No food without bees – safe pollination of our food thanks to wild bees

Wild Bee + Partners implements a holistic strategy for a future with wild bees: With well-founded educational work, active and targeted propagation of wild bees and with the creation of wild bee habitats, they make a significant contribution to ensuring that the pollinators do not disappear in the future.

Wild bee promotion has many faces

Wild Bee + Partners complement the many important actions of conservationists and private initiatives with a special approach. Why do they do this? They want to get as many people as possible excited about the topic of wild bees and turn them into real wild bee friends. They achieve this goal by providing nesting sites, habitat and information:

• Mason bees and over a dozen other species nest in their BeeHomes.
• In the 16 wild bee paradises in Switzerland, many different wild bee species settle on a total area of over one hectare and reproduce sustainably.
• On guided tours and in lectures, they regularly bring the fascinating life of wild bees closer to many nature lovers.
• In orchards, the mason bees propagated by private individuals ensure reliable pollination for better harvests.

BeeHome

The wild bee house BeeHome offers a wild bee experience for everyone. Due to its easy handling, it is an ideal way to get first access to the topic of wild bees: With the BeeHome, customers receive a starting population of 25 mason bee cocoons in spring. As soon as they have hatched, you can watch them fly out. When the mason bees have sealed the nest tubes and the flight period is over at the end of May, summer wild bees from the surrounding area can be attracted with the right wildflowers. In autumn, customers can send in the BeeHome for wild bee care. Sending it in for care and overwintering in autumn is voluntary – in nature, mason bees overwinter in their cocoons outdoors. Care and proper overwintering will reduce the rate of loss of mason bees due to parasites. In spring, the BeeHome is returned to the customer and they can view their statistics online.

Owning a BeeHome involves very little effort and you don’t have to be a wild bee expert to do it. The emotional connection that is created when you can witness the life cycle of wild bees in your own home helps to develop interest. This also increases the motivation to deal with the topic beyond the BeeHome and to plant wild bee-friendly flowers.  The advantage of this approach is that the customers experience the life of wild bees in practice. The theory is in the background at the beginning, but those who start to become interested in the topic are also supported by Wildbiene + Partner in acquiring the theoretical knowledge.

BeeParadises

With the BeeParadises, Wildbiene + Partner creates habitats for many wild bee species. They design and build aesthetic natural gardens in which numerous native wild plants thrive and rare wild bee species find a valuable home. With the wild bee paradises, they bring city and country dwellers closer to the habitat and life of wild bees. The BeeParadises, of which there are already over sixteen in Switzerland, are also a nice way to show that bee-friendly spaces are also possible in urban areas.

Lectures and guided tours

Lectures and guided tours offer interested parties the opportunity to learn more about the topic of wild bees. The ETH spin off informs and shares exciting facts about wild bees.

© Wildbiene + Partner

OsmiPro pollination service

The fourth field of action for a future with wild bees is the OsmiPro pollination service for orchards. This offer is aimed specifically at fruit growers who want to secure and optimise the pollination of their orchards with the help of mason bees. With the mason bees, Wildbiene + Partner offers a sustainable alternative to honey bees and bumblebees and contributes to the multiplication of wild bees.

Nominated Solution: Bestäubungsservice und Wildbienen-Patenschaft

Company: Wildbiene + Partner

Further information: www.wildbieneundpartner.ch