We have all heard of bees and flowers. But the honey bee is good for so much more than metaphors and allegories. For example, they collect delicious honey: whether spring or summer honey, whether rapeseed or chestnut honey, there is a variety for every taste. Or the delicious year-round honey - a year in a jar. In addition, she produces wax for deliciously scented candles, pollen, propolis and much more.

But let's be honest: life without honey and bee candles is possible. The true value of the bee for the ecosystem (and thus very directly for us humans) lies in its pollination service. More than two thirds of all cultivated plants are wholly or partly dependent on pollination by insects. Not only in our country, but also in other parts of the world, such as cocoa and vanilla, which depend entirely on insects. But what are numbers when we think of a world without cherries, strawberries and chocolate?

Yet despite this immense importance, the number of bee colonies in Germany has more than halved. Whereas there were still around 2.5 million bee colonies in the 1950s, there were only around 900,000 bee colonies in 2020. Modern agriculture with its pesticides and monocultures as well as the introduced Varroa mite are only two of many drivers of this development.

Together we can counteract this trend and ensure more bees in the country again. With a bee sponsorship through iv50plus, you support the regional beekeepers of 'Südwest Mietbienen' in the propagation, care and health maintenance of vital honey bee colonies. As a thank you, you not only get the good feeling of being committed to our environment, but also delicious honey from your sponsored bees - the very special iv50plus honey.

In the wake of honey bees, you can also support wild bees with your sponsorship. Talk to your customers and employees about your bee sponsorship and the underlying problem. Surely some of them will plant their own garden or balcony in a more bee-friendly way next spring and thus also prepare a laid table for the wild bees. One sponsorship, many winners.

Bees do not have it easy in 2021

Bees in the flight hole

Bees collect pollen from the hazel

Bees on apple blossom

 Rush hour at the flight hole

Honey diversity

lörg Staffel of Southwest Hired Bees

A swarm of bees leaves the hive

Bees are an important part of our ecosystem. This was already the case in ancient times. There, honey was also a remedy. Bees are needed to pollinate flowers and honey is a result of the busy work of bees. Our crops, which we need for our food, would yield much less if insects did not do the pollinating. Fruits, vegetables and fodder crops would drop to 10-20% of normal yields without pollination. Also, many plant species would cease to exist, because without pollination, no seeds can form, which are important for reproduction.

The well-known saying: "Busy as a bee" can be traced back to this.

How busy is the bee now?

For a 500 gram jar of honey the bees have to fly:120,000 kilometres

• Flying 120,000 kilometres
• Approach 2 to 7 million flowers
• 7,000 flowers per day and per bee

A bee colony produces about 20-25 kilos of honey per year. This is only possible in a collective effort of about 40,000 bees. At the same time, one bee weighs 0.1 gram!

Honey was already an important product in ancient times and was also used as a remedy. At that time, honey was harvested only once a year and there were no pesticides or herbicides. A decline or even the absence of natural pollination, which cannot really be replaced, would have serious consequences for the entire oil system. And thus on all the people of this earth.

That is why our advocacy group is launching a campaign "We help the bees - bee sponsorship".

We have made an agreement with the beekeeper "Südwest Bienen" that he will provide us with the beehives and also look after them throughout the year. The beekeeper is also responsible for the hive and guarantees us a honey yield of 15 KG per hive per year.

• You don't have enough space to put up a bee colony in your garden and don't want any trouble with the neighbours? Take part in our campaign and become a bee sponsor. By doing so, you support the preservation of bees and make a sustainable contribution to nature as a whole despite the lack of space.
• We provide a place for your beehive. It is located in a protected valley in Baden-Württemberg, where pesticides and herbicides do not occur.
• Your hive will be marked by name and can be visited by appointment.
• Our beekeeper will regularly give an introduction to bees for you on site. In doing so, you can expand your knowledge about the bee and its benefits for the environment. This is of course also particularly exciting for children.
• You will receive a personal certificate of your bee sponsorship, which you can frame and hang up in your company or children's room, for example, to make even more people aware of the importance of the honey bee for us and our environment.
• With a monthly expenditure of Euro 25.00 you receive a bee sponsorship. As a supporting member BASIS of IV50Plus e.V. the monthly expenditure is Euro 23.00 and as a supporting member PREMIUM monthly Euro 19.00. With this you acquire a tenth share in a colony until the end of the sponsorship.
• If you would like to sponsor an entire hive, please contact us. This is a very interesting possibility for companies and associations.
• Bee sponsorship is also a very individual gift - whether for an anniversary, birthday, Christmas or as a thank-you gift. After all, who has their own honey without being a beekeeper?   
• You get your own year-round honey.

Our advocacy group wants to promote bees without becoming a beekeeper directly. The bees can no longer exist without beekeepers.

We need the bees in nature, because honey can be imported, their pollination services cannot.

Become a sponsor of a beehive and get your own honey!

Support BEE-RENT and lease a bee colony - we'll take care of everything else!

Once the bee disappears from the earth, man has only four years to live. No more bees, no more pollination, no more plants, no more animals, no more humans.
Albert Einstein, Theoretical Physicist

Yet despite this immense importance, the number of bee colonies in Germany has more than halved. Whereas there were still around 2.5 million bee colonies in the 1950s, there were only around 900,000 bee colonies in 2020. Modern agriculture with its pesticides and monocultures as well as the introduced Varroa mite are only two of many drivers of this development.

For more information, please visit www.iv50plus.de or call us:

• 06271-77456 or 0176-63657655
• E-mail: kracht@iv50plus.de
• Internet: www.iv50plus.de