Watch bees from the beehive log online

Online broadcast from a web cam aimed at this log is also one of the elements of the project "Traditional beekeeping: rescue of wild bees in the woods". The project has been carried out for several months jointly by the Forest Districts: Augustów (Augustów Forest), Browsk (Białowieża Forest), Maskulińskie (Pisz Forest) and Supraśl (Knyszyńska Forest), in collaboration with Warsaw University of Life Sciences and the University of Białystok.

The project will continue for two years. Planned activities include building wild beehives, training potential bee-keepers, creating educational paths, gardens with honey-producing vegetation and scientific research. The objective of cooperation with the University of Białystok is to prepare legal solutions concerning beekeeping and the use of forests for this purpose.

The project is worth nearly PLN 1.3 million gross, with funding from the so-called Norwegian funds amounting to PLN 1.1 million.

Bee-keepers from the Shulgan-Tash Reserve in Bashkortostan in the Urals (Russia) help Polish foresters restore traditional beekeeping. A few weeks ago, in the four forest districts participating in the project foresters prepared twenty new wild beehives and beehive logs for occupation by bees.

Augustów Deputy District Forester Adam Sieńko told PAP that recently foresters also managed to locate two "wild" swarms living in wild beehives in oak and aspen in the forest district.

Another element of the project is online broadcast transfer from two beehive logs, so that internet users can watch the life of bees live. "You will be able to see how they wake up in the spring, swarm or +air+ the log" - said Sieńko. He noted that the interesting events will be recorded and published on the project website, which will also provide live broadcast. You can watch it at www.tradycyjne-bartnictwo.pl.

In the future, the project will also launched a second webcam, located at beehive log in Forest District Browsk. This log is not yet inhabited by bees.

Beekeeping traditions associated with wild bees disappeared in Poland in the 18th and early 19th century, as a result of the development of agriculture, industry and more effective methods of beekeeping, but also administrative prohibitions. Wild bees were also killed by varroa mites, parasites that attacked bees in Europe.

Beekeeping traditions have survived to this day in the southern Urals, in the Republic of Bashkortostan, Russia. Honey produced by wild bees there is a sought-after commodity and achieves high prices. (PAP)

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