TrachtNet
Lexikon
TrachtNet is not a physical network but a joint measuring network run by the bee institutes of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and Bavaria that makes the nectar flow, i.e.
TrachtNet is not a physical network but a joint measuring network run by the bee institutes of Rhineland-Palatinate, Hesse and Bavaria that makes the nectar flow, i.e. the current nectar and pollen supply, visible across various regions of Germany. For this purpose, automatic hive scales are set up at many locations, whose data are collected and evaluated centrally.
Each participating scale measures the weight of a bee colony at short intervals and additionally transmits climate data such as temperature and precipitation. From the weight curve it can be read whether and how strongly the bees are currently bringing in nectar, while weather disturbances are filtered out using appropriate evaluation methods. The results are made accessible to beekeepers online, so that every beekeeper can follow the course of the flow at their own sites as well as at other, anonymized sites.
For practice, TrachtNet is above all a decision-making aid: the weight curves can be used to estimate when a flow begins and ends, when adding further honey supers is worthwhile, or when the right time for harvesting is approaching. Because an early, strong start to the flow in spring is, by experience, also associated with a faster development of the varroa mite population, the network also serves as an early warning indicator for varroa treatment.