Submitted Abstract
For the sake of the longevity of the European honey bee species (Apis mellifera), some colonies of honeybees need to be given the opportunity to evolve on their own, ideally without human intervention, to adapt to their environment as they have done so for the last 30 million years. This project seeks to develop hand-in-hand with the participants during interactive and hands-on workshops, different types of habitats for honey bees in order to monitor which habitat is best suited to prevent further bee colony collapses. In a first step we will create different types of habitats made from logs of wood from the region. These habitats will vary in form, type of wood, and building techniques. Together with the participants, these logs will be created and will be dispersed on a fixed grid throughout a defined region in Luxembourg in order to allow long-term analyses on the population evolution of these logs. Each participant will not only built their own habitat but they will also become responsible for the systematic monitoring of the given log. Therefore, the project includes a clear methodical and scientific monitoring concept in order to allow long-term observation of the honey bee evolution. Participants will not only learn about scientific approaches but also the participants will become personally active and can contribute to a knowledge-building process (citizen science).