To satisfy the demand for UK native bumblebees, Koppert expanded its production capacity last year and improved the stability of the production. The expectation is that larger quantities of native Bombus terrestris audax bumblebees will be available for the UK market in 2014. No licence is required for this product.
In recent years, we have seen a growing demand in the UK for the native bumblebee Bombus terrestris audax, partly in response to increasingly strict legislation and regulations proposed by the governmental advisory body Natural England.
The use of non-native Bombus terrestris terrestris bumblebees is restricted to within greenhouses and polytunnels. Natural England has introduced the requirement of a class licence to be applied for by growers individually. Without a licence, the use of these bumblebees will no longer be possible.
For short-flowering outdoor crops, Koppert has also very recently brought a new type of hive onto the market: Natupol Booster. This new product also contains the audax species and is available from 2014 onwards. This hive is particularly well suited for use in top fruits (apple, pear), stone fruits (cherries, plum), soft fruits (strawberries, raspberries, blackberries) and in currants, seed crops and cucurbits such as courgettes, pumpkins and melons.
This hive gives a boost to your pollination due to the large capacity. During the development of the hive, one of the most important principles was using raw materials as sustainably as possible. This made a huge reduction in packaging possible - a reduction of 85% compared with existing hives.
