An apiarist who manages two million honeybees has said humans should take the social insects’ demeanour and interaction as an example.
Manfred Pointner from Eidenberg near Linz is one of Austria’s few professional beekeepers. While 33,000 of the country’s nine million inhabitants engage in apiculture, the vast majority do so in their free time.
Asked by the local Tips newspaper what has impressed him the most, Manfred said: “We can learn a lot from the bees. They are assiduous labourers, every animal is supporting its peers.”
The beekeeper – who offers courses for beginners – added: “Among bees, there are no egoistic individuals. It’s all about the existence of the colony.”
Manfred – who heads the local association of beekeepers – admitted his target was that every garden across the country features a hive.
Speaking about what makes his apiculture so special, the 51-year-old said: “Beekeeping is great a great activity to calm down. The bees sense a person’s increased stress level. They kind of enforce you to relax.”
Manfred said that being self-sufficient with fruit was what guided him towards becoming a beekeeper almost 20 years ago.
He told Tips: “It was all totally new to me. It wasn’t easy as I had to learn everything from scratch.”
Today the Upper Austrian owns around 50 hives, each consisting of 40,000 honeybees.
However, it hasn’t always been plain sailing for the seasoned apiarist. Manfred revealed that there have been days which saw him being stung up to 50 times.
With a smile on his face, he said: “This tells me that they are a bit grumpy and I ought to call it a day.”
