Beekeeping in the 21st Century
Humans have been harvesting honey for more than 7,000 years. This makes bees one of the oldest farm animals known to mankind. However, the way in which beekeepers extract honey has changed over the centuries.
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How do you actually become a beekeeper?
Although it is possible to recieve formal vocational training, beekeeping is actually a leisurely activity. Of the approximately 150,000 beekeepers currently in Germany, less than one percent practice professionally.
Take a course
If you want to become a beekeeper, you should take a course, which usually lasts an entire beekeeping season. During the course, prospective beekeepers learn, among other things, how the bee colony develops over an annual cycle. The costs are usually between 150 and 200 euros. The courses are offered by beekeeping associations and bee institutes, but also by nature conservation associations and adult education centers.
Buy starter equipment
You need a hive (the housing), frames and a hive chisel to open and clean the hive, as well as a broom to gently remove the bees from the combs. You also need a smoker to smoke and calm the bees. To protect your head and hands, gloves and a veil are enough to start with. Everything together costs around 500 euros. Larger equipment such as honey extractors can be borrowed from beekeeping associations.
Acquire bees
Anyone starting out in beekeeping would naturally need bees as well as equipment. Most hobby beekeepers keep two to three bee colonies, which cost between 500 and 700 euros. Important: Bee colonies must be registered with the veterinary office.
An interesting fact is that the beekeeping hobby is dominated by men. Only a fifth of all beekeepers are women.
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Pia Durth
Pia Durth was born in Paderborn in 2001 and grew up in Lippe. An internship at “Radio Lippe” was her introduction to journalism. From there, she moved to the local newspaper “Lippe Aktuell” as a freelancer. Her next step took her to the media metropolis of Cologne and an internship at a television production company. She now works in the media sector alongside her studies, sometimes in social media production, sometimes as an assistant on TV productions. Her next plan? To become a presenter!
Milena Klein
Milena Klein, born in Wertheim in 2002, is not afraid of adventure. In Portugal, she hiked the Way of St. James in the pouring rain and in Slovenia she helped with the grape harvest. Always with her: her camera. Ever since she was given her first disposable camera for her seventh birthday, she has used it to record all her experiences. She now processes her photos into photo albums or videos. Her grandparents are always the first people she shows her pictures to and tells them about her experiences.
Florian Semrau
Florian Semrau was born in Hamm in 1998. His interest in media and journalism was awakened during a school internship in a print shop. His further path led him to the press department of the information and documentation channel Phoenix, where he works as a student trainee. And because he deals with cultural and political issues there, he would like to combine the two later on: In future, he wants to travel the world as a foreign reporter and report on foreign cultures.