{"id":856,"date":"2026-09-15T13:44:25","date_gmt":"2026-09-15T11:44:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/beekeeping-less-is-more\/"},"modified":"2026-11-14T18:13:27","modified_gmt":"2026-11-14T17:13:27","slug":"beekeeping-less-is-more","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/en\/beekeeping-less-is-more\/","title":{"rendered":"Project: Beekeeping \u2013 less is more"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"et_pb_section_0 et_pb_section et_section_regular et_flex_section\"><div class=\"et_pb_row_0 et_pb_row et_flex_row\"><div class=\"et_pb_column_0 et_pb_column et-last-child et_flex_column et_pb_css_mix_blend_mode_passthrough et_flex_column_24_24 et_flex_column_24_24_tablet et_flex_column_24_24_phone\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_0 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p><strong>Project responsibility:<\/strong> <br \/><strong>Sub-project lead \u201cExpert commission\u201d:<\/strong> <a href=\"mailto:andreas.mueller@naturumweltwissen.ch\">Dr Rainer Neumeyer<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_text_1 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p><strong>Downloads:<\/strong> <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_text_2 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/dlm_uploads\/2021\/01\/Imkerei-weniger-ist-mehr-Juni_2021.pdf\">Project brochure \u201cImkerei \u2013 weniger ist mehr\u201d (in German)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IGWB_Literatur_Zusammenfassungen_Konkurrenz_v1.pdf\">12 important studies on competition between honey bees and wild bees (summaries, in German)<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Unterstu%CC%88tzungsmo%CC%88glichkeiten-Fakten-Imkerei-%E2%80%93-weniger-ist-mehr-fu%CC%88r-Vereine.pdf\">Information sheet for associations (in German)<\/a> <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_heading_0 et_pb_heading et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_heading_container\"><h1 class=\"et_pb_module_header\">Background<\/h1><\/div><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_text_3 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p>Most people and institutions in this country hold the view that managed honey bees are indispensable and that there cannot be enough of them if food security and biodiversity are to be assured. In fact honey bees are capable of affecting the populations of wild flower visitors, and thereby biodiversity as a whole, adversely.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_image_0 et_pb_image et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Andrena_fulva_1_female_AR_Jura_2020-04-12.jpg\" width=\"1200\" height=\"795\" srcset=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Andrena_fulva_1_female_AR_Jura_2020-04-12.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Andrena_fulva_1_female_AR_Jura_2020-04-12-980x649.jpg 980w, https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Andrena_fulva_1_female_AR_Jura_2020-04-12-480x318.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) 1200px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-186\" \/><\/span><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_text_4 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p><em>Photo: For building its nest, the tawny mining bee (Andrena fulva) depends on open ground largely free of vegetation. Pictured is a male on a willow flower. (Photo: \u00a9 J\u00fcrg Sommerhalder).<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_text_5 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p>This applies above all when their density is too high, since they compete with wild pollinators for the limited flower resources available. Because we hold that the density of honey bees in Switzerland is in many places far too high, we campaign for beekeeping to be regulated. Not only in nature reserves, but in urban areas too: surveys of recent years show that wild bees are increasingly moving into towns to escape the growing lack of flowers and structures in farmland.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_text_6 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p>IG Wilde Biene does not intend to call the importance of beekeeping into question in principle, nor to hold beekeepers liable for circumstances that are not of their making. The opposite is the case: among our members and partners are beekeepers and organisations connected with beekeeping who share our view that the uncontrolled spread of ever more managed colonies ought to be regulated \u2014 in the interest of all wild pollinators and of genuinely supporting native biodiversity.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_text_7 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><p>The following institutions support this project as partners: <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_image_1 et_pb_image et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Corymbo.png\" alt=\"Corymbo\" title=\"Corymbo\" width=\"644\" height=\"138\" srcset=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Corymbo.png 644w, https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Corymbo-480x103.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 644px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-90\" \/><\/span><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_image_2 et_pb_image et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Paul_Schiller.png\" alt=\"Paul Schiller\" title=\"Paul Schiller\" width=\"300\" height=\"126\" srcset=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/Paul_Schiller.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" class=\"wp-image-187\" \/><\/span><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_image_3 et_pb_image et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/NimS_logo_green_new.png\" alt=\"NIMS\" title=\"NIMS\" width=\"570\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/NimS_logo_green_new.png 570w, https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/NimS_logo_green_new-480x253.png 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) 570px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-188\" \/><\/span><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_image_4 et_pb_image et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/EGZ_Logo.png\" alt=\"EGZ\" title=\"EGZ\" width=\"410\" height=\"123\" srcset=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/EGZ_Logo.png 410w, https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/EGZ_Logo-300x90.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 410px) 100vw, 410px\" class=\"wp-image-189\" \/><\/span><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_image_5 et_pb_image et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><span class=\"et_pb_image_wrap\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ftp_logo_gross.jpg\" alt=\"FREETHEBEES\" title=\"FREETHEBEES\" width=\"1387\" height=\"1387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ftp_logo_gross.jpg 1387w, https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ftp_logo_gross-1280x1280.jpg 1280w, https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ftp_logo_gross-980x980.jpg 980w, https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/ftp_logo_gross-480x480.jpg 480w\" sizes=\"(min-width: 0px) and (max-width: 480px) 480px, (min-width: 481px) and (max-width: 980px) 980px, (min-width: 981px) and (max-width: 1280px) 1280px, (min-width: 1281px) 1387px, 100vw\" class=\"wp-image-190\" \/><\/span><\/div><div class=\"et_pb_text_8 et_pb_text et_pb_bg_layout_light et_pb_module et_flex_module\"><div class=\"et_pb_text_inner\"><table border=\"0\">\n<td>\n<div align=\"left\"><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<div align=\"right\"><a href=\"\/en\/the-arguments\/\">The arguments &gt;&gt;<\/a><\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/table>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-856","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=856"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2074,"href":"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/856\/revisions\/2074"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/igwildebiene.ch\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}