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Welcome to the bee nature trail! We wish you instructive moments in the world of bees. Important: These educational boards are the property of the Carinthian Beekeeping School and may only be used for visiting the educational trail. Any reproduction without the consent of the owner is prohibited! Are you interested in our educational trail? We are happy to help with the realisation.

Unbelievable, but true: the "Apis mellifera Carnica", also known as the "Grey Bee" or "Carinthian bee", settled in our latitudes thousands of years ago. Over time, its characteristics have adapted to suit the climate and vegetation. The fact that the Carniolan Bee still feels at home here today is proven by these good character traits along with an eagerness to produce. And it is precisely these adaptive characteristics that are preserved through careful breeding!

… tolerates our harsh climate well?
 ... is very resilient?
 … is very gentle and non-aggressive?
 ... brings good honey production?
 … can also survive well in built-up areas?

hatches after just 16 days. During the nuptial flight she is mated by up to 15 drones and lays up to 2,000 eggs a day during the main breeding season (May to June). She can live for up to 4 years. The bees themselves or the beekeeper usually provide a new Queen after 1 to 2 years.

hatches after 24 days. 500 to 1,500 drones live in the colony during the summer months. The male bees serve to maintain harmony within the colony and to mate with the queens. In late summer they are driven out of the colony as non-productive eaters in the so-called battle of the drones.

hatches after 21 days. 40,000 to 70,000 summer bees live in the colony for 6 to 8 weeks. In contrast, 10,000 to 15,000 winter bees live for 6 to 8 months and have the sole task of maintaining the colony throughout the winter.

The Queen only uses her sting against other queens. Drones do not have a sting!

... a bee flies out and about 7 to 15 times a day?
... the flight duration is 25 to 45 minutes?
... the most economical flight radius is 1 to 2 km?
... the flight speed is up to 25 km/h?
... the bee moves with an incredible 270 wing beats per second?

The two antennae are located on the head and consist of ten segments with numerous sensory organs for the perception of smell, taste and touch. The worker's compound eye consists of around 5,000individual eyes (Drones have around 10,000). Bees don't see a sharp image, but
rather a pixelated image. In addition, three very simply constructed point eyes (ocelli) are arranged at the top between the two compound eyes. The mouthparts are used for biting and sucking. They process wax, pollen or propolis with their upper jaws. They use their proboscis to suck up honey, nectar and water. Bees have two front wings and two hind wings, which hook together during flight using small hooks. All the vital organs as well as the sting apparatus, are found in the abdomen underneath the chitin shell.

Insect bodies always consist of three parts: head, thorax and abdomen. All insects have six legs, no spine or skeleton. Bees also have six legs: the front, middle and hind pairs of legs. They transport pollen or propolis with their hairy hind legs, also known as collecting legs.

Day 1 to Day 3: The Queen lays a fertilised egg in each cell.

Day 4 to Day 9: The open brood is fed by care bees.

Day 10 to Day 20: The bees develop in the capped brood cells.

A young worker bee hatches 21 days after the Queen lays the egg in the cell.

Day 1 to Day 2: Cleaning the cells

Day 3 to Day 11: Looking after the larvae at various stages of development

Day 12 to Day 17: Sweating wax

Day 18 to Day 21: Defending the hive

From Day 22 until end of life: Collecting pollen, nectar and water

Don't react in shock, but calmly squeeze the sting out using your fingernail. Cooling helps. Allergy sufferers should see a doctor!

A roof provides weather protection.

The honey is deposited and stored here.

Amongst the numerous brood chambers, pollen and food storage chambers can also be found.

There is a single entrance hole for the bees to fly in.

... the bees indicate the direction, distance and quality of the food source to the other bees in the hive with their waggle dance?
… the workers of a strong bee colony deposit approximately 260 kg in their hive per year? To be more precise: 20 kg of water, 20 kg of pollen and 220 kg of nectar – produces approximately 73 kg of honey. The beekeeper is left with 12 to 25 kg of honey per bee colony!

It is the most natural form of reproduction. The old queen leaves her hive with some of the bees. Don’t worry! The bees are particularly peaceful during the swarming period. It often takes several attempts to successfully capture the swarm of bees. The accompanying bees
will only stay once the queen is in the swarm box.

• Lack of space in the hive
• Bad weather
• Ageing queen
• poor genetic makeup of the queen

... swarms in hollow tree trunks or between wooden walls have no chance of survival without treatment against the Varroa mite? Therefore: Report any sightings of swarms to a beekeeper and thereby save the bees! The beekeeper will give them a safe home.

For millions of years, bees and plants have lived in close partnership, complementing each other. About 80% of flowering plants require pollination by insects, with the most provided by honey bees. Honey bees therefore have enormous economic benefits. It is estimated that around 20,000 wild plant species could not survive without bee pollination. The flowers attract bees with their colours and scent and in return provide them with nectar and pollen.

… Bees are responsible for 65% of fruit formation?
… without bee visits, however, only 10% of fruit formation would take place?

Bee colonies have to make up to 13 million flights to collect enough food and water to cover their needs!

… need up to 100 million flowers to cover their nectar and pollen requirements?

… deposit 20 to 30 litres of water per year for nutrition and temperature regulation?

... by creating more food enclaves and habitats for all bees and flower-pollinating insects during mid to late summer.

Bees produce honey from the nectar of flowers and other sweet juices from plants by enriching them with endogenous substances and storing them in the honeycomb. Depending on the origin of the nectar, honey ranges from light to golden brown.

A Worker Bee weighs only 0.1g and needs to visit 15 to 100 flowers to fill its tiny honey pouch. A Honey Bee will produce one teaspoon of honey during its lifetime.

… 3 kg of nectar must be collected?
… around 150,000 trips are needed?
… around 2 million flowers are visited?
… the bees fly the equivalent of approximately 3½ times around the earth?

Honey is often offered for sale: in jars, as creamed honey or as honeycomb in its most natural form. Flower honey is honey that does not come primarily from one traditional plant, but rather from nectar collected from different flowers. Wild honey is amber to dark brown and has a more flavoursome taste. Propolis offers a strong resistance against bacteria, viruses and fungi. Pollen comes in a variety of colours, depending on the plant where it was collected! Bees secrete small wax deposits from their wax glands. Products such as ointments, soaps or beeswax candles can be made from wax.

Each cell consists of approximately 10,000 wax deposits and for 1 kg of natural wax, around 1.25 million wax deposits have to be secreted!

The Varroa mite is approximately 1.1 mm long and 1.6 mm wide and comes from the family Varroidae. It is a parasite that lives on honey bees. The mite enters the hive with the flying bees. It develops and reproduces amongst the sealed bee brood cells. Unfortunately, local bee colonies are unable to fight this eight-legged parasite on their own, so beekeepers try to limit reproduction using a variety of methods.

Damage to the brood cells weakens and causes stress to the bee colonies.

Cold temperatures in late spring lead to frost damage to the blossoms and slows down flower development.

As a result, bees have lost their natural food sources.

The use of pesticides harmful to insects damages the nervous system of bees and significantly shortens the lifespan of useful pollinators.

… the Varroa mite, which is so dangerous for our bees, originated from India?
 ... the native breed keeps the parasite at bay?
 … these mites have spread worldwide through the global bee trade and have became a deadly parasite for western honey bees?

The bees spend most of their time inside the hive during winter. They only fly outside on warm days when the weather is suitable to carry out the so called cleansing flight, which is necessary to keep the interior of the beehive clean and hygienic. The bees form a cluster to keep each other warm. The queen sits in the middle, surrounded by hundreds of bees. If the temperature in the hive falls below 10° C, the bees alternately rotate from the warm interior to the cool edge of the cluster and give off heat by shivering their muscles. Energy for these muscle movements is provided by the winter food store, given by the beekeeper during late summer.

There is little danger for bee colonies covered in deep snow. Due to heat radiation, the snow on the hive wall and the entrance hole thaws slightly, which ensures a sufficient supply of air. During this time, it’s important to avoid any unnecessary disturbance to the bees.

... bees generate up to 24° C through muscle tremors in the cluster during winter?
… at the start of breeding, the temperature inside the cluster can reach up to 35° C?
… the bees need around 20 kg of food to survive the winter?

Die Anforderungen an Imker und Bienen steigen. Die Umweltbelastungen nehmen zu, Feinde wie z. B. die Varroamilbe müssen bekämpft werden, die Imkerschaft will nachhaltig und erfolgreich arbeiten. Dafür braucht es den richtigen Mix aus Wissen, Kompetenz und Erfahrung am Bienenstand.

Die Kärntner Imkerschule bietet ein umfassendes Aus- und Weiterbildungsprogramm. Ein ganzer Schwarm von „Wanderlehrern“ bildet das ganze Jahr aus und weiter.

Wenn die Erzeugnisse konstant gut und die Bienen gesund sein sollen, geht das nur Hand in Hand mit genauen und regelmäßigen Untersuchungen.

Eine Auszeichnung für die besten Produkte! Nur prämierte Honige dürfen die charakteristischen Siegel-Aufkleber tragen. In den Kategorien Waldhonig, Wald-Blütenhonig und Blütenhonig werden jeweils der Kärntner Honigbär in Gold, Silber und Bronze vergeben.        

...jährlich bis zu 3.000 Proben ins Labor der Kärntner Imkerschule kommen? Zu Analysen von Bienenprodukten und Vorsorgeuntersuchungen gegen Bienenkrankheiten.

Beekeeping is a particularly responsible and sustainable activity and is more than just a hobby. Beekeeping associations will provide you with the best possible support on your way to beekeeping. All you need to bring with you is an enjoyment of being closeness to nature, no allergy to bee venom, enough spare time, calm and patience, and the willingness to keep learning!

The demands on beekeepers and bees are escalating. Environmental pollution is increasing, enemies such as the Varroa mite must be combated, and beekeepers want to work sustainably and successfully. This requires the right mix of knowledge, competence and experience within the world of apiary.

Regionally specific laws, regulations and guidelines apply to beekeepers. As an example, beekeepers must register their bee colonies in order to be able to react and help in a timely manner in the event of epidemic-like bee diseases. With membership of an association, the compulsory beekeeping insuranceis automatically included.

... are the local beekeepers and beekeeping associations. They offer prime opportunities to get a taste of the kingdom of bees through a wide variety of young beekeeping projects.

Copyright - Landesverband für Bienenzucht in Kärnten

www.imkerschule.org