About Deutsches Bienenjournal

Deutsches Bienenjournal

The Deutsches Bienenjournal, subtitled "Forum für Wissenschaft und Praxis" (forum for science and practice), is a national German-language specialist journal for beekeepers, published monthly. Founded in January 1993 and published by the Deutscher Bauernverlag until September 2025, it has since belonged to the portfolio of the Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag (dlv), where it is presented under the umbrella of the beekeeping media brand bienen&natur. With a print run of around 22,900 copies and a distributed circulation of about 23,500, it addresses both beginners and professional beekeepers as well as scientists, covering beekeeping practice, bee biology, the environment, science and agricultural policy. Under editor-in-chief Silke Beckedorf, the journal has built a reputation for critical, investigative reporting, including leading research into the major scandals over adulterated beeswax in cooperation with affected beekeepers.

Overview

Beekeeping in Germany has experienced a remarkable renaissance, with the number of beekeepers and colonies growing steadily, driven by ecological awareness and the popularity of urban beekeeping. The Deutsches Bienenjournal serves this expanding community as a journal that takes both the craft and the science of beekeeping seriously. Its subtitle, "Forum für Wissenschaft und Praxis", describes its editorial programme: contributions from practitioners and scientists sit side by side, with reportage from the editorial team providing independent journalistic scrutiny.

The readership spans the full spectrum of German beekeeping: beginners taking their first steps with a few hives, experienced hobby beekeepers with dozens of colonies, professional beekeepers who earn their living from honey and pollination services, and researchers at the bee institutes. The journal's content reflects this breadth, moving between practical how-to guidance, biological and scientific background, environmental and agricultural policy, and the economic questions of professional beekeeping. Reader surveys in the beekeeping press consistently show that specialist journals remain the most-used information source for beekeepers, ahead of books and search engines, which underlines the journal's central role in knowledge transfer within the community.

A distinctive feature of the journal is its critical journalism. The editorial team has tackled controversial topics such as the use of neonicotinoids and glyphosate in agriculture and their effects on bees, and it played a leading role, together with affected beekeepers, in investigating and publicising the major scandals over adulterated beeswax that shook the German beekeeping world. This investigative commitment distinguishes the journal from purely instructional publications and has earned it credibility as an independent voice in the beekeeping community.

History

The Deutsches Bienen-Journal was founded in January 1993, in the years following German reunification, as a national specialist journal for beekeepers. It was published by the Deutscher Bauernverlag, the Berlin-based agricultural publishing house, with its editorial office in Berlin. From the beginning it positioned itself as a forum connecting beekeeping practice with bee science, addressing the whole German-speaking beekeeping community rather than serving as the organ of a single association.

Over more than three decades, the journal documented the transformation of German beekeeping: the spread of the Varroa mite and the search for treatment strategies, the debates over bee health and pesticide regulation, the professionalisation of queen breeding, the growth of organic beekeeping, and the recent boom in hobby and urban beekeeping. Its investigative reporting on adulterated beeswax, carried out in cooperation with affected beekeepers, brought to light one of the most significant fraud cases in the history of German beekeeping and demonstrated the journal's willingness to confront uncomfortable truths in its own industry.

In September 2025 the journal moved from the Deutscher Bauernverlag to the Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag (dlv), one of Germany's largest agricultural publishers, joining a beekeeping media portfolio that also includes bienen&natur, described by the publisher as Europe's highest-circulation beekeeping specialist magazine with a distributed circulation of around 32,800 copies. The move placed the journal within a larger agricultural media house while maintaining its distinct editorial identity as the science-and-practice forum for beekeepers. For readers, the transition brought the journal into a broader digital ecosystem of apps, podcasts and e-commerce, while the monthly print edition and its investigative editorial line continued without interruption.

Coverage and Content

The practical beekeeping content forms the core of each monthly issue: seasonal guidance through the beekeeping year, from spring build-up and swarm control to honey harvest and winter preparation; detailed treatments of hive systems including Zander, Deutsch-Normal-Maß and Dadant as well as bee-friendly (wesensgemäße) beekeeping methods; and advice on queen rearing, bee health and Varroa management. These articles are written by experienced practitioners and are designed to be directly applicable at the hive.

The science coverage translates bee research for the practitioner audience: bee biology, the behaviour and communication of colonies, the effects of pesticides and environmental change, and the results of breeding programmes. Contributions from scientists at the bee institutes sit alongside reports from the editorial team, ensuring that readers encounter both the research frontier and its practical implications.

Environmental and agricultural policy is the third pillar, reflecting beekeeping's dependence on the agricultural landscape. The journal reports critically on pesticide regulation, land use, biodiversity policy and the political framework for beekeeping, giving beekeepers the information they need to participate in the public debate. Reportage from the editorial team investigates current issues in depth, from wax adulteration to the economics of honey imports, maintaining the journal's tradition of independent scrutiny.

Organization and Ownership

Since September 2025 the Deutsches Bienenjournal has been published by the Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag GmbH (dlv), based in Hanover and Munich, one of Germany's major agricultural publishing houses. It is presented within the publisher's beekeeping media brand bienen&natur, whose portfolio includes the monthly magazine, special issues, a beekeeper training folder regarded as a standard work, the "Imkerwissen" learning app, a podcast, calendars and a strong social media presence. The journal's web address under bienenundnatur.de reflects this integration.

The editor-in-chief is Silke Beckedorf, who leads the Berlin-based editorial team. The publisher's managing directors, Amos Kotte, Lothar Meier and Malte Schwerdtfeger, oversee the broader agricultural media portfolio. The journal's ISSN is 0943-2914, and its print run is around 22,940 copies with a distributed circulation of about 23,536.

The business model combines subscriptions, single-issue sales through the publisher's shop, advertising from beekeeping equipment suppliers, and the cross-media revenues of the bienen&natur brand family. The integration into the dlv portfolio gives the journal access to shared digital infrastructure, including the digital magazine platform, newsletters and e-commerce, while its editorial identity as the independent forum for science and practice remains its distinguishing asset.

Digital Presence

The journal is presented online under the bienen&natur digital umbrella at bienenundnatur.de, where the Deutsches Bienen-Journal has its own section within the brand's website. The site offers digital editions readable on smartphones, tablets and PCs, with multimedia content including image galleries, videos and audio, association sections with current online event listings, bookmark lists, push notifications and article sharing across up to three devices simultaneously.

The bienen&natur brand's digital ecosystem extends the journal's reach significantly: a podcast discusses beekeeping topics in conversational form, the "Imkerwissen" learning app supports beekeeper training, and the social media presences on Facebook and Instagram engage the beekeeping community daily. Several monothematic special issues per year, available at newsstands unlike the subscription-only monthly, address specific topics in depth. The newsletter keeps subscribers informed about new content and events. For a specialist journal in a hands-on craft, this comprehensive digital offering ensures that the Deutsches Bienenjournal remains present in beekeepers' lives between the monthly print issues, from the apiary to the association meeting.