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We just get a buzz out of it:
our honey bees

The value of bees in agriculture is greater than you might think.

Pollination by bees is essential for almost a third of all the food we eat. Reason enough to support the preservation of honey bees and wild bees. Since 2018, we have been giving numerous bee colonies a place to live and thrive on some of our heristo company premises as well as at our employees homes. Our colleague Martin Schulz takes care of all our honey bees – with the passion of a true bee-keeper.

Martin, you have been looking after our bees since the beginning.
Can you tell us how many bee colonies have currently made their home with us?

Martin: We have just over 100 bee colonies at various locations at the moment. Some have taken up residence on fields and meadows, such as the ones in Versmold, and some can be found on company premises or at colleagues’ homes. We would like to get the number of bee colonies up to 150 in future. We always check that there are at least five colonies in an apiary to ensure that we don’t have too many different sites which are far apart. This makes the management and care of the bees quite a bit easier.

You put your heart and soul into bee-keeping.
Where does your passion come from?

Martin: Basically I am a real animal lover. I have already bred many animals – from rabbits right through to domestic cats – but bees have always fascinated me. It is really unbelievable how structured and organised these insects are in the hive. When people were calling for the company group to have its own bee colonies three years ago, I knew straight away that I was the right person for the job. Working for the preservation of honey bees and wild bees has been a labour of love ever since.

Please give us a glimpse into the everyday life of a bee-keeper.
What are the challenges of the job?

Martin: I work with the bees six days a week in the spring because the swarm season starts in May and June. This is the busiest time of the year for bees. As soon as there are enough bees, brood and supplies, the colony goes into swarming mode. The creatures want to multiply therefore they form a swarm which splits off from the existing bee colony. About half of the bees then move out with the queen and settle in a nearby tree or bush in a cluster before looking for a home for the new colony. These processes carry on until mid-July. So I have to keep an eye on the bees almost every day during the swarming season to make sure that everything is running smoothly.

Can you tell us how to recognise honey of a good quality?
What are the characteristics to look out for?

Martin: What many people do not know is that the Germans absolutely love honey. Honey from the local area is particularly popular. Our honey bears a label saying “Echter Deutscher Honig” which is a seal of quality for authentic German honey. It has to meet strict quality criteria to carry this designation. As a general rule, the honey must be produced exclusively in Germany and it must be organic and contain less than 18 per cent water. This is because honey with a low water content is richer, less at risk of fermentation and has a fuller aroma. You will often see varieties in the supermarket labelled “Landhonig” or “Imkerhonig”, which translate as “country honey” or “bee-keeping honey”. These products are often blends of honey from different countries and have undergone industrial processing in order to change their consistency and colour. We are very proud that our honey bears the seal of quality and that it is regularly tested in a laboratory by Eurofins.

Wonderful! Finally, do you have a tip for all the gardening enthusiasts and plant lovers out there so that they can do something to protect insects?

Martin: Sufficient opportunities for breeding are essential so that the insects can reproduce. These might take the form of insect hotels or small bumblebee boxes. It makes no difference. Many people shy away from these options because they are afraid of attracting wasps. But this is nothing to worry about because wasps will not move into an insect hotel. Only bees or bumblebees will do this and they are completely harmless to humans. I can only appeal to the general public to make the balcony or garden as insect-friendly as possible. As Albert Einstein said back in his day, “If the bees die out, humans will have four years left to live”. And we don’t want it to come to that now, do we?