!!!Bienenzucht

Apiarism (bee-keeping) in Austria has a long tradition, as shown by 
some field-names. Maria Theresia was the first to issue a specific law 
for bee-keepers in 1775: They were exempt from paying duties and taxes 
to their overlords, and no toll had to be paid for beehives. A school 
of apiarism was established at the Belvedere in Vienna, and others 
soon followed. In 1851, the Agricultural Society set up an apiarism 
section in Vienna, and in 1900, the Association of Apiarists already 
had 164 branches all over the country. In 1923, the Austrian Apiarism 
Association was founded. Important names in this context are J. M. v. 
Ehrenfels, Father C. Schachinger (d. 1923) from Purgstall (Lower 
Austria), who for many years was chief editor of the "Bienenzeitung", 
Guido Sklenar from Mistelbach (Lower Austria) and Karl Pechitz from 
St. Walburgen (Carinthia), both of whose names are world-famous 
because of their breeding of queens. E. Hruscha invented the honey 
extractor. A school of apiarism exists at Imst (Tyrol), an Institute 
of Apiculture at Gainfarn (Lower Austria). The provinces are 
responsible for bee-keeping regulations. According to section 384 of 
the ABGB (General Austrian Civil Code of Law), a swarm of bees is 
considered abandoned if the owner does not take up the chase 
straightaway or abandons them outright.

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Since the early eighties, a new parasite has appeared in Austria, the 
Varroa mite, which did its greatest damage in 1986. In 1992, the 
Oesterreichischer Imkerbund (Austrian Association of Bee-keepers) 
embarked on a specific selection programme for the Carnica bee which 
was prepared by the University of Agriculture in Vienna. Tolerance and 
active resistance against the Varroa mite are important assessment 
criteria in this programme.

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In 1993, 29,342 bee-keepers in Austria kept 411,082 bee colonies 
producing approx. 5,500 t of honey a year. The tendency is slightly 
downward (1961: roughly 37,000 bee-keepers and 448,700 bee colonies). 
In 1992, roughly 6,200 t of honey were imported.

!Publications
Der Bienenvater, monthly journal of the Austrian 
Association of Bee-keepers, Vienna; Alpenlaendische Bienen-Zeitung; 
ed. monthly for Vorarlberg, Tyrol and Salzburg, Innsbruck; Bienenwelt, 
Graz (monthly).


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