In order to get to the bottom of the causes of bee mortality, we need to know more about the environment in which bumblebees and the like feel at home. In a citizen science project, schoolchildren are collecting data on the animals' behaviour.
The white cardboard box Nadine Andreßen is carrying in front of her hums quietly. The teacher is surrounded by pupils from her year 12 class at BBS am Museumsdorf Cloppenburg in the south of Oldenburg. When a pupil carefully opens the lid, she discovers the source of the buzzing: a colony of bumblebees.
For the students, this first encounter with the furry insects was the start of a special kind of project: for four weeks, they observed the queen and her entourage, whose nesting box was located in a meadow in the museum village for this time. How many animals fly in and out? Do they bring pollen to the nest? Which plants grow in the neighbourhood? With their findings, the young people are supporting the German-Dutch research project B-R(H)APSODIE, in which the university is involved under the leadership of the Botanical Garden. The aim of the project is to strengthen cross-border cooperation on bees - which, as wild bees, also include bumblebees - and to raise public awareness of the threat to these insects.
Where do bumblebees feel at home?
A total of 14 schools in north-west Germany and 15 Dutch classes are taking part in the project. Another 30 are to be added in the coming year. "This will allow us to compare which environment is particularly suitable for bumblebees across a good 60 locations," explains biologist Prof Dr Dirk Albach, Head of the Botanical Garden.
In order to support the classes and make the results comparable, Dutch students have developed a guide for teachers as well as folders with information and tasks for the pupils. The wooden boxes in which the bumblebee nests are housed have been fitted with sensors - this was done by the Van Hall Larenstein University of Applied Sciences in Leeuwarden as a project partner. The sensors register every animal flying in and out and measure temperature and humidity.
Oldenburg student teacher Kim Köhler is collating all the data from the German schools. In her bachelor's thesis, she is investigating the links between landscape, climate and the growth of the bumblebee population. "It has been found that honeybees nowadays do better in urban centres than in the countryside, where maize monocultures dominate. We want to see whether this is also the case for bumblebees," explains the student.
Learning how to deal with insects
The project also aims to help make the topic of bee mortality more tangible for pupils. "Many pupils know what bumblebees look like, but not what role they play in our ecosystem - that without their pollination, for example, many types of fruit would not bear fruit," says Köhler. Albach adds: "The pupils should also learn how to handle the insects. Many are afraid to get close to bumblebees for fear of being stung. We want the pupils to lose their fear of the animals, but not their respect." The children and young people should also be encouraged to think about how their schoolyard could be made more insect-friendly.
In Cloppenburg, they have since summarised: "It was interesting and fun to watch how the bumblebee nest developed. One or two surprises also helped to keep things interesting," says Nadine Andreßen after the four weeks. For example, a new, second queen briefly caused trouble and pests wanted to raid the nest. The teacher is completely convinced by the project: "Being involved in real research really motivated the pupils." An aspect that is also particularly close to Dirk Albach's heart: "We want to get pupils excited about research in general and science in particular. We want them to realise that they can make a valuable contribution to science using simple methods."