Beekeepers in southwestern Germany have donated more than 50 kilogrammes of honey to a local retirement home.
Members of the Wehratal Association of Apiarists recently provided Boris Blazewic – the director of the Buergerstiftung Old People’s Care Home in Wehr, Baden-Wuerttemberg – with the honey harvested during the past season.
Overall, the union – which was founded in 1905 – donated 52 kilogrammes (115 lbs) of the product, according to its head, Rolf Gut.
Rolf – who said 2022 was a positive year concerning honey yields compared to the previous year – told the Badische Zeitung newspaper: “It’s important to think of your fellow citizens.”
The 52 members of the Wehratal Association of Apiarists – who previously donated dozens of jars of honey to the retirement care centre in 2019 – manage around 200 Carniolan honeybee colonies.
The Carniolan honeybee (Apis mellifera carnica) is a subspecies of the domesticated western honeybee (Apis mellifera). Being described as gentle and physically robust, it is very popular among beekeepers.
The Buergerstiftung Retirement Home offers 24-hour care to 64 elderly people.
An estimated 170,000 residents of Germany engage in beekeeping. They were in charge of 982,000 hives in 2021, according to research by the European Commission.
