Buzzing new arrivals: The campus bees are here!

We are delighted to share this great news from the university management here too:

Our new ‘campus beekeeper’, Scott Dombrowe (INW Faculty), has set up two beehives next to the flowering meadow with the support of Facilities Management. The peaceful and hard-working bees are now preparing for their first major task: producing the very first HSMW campus honey! The first honey is due to be harvested as early as the end of May, after the rapeseed has finished flowering. And that’s genuine teamwork: to produce a single 500g jar, the bees have to fly around 120,000 kilometres – that’s equivalent to three trips round the world! The honey will taste primarily of rapeseed, with floral notes from the surrounding area, such as from the neighbouring allotment association. A research team led by Professor Röbbe Wünschiers is analysing the honey’s composition.

But the honey is only part of the story: through pollination, the bees make a vital contribution to biodiversity – it is no coincidence that they are regarded as the third most important farm animal. This makes their health all the more important: Varroa mites and the invasive Asian hornet pose a growing threat. This is where research at the HSMW comes in – with studies into more resilient bee breeds. By the way: the first jars of ‘HSMW Campus Honey – First Edition’ will soon be available in the HSMWshop as a special gift for visitors. And anyone wishing to help build a larger bee watering trough or a windbreak can contact Scott Dombrowe directly.

Our conclusion: The campus bees are a small project with a big impact – for biodiversity, sustainability and a sweet greeting from Mittweida! 

(Text based on the HSMW internal newsletter)