Species-appropriate beekeeping

Beeswax regularly plays the leading role in making our cosmetics . We only ever use Bioland or demeter beeswax, because species-appropriate beekeeping matters a lot to us. Species-appropriate means the bees are kept in a way that lets them live out their natural needs and instincts largely as nature intended. The idea is that the individual bee colony knows best how to help itself and what it needs. So that the colony can act on its own as undisturbed as possible, the beekeepers step in as little as possible.

In practice, that can look like this:

• Enjoy the honey in moderation — only take as much as the bees can spare for getting through the winter.
• Set up a buffet — to give bees enough food all year round, plant plenty of nutritious plants for them in the surrounding area.
• Bees need a strong immune system too — no stepping in with medication & co.
• Leave the "interior decorating" of their home up to the bees themselves.
• The homes should be made of natural materials.
• Freedom for the queen! The queen can move about freely, and the colony decides where and how the brood and honey space are laid out.
• Sometimes a move is unavoidable — when it gets too crowded, the swarm goes its own separate way and the queen moves out with a part of the colony. That's how they reproduce, through the swarming instinct.