Matthias K. Thun - Biodynamic beekeeping : a sustainable way to keep happy, healthy bees

It was with great sadness that we learned of the sudden passing of Matthias Thun in June 2020 while the English edition of this book was being prepared for publication. Matthias was the son of Maria Thun, the biodynamic pioneer and creator of the Biodynamic Calendar. He applied her methods to beekeeping and conducted his own extensive research and experimentation. The results of his invaluable work, carried out over the course of fifty years of caring for bees, are to be found in this book.

The translation of this book has been long awaited by English-speaking beekeepers who are interested in biodynamics. Not only is it the first book to translate into modern beekeeping practice Rudolf Steiners indications on the essential nature of the honey bee, indications that have since inspired many apiarists to join the growing trend towards natural beekeeping, but it is also the only practical beekeeping book that integrates awareness of cosmic phenomena into bee husbandry.

Rudolf Steiner (18611925), the founder of anthroposophy, a science of the spirit, lectured on many aspects of practical life, one of which was an approach to plant and animal husbandry that is holistic in the fullest possible sense. It came to be called biodynamics, and today, biodynamic agriculture and horticulture take their place amongst the foremost initiatives engaged in organic food production, recognisable by the Demeter certification label.

Inspired by Steiners indications in his agriculture lectures on the involvement in terrestrial life processes of not only the planets but also the constellations of the zodiac, Maria Thun (19222012) developed her Biodynamic Calendar, which Matthias subsequently applied to beekeeping. Depending on the position of the planets and the constellation, the days of the year acquire different qualities according to the four classical elements. Instead of disturbing the bees on days that suit the beekeepers convenience, Matthias shows how, with the help of the calendar, the most propitious times can be chosen for carrying out such tasks as hive inspections, harvesting honey, artificial swarming and even grafting larvae.

A special feature of the authors method is working with the swarm urge rather than against it, as is common in modern beekeeping. He cites a vivid example of how long-term swarm suppression leads to colony disease. In fact, recent research has shown that when colonies are allowed to swarm naturally, the reinvigoration this brings contributes to their coping in the long term with the varroa mite and its highly damaging viruses.

Another feature is the use of natural combs, built by the bees themselves without the use of artificial foundation, which avoids introducing into the hives pesticides that have accumulated in old and recycled beeswax. We are given a thorough guide to the management of natural combs, which it is almost impossible to find in other modern beekeeping books. Matthias Thun describes the use of a special case of such combs, namely the building frame, a device almost unknown outside the European continent, which allows the beekeeper to judge the status of a colony without opening it. Opening a hive, thereby letting out the colonys warmth, must surely be among the most bee-unfriendly tasks that the beekeeper has to perform.

Following an indication by Steiner to add chamomile tea to bee feed to make it more digestible, Matthias extends this to include teas of all the other plants used in the biodynamic preparations: yarrow, chamomile, dandelion, valerian, nettle, oak bark and horsetail. This further helps link his approach to the biodynamic method, as it is impossible for biodynamic beekeepers to ensure that their bees foraging range (often more than a mile in radius) is entirely on land under biodynamic management.

I commend this book to not only experienced beekeepers who would like to transition to a more bee-friendly approach, but also beginners who, while having access in some form to instruction about basic beekeeping, do not want to be steered into the conventional, mechanistic apiculture that new generations of beekeepers are increasingly finding unsatisfactory.

David Heaf
Author of The Bee-friendly Beekeeper