Wine Diary
Bee News from Loiserberg
Just like us, our bees on Loiserberg have used the first longer, warmer days to swarm into the countryside. The queen bee is now laying more eggs. There is a busy throng on the flight board. Working bees land, their legs heavily laden with red, orange and yellow pollen. They supply highly energetic food for the brood.
With some luck we may observe young bees eclosing, covered with a tender bloom. One bee colony may hatch between 5000 and 12000 bees per week now. We also may discover the first drones, easy to recognize by their chubby bodies and big eyes. They seem to be exempt from the hustle and bustle in the hive and just crawl around ponderously.
On Loiserberg we just have sown a rich blend of flowering plants also destined to be a perfect bee pasture. Moreover, the complex root system of the green cover will also have beneficial effects on the soil, stabilizing its structure and fixing nutrients otherwise easily lost. More channels will be created, and more water can be stored for the vines, an even greater benefit in the dry season.
We are already looking forward to the colorful tableau composed of soft pink-white buckwheat, dark red, white and lilac inflorescences of all sorts of clover, as well as “gold of pleasure” with its delicate yellow hue. We also can’t forget the almost shaggy appearance of the bee friend Phacelia.
Bees are not the only ones to enjoy this beautiful weather. Emerald lizards are sunbathing near the bee hives. They enjoy the warmth, unimpressed by our visits or the activity of the bees.