25 years of Hamburg airport bees – Hamburg Airport

Bees have been collecting honey at Hamburg Airport since 1999. Wild bee support has also been going on for 10 years.

22.08.2024

Hamburg Airport’s smallest “aviators” are celebrating their anniversary: ​​bee colonies have been traveling around the airport grounds for just 25 years, delivering honey new. At the same time, they swim out as “bio-detectors” as honey, wax and pollen provide information about air quality in addition to official measurements. But it’s not just over 200,000 honey bees that take off and land at the airport. The wild bee project, launched by the airport together with the German Wildlife Foundation, is now in its tenth year. It helps to expand the habitat of insects that are increasingly in danger of extinction.

“Whether it’s honey bees or wild bees – the airport area with its green areas, species-rich plants and even a pond is an ideal habitat for these animals that are worth protecting and useful in the city center big,” said airport custodian and environmental engineer Ingo Fehr. “Hamburg Airport offers one of the largest green spaces in the Hanseatic city. The workload of each individual bee is enormous: each one makes about 40 trips a day and visits about 4,000 flowers. One kilo of honey requires about three kilos of nectar. During its life, a bee collects about one to two teaspoons of honey.

Regular tests not only on honey, but also on wax and pollen by independent laboratories have shown that the chemical-physical values ​​of honey are flawless. They comply with the provisions of the German Honey Ordinance for edible honey and the quality guidelines of the German Keepers’ Association. “Our honey has a flowery, aromatic taste and a smell typical of honey,” said the bee. because of the portion However, it is not sold in small quantities, but is used as a small gift for special occasions. With its honey bee project, Hamburg Airport was one of the pioneers at the time. Several other airports have now followed suit.

“But it’s not just the honey bees that deserve our attention,” emphasizes Ingo Fehr, an employee in the environment department at Hamburg Airport. “Wild bees in particular play a key role in they pollinate flowering plants and are therefore essential for the balance of our ecosystems. For this reason, we launched the ‘More Space for Wild Bees’ project in 2015, with the German Wildlife Foundation providing us. technical support.”

The situation of wild bees is a cause for concern: around half of the 604 wild bee species found in Germany are currently considered to be endangered. “One of the main reasons is the loss of suitable food plants and nesting opportunities,” explains Manuel Hensen, project manager at the German Wildlife Foundation. “That’s why projects like the one at Hamburg Airport are so important: they create urgently needed habitats for the endangered insects. ”

In recent years, Hamburg Airport, with the advice of the foundation, has implemented a number of measures to make areas especially friendlier to wild bees. A local mix of wild flowers has been planted, areas of raw earth have been created as nesting areas and trees appropriate to the site have been planted, which offer valuable food sources, especially in the spring. Dead wood left lying around creates additional breeding sites. Green areas on streets and parking lots grow in different ways and provide lots of nectar and pollen for insects. In addition, wild bee hotels have been built, which are popular with their small residents and at the same time inform airport visitors about the project.

“Travellers, visitors and workers do not need to be afraid of the frequent wild bees – wild bees are peaceful insects and only sting in special cases,” said Manuel Hensen and Ingo Fehr. these joint measures, we are making a significant contribution to protecting wild bees in our area.”