For everyone with a beekeeper or bee-enthusiast in their life, giving them a bee-themed gift is a great way to show you support their beekeeping passion. However, it is said that beekeepers can be picky and to help you giving a beekeeper something he or she actually needs, we asked our in-house beekeeper Willi for some ideas.
Beekeeping tools
Especially during winter, when there is little work with the bees, beekeepers prepare for the upcoming spring and restock on equipment. Now what tools should you give? This is a tricky question as there are many different types of hives which might require slightly different tools. If you are unsure what the beekeeper is using, you can never be wrong with buying a voucher of a local beekeeping shop. Sure, it might look a bit simple to buy a voucher instead of something tangible, however you are sure the beekeeper can buy something he or she really needs. In Switzerland, beekeeping shops like Bienen Meier and Imkereibedarf Wespi offer various vouchers in a range of CHF 20 to 100.
Beekeeping magazines
Beekeepers love to learn more about bees and beekeeping, and a subscription to a beekeeping magazine can be excellent gift. Usually every country has one or more beekeeping magazines. In Switzerland, there are Swiss beekeeping magazines in either German, French or Italian. The Swiss one («Schweizerische Bienenzeitung») is issued monthly and an annual subscription will cost CHF 60.
Many Swiss beekeepers might already have subscribed to the Swiss beekeeping magazine of their choice, however there are many other interesting magazines! Simply look for a magazine in the same language, but from a different region. For example, for German-speaking beekeepers, German magazines can also be an option. The «Deutsche Bienen Journal» and «Bienen & Natur» aim to deliver interesting articles for readers of the entire German-speaking region. Of course for French, Italian or any other language the same principle applies.
Beekeeping books
Besides magazines, there are many books on bees and beekeeping (which can be interesting for non-beekeepers as well). A while ago we wrote an overview of various beekeeping books (in German) which you can find here.
Tod einer Königin
One particulary interesting book is «Tod einer Königin» by Joana Kelén, a book for everyone interested in honeybees. The book gives an insight into the biology of honeybees and the causes of bee mortality. The content is well researched while at the same time the text is easy to understand and beautifully illustrated. The book can be bought at various book stores or online at prices ranging from CHF 25-35.
Bienenwachs Werkstatt
For the DIY types out there, this book by Petra Ahlert shows what wonderful products can be made out of beeswax. Ahlert shows that beeswax can be used for more then just candles and offers step-by-step guides to make your own soap, creams, lotions and more! The book can be bought at various book stores or online at prices ranging from CHF 20-30.
Beekeeping documentaries
Watching a good documentary on beekeeping and nature is another way of relaxing and learning something at the same time.
Honeyland
This beautifully shot documentary tells the story of «Hatidze» a woman living in Northern-Macedonia and one of the last «wild beekeepers» in Europe. She scales dangerous cliffs in search of wild hives and harvests honey sustainably of these wild colonies following the «Half for them, half for me» principle. Her life chances drastically when a family moves in next door. When these new neighbours also get into beekeeping, her sustainable methods become endangered.
More than Honey
This Swiss documentary film by Markus Imhoof tries to answer the question why bees are disappearing at such a rapid rates. Imhoof takes the viewer on a global journey, featuring a swiss beekeeper in the Alps, pollen traders in China, German bee-researcher Randolf Menzel and more. Although the documentary is suited for people with a non-beekeeping background, the global perspective on declining bee colonies can also be interesting to beekeepers.
Bee posters
If you are looking for a smaller gift, we have developed several posters (in German) about the life of honeybees. These informative posters for beekeepers and bee-enthusiast are a nice feature to fit perfectly into any apiary, schooling room or info point.
Each poster can be bought separately at CHF 14,70 a piece, all 4 posters together are sold at at discount of 49.70, find out more.
Bee patronage
With a patronage, you support our daily work with the bees and take an active part in the fight against bee mortality. Select one of our colonies of our apiaries and receive updates about the colony’s state and our research projects. 100% of the funds will flow into bee research and benefit the bees. Find our more here.
Varroa solution
The ultimate gift for a beekeeper is of course our «Varroa Solution». Vatorex’s varroa treatment fights the biggest threat to honeybees – the varroa mite, and our heat treatment have proven to be more effective than traditional chemical treatments. With our Varroa solution every beekeeper is ensured of healthy bees and does not have to rely on harmful chemicals anymore. Find out more here.
