Mowing in a bee-friendly manner

In extreme cases, mowing a flowering meadow that's attractive to bees can kill up to 90,000 honey bees per hectare. If farmers pay attention to a few things, they can significantly reduce these losses or even prevent them altogether.

Mower conditioners and mulchers are deadly to bees and other small animals. When used to mow meadows heavily visited by bees, it can be dangerous for them.

Apiservice points out that under extreme conditions, up to 90,000 honey bees can be killed per hectare, significantly weakening the colonies. Dandelions and white clover are particularly popular forage plants for bees, and meadows with these species are often visited.

The Bee Health Service offers the following tips for bee-friendly mowing:

• Mowing extensive, flower-rich meadows without a conditioner.
• Meadows with dandelions should only be mown after flowering (according to the recommendation of the Working Group for the Promotion of Forage Production (AGFF) when the grasses are in panicle formation).
• Only mow meadows with flowering white clover with a conditioner if less than one bee per two square meters is observed.