Golden Chamber Award Coin for the RPTU Beekeeping Club: Awarded by the Rhineland-Palatinate Chamber of Agriculture

On the Kaiserslautern campus, there are hardworking bee colonies that are cared for by the Beekeeping Club. This year’s successful honey production provided the perfect opportunity for the club members to undergo the official quality check—an evaluation by a panel of judges on behalf of the Rhineland-Palatinate Beekeepers’ Association. And they succeeded: The Beekeeping Club prevailed over 81 competitors, and in November, their honey was awarded the Golden Chamber Prize Coin at the 2025 Honey Day in Neustadt.

Housed in the Biology Department’s garden, the Beekeeping Club’s apiary consists of several bee colonies. Caring for the bees is part of the responsibilities of Marcel Cwienczek, Elisa Jekel Könnel, and Nina Zistler as part of their work as research assistants in the Department of Bioprocess Engineering. In weekly meetings, the three doctoral students take primary responsibility for the well-being of their charges. They are supported in this by the staff of the Departmental Garden and volunteer members. First, in the spring, the condition of the bee colony is assessed through an initial spring inspection. After the grueling winter, do the bees still have enough food to last until the first bloom? Are there eggs in the brood combs—an indicator of an active queen?

If there is a lack of space in May or if the colony is dissatisfied with the queen, beekeepers risk some of the bees swarming off to establish a new colony. “I haven’t experienced this phenomenon yet in my work with bees. But there was actually one instance where we had to recapture the swarm in the LIDL parking lot,” smiles Marcel Cwienczek.

From Nectar to Honey

Over the course of several months, the bees collect nectar, which is then processed into honey through a series of transformations. To do this, honey chambers are placed on top of the hives—artificial dwellings for the bees provided by the beekeeper—which are separated from the brood chamber by a so-called queen excluder. This prevents the bees from laying eggs on the valuable honeycombs. Once the honey is ripe, the bees cap their combs with wax to protect their stores. If the water content were too high, the honey would spoil quickly. The maturity of the honey is determined by its water content. If this is below 18 percent, the honey is ready to be harvested.

During harvesting, the combs are removed from the hive and then stripped of the sealing wax layer. The honey is then extracted and filtered through various sieves to remove impurities. First, it is stored in 40-kg buckets for a few days to allow any air bubbles or residues to rise to the surface. Only then is the honey bottled and ready for sale.

In the fall, well before the bees cluster together in a winter cluster to keep each other warm, beekeepers must feed the bees a sugar solution after harvesting the honey. This is crucial for the survival of the bee colony. The goal is to provide them with sufficient stores before temperatures drop permanently and they can no longer forage for food.

Ready for the Competition

2025 was an exceptionally good year for bees, so the Beekeeping Club, with the support of volunteers, was able to harvest nearly 70 kilograms of honey as early as the end of June. The “summer harvest” is a liquid honey that combines pollen from various trees and flowers. Confident in the quality of their honey, the Bee Club team submitted two jars of this year’s honey to the Rhineland-Palatinate Beekeepers’ Association.

The honey is evaluated based on its pollen content, texture, taste, water content, and invertase activity—a quality indicator for honey that provides insight into its natural state and maturity. Other criteria include clean jars, clear labeling, proper storage, and airtight packaging. The judging panel also evaluates color, taste, and consistency.

Support Is Welcome

For the Beekeeping Club, this quality check was extremely successful—the summer harvest also impressed the judging panel. “We’re very happy about our award. Our time and effort have paid off,” Cwienczek sums up.

“Of course, we couldn’t have done this without the support of the RPTU’s volunteers. On behalf of the Beekeeping Club, I’d like to express our heartfelt thanks,” emphasizes the bioprocess engineer, adding: “We’ll continue to welcome anyone interested in getting a taste of what we do and helping out. Starting in March, we’ll meet every Thursday at 8 a.m. at the entrance to the department garden. We’d also be happy to add anyone interested to our newsletter mailing list. That way, they’ll always be informed about dates for honey drop-offs or events.”