption
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Tautz studied biology, physics and geography
Info
Website Prof. Dr. Tautz:
web Project hobos
web Es Fangar
What do you think to the article: Busy collecting pollen, honey and data?
We cordially invite you to share your thoughts, impressions and own experiences in the comments section.
Have you found your own memories in Mallorca's news and stories, met fascinating characters or have experiences of your own that you would like to share with us?
Share your impressions, arouse curiosity or express your enthusiasm - every exchange here is an enrichment of our shared passion for this magical island.
Rental car book for your next vacation
Just one click and you can choose from a wide selection of our selected and recommended rental car partners.
0 Comments