Karl Kehrle
Encyclopedia
Karl Kehrle (3 August 1898 in Mittelbiberach
, Germany
– 1 September 1996 in Buckfast, Devon, England
) was a Benedictine
monk
, beekeeper
, and an authority on bee
breeding, developer of the Buckfast bee
. "He was unsurpassed as a breeder of bees. He talked to them, he stroked them. He brought to the hives a calmness that, according to those who saw him at work, the sensitive bees responded to." (The Economist, Sept. 14th 1996)
, where he joined the order (becoming Brother Adam) and in 1915 started his beekeeping
activity. Two years before, a parasite
, Acarapis woodi that originated on the Isle of Wight
had started to extend over the country devastating all the native bees, and in 1916 it reached the abbey killing 30 of the 46 bee colonies. Only the Apis mellifera carnica and Apis mellifera ligustica
colonies survived. Brother Adam then travelled to Turkey
to find substitutes for the native bees.
In 1917 he created the first Buckfast strain
, a very productive bee resistant to the parasite. On 1 September 1919 Adam was put in charge of the abbey's apiary
, after the retirement of Brother Columban.
In 1925 and after some studies on the disposition of the beehives he installed his famous breeding station in Dartmoor
, an isolated model to obtain selected crossings, which still works today. From 1950 and for more than a decade Adam continued his gradual improvement of the Buckfast bee by analysing and crossing bees from places all over Europe
, the Near East
and the north of Africa
.
In 1964 he was elected member of the Board of the Bee Research Association, which later became the International Bee Research Association. He continued his studies of the Buckfast bee and his travels during the 1970s and received several prizes, like the Order of the British Empire
(1973) and the German
Bundesverdienstkreuz
(1974).
On 2 October 1987 he was appointed Honorary doctor by the Faculty of Agriculture of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
while in search of a bee on the Kilimanjaro mountains in Tanzania
and Kenya
, which deeply moved him and he saw as the official recognition of the scientific nature of his research. Two years later he was appointed Honorary doctor by the Exeter University in England.
On 2 February 1992, at the age of 93, he resigned his post as beekeeper at the Abbey and was permitted to spend some months in his home town Mittelbiberach with his niece Maria Kehrle. From 1993 on he lived a retired life back at Buckfast Abbey, and became the oldest monk of the English Benedictine Congregation. In 1995 at the age of 97 he moved to a nearby nursing home; Peter Donovan, Adam's former assistant who was in charge of the Abbey's bee genetic bank, announced his death on 1 September 1996.
Mittelbiberach
Mittelbiberach is a village in the district of Biberach.Mittelbiberach is a village between Reute, Stafflangen and Biberach.The river Rotbach flows through the village. Parts of Mittelbiberach are Reute, Oberdorf, Findenmösle, Unterreute and Geradsweiler...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
– 1 September 1996 in Buckfast, Devon, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
) was a Benedictine
Benedictine
Benedictine refers to the spirituality and consecrated life in accordance with the Rule of St Benedict, written by Benedict of Nursia in the sixth century for the cenobitic communities he founded in central Italy. The most notable of these is Monte Cassino, the first monastery founded by Benedict...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
, beekeeper
Beekeeper
A beekeeper is a person who keeps honey bees for the purposes of securing commodities such as honey, beeswax, pollen, royal jelly; pollinating fruits and vegetables; raising queens and bees for sale to other farmers; and/or for purposes satisfying natural scientific curiosity...
, and an authority on bee
Bee
Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...
breeding, developer of the Buckfast bee
Buckfast bee
The Buckfast bee is a honey bee a cross of many species of bees into a stable race developed by "Brother Adam", , who was in charge of beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey, where the bees are still bred today.-Origin:...
. "He was unsurpassed as a breeder of bees. He talked to them, he stroked them. He brought to the hives a calmness that, according to those who saw him at work, the sensitive bees responded to." (The Economist, Sept. 14th 1996)
Biography
Due to health problems he was sent by his mother at age 11 to Buckfast AbbeyBuckfast Abbey
Buckfast Abbey forms part of an active Benedictine monastery at Buckfast, near Buckfastleigh, Devon, England. Dedicated to Saint Mary, it was founded in 1018 and run by the Cistercian order from 1147 until it was destroyed under the Dissolution of the Monasteries...
, where he joined the order (becoming Brother Adam) and in 1915 started his beekeeping
Beekeeping
Beekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper keeps bees in order to collect honey and other products of the hive , to pollinate crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers...
activity. Two years before, a parasite
Acarapis woodi
Acarapis woodi is a mite that is an internal parasite of honey bees, originally described from the Isle of Wight. Tracheal mites are related to spiders and have eight legs. Acarapis woodi live and reproduce in the tracheae of the bees...
, Acarapis woodi that originated on the Isle of Wight
Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight is a county and the largest island of England, located in the English Channel, on average about 2–4 miles off the south coast of the county of Hampshire, separated from the mainland by a strait called the Solent...
had started to extend over the country devastating all the native bees, and in 1916 it reached the abbey killing 30 of the 46 bee colonies. Only the Apis mellifera carnica and Apis mellifera ligustica
Italian bee
Apis mellifera ligustica is the Italian bee which is a sub-species of the western honey bee .- Origin :The Italian honey bee is thought to originate from the continental part of Italy, South of the Alps, and North of Sicily...
colonies survived. Brother Adam then travelled to Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
to find substitutes for the native bees.
In 1917 he created the first Buckfast strain
Strain (biology)
In biology, a strain is a low-level taxonomic rank used in three related ways.-Microbiology and virology:A strain is a genetic variant or subtype of a micro-organism . For example, a "flu strain" is a certain biological form of the influenza or "flu" virus...
, a very productive bee resistant to the parasite. On 1 September 1919 Adam was put in charge of the abbey's apiary
Apiary
An apiary is a place where beehives of honey bees are kept. Traditionally beekeepers paid land rent in honey for the use of small parcels. Some farmers will provide free apiary sites, because they need pollination, and farmers who need many hives often pay for them to be moved to the crops when...
, after the retirement of Brother Columban.
In 1925 and after some studies on the disposition of the beehives he installed his famous breeding station in Dartmoor
Dartmoor
Dartmoor is an area of moorland in south Devon, England. Protected by National Park status, it covers .The granite upland dates from the Carboniferous period of geological history. The moorland is capped with many exposed granite hilltops known as tors, providing habitats for Dartmoor wildlife. The...
, an isolated model to obtain selected crossings, which still works today. From 1950 and for more than a decade Adam continued his gradual improvement of the Buckfast bee by analysing and crossing bees from places all over Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the Near East
Near East
The Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
and the north of Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
.
In 1964 he was elected member of the Board of the Bee Research Association, which later became the International Bee Research Association. He continued his studies of the Buckfast bee and his travels during the 1970s and received several prizes, like the Order of the British Empire
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(1973) and the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Bundesverdienstkreuz
Bundesverdienstkreuz
The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany is the only general state decoration of the Federal Republic of Germany. It has existed since 7 September 1951, and between 3,000 and 5,200 awards are given every year across all classes...
(1974).
On 2 October 1987 he was appointed Honorary doctor by the Faculty of Agriculture of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
The Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences or Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet is a university in Sweden. Although its head office is located in Ultuna, Uppsala, the university has several campuses in different parts of Sweden, the other main facilities being Alnarp in Lomma Municipality, Skara,...
while in search of a bee on the Kilimanjaro mountains in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
and Kenya
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
, which deeply moved him and he saw as the official recognition of the scientific nature of his research. Two years later he was appointed Honorary doctor by the Exeter University in England.
On 2 February 1992, at the age of 93, he resigned his post as beekeeper at the Abbey and was permitted to spend some months in his home town Mittelbiberach with his niece Maria Kehrle. From 1993 on he lived a retired life back at Buckfast Abbey, and became the oldest monk of the English Benedictine Congregation. In 1995 at the age of 97 he moved to a nearby nursing home; Peter Donovan, Adam's former assistant who was in charge of the Abbey's bee genetic bank, announced his death on 1 September 1996.
Honorary Doctorates
- 1987 Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
- 1989 Exeter University in England.