Beekeeping in Rural Development 1999 PDF
Beekeeping in Rural Development 1999 PDF
Beekeeping in Rural Development 1999 PDF
- .*
BeeU &n Rura3. DeVeJ-Qiment
Published by:
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Marlborough House
Pall Mall
London SWlY 5HX
England
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Reproduced by permission of the Food Production
Rural Development Division, Commonwealth
- Secretariat.
Commonwealth Secretariat
International Bee Research Association
Published by
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Price f 240
CONTENTS
iii
137 Beekeeping Development Programmes in the Tropical & Sub-Tropical
Pacific - G.M. Walton
iv
FOREWORD
"We: have found that one of the problems was scarcity of heeswax
used as a mould in the process . . . . . the need to set up a bee-
keeping industry . . . . . to assist these poor brass founders".
Another said:
The Director,
Food Production and Rural Deve lopment Divis ion,
Commonwealth Secretariat,
Marlborough House,
Pall Mall,
London SWlY 5HX
vi
I wish to acknowledge, with gratitude, all the individuals who
have been involved ii1 :;nlc way or another in producing this
publication. Tony Moo&, Project Officer of this Division whose
I1extra projectll among his other main duties this publication Is;
Dr Eva Crane, Directnr, International Bee Research Association,
Hill House, Gerrards Cross, Bucks, who inspired us and who was
our Consultant Editor; and the various authors who have allowed
us to use their papers are all due for particular mention. I have
no doubt that both they and th e other contributors will ccnsider
it ample reward if their endeavours lead to a better understand-
ing and application of knowledge on apiculture.
M.S.O. Nicholas,
Director,
Food Production & Rural Development Division,
Commonwealth Secretariat,
Marlborough House,
Pall Mall,
: London SWlY 5HX
vii
BEES,AND BEEKEEPING IN THE TROPICS, AND TRADE IN HONEY
AND BEESWAX WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE COMMONWEALTH
by EVA CRANE
International Bee Research Association
Hill House, Gerrards Cross, BUCJiS, SL9 ONR, England
Introduction , Honey and beeswax have been valued since earliest times, and in
many regions they are among the commodities mentioned jn the
t earliest written records. A number of regions in the tropics and
sub-tropics have a long tradition of beekeeping, which origin-
ated centuries before today's "countries" were defined. The
climate and physical geograp'ly of an area helped to determine
how the'bees of the area evolved and which of them are capable
of wider and batter use today. On the other hand honey yields
are largely determined by characteristics of the present vege-
tation. Beekeeping is likely to be at its most profitable if
high-yielding bees can be used in areas selected for high nectar
and pollen yields,if the bees are healthyrand if pesticides are
not used in such a way that the f&raging bees are killed.
Tropical There are many thousands of species of bees in the tropics, but
Honeybees we are concerned here only with bees that form permanent cola-
nies and store enough honey to be worth harvesting by man: the
honeybees Apis and the so-called stingless bees of the
Mel;,lonidae. The indigenous European honeybee is Apis mellifera
two of the best known races being Italian (A.m. ligustica) and
Carniolan (A.m, carnica).
1
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Finally there are the Pacific islands, with no native noney-
storing bees at all, except stingless bees in 0~12 small arca.
European Apis mellifera has been taken to most of the groups cf
islands in the last ilundred years or so, and the seclai:lder are
still without them. Articles in this \~ol:~li~~OII P.i;?l: 1 P.tw Guinea
and the Pazlfic tie~c~rihe ssme CC~tnc in':roductions.
a. climate
b. food resources for the bees (plants yield ing nectar and
pollen)
C. the honeybees used
d. hives and other equipment
e. method of bee management
f. pests, diseases and poisoning
g- human attitudes
There are many interactions, e.g. of disease incidence with
3
lJ 1971
&I970
y 1957
Fig. 2
SPREADOF
AFRICANIZED
HONEY-BEESIN
SOUTHAMERICA
1956-1976
(from O.R.Taylor)
climate and with lack of adequate food resources; and of bee
management with both bees and hives.
Imprting In the latter part of the last century, beekeeping was developed
Exotic to a highly productive level in some of the countries with tem-
Bees perate climates, led largely by the USA, through the use of mov-
able-frame hives (see below). The bees used were of European
origin, and the methods of management were devised to suit them.
Bees imported into a country can bring with them lethal pests
and diseases that were previously absent but can never again
be exterminated!5)Alteratively, if successful, the imported
bees may compete with local bees until these are exterminated.
Exploitation It is entirely probable that man has exploited bees for their
of Bees honey ever since he first existed as a species, and that his
primate predecessors did so in even earlier times .
exploitation of wild bees' nests is still practised in the
tropics and also in forested regions of the north temperature
zone. Honey harvested from the giant bee Apis dorsata in the
tropics of Asia must still be taken from wild colonies, since
this bee will not nest in a cavity such as a hive. With this
exception, the honey and beeswax that comes on the market is
from colonies kept in hives, and the term beekeeping or api-
culture is applied to the husbandry of such colonies. The
hives may be grouped in an apiary near the owner's dwelling or
in suitably sited out-apiaries some distance away or t?ey
may be scattered, as when they are hung in trees (front
cover) .
Keeping Bees Traditional hives are simple containers made of whatever mater-
In Hives ial is used locally for other containers; hollowed logs, bark,
woven twigs or reeds, coiled straw, baked or unbaked clay,
plant stems and leaves, or fruits such as gourds
tropics and subtropics almost all these hives lie or hang hori-
zontally. In the most primitive form of beekeeping the bees
are killed or driven out once or twice a year when the honey
and wax are taken, the colony being destroyed in the process.
Some examples of traditional beekeeping are given in the first
two articles.
FIG.?
DIAGRAMMATIC SECTION THROUGH A MOVABLE-FRAME LJU'JGSTROTH
HIVE WITH TWO BOXES (G. M. Walton)
- The floor and the roof axe shown, and the essential
bee space indicated.
At the other end of the scale are the hives used in modern
apiaries throughout the world, which consist of a tier of
accurately manufactured wooden boxes, each fitted out like a
suspension filing system. From the metal runners along the
two long sides of each box wooden frames are suspended,
each carrying a wax sheet which has been pressed into a
pattern of hexagons of the size constructed by the bees them-
selves when building their combs. The bees accept this man-
made contribution and build the cell walls out from the begin-
nings provided, using both wax from the foundation and wax they
themselves secrete from wax glands on the under side of the
abdomen. In order that the frames can be removed individually
from the hive, the frames must be precisely positioned on all
sides, by the runners and by spacers that fix the lateral
distance between frames, so that a "bee space" (about 6mm) is
left all round (Fig. 3), except where the frames make a line
contact with the runners they rest on. Bees will close up any
gap beyond a comb that is smaller than a bee space, attaching
the comb to the adjacent surface. If a gap is left that is
greater than this critical distance, the bees will use it to
build extra comb.
7
FIG. 4
Moveable-Frame Hives
7. Long stroth and type with framed combs built from
foundation (as Fig. 3)
8
been widely adopted. In parts of USA, and in French-speaking
areas in Europe, variants of the Dadant Ilive which have larger
frames, are usual, but the principle is the same.
The bottom box of a hive is the brood chamber, and a queen exc-
luder can be used to separate it from the honey chambers above.
These are often called supers, because they are superimposed
(Fig.3). The queen excluder is a metal grid or flat sheet per-
forated with slots, the width of the holes being just too small
for a queen to pass through, but large enough for the workers.
In practice the brood chamber may consist of two or even three
boxes, and any number of supers can be used, but normally some
are removed full of honey before the pile becomes too tall to
operate conveniently. The hives may stand on pallets for mech-
anical handling, and the size of an apiary is commonly deter-
mined by the number of hives that can be loaded (mechanically]
on to a truck for moving to another site when the bee forage
at the existing one has died away. Movable-frame hives are
used widely in the American tropics and subtropics.
9
brocd, and pcpulation increases rapidly until there are enough
bees in a colony to forage and collect more nectar than is
needed for the immediate energy (carbohydrate) requirements cf
the colony. The surplus is made into honey by the bees, which
the beekeeper can harvest - usually at the end of a major
"nectar flown, and in any case before the active season ends.
Enough stores must of course be left to last the colony through
the next dearth period. The bees seal mature honey in cells of
the honey-comb, and it has a sugar content around 80%
Honey Honey is made by bees from plant materials, and nearly all the
Production world's supply of honey is from nectar produced in the nectaries
of flowers. A smaller amount comes from plants which have nec-
taries elsewhere (extra-floral nectaries), and from honeydew
which also does not involve flowers.
The major part of the honey made by bees is also used by them,
and the beekeeper's harvest can only be the surplus they do not
require. It has been estimatedt3)that this surplus varies from
around one-tenth of the total amount in poor honey-producing
areas to one-third in the richest areas.
Uses of Honey Honey is produced in almost every country, and 90% of the world's
production is eaten directly as honey. The remaining 10% is
used in baking, confectionery, fermentation to alcoholic drinks,
tobacco curing, and the manufacture of pharmaceuticals and
cosmetics.
In the past also, honey was produced very widely, and much more
widely than sugar cane, "the honey from reeds". But sweetness
was not at all a common characteristic of foods until the sugar
industry was developed during the last 150 years; the annual
world production of sugar rose from 1% million tons in 1850 to
cover 70 million tons in 1972 - 50 times as much.
utilized
pellets
where it is plentiful.
the entrance to a hive incorporates
A
like meat and many fruits and vegetables.
and being solid it needs no container.
Pollen is another hive product that could be collected
"pollen trap" fitted
a grid that removes the
from the hind legs of the bees as they scramble through
it, and the pellets accumulate in a tray below. (1)Pollen
and
Bees-
across
con-
tains up to 20% or more of protein, and is richer than many
plant materials in vitamins B2. B3, B5, B6, C, E, H. would
11
pollen benefit people not receiving an adequate diet? The
answer is surely Yes, provided the pollen contains substances
that are lacking in the diet. Whether the use of pollen as an
additive is feasible, economic and acceptable are separate
questions. It is, however, worth bearing in mind that pollen
is produced in almost all inhabited parts of the world, and is
largely unharvested. In primitive honey-hunting days the whole
combs from bees' nests were eaten, the honey, pollen and bee
brood together constituting a nutritious and acceptable food.
The figures show that there is a clear case for extending bee-
keeping in these developing countries of the Commonwealth, at
least to the stage where honey is not imported, and the Presence
Of tropical exporting countries in Table 1 suggests that many
other countries could in fact also export honey. But honey for
export must satisfy standards laid down by European countries,
whereas honey for home consumption need not meet requirements
that are based on European preference for certain flavours and
aromas. Local honeys are in fact often preferred 1ocallYr
always providing they are clean, and have the keeping quality
expected of honey. There is a widespread potential for honey
production as a small but low-cost source of employment for
rural societies. In general export and import figures (Table 1)
are more closely related to fact than production figures such as
those given in Table 2. Many are likely to be underestimates,
for various reasons, but they give some idea as to what has
already been achieved.
12
where sources of agricultural income and employment are limited,
and this can be done through the promotion of beekeeping among
agricultural populations. From reading many of the papers in
this volume it will become apparent that, in those developing
countries where honey has entered commercial markets, the deve-
lopment of the industry has often been based initially on primi-
tive honey collection procedures , and has graduated into the
.~se of improved hives. In other areas, especially the Pacific
Islands, the introdeionof honeybees is quite recent and has
always been based on movable-frame hives. But almost every-
where in these countries production is in the hands of small-
scale producers who may produce only 30 kg per year, whereas
the annual output of an individual Australian honey producer
might be 10 or 20 tons, and a large-scale operation in Australia
or Canada might produce 1000 tons or more.
Thirdly, and differing from xzhe second group only in degree, are
Countries such as Malawi, Guyana and Papua New Guinea. Each has
an established honey production, but also increasing honey
imports, that could certainly be met by increased domestic
production. In each country smallholder apiculture would offer
employment to at least 400 rural families, merely to attain
self-sufficiency, and it is likely that domestic production
would further stimulate demand. Both Malawi and PNG have inte-
grated rural development programmes, into which beekeeping
could well be introduced.
13
-
14
Beeswax commands a price several times as high as that of honey,
and no containers are needed to transport it. Reliable statis-
tics for beeswax .production arc,however, even more difficult
to obtain than those for honey. The entries in Table 3 are
derived from figures given to me by the late H.G. Clay of the
United States Department of Agriculture. They are only partial;
based on honey production, the total world product of bees-
wax must be at least 10,000 tons and could well bc ,,OOO tons.
Something like half this amourlt - including nearly all the bees-
wax that goes on to the world market - is produced in the
tropics and sub-tropics. It is the fixed-comb (and movable-
comb frameless) hives that provide a harvest of wax, in condi-
tions where this is produced easily, as well as honey.
lusion The fact and figures presented above show that bee husbandry at
different levels already exists in virtually all developing
countries, and that it still has a considerable unexploited pot-
ential. Existing methods can be made more effective, and imF-
roved methods can give higlier yields. If hive products receive
proper treatment and publicity, they will command higher prices,
and there is a buoyant world market for both honey and beeswax.
The minimal aim should be national self-sufficiency, for it is
ludicrous that foreign exchange should be used to buy a commo-
dity that is easily produced at home.
The papers selected for this book present widely differing exam-
ples of achievement in various parts of the developing world,
and they should encourage similar efforts elsewhere. In the
past, one of the major obstacles faced by those involved in
setting up a new beekeeping operation has been the virtual
impossibility of finding out what had already been tried in simi-
lar areas, with or without success, and what pests or diseases
might bring the operation to an untimely end. This situation
is largely remedied, with the publication in 1978 of the
Bibliography of Tropical Apiculture, funded by the International
Development Research Centre, Ottawa. In 24 Parts, and with 14
further specialized Satellite Bibliographies, this work provi-
des access to 4000 relevant publications that give information
relating to different aspects of beekeeping in developing coun-
tries..
Details of the Bibliography, and of its availability free of
charge to institutions in developing countries, can be obtained
from the International Bee Research Association which has been
in charge of the work, directly, or through the FPRD of the
Commonwealth Secretariat when intermediate help is needed.
75
References 1. Bee World (1976) Pollen and its harvesting. IBRA
Reprint M86; Bee World 56: 155-158 (1975), 57: 20-25
(1976)
16
--
TABLE 1
Net balance cf trade in honey: 5 year averages (in metric tons)
for 1965-69 and 1971-75.
Names of Commonwealth countries are in capitals
Country 1965-69 avg. 1971-75 avg 1971-75
net exporters
People‘s Republic
of China +15,265 +28,000
Mexico +26,293 +25,175
Argentina +18,823 +17,396
AUSTRALIA + 5,452 + 8,136
CANADA + 1,827 + 5,796
Soviet Union + 3,740 + 5,620
NEWZEALAND + 627 + 1,385
TANZANIA + 356 + 377
BELIZE n.a. + 97
JAMAICA + 199 + 51
NIUE nil + 33
UGANDA + 24 + 6
TONGA nil + 3
1971-75
net importers
WESTERNSAMOA nil 2
INDIA 5 3
SRI LANKA 9 4
MAURITIUS 11 8
MALAWI 4 9
GUYANA 10 9
FIJI 0 - 9 12
BARBADOS 4 15
GBANA 11 18
BABAMAS nil 21
ZAMBIA 29 29
Italy 1,169 62
PAPUA NEWGUINEA 42 71
KBNYA - 541 117
MALAYSIA 81 164
SINGAPORE 140 360
Denmark - 1,392 - 1,028
NIGERIA - 103 1,908
Belgium - 2,046 - 2,399
Netherlands - 2,806 - 2,589
Austria - 3,353 - 3,312
France - 4,348 - 3,397
Switzerland - 3,422 - 4,291
United States - 1,213 - 8,770
German Democratic
Republic + 2,414 - 9,185
UNITED KINGDOM -14,005 -15,554
Japan -10,832 -19,722
Germany Fed.Republic -45,877 -44,646
Statistics for Swaziland, Botswana and Lesotho imports are not
available separately; imports would be included with those of
South Africa, because of the S.A. Customs Union
17
TABLE 2
Honey production in different countries, 1976
Developed Commonwealth -
United Kingdon 1,760 b
New Zealand 4,919 a
Canada 24,693 a
Australia 2:,800 a
18
TABLE 3
Annual beeswax exports in metric tons in the late 1950s.
(Estimates from H.G. Clay, lJS.Department of Agriculture;
entries in brackets are exports to the USA only.)
AFRICA
Tanzania 650
Ethiopia 423
Angola (253)
Egn?t (150)
East Africa (36)
South Africa (34)
Mozambique (15)
CENTRAL/SOUTHAMERICA
El Salvador (353)
Brazil (346)
Cuba (342)
Mexico _ 283
Chile (248)
Costa Rica 207
Haiti (223)
Guatemala 119
Dominican,Republic 47
Argentina (38)
Puerto Rica 11
OTHBRc0NT1NENTs
Europe (Portugal) (134)
Australia 118
by J. A. A. AYOADE
University of Ibadan
(Nigerian Field, Yo1.42 (1) ~~-31-36, March (1977)
TRADITIONAL BEEKEEPING IN NIGERIA -
A EDITORIAL SUMMARY FROM MBEEKEEPING AMONG THE TIVI’
by J. A. A. AYOADE
University of Ibadan
('Nigerian Field, Vol.42 (1) ~~-31-36, March (1977)
The more important uses of bees to the Tiv were, and are,
more usual. Honey is a staple part of Tiv diets, and an
ingredient of their medicines. Beeswax is an important sold-
ering wax for repair of kitchen utensils. The Tiv are also
aware of the importance of bees to the pollination of crops.
28
TRADIJIONAL BEEKEEPING IN KENYA -
FROM TRAD 11‘IONAL BEEKEEPING AMONG KENYA TRIBES,
AND METHODS PROPOSED FOR IMPROVEMENT AND MODERNIZATIONN
EXTRACTS
by J. M. NIGHTINGALE
(pp.lS-22 from "Apiculture in Tropical Climates", IBRA,
London 19761
25
TRADITIONAL BEEKEEPING IN KENYA -
FROM flTRADITIONAL BEEKEEPING AMONG KENYA TRIBES,
AND METHODS PROPOSED FOR IMPROVEMENT AND MODERNIZATION”
EXTRACTS
by J. M. NIGHTINGALE
(pp 15-22 t'rom "Apiculture in Tropical Climates”, IBRA,
London 1976)
1. The Wakamba The Wakamba, together with their close neighbours, are the
most progressive and knowledgeable on all aspects of apiculture,
and know such things as the difference between queens, drones,
and workers. They live in the large area east of Mount Kenya
and Nairobi. The ciimate varies from pleasantly warm to in-
tensely hot.
27
end with the bee entrances. Wakamba beekeepers hang their
hives at this angle in order to prevent any water condensation
from lying in the bottom of the hive. They also hang their
hives as nearly as possible with the entrance facing away from
the strong prevailing wind, as bees become dissatisfied if
there is a strong draught blowing in at the entrance and will
often abscond for this reason.
The main honey flow in Ukambani (the area where the Wakamba
live) occurs in June and July. Then there is another honey
flow just before the November rains when a lot of the acacias
anticipate the coming of the rain by flowering extensively.
The honey is of a good flavour and, if sold in a clean state,
should fetch a top price on the market.
2. The The Kalenjin group of tribes live in the Rift Valley, north of
Kalenjin Nakuru. A large part of the area is dry and hot, and the
and Pokot people rely on a goat economy. They are therefore short of
ready cash, so beekeeping can make a useful addition to their
meagre earnings.
Close cousins of the Tugen are the Elgeyo Marakwet, who live
over a range of hills in the Kerio Valley, an extremely hot
area where the bees will only forage for two hours before sun-
rise and for a similar period in the evening, although they
will go out during the day to collect water.
Further down the valley are the Pokot, who are not truly
Kalenjin people and whose language and customs are quite
different. The Pokot are worthy of mention as, although they
also work in the tree tops, they do so somewhat differently.
Their hives are far neater than others' and are bound with
grass or reeds as a protection against both weather and the
intense heat. There is a window about 6 x 4 inches (15x10 cm)
in the centre of the side of the hive, and sometimes below it,
which is closed with a cushion of bark fibres. The author
himself has been out all day harvesting with these people with-
out getting stung. The bee-man up the tree will spend up to
ten minutes waving his smoke torch around the hive. Having
removed the cushion, he then blows smoke through the window
until the bees are driven out as two clusters at both ends of
the hive. He then scoops out the honey by hand into a skin
bag hanging at a convenient height from his neck. By custom
he will work only one end of the hive from the window, to
preserve the brood. If by chance he scoops out any brood he
discards it. The Pokot also complain bitterly about the lack
of swarms migrating back from the high altitudes, as they once
did.
29
u.sJ
-.BP-L,
w
e-__-_----_
\-
u
-_ -v - _---- - - - - - - _- -
\ 6 ---SK---- Y-5 /+
-_--___. -.
THE BEEKEEPING POTENTIAL IN GI-LANA- 1962- 65
I
\ by DR. AUGUST M. GORENZ
Horticultural Advisor
US Aid/Ghana Mission
33
_,_ , .
-.--.__
small-scale beekeeping, and be practised by large numbers of
people throughout the country. Most of the equipment needed
could be produced locally.
&Jitorial Note
* This was in 1962. It was reported in Kumasi in early 1978
that beeswax cost over 100 times that amount. (Equal to
approximately f 96 or E45 per kilo in 1979).
34
Beekeeping practices follow local conditions and these would
be considerably different in say the Western Division and the
Northern Region. Such experience, which is necessary before
specific bee-keeping instructions can be given in any region
will take many years to obtain.
A Start in
Beekeeping
in Ghana Considerable difficulties confronted us in establishing the
first colonies of bees. Early in 1963 four attempts were
Obtaining the made to transfer bees from trees to modern hives. It was
Bees found that, if the bees were smoked thoroughly and driven off
the combs before they could become aroused, no protective veil
or clothing was necessary. The bees would cluster like a
swarm, and could be shaken or brushed into the hive. In every
case it proved useless to transfer combs, as is the universal
recommendation, to the new hive. The bees would not go back
on to them. The uncapped brood was allowed to starve, and in
a few days the combs were completely infested with hive beetle
larvae and had to be removed. All four attempts eventually
ended in failure. In two of them the queen was lost, in one
the queen did not lay eggs, and so the bees could not repro-
duce themselves. They died off in a few months. One colony
appeared to be established and remained in the hive for a week,
making a small amount of comb, and the queen laying a few eggs,
but it swarmed and left without clustering.
'The major swarming season is in June and July after the main
honeyflows. When swarming, the bees lose their aggressiveness
and do not attack, except that occasionally a few bees may try
to sting. In June 1964, five swarms were captured within a
quarter of a mile of the writer's house. The cluster of bees
was shaken or brushed into a net-bag; the bag was placed in
the new hive, quickly untied and the cover of the hive quickly
replaced. The frames in the hive were furnished with starter
strips of foundation only.
In every case an entrance guard was used to keep the queen from
leaving if the bees swarmed again. This was found to be an
absolutely necessary precaution even if a well monopolized hive
was used. The bees always left the hive several times before
finally settling down, after two to three days. One of the
above swarms left and did not return,thus abandoning their
queen. In July a small swarm was captured and added to a weak
colony through a queen excluder. The entire colony swarmed the
next day, abandoning combs of brood and honey. As the queen's
wings had been clipped she could follow the swarm, and the bees
returned.
Location of Most of the colonies are on strong stands about two feet high
Hives and under the overhanging eaves on the north and east sides of the
APi=y writer's house. No special precautions have been found
36
necessary against ants. On two occasions safari or driver ants
have passed over the bee stands without touching the hive; on a
third occasion the ants overwhelmed and destroyed a one-frame
nucleu:; of bees. A stream of boiling hot water was poured on
several hundred feet of their column, and they have not been
seen since. Small sugar ants were a nuisance at first when
using the entrance feeder, but a change to the friction-top
tin feeder placed on the top bars in the centre of the cluster
eliminated this trouble completely. Cobwebs have been swept
down occasionally. When lizards become too numberous and start
bothering the bees they are eliminated by shooting them with a
pellet air gun.
The bees do not tend to be vicious; and they mind their own
business until disturbed. However, once aroused it is impos-
sible to stay in the open. Colonies have been completely
aroused on three occasions in the past year. There was the
roar of thousands of bees in the air ready to sting anything
and everything in the vicinity. They started hitting door
knobs,, and any objects they encountered. The bees hit against
the window screens in an attempt to get at people inside the
room. It took two or more hours for them to calm down. Anyone
attempting to approach the house at this time would be seriously
stung. Dogs beat a hasty retreat letting out a yelp with each
new sting. So as not to risk arousing the bees, the hives are
not opened in the day time except for weak colonies or newly
hived swarms.
37
Hives and The beekeeper can make his own equipment. Almost all of the
Equipment hives and equipment used by the writer are homemade. Hives
are of standard Langstroth dimensions, except that top bars
of the frames are reduced to 1 inch and end bars to 1% inches
wide. The hive then takes eleven frames instead of the usual
ten. Modified Dadant depth supers (6% inch deep frames) are
used for honey, and often two of these are used for the brood
chamber. Floor boards are made to provide 5 or ?e inch entran-
ces only. This entrance is left open the full width of the
hive for strong colonies, but it is reduced to 4 inches or
less fcr weak colonies.
Frames for the hives are wired and fitted with full sheets of
wax foundation (factory made) when available. As an alterna-
tive a thick line of wax, made by pouring melted beeswax along
a soaped wood bar placed along the centre of the top bar, has
proved very satisfactory. In fact, this has been more effective
than starter strips of foundation.
Honey Flows of The amount of honey produced will depend on the nectar-produc-
the Western ing flowers available to the bees within a mile or two of the
Region hive. Sources of pollen for feeding the brood are never lack-
ing. The area in which the writer's bees are located has large
plantings of oil palm, coconut, rubber, citrus, large areas of
essentially virgin jungle and swamp, large areas of secondary
bush fallow, interspersed with small farms of maize, cassava,
plantains, groundnuts, pepper and other crops. Water is pre-
sent throughout the year in numerous small streams. It is to
be expected that there will be a variation in honey production
from year to year, depending on the rainfall. Too much rain
and conversely too little rain are both unfavourable.
Plenty of empty comb space enables the bees to take full advan-
tage of short but heavy flows which they could not make full use
of if storage space was lacking. It is the writer's opinion,
based on previous tropical experience with intermittent flows,
that three times as much honey can be obtained from hives if
the CO& is extracted and returned as if the honey is obtained
by cutting out and crushing the comb. Another very marked
advantage is that swarming is greatly reduced.
39
or tonic water. The honeys of the late flows of August,
September and October were amber and of a strong but pleasant
flavour. :
Only a small start has been made for identification of the
honey plants. The most important ones for surplus honey will
be some of the wild trees and shrubs. Bees have been seen
working on coconut, oil palm, raffia palm, royal palm, citrus,
cassava, Poinsettia, Bidens sp., cucumber and Casuarina (for
pollen). During times of shortage bees have been seen collec-
ting from cut ends of sugar cane, ripe pawpaw (papaya) fruits
that have fallen to the ground and broken, and the fermenting
juice from oil and raffia palms when palm wine is being made
from them.
-
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41
BEEKEEPING IN THE MALTESE ISlANDS
by VICTOR FARRUGIA, HNDH
(Original Manuscript)
Geographical Although Malta covers only about 100 square miles,crops mature
Position earlier in the southern part and the bees start storing honey
earlier there than in the north, where the temperature is lower.
Also the land is more fertile (and irrigated) in the south and
more rocky in the north. So with Red Clover (Hedisarum
coronarium) mainly in the south and Mediterranean wild thyme
(Coridothymus capitatus) in the rocky areas of the north,
migratory beekeeping is practised for these two honey flows.
The active beekeeping season in Malta is a month or two earlier
than in the south of England.
The hives are usually painted white, and their roofs covered
during the summer months with fleshy leaves of the prickly pear
(Opuntia ficus-indica) or palm fronds (Phoenix canariensis),
or a makeshift awning of wild reeds (Arundo donax) collected
locally.
43
factor. The Islands are subject to frequent north-westerly
winds which can reach gale force. Valleys are therefore much
sought after, and a southerly aspect is usually chosen. As a
result of the winds, many bees are lost during foraging, and
there is much drifting to other hives, which can lead to rob-
bing and the spread of disease. Windy days also reduce the
number of foraging hours for the bees; when the wind reaches
Force 5, the bees usually remain in the hives.
Maltese Flora The native wild flora of the Maltese Islands provide useful bee
forage between the main flows; the most important are listed
in the floral Appendix. Pollen loads range from black from the
Bristly POPPY, through yellow and orange (Cape sorrel1 and
common vetch) to white from the White wall-rocket. The Bee
orchid (Ophrys apifera) is occasionally found in Malta.
44
Modern Wooden frame hives were introduced towards the middle of the
Hives present century. Today they are constructed locally, from red
or white deal. Most hives are Modified Dadant, Langstroth,
British National, or British Modified Commercial. Relatively
little space is needed for winter stores, co a large brood
chamber is not needed. For this reason the Modified Commercial
hive is preferred to the Dadant: two shallow brood chambers
provide adequate space during the build-up period, and the
brood chamber can be reduced later to single shallow, to get
more honey into the supers during the flow,
Beekeepers Most of the larger towns in Malta have little in the way of
open green areas, and bees cannot be kept in them. Hence, the
art and skill of beekeeping has always been the prerogative of
rural people, and among these, mainly land tenants. In days
gone by, beekeeping was only a sideline to the local farmer:
hives were placed in the least-used part of a field, and handled
only once a year, to harvest whatever honey could be taken from
them. The older rural generation had little money or time to
educate themselves prior to the last World War, when education
had to be paid for by the individual. Many of the old country
folk are illiterate or partly so. Up to a few decades ago, bee-
keeping practice in the Maltese Islands was practically isolated
from the mainstream of development in the rest of the world.
The techniques of beekeeping in Malta have thus been passed on
from one generation to the next by word of mouth, each genera-
tion adding its own observations and innovations.
Moreover, local remedies have been developed for easing the pain
of stings and the prevention of swelling, including the use of
spirits, oils, onions and other local herbs. The use of bees-
wax for polishing marble and wood , and of honey to cure sundry
ailments according to local folk medicine, must have evolved
here as in other countries.
Swarming The only way an old-time beekeeper could increase his stock was
by encouraging his colonies to swarm, which they usually do
between mid-March and mid-April. Swarming before mid-March,
though welcomed, is very rare, and any swarms after mid-April,
are not worth taking. To attract swarms to establish themselves
in a prepared earthenware jar, the inner surface is rubber with
balm extract from cultivated plants (Melissa officinalis), then
some comb honey or sugar syrup is left inside the jar. If this
lure fails, the beekeeper - who usually spends every day at
swarming time watching his hives - is always ready to hive any
swarm that becomes available. If broad beans which are normally
in flower at the time of swarming are planted near the hives,
and almond trees grown around the apiaryF it is said that swarms
45
-- - --~- -- -
Bee races It has not been established that a pure Maltese race of bees
existed at any time in the isiand's long history of beekeeping,
but the possibility is not excluded, because Malta must have
been isolated for a long period.
0ver the last Pew decades, bees of yellow races have been in-
troduced in large numbers and they have interbred with the all-
black strains. The local dark bee may or may not be best suit.ed
to the islands, but careful comparative experiments should be
carried out before the wholesale importation of foreign bees
which may, in time, cause the local dark bee to become extinct.
Pests and Nosema and foul brood diseases are not common in the Maltese
Diseases Islands, but dysentery and acarine disease occur. Due to lack
of inspecti,>n of hives, and the weakening of colonies after a
long dry spell, beekeepers often complain that their hives
have been overrun by wax moths., Other pests include ants,
which usually invade the hive at night, and some birds as
already mentioned. AJ?IMYIASIS, due to a red parasitic mite,
is also found, but is neither common nor lethal.
BEEKEEPING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES IN KENYA
by KIREA I. KIGATIIRA
(Beekeeping Section, National Agricultural Laboratories
Nairobi, Kenya)
49
could be used to advantage, then adapting it to local needs
and conditions, and finally - possibly the most difficult task
- educating farmers to use it.
1. Extension Precisely to the above end, the Canadian team maintained posts
of technical specialists who brought education and service, in
many instances, down to the subsistence farmer. A hive inter-
mediate between traditional hives and movable-frame hives,
which was fitted with standardised movable bars, was made avail-
able. The hive was simple enough for the farmer to use safely
and economically with methods he employs traditionally. Train-
ing programmes in many areas were conducted on using the hive
in ways which cost little in terms of human effort.
2. Training In 1972 the first Kenyan left for Canada for eight months'
training. At the completion of his course in 1973, the second
Kenyan left for Canada to undertake a two-year MSc course in
Apiculture. In August 1975 a third Kenyan completed his eight
month diploma in Apiculture. These Kenyans have bee<1 sponsored
under the auspices of the project. There is, however, need to
train more Kenyans so that the Section can be manned by fully
trained research and extension personnel. Courses on beekeep-
ing are held regularly at Ngong FTC for farmers and extension
officers. Trainees taking Animal Husbandry courses at AHITI
in Embu and Bukura receive a complete course in all aspects of
beekeeping. Most of the Village Polytechnics have a compulsory
beekeeping course, and sometimes students receive hives on
completion of the course.
3. Research A small field research laboratory and a bee house were estab-
lished at Ngong Farmers Training Centre. An apicul,ture research
laboratory has been constructed at the National Agricultural
Laboratories, Kabete, and though riot yet fully equipped, it is
satisfactory for the present stage of our research, and consi-
derable knowledge of bee behaviour nas been gained. However,
research has been dominated by the extension programme, and
achievements have fallen short of hoped-for goals.
4. Beekeeping The need was felt for a strong central marketing organisation,
Centres with more sophisticated machinery for both honey refining and
hive construction, and with the necessary supervision of
technical operation. Thika Farmers Training Centre was selected,
and machines were installed. This central system was fed with
honey from satellite collecting centres in Marimanti (Meru),
Kitui, Wamba (Samburu) and Makueni (Machakos), these centres
partially cleaned their products and forward them to Thika for
50
3. To advise on, and to assist in, organisation of local
courses of training in beekeeping.
51
finishing and packing. Thika continues to be the centre for
bee supplies for the country.
The Future The Government of Kenya wishes to extend the project into a
second phase, 1967-1977 to 1979-8. This will enable the
project to consolidate its achievements so far, and will permit
a smooth handing over of all the major operations from Canadian
zo Kenyan management. Already a Kenyan has been appointed
r)irector of the project, with a Canadian (Professor Townsend)
3s an advisor.
THE CONSTRUCTION,DIMENSIONS AND SITING OF LOG HIVES
NEAR NAIROBI, KENYA
by KIREA I. KIGATIIRA
(Officer-in-Charge, Beekeeping Station, National
Agricultural Laboratories, Nairobi, Kenya)
and ROGER A. MORSE
(Department of Entomology, Cornell University,
Ithaca, New York, USA) (Original Manuscript)
Apiary Sites The 8 apiaries had from 3 to 49 hives, 145 hives were seen
altogether. In no apiary did we observe only a single hive.
in 2 apiaries the hives were on stands, not suspended from
trees.
53
Fig. I
/
! or with the traditional forked stick about 1 m lone. Two of
the sites were on hillsides so measurement of the height of
the hives above ground was not useful. Of 48 hives in 4 apia-
ries not on hillsides, the height above ground varied from 1.2
to 12 m, measured at the hive's lowest poj:lt: the average was
4.7 m. However, beekeepers expressed no preference for a
particular height (see below).
i
Hive exposures is important. Fig 1 is a mango tree (Mangifera
indica) with heavy foliage in which suspended hives would be
obscured. Fig 2 is a tree with thin foliage, in which hives
suspended at any level would be visible. The height of the
hives is therefore limited by the trees available and the den-
sity of their foliage.
Hives and The typical traditional hive in the vicinity of Nairobi is made
Their Size by hollowing out a section of tree trunk with a home made chisel
about 2 m long - (Fig 3). Mweria (meru) , Pygeum africanum, is
preferred for the hive; we were told that the work takes 1 to
3 days. The man shown in Fig. 4 and Fig. 5 said he had made
several thousand hives; hive making was his full-time occupa-
tion. In one apiary we saw hollowed sisal and palm tree trunks
used as hives.
The hives with smaller diameters were also shorter (Fig 6). We
presume that this is so because of the physical difficulties
of hollowing a small-diameter log with hand tools, but it sugg-
ests that volume is not a major concern in the minds of bee-
keepers in the area. Nevertheless, owners of the apiaries
studied may well believe that larger hives produce larger
crops of honey.
FIG. 3
A hivemaker using his sharp chisel to make a hive.
FIG. 4
I
The hivemaker with two finished hives and one unfl,nished (centr
Each end of the hive is closed with a wooden plug (left).
56
The exterior bark had been removed from the hives, and their
outer shell was remarkably uniform in thickness (2.2 to 2.8 cm).
The inner surface was quite smooth, not unlike wood planed
with a hand plane. The single cutting tool we studied was kept
sharp.
. .
a
. .
. l 0
.
a l 0 .
a .
a a
t.tl I
70
I I I I
80 90 100 110
Length exclusive of end cwers (cm)
FIG.6 ,'
Inside diameter of 19 log hives plotted against their length.
The results show that logs of small diameter are made into
shorter hives and larger logs into longer hives
58
KEEPINGBEES IN FIXED-COMBAND NWULE-COMB FFAMELESS HIVES
by KIREA I. KIGATIIRA
(Officer-in-Charge, Beekeeping Section, National Agricultural
Laboratories, Nairobi, Kenya)
Movable Comb The invention of the movable-comb hive is the wark of the
Frameless Hi;re ancient Greeks (Georgantas, 1957). "Anastomo confini", a
skep with its mouth above and covered with movable bars, has
been in use in Greece from antiquity until the present day.
The "David Hive" (Linder, 1972) is more or less like the KTHH.
Full honey combs are carefully removed with the bars, and
59
after scoring with an uncapping fork are introduced into a
wire net where they are firmly held, then placed in a hand
extractor and honey removed. Still attached to the bars, the
combs are returned to the hive for the bees to refill.
Pros and Cons The barrel hives with fixed combs are cheaper than the top-
Of Fixed-Comb bar hives. Their construction requires simple tools such as
Hives traditional chisels. When suspended from a suitable tree,
they are protected from overheating, predators, some pests
and savanna fires. During harvesting a reasonable quantity
of wax is obtained. The shape of the barrel is unique and
not veryattractive to many people; this reduces theft. The
hives are iight and are placed in trees which themselves attract
the bees.
Advantages of 1. The combs can be removed from the colony for inspection
the Movable- and replaced. This enables the beekeeper to observe the
Comb Hive condition of the queen and the health of the colony.
60
6. If necessary a queen excluder, made of coffee wire with
five squares per inch, can be used in the centre of the
hive to separate the honey from the brood. The worker
bees can pass through this, but the queen cannot.
61
BEEKEEPING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES IN TANZANIA
by G. NTENGA
(Ministry of Natural Resources and Tourism, Game Division,
P 0 Box 426, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania)
63
BEEKEEPINGDEVELOFf’dENT
PROGR/WlES IN TANZANIA
by G. NTENGA
(Ministry of Natural Resources and Touri.cm, Game Division,
P 0 Box 426, Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania)
(From "Apiculture in Tropical Climates", IBRA, London
1976, Pages 147-154)
-. -l- _......_
Beekeeping After independence in 1961 there was a fresh look at the
Organization beekeeping industry as a whole, and fresh directives were
After issued by the Forest Department:
Independence
1. To endeavour to change from primitive beekeeping methods
to modern methods, by gradually introducing the movable-
frame long hive specially designed for African forest
conditions.
66
II ___..
(d) Promoting beekeeping in selected regions;
Beekeeping Much lies abead for the scientist and technician for deve-
Development loping the beekeeping industry in Tanzania. Approximately
Potential 320,ooO km2 of mainland Tanzania is under forest cover, the
greater part being open woodland. This forms the principal
habitat of a very prolific and productive race of honeybees,
Apis mellifera adansonii. In areas where industrious men
have taken up beekeeping , much honey and beeswax is collected
annually. The forests and woodlands abound in indigenous
species of trees, shrubs and herbs, most of which produce
nectar that the honeybees collect and use in producing honey
and beeswax. In Tanzania most of the nectar comes from leg-
uminous trees, particularly of thefamilycaesalpiniaceae; in
the miornbo woodland areas the most common genera are the
Brachystegia and Julbernardia.
67
c.
I
I
l-iabora
t /
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I mwzs1
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i
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The Present
Programme
1. Market This is considered to be of the highest priority, in order
Development to provide channels for the existing bee produce. At present
two centres offer adequate marketing facilities accessible to
producers. One, belonging to the Tabora Beekeepers Co-opera-
tive Society, has been operating for over fifteen years, and
at present caters for 3150 beekeepers. The second, at
Handeni, has recently been developed with the aid of the West
German Government, and has a similar capacity for producers
in Tanga, Kilimanjaro, Arusha, Morogoro and Pndoma Regions.
2. Improvement Improved beekeeping stems from the use of beehives from which
of Bee- the crop can be collected without destroying the colony. In
Keeping the early days of beekeeping development, the pattern of the
Methods "Sudan" hive was adopted, and modified for use in Tanganyika.
The most important appliance was a queen excluder: there is
no record of the successful use of a queen excluder in tradi-
tional hives.
69
bees. Anomalies associated with their natural comb spacing
(compared with that of European races) led Smith (1961) to
make certain modifications to the Dadant frame, eventually
developing the African Dadant hive.
The use of simple hives will continue for many years. Suit-
able materials for making them have to be found without con-
tinuing the practice of debarking live trees. The advantages
of simple hive - in terms of time, labour and money - make it
difficult to change the ways of the traditional beekeepers.
Efforts ought therefore to be made to teach them how to toll-
ect crops from simple hives without destroying the bees.
70
stocking new hives. Breeder stocks for the queen rearing unit
can be selected from the bee farm: much can be learned about
colony development from colony inspection records, and also
about the phenology and intensity of nectar flows.
6. Bee Botany Smith (1960) carried out an extensive study of plants of impor-
and Pollin- tance to bees, and factors which influence nectar secretion.
ation The optimum stocking of apiaries in specific vegetation areas -
in woodlands, upland grasslands, wooded grasslands, bushlands
and thickets, and upland and lowland forests - urgently needs
to be determined.
71
The development of a modern hive for Trigona togoenis could
open a new field of enterprise in Tanzania. Further studies
on the biology and management of this bee are needed.
8. Training The need for recognised standards in the training of staff has
been realized since 1958 when liaison was established with the
British beekeeping examination institutions. Earlier, beekeep-
ing extension staff were given basic training in simple beekeep-
ing as outlined in a Beekeeping Division Pamphlet (Smith, 1955).
.
A much wider knowledge was needed for the beekeeping instruc-
tors. These were given training in frame-hive beekeeping on the
lines of the British Beekeepers' Association system. An eight-
week Beemaster course was thus established in 1958 to meet this
requirement. Candidates who qualified for the Beemaster Certi-
ficate were required to work for two years in the field to gain
practical experience, before they were given another training
leading to a higher qualification, the Expert Beemaster Certi-
ficate, later known as the Senior Beemaster Certificate. This
qualification was similar in standard to the Senior Certificate
of the British Beekeepers' Association and the Expert Beemaster
Certificate of the Scottish Beekeepers' Association, and was
recognized by the Examination Board for the National Diploma in
Beekeeping. The National Diploma in Beekeeping is generally
the highest qualification and is similar in standard to the
National Diploma in Agriculture and related diplomas; it is
required for all senior appointments of beekeeping staff in
Tanzania.
10. Ujamaa Bee- Since the development of Ujamaa (self-help) villages in the
keeping late 1960's, efforts have beenantinued to establish collective
bee farms of a size that the villagers themselves will be able
to manage. Under the special fund for regional development,
more than 12,000 modern hives have been distributed to cover
450 villages, commonly 10 to 50 per village. Protective cloth-
ing, smokers and honey presses have been given to some Villages.
In areas where response is very good, the villagers are encou-
72
raged to contribute traditional hives. The excellent response
in Kondoa District deserves special mention.
73
References Beekeeping Section, Tanzania (1964) Annual Report
. . . ..I (1967) Annual Report.
74
w- y- #$
L m 1s’
\dr a-0
-0, Q
‘I.,\ \
----s-e ---- -D _-----------_ --_-.._ --
I/+ ti A
81
Honey gatherers bringing their honey to a collection centre in Kenya.
82
over a longer period. It is important that the beekeeper be
. paid in cash for his product when he brings it to the centre.
In order to encourage production of a better quality honey,
there should be a price differential according to the grade
of the honey. This will encourage the beekeeper to improve
his production methods, and possibly to change to a different
type of hive which is more adaptable to producing quality
honey. Associated with the honey collection centre should be
a demonstration beeyard operated by one of the government
extension personnel, who would also be available to provide
some of the technical assistance needed at the collection
centre. The collection centre itself is best organized as a
co-operative of those who are bringing honey to it. Eventually
the central marketing organization, to which the surplus honey
from the collection centre would be taken, could also be
operated as a co-operative , made up of representatives from the
collection centres involved. Organizations of this nature
-would, in many cases, be in a position to borrow money so that
they can carry on cash transactions for the honey and wax
supplied. In all collection centres, provision should also be
made for handling beeswax , and this should be encouraged as a
major beekeeping commodity, particularly in Africa.
.83
The central packing plant should be located somewhere near the
major market for honey; it should be much larger, and with more
equipment for the handling of honey. It should have more
elaborate heating and cooling faciiities, as well as settling
and straining equipment. This phase of the programme could
be operated in many ways; it could be operated as a co-opera-
tive associated with the honey collection centres; it could
be operated privately or through one of the mission-oriented
organizations. For financing, possibly the best approach is
through the central co-operative which would make available
certain amounts of money for each collection centre to make
their purchases. The central organization could also have
associated with it the manufacturing of beekeepers' supplies,
so that these could be taken out to the collection cesixes for
sale when the trucks are going out to fetch honey.
Dadant & Sons (19'75) The hive and the honey bee.
Hamilton, III.: Dadant & Sons.
84
l__l~--_-_.-.l, -
BOTSWANA - NOTES; OH THE FIRST STAGES OF, ‘A PROJECT
85
BOTSWANA - NOTES ON THE FIRST.STAGES OF A PROJECT
87
January 1968 saw the opening in Francistown of a new builders
brigade, again under the community Development Department. But
for a variety of reasons it became increasingly difficult to
keep this brigade going and in October it closed. Only three
other brigades started in that year - a builder's brigade at
Mochudi, another on the site of the new Shashe River School
and a second farmer's brigade at Mochudi. So by the end of
the Year there were some nine brigades in existence under the
control of three organisations: Swanengr the Community Develop-
ment Department, and the Kgatleng youth Development Association
(Mochudil .
The irssociation has many plans for the future: a bicycle assem-
bly plant, horticultural projects, a dairy farm, and an inclu-
sive farm supply and service centre.
The Apicultural Since his arrival at Eolepolole, Mr. Ephraim Kilon has laun-
Project ched the pilot apicultural project at Kweneng. He reports
that there is little .traditional beekeeping in Botswana but
that Apis mellifera adansonii is present, although its active-
ties are somewhat restricted in the higher lati-cudes of
Botswanr. by the arked winter season. There is a period of
dzarth, ml the bees are confined to their hives, between mid-
APL?.!. and mid-August.
Fifteen modified Langstroth hives and 5 Top Bar hives have been
built .in the Brigade ~&shops with pine-wood and weather-proof
chip-board, Two other standard LamptrOth hives have been
imported.
8%
Ten of the hives ar;! situation in a Eucalyptus plantation and
6 of them are occupied by bees which have been collected either
from nests in trees or in termite mounds. Not a single hive
has been occupied by passing swarms, as Mr. KlZon t?: zxper-
ionced in Tanzania.
89
- - - - - - .. ‘L - - __. . -
---___
Development
Programme
Introduction Beekeeping is not a traditional industry in India. However,
collection of honey from wild bee colonies has been practised
since time immemorial. Large quantities of honey collected
by crude methods had a big market, as an article 05 food and
as medicine. Efforts to introduce modern hives with ".%s
mellifera have been made since the 1880s. It was are;*-.. 1910
that Rev. Father Newton for the first time designed a smaller
hive, suitable for the indigenous Apis cerana indica in the
extreme south. But as an industry beekeeping did not develop
until the 1940s when Dr. Spencer Hatch in the southern-most
coastal strip of India, Swami Shambhavananda in the district
of Coorg in Karnataka, Shri S.K. Kallapur and Shri S.G. Shende
in the Western Peninsula, and Shri R.N. Muttoo in the central
Himalayan foothills, initiated efforts to popularize it among
the rural population. Agricultural departments in some states
also attempted to extend this industry to rural areas.
Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of our Nation, included beekeeping
in his rural development programme, and several persons with
missionary zeal were trained in his Ashram for popularizing
beekeeping in villages. All these attempts, however, had
serious limitations. It was only after the formation of an
All-India Khadi and Village Industries Board in 1953, which
later was constituted as the Khadi and Village Industries
Commission, that the beekeeping industry received serious
attention for its development in a co-ordinated manner through-
out the country. The establishment of the Khadi and Village
Industries Commission is really the culmination of the rural
re-construction programme envisaged by Mahatma Gandhi during
the pre-independence era.
93
INDIA
Bf&KE&PING INDWSTRV
\ ARUNACHAL
TAR PSADESF
_1
AREAS COVERED
KARNATWi
.
Is AREAS HAVING ANDAMAN C
GOOD POTENTIAL NIKOBAR
a ISLAKDS
Q
INOIA
SHARE OF STATES
IN
APIARY HONEY f’ROOUCTION
TAMIL .NADU
\ KERALA
equipment, arranging the tlarketing of finished village indus-
tries products, promoting research in the improvement of tools
and techniques, and providing training for artisans; also
implementing people's education programmes through films, exhi-
bitions, publications and other media. The Commission has so
far produced four films on beekeeping.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
Ministry of Industries
I
Registered Beekeepers'
Institutions Co-operatives
/I---
Beekeepers
96
- .- -.--.-._----__
1. Sub-station This is the basic unit for introducing beekeeping in new areas.
The operative area has a radius of 5 - 8 km; it is selected
through previous technical surveys. A trained fieldman is
provided to-educate the prospective beekeepers; he distributes
hives and other equiqment, and gives training in the manage-
ment of colonies. This unit runs for a Deriod of‘5 years in
the area, by which time it is expected that the beekeepers
enrolled locally will have become self-reliant. Adjacent
areas are covered similarly, and a viable beekeepers' co-oper-
ative society is established in due course, which then looks
after the interests of the beekeepers in its jurisdiction; it
may extend to a block level or a district level, depending
upon the potential of the area.
2.Model Apiary This unit comprises an apiary for demonstrating modern mana-
-cum Nursery apment practices suited to the locality; it also supplies
colonies to beekeepers through a planned prograunne of colony
multiplication.
5. Honey Hoiise Grants and loans are provided in this pattern to beekeepers'
co-operativa societies or institutions, for the construction
of honey houses, according to designs prepared by the Bee-
keeping Directorate. Such honey houses are designed for
centralized collection, pooling, processing and packing of
honey.
6. Comb Founda- Similarly, grants and loans are provided to the organizations
tion Mill implementing programmes, for purchasing comb foundation mills
of a size suited to their regions.
7. Training This pattern provides for graded training courses at all levels,
from beekeepers to post-graduates.
8. Seminars and The Commission assists in organizing seminars and exhibitions, '
Exhibitions at district, State and All-India levels.
97
‘4 beekeeperS apiary iz the coastal belt of South India.
98
Progress A small beginning was made, in a few villages only, in 1953.
During subsequent five-year plan periods, more and more
villages were covered, and by the end ot 1374, 37,000 villages
derived the benefit of modern beekeeping.
99
Future Deve- On the basis of existing forest and agricultural areas in the
lopment country, at least 50 million colonies would be needed to
exploit the natural resources of honey production and the needs
of agricultural crop5 for cross-pollination. The national
wealth contributed by beekeeping would run into several billions
of Rupees. Future plans for beekeeping development in India
are duly related to this long-range perspective.
Research
Programme
Introduction Bee research in India, like the beekeeping industry, has a
recent history. Its growth can be traced back a little over
three decades. Even so, most of the earlier research was
confined to the entomology departments of provincial agri-
cultural directorares or colleges. The emphasis was naturally
on crops pests; bees were treated in a minor way, restricted
to academic aspects like comparative morphology, anatomy and
bionomics. This research, though valuable, had little impact
on the industry. The beekeeping industry, by its highly
scientific and technical nature, needed strong research support
in various applied aspects for its total growth. Mention must
be made here of some commendable efforts made earlier in this
direction by entomoiogists like Dr. Sardar Singh, Shri S. Rama-
chandran, Shri P.L. Sharma, Shri H. Vishwanathan and Dr.T. Milne.
However, these efforts were in the nature of ad hoc schemes,
and their results were .inconclusive. Thus there was an utter
need for a sustained broad-based, integrated, applied research
programme, taking account of the climatic, phenological and
floristic heterogeneities of the sub-continent. This need,
however, had remained unfulfilled. It was in this situation
that Dr. G. B. Deodikar conceived such a comprehensive pro-
gramme of bee research. Since the resources in men, material
and finance were extremely meagre, a modest beginning was made
at Mahabaleshwar (western hill ranges of Maharashtra State) in
1951-52. I have been associated with this work since its
inception.
100
3. Quality control of bee products
101
peninsular region, and some in the northern hill regions, have
been worked on; studies in the remaining areas are being ini-
tiated. In areas already studied, methods or migration, comb
renewal for wax-math control, queen rearing and other seasonal
management practices have been standardiz.zd, and this infor-
mation is passed on to the beekeepers' co-operative societ.Les
and other agencies that implement the beekeeping extension
programme.
5. Bee Pollin- India is mainly an agricultural country, with immense scope for
ation bee pollination. But due to extreme heat during summer, cola-
nies cannot be maintained on,the plains of India throughout the
year. The beekeeping industry in India is therefore mainly
restricted to forest regions. However, with impraved migra-
tion techniques evolved at the Central Bee Research Institute,
it is now possible to migrate colonies between farms and for-
ests to the advantage of both beekeepers and farmers. Experi-
ments on the utility of bees as cross-pollinators of various
agri-horticultural crops are being assessed. Considerable data
inbee pollination of most of the oilseed crops have been coll-
ected, and experiments on some orchard crops, pulses, vegetables
plantation crops and fibre crops have been initiated, with
certain improvements in the design of experiments for crop
pollination.
102
0’
W
a
0
-2
and the remainder from the wild colonies of A. dorsata,
A. cerana indica and A. florea. Analytical work on Indian
honeys and beeswaxes at this research institute has made it
possible to lay down purity specifications for these products
through the Indian Standards Institution, the Agricultural
Marketing Organization of the Government of India, and under
the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of the Government of
India. Methods have been evolved to distinguish extracted
honeys from squeezed honeys by quantitative estimation of the
pollen per gram of honey and its transmittance.
7. Bee Path Prior to 1969, Indian beekeeping was not seriously confronted
-0logy with any bees diseases. Acarine disease took a major toll of
bee colonies in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir during
1960-65. In 1970-71, European foul brood was first detected i
western hill ranges of Maharashtra State, and in 1975 Nosema
disease was confirmed in Uttar Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
Both these diseases were later confirmed by ?r. L. Bailey at
Rothamsted Experimental Station, UK, and he also suspects a
new viral disease among some samples sent by us. There is a
general belief that the introduction of these bee diseases in
to India is consequent upon the repeated introduction of
colonies of Apis mellifera from Europe and America. A separat
wing was therefore established in the Central Bee Research
Institute, for the study of bee disease, pests and predators.
The disease problem is dealt with simultaneously through
(i-1 chemotherapy.
(ii) better management
(iii) breeding for disease resistance.
8. Rock Bee Apis dorsata, commonly known as the rock bee, is the largest
Research and most"ferocious" honeybee of the world. The bees are very
prolific honey producers, they withstand high temperatures,
migrate over long distances, and are effective pollinators.
They cannot howevtr be handled easily, because of their temper
migratory habits, ,and construction of nests in inaccessible
places. Observations on nesting behaviour were made on more
than 2000 colonies in different parts of the country: on such
aspects as nesting sites, comb building in relation to north-
south direction, height of nest from ground level and comb
structure. Preliminary experiments conducted at the Central
Bee Research Institute showed that rock bee colonies can be
hived in a specially designed bee box. Further experiments
are in progress on supering these colonies, extracting their
honey, and seasonally migrating them to suit their natural
rhythm.
104
9. Training Training forms an integral part of the programme of the
Central Bee Research Institute, aId graded training courses
in beekeeping are arranged. Field men and Apiarist courses
(3 and 6 months,respectively) are a regular feature. Soecial-
ized training in queen rearing, processing and analysis of
honey and beeswax and other aspects is arranged according to
specific requirements. Refresher courses for field staff are
arranged periodically, to acquaint them with developing tech-
niques. Beekeeping staff from other developing countries are
also trained at this Institute; a post-graduate diploma course b
will soon be started.
10. Library and The staff of the institute have so far published over 120
Publica- research papers, and built up a comprehensive collection of
tions books, journals and reprints of research on bees and beekeep-
ing. The Institute houses the Branch Library of the Inter-
national Bee Research Association to serve its Asian members.
The IBRA supplies (gratis) surplus literature it receives from
different countries of the world.
The Central Bee Research Institute is the only one of its type
in India which is solely devoted to integrated research on
various aspects of Indian bees and beekeeping industry. It
will in future receive additional support from the Central
Government, for the expansion of its research programme to
other parts of India.
***
Some Notes on The honeybee native to the uplands of Kashmir is a variety
Kashmir Bees of Apis cerana indica, which has not been subject to hybridi-
(by F. A. and zation. In the environment of Kashmir it performs well, both
T.A. Shah, in honey production and in general management characteristics,
Shah Bee- and it is not believed that Apis mellifera would do better.
keepers,
Srinagar, The physrcal characteristics of the Kashmir bee can be
Kashmir) summarized:
(a) there are 61 worker cells per square inch.
(b) the weight per bee is 100 mg.
(c) the tongue length is 5.5 mm (preliminary measurements).
(d) the life span is some 6 weeks in the working season,
and over 6 months in the inactive season.
(e) Breeding at the end of winter starts when maximum day
temperatures are averaging around 5OC, and the laying
capacity can reach 2000 per day.
(f) Bees forage at temperatures of 10°C and above.
105
d
In their use of brood combs and storage combs Kashmir bees will
expand the brood area according to the availability of food,
and when a surplus becomes available they reduce brood rearing
and give preference to storing as much surplus honey as they
Can. Comb building is proportionate to the expansion of brood
area and availability of food to be stored. Honey cappings are
convex and snow-white. No propolis is used.
106
\- I
by B. A. BAPTIST
(Department of Agriculture, Sri Lanka)
(From "Apiculture in Tropical Climates", IBRA, London
1976, Pages 135-142)
Beekeeping
Practice
Honey Hunting Obtaining honey from wild bees living under natural condi-
tions was a regular practice of the primitive hunting tribes
(Veddas) of the country who depended on forest and jungle
produce for their food. The bees involved in these honey-
hunting raids were the Giant or Xock bee (@is dorsata) and
the Asiatic honeybee (Apis cerana); both bees accumulate
appreciable quantities of honey during the dry seasons of
the year, chiefly in the months of June, July and August. In
the process of obtaining this honey, the flying bees were
driven off by smoking. The combs were then cut down and the
honey squeezed out and collected , while the parts containing
brood and pollen were con juined on the spot.
Hobbyist The next step in beekeeping practice was taken by a few hobby-
Beekeeping ist beekeepers who generally used the western and Indian types
of hives for keeping bees , with some variations in size of
frame and capacity of hive. Some of them went so far as to
import A. mellifera, chiefly from Australia. No notable
success, however, appears to have crowned these efforts.
Honey Produc-
tion Efforts
Honey Collec- The primitive plundering of honey from wild bee colonies still
tion from . goes on. This is for the most part confined to Apis dorsata,
Natural Sites and is not in fact so unreasonable as it may appear at first
sight. There are two major reasons for this.
110
Associated with the plundering of honey from colonies of Apis
1
dorsata, is also the obtaining of the wax combs of these bees.
Such collection is or can be augmented by the collection of
combs adbandoned when the bees migrate from one area to another.
Unlike the collection of forest honey, the collection of wax
in Sri Lanka from this source has not been exploited and there
is some scope for development.
During the honey flow in the dry zone forest area, honey hun-
ters do not neglect or ignore colonies of Apis cerena, wilich
are as numerous in these areas as Apis dorsata, though some-
what less easy to detect unless searched for. This again is
a task not too difficult for those traditionally engaged in
honey hunting, and consequently the quantity of honey plunde-
red from Apis cerana colonies can also be appreciable. An
illustration of the scope of honey hunting is afforded by the
fact that a wholesale dealer in wild honey in L single dry
zone area of the North-Central Province is able to market as
much as 2000 kg of honey in a season.
Honey Produc- The use of Apis cerana in domestic hives in Sri Lanka can be
tion from Hive traced back to the early part of the 1920's when great interest
Bees was shown in plantation agriculture and horticulture. The
earliest attempts were based entirely on the knowledge of Apis
mellifera and the equipment and procedures used for this bee
I in the West. It is difficult to trace the results of these
efforts; the general impression that can be gathered, by
correspondence and publications available, is one of little
success, with the benefit not going much further than the
circle of friends round the beekeeper himself. In all these
lone efforts, there have also been occasional attempts to get
some State support in order to subsidize and popularize bee-
keeping activity, but again with little success. Consequently
beekeeping has continued to remain purely in the province of
the hobbyist and nature lover.
Factors One of the main reasons for this poor average appeared to be
Affecting- that in many areas of the country there were no very specific
Production or prolonged seasons of proper flowering for an adequate
honey flow. This tended to favour the development of strains
which maintained a small colony size, and perhaps an excessive
swarming habit. In consequence even short honey flows could
not be fully exploited.
111
Heavy continuous rain is not infrequently experienced during
the two monsoonal periods, and sometimes lasts for 1 - 2
months, cauc!.ng excessive setbacks to development and sometimes
serious reduction in colony size. This leads to exposure of
the combs to wax moth attack, resulting in fouling of combs
and absconding by the colony.
Favourable The features that have been recognized in this connection are
Factors very briefly considered below.
112
Sam& of the crops now widely grown in this country have been
known elsewhere to be good honey crops, but their possibili-
ties in this country for honey production have not yet been
tested effectively.
Requirements Many local factors, chiefly associated with climate and weather
To Counter affect honey production either directly or indirectly, and
Intrinsic limit yields to an extent which rules out this activity as a
Handicaps full-time occupation, or its organization on an industrial basis.
As such, individual benevolence and purely personal interest
are inadequate for effective investigation or development.
Introduction Recently much interest has been directed towards the development
and expansion of apiculture and honey production in Sri Lanka,
and studies on various aspects of the biology and ecology of
the indigenous honeybee Apis cerana under local conditions
have therefore been needed.
115
=o
3 l
Maau \
08I 0
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Anuradhapura
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b Polonnaruwa
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-----~.~ Batticaloa
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r* ,- -,,*-=, l\ M-l.?:1.-4-m ^^
i I- ! -*\ --=:-- I
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Methods
A. Floral Observations on the flowering periods of the more important
Sources honeybee forage plants were made during surveys on the exploit-
ation of forests for wild honey by peasants in different regions
of the island. These honey hunters were also interviewed. How-
ever, time for these surveys was too limited to obtain enough
information to formulate a detailed floral calendar.
Fig. 1 shows the localities where the observations were made for
the present study. The phyto-geographical regions were mainly
based on studies made by Fernando (1968) and Brink et a1,(1971).
TABLE 1
The brood chamber rested on the floor board and had a rectangular
entrance at the bottom 17.5 x 2.0 cm. A well ventilated roof
covered the honey chamber. All incoming bees were counted at
the entrance during lo-minute periods at hourly intervals be-
tween 06.00 h. and 18.00 h. This procedure was repeated every
seventh day, from the first week of January 1974. The tempera-
ture and humidity of the environment were recorded during each
observation period.
Results and The island can be divided very broadly into four major eco-
Discussions systems (Fig. 1): (1) dry zone, (2) intermediate zone,
(3) lowland wet forest, (4) montane zone. Several different
Ecology
habitats are found in them, including those resulting from the
exploitation and conversion of natural forests for diverse
agricultural practices. The general ecological and phenological
features in each habitat of any one zone are characteristic of
that habitat.
This rich forest flora, particularly in the dry zone (Fig. 11,
sustains many natural colonies of the honeybee &is cerana, and
of the large rock bee A. dorsata, and the dwarf bee A. florea.
During the main honey flow season, which usually extends from
June to September, these wild colonies, especially those of
A. cerana, are exploited for honey by village honey hunters.
(Fig 2). During the operation, the bees are oLeten driven away
from their colonies through a hole made in the upper region of
the tree cavity which harbours the colony, by letting in smoke
throughthe flight entrance, which is widened with an axe to
facilitate the removal of the combs. Honey is extracted by
squeezing out the combs into a container, which is often the
dried, thick rind of a large bottle-gourd, Lagenaria siceraria
(Cucurbitaceae), a commonly cultivated vegetable in the dry
zone regions (fig 3).
119
during this dry season. The number of colonies hunted is not
kllOWll.
TABLE 3
TABLE 4
121
-..
The young extra-floral nectaries on the petioles of rubber leaves
(Fevea brasiliensis) secrete nectar from February to April, and
provide a very important source for A. cerana (Fernando, 1978).
Several beekeepers with colonies on coconut plantations (esp-
cially in the Kalutara district, in the lowland wet zone)
transfer them to nearby rubber plantations during this period.
The bees also visit unopened male inflorescences that have been
injured by tapping to collect material for the preparation of
"toddy" (a fermented liquor from the sugary exudates of injured
blossoms, collected in earthenware pots). Kannangara (1940)
stated that bees drink the fermented liquor and drown in it,
due to intoxication. Counts were therefore made on insect
populations in the liquid in randomly selected pots that had
been suspended for 24 h on injured florescences (Table 5).
Members of the Orders Orthoptera, Lepidoptera, Hymenoptera and
Diptera were found while the resident fauna were mainly non-
flying insects (Dermaptera and Formicidae (Hymemoptera)).
About 77% of the visiting insects were A. cerana foragers where-
as there were very few A. dorsata and A.florea. The relatively
high proportion of A.cerana could be due to the presence of
domesticated colonies nearby.
Conclusions Good potential thus exists for the planned harvesting of honey
from wild colonies which are found in abundance in various
forests in the different zones of the island. The establish-
ment of apiaries of hives of A. cerana in coconut plantations
(especially where the inflorescences of palms are tapped for
collection of the sugary exudates) could be very productive,
particularly in the lowland wet zone where migration of the
colonies to nearby rubber plantations is economically feasible.
The honey from the coconut exudates would not be high quality
honey.
122
\
TABLE 5
Insects collected from earthenware pots containir;g fresh sap from tapped
coconut flowers
Visitors
A.cerana
Pot No. (flying insects) Other Resident as percentage
Honeybees (Apis) Insects (non-flying insects) of total visitors
cerana dorsata florea
1 73 10 5 26 83%
2 22 1 1 1 63 88%
3 19 4 2 5 68 63%
4 6 3 52 67%
5 11 3 1 27 73%
6 14 2 17 88%
More information about the distribution and flowering of bee
forage plants, and about the foraging behaviour of honeybees
in different ecological regions under diverse environmental
conditions, will make it possible to select sites best suited
for colonies of A.cerana throughout the island, particularly
for establishing a cottage industry.
0
b
u
/
129
-ws,-----
130
of at least 20 km a year. * Apis mellifera also spread east-
wards down the Markham Valley, and by 1959 was reported in the
vicinity of Lae and Bubia and in the Wattut Valley near Wau.
131
SanzpEing honey in the Western Highlands of Papuu New Guinea.
132
programme of the PNG Government Department of Business Deveiop-
ment. Wild colonies from buildings were used, and in 1975
seventy colonies were established in different envircnments
throughout the Western Highlands.
During 1972 Fowke estimates that in the Goroka area 2,000 pounds
(909 kg) of honey were sold at an average of 35c per pound
(75~ per kg) to individuals, to the Bird of Paradise Sanctuary
at Baiyer River, to the Highlands Tobacco Factory, and to
Kabiufa High School and the Hagen Health Food Shop both of which
retailed it to the public. The above amount, together with
that used for personal consumption and given to friends totalled
about 2,400 pounds (1,090 kgs) from 16 productive hives indica-
ting an average annual yield of 150 pounds (68 kg) per hive.
Sources
LOCATION ALTI'l'UUb MEAN ANNUAL MEAN ANNUAL AVERAGE ANNUAL NE3N ANNUAL DOMINANT VEGE-
(ml RAINFALL (mm) SUNSHINE INDEX % REL TEMPERATURE TATION
(See Key)
0900, 1500 Max Min
Introduction The Pacific ocean covers almost one third of the surface of
the earth. With the exception of the major continents
bordering the Pacific, very little is heard about tropical
and Subtropical beekeeping in this region (Fig. 1). It is
apiculturally distinct from the other tropical regions. With
the exception of some Island groups-on the western periphery _
(Indonesia, Philippines, Taiwan), the Pacific has no indigen-
ous Apis species. The European races of Apis mellifera that
are present have been introduced by man during the last two
centuries. Apis mellifera adansonii has not been introduced
to the Pacific region - fortunately. In the absenceof a long
association with honeybees, the peoples of the tropical and
subtropical Pacific (the Melanesians, Micronesians and
Polynesians) have not developed any traditional or cultural
associations with honeybees.
New Zealand As a Pacific country New Zealand has directed most of its
Apicultural Aid development aid efforts towards its neighbours in the Pacific
Programmes region. In recent years New Zealand has been associated with
beekeeping development programmes in the following countries:
1. Papua New New Guinea is the largest single island land mass in the
Guinea Pacific Ocean. Two countries, Papua New Guinea in the east,
and Indonesia (Irian Jaya) in the west, share this mountain-
ous land.
2. Niue For its size the island of Nuie is probably the most inten-
sively bee-farmed country in the world. With an area of
only 259 square kilometers, this island contains one
commercial beekeeping unit of 1200 hives, producing an
average of 50 tons of honey per year (8). The honey indus-
try is second only to the passionfruit industry as an export
revenue earner for Niue.
p s T!lVALU
. JIAITAIN)
a
’ vfunafuti
#
. TOKELAU ISLANDS
‘“. (NEW ZEALAND)
WESTERN SAMOA
h
Apia - l ’
.
.
.
‘.
0do M’LES
80@ KILOMETRES
Other islands in the Tonga group, including Vavau (119 sq km)
and Eua (87 sq km) may be able to sustain honey-producing
enterprises (20).
5. Western Western Samoa consists of two large islands, Up010 (1114 sq km)
Samoa and Savavai'i (1820 sq km). Beekeeping on an amateur scale
has existed for many years, but there is also a potential for
commercial operations (19). The Government of Western Samoa
has recently sought New Zealand assistance in evaluating their
islands for honey production, and this may be forthcoming. An
independent survey has been made by a New Zealand citizen with
a view to establishing a private beekeeping venture there (14).
Other Aid In addition to the assistance given by the New Zealand Govern-
Projects ment through its bilateral aid programmes, there are other
beekeeping development projects in the Pacific. These include
Rarotonga and Fiji.
Rarotonga Rarotonga is the largest island (67 sq km) in the Cook Islands
group. The Auckland Bee Club of New Zealand has embarked on
an ambitious community beekeeping project, that could be the
forerunner of other village beekeeping projects in the Pacific.
Ten hives were recently established on Rarotonga, and a further
shipment of 10 hives is planned (14). The hives will form the
nucleus of a demonstration apiary under the supervision of
a local Department of Agriculture officer.
Fiji The Fiji Islands are about as far south of the equator as the
Hawaiian Islands are north of it, and in land mass are slightly
larger (18,272 km). Fiji appears to offer considerable poten-
tial for beekeeping development (6, 9). At present beekeeping
is limited to amateur or small-scale commercial operations.
142
References 1. Coyle, T.J. (1976 Personal communication
147
Guyana is 2207 mm (87 in), roughly equal to that of Paramaribo4.
French Guiana, however, receives considerably more precipitation.
For example, the average for Kourou is 2820 mm (111 in), with
slightly more pronounced wet and dry seasons (Fig. 1).
Nectar and By far the most important source of nectar is the black man-
Pollen Sources grove (Avicennia nitida), known in Guyana as "courida", which
lines nearly the entire coastline and estuaries of the
Guianas. Many beekeepers not living near the coast keep their
bees in mangrove areas to increase honey production. Black
mangrove nectar is estimated to account for 90% of all Guyana
honey (Allicock, personal communication). The major nectar
flows occur during the two dry seasons, and heavy rains during
theseperiods can greatly reduce honey production.
Effects of the Brood production, honey storage, and swarming are strongly
Seaonal Cycle influenced by climate and abundance of resources. Brood
production is generally strong during the two dry seasons as
a result of good foraging conditions and/or abundant resources
(appendix). During the wetter months, however, insufficient
brood is reared to maintain colony strength, and colony pop-
lations can become dangerously small. Beekeepers often have
to feed their bees during these periods, mostly in June and
July, although in some years from February to May also.
148
600
528
500 .-
400 -
300
200
I I I I I I I I I I 1 I
JAN FEB MAR APR MAY JUN JUL AUG SEP OCT NOV DEC
Fig 1. Annual rainfall distribution at Kourou, French Guiana (1965-1975) and Parbo, Suriname
Extended cloudy and rainy periods often occur from December to
July, during which rain can wash or dilute nectar from flowers
and reduce foraging to a few hours a day. During these periods
bees utilize honey and pollen stored during the previous dry
season.
Equipment and Beekeeping equipment has been imported from Britain, France
Supplies Canada and the United States, and is made locally usually
patterned after the lo-frame Langstroth hive. Imported wood
is preferred, especially for frames, because it is well dried
and resists warpings. Increased costs of foreign equipment
151
and wood have recently reduced imports. Foundation is normally
imported, but a small amount of high-quality foundation is
produced by two beekeepers in Surinam for their own use.
Most other beekeeping appliances except extractors are cons-
tructed locally. Homemade hives and frames often lack the
appropriate "bee-space", and are therefore "cross-combed" by
the bees, making inspection and management tiifficult.
152.
Predators, Many of the general problems in the neotropics affect bee
Pests and keepers in the Guianas. Predators and pests include several
Pesticides species of ant, robber bees and wasps, greater and lesser wax
moths, termites, toads and flycatchers, but no one of these
constitutes a serious threat to beekeeping. Problems with
pesticides have occurred in certain areas (e.g. Baramanni,
Guyana). In addition, the injection of the systemic insecti-
cide monocrotophos into coconut palms, to control two major
pests, has been shown to injure honeybees. In a Guyana
experiment, the populations of colonies in a coconut grove was
estimated to have been reduced by 50% within a week after
application of monocrotophos(7). Widespread use of this pesti-
cide could affect many beekeepers in Guyana and Surinam.
The Africanized Africanized bees have been recorded recently throughout the
Bee coastal region of the,Guianas as well as the southern Savannah
of GuianaIg). Africanized bees were first observed in French
Guiana in August 1974(l"). Later surveys found them further
west in Surinam (March 1975, van Deursen, personal communi-
cation) and in Guyana (April 1976, G-W-0). As recently as
April 1976, Africanized bees had still been present at very
low densities in Surinam and Guyana and had had minimal impact
on beekeeping. Given the history of the invasion of Africani-
zed bees in South America, however, it is certain that all
established colonies will become Africanized, unless colonies
are requeened frequently with imported queens. Since these
hybrid or Africanized bees differ from European bees in many
characteristicst6)that can effect management (Swarming,
absconding, sensitivity to disturbance, etc), beekeepers may
be forced to make numerous changes in their operations. The
ease with which such changes are made will depend on many
factors, including the attitudes of beekeepers, beekeeping
organizations, the public, and the respective governments.
153
Acknowledge- This paper could not have been written without the enthusiastic
ments support and co-operation of many people in the Guianas. We are
especially grateful to Kees van Deursen and Paul D. Allicock who
provided much of the information used. Some of the comments
on beekeeping in French Guiana were obtained from correspondence
(1375) between Patricia Richards (University of Michigan) and
Dr. Leclerc (Martinique), and we thank them both. The comments
and criticisms of Kees van Deursen, David W. Roubik and
Constance Corbett Otis are greatly appreciated.
The WST Region may appear to have some adverse beekeeping con-
ditions, but it is in fact quite productive in the upland areas
with tropical hardwood forests, which provide continuous pollen
and nectar sources. The weather is rarely so adverse as to
keep the bees in the hives over an extended period, near the
brink of starvation. The beekeeping Mayan Indians of this
region rely on certain indicator plants to forecast nectar
flows and plan their beekeeping activities. The Mayan (Mopan)
Indians know that suchah (Cordia alliodora) flowers 5 weeks
after the minor nectar source Erythrina glaucus is in full
bloom, and all weak colonies must then be built up in time for
the upcoming flow. Honey yields in the upland WST Region
exceed 75 kg per hive, without the use of elaborate practices
and expertise.(8) The more highly cultivated lowland WST Region
is less productive, being hampered by easterly winds most of
the year, and the average is only 23 kg per hive. For this
reason beekeepers in and around the coastal town of Punta
Gorda are beginning to establish out-apiaries farther inland
and in the uplands, to utilize the lush tropical cover, a
158
prime contributor to the upland productivity. The WST Region
as a whole averages 44 kg of honey per hive. (9)
Pollen and There are a great many floral sources which provide nectar to
Nectar Sources the bees and determine the characteristics of Belizean honey.
Honey Produc- Belize has in recent years steadily increased its annual honey
tim and the production to more than 280 tons (1976). And with the recent
Beekeeping but rapid expansion of the beekeeping industry to the west (Cay01
Industry and south (Toledo), in conjunction with the present hive den-
sity of only 0.75 per square mile, such production could be
quadrupled. The distribution map (Fig. 1) shows the main areas
of beekeeping activity and the numbers of beekeepers and their
hives in the individual districts. The main concentrations
continue to be the northern districts of Orange Walk and
Corozal, which account for 80% of the honey produced in Belize
today. Honey yields in Belize have recently been estimated at
44.5 kg per hive.
159
infant foods, and for many years amounted to only 28 g per capita
capita (11). But through the use of radio programmes, educa-
tional popular publications and agricultural displays, con-
sumption today stands at more than 114 g per capita(lC).
This is despite the fact that many other natural sweetners
(brown sugar, molasses and tropical fruits) abound at more
economical prices. Honey is sold locally in pint bottles at
approximately $O.gOBH (US$l = $0.50BH) or in l-lb plastic
jars, notably from the Mopan Farmers' Co-operative which
provides the bulk of retail sales of honey in this form
domestically.
Only one wax foundation press exists in Belize, and pure bees-
wax foundation is always in short supply. Most of the wax
foundation is imported from Mexico, and as it is only 60-709
beeswax, acceptance by the bees is rather poor. Extractors
are manufactured locally by the Mennonities; they are heavy
and bulky, but durable and inexpensive. Smokers, hive tools,
bee veils and excluders (rarely used) are primarily imported
from Merida in Mexico. Occasional but large orders of bee
supplies are obtained from the United States and the United
Kingdom. Import of package bees from the United States has
been discouraged, due to previous experiences with devastating
losses. Queen bees are, however, purchased from time to time
by individual beekeepers, and arrive in good condition.
160
;_.. _,.i.
a
..- ,
...-.--..--J i /
Number of Hives
Number of Beekeepers
/J ..’
District Hives/Apiarists
Dry Tropical
1. COROZAL 1,925/40
2 ORANGE WALK 2,730 / 82
3. BELIZE 353 / 30
4. CAY0 989 / 35
r---l
Wet Sub-Tropical
5. STANN CREEK
GUATEMALA
lrllOlll~l~,S
H.Rhode,
161
Government The Crops Development Division of the Ministry of Agriculture
Activities In maintains a keen interest in beekeeping, and has two demons-
.%piculcure tration apiaries and three queen mating stations. At Central
Farm in the Cay0 District, site of one of the two demonstration
apiaries, beekeeping courses are conducted biennially for
agricultural personnel who will work in the apicultural sector.
The beekeeping seminar covers a wide range of topics, with
emphasis on diagnosis and control of bee diseases, and produc-
tive bee management in the tropics. The other demonstration
apiary is at Central Apiaries in Corozal, where queens are
reared, nucleus hives maintained, and inexpensive beekeeping
equipment devised. At isolated mating stations, Italian,
Caucasian and hybridized lines are maintained, and queens are
sold to the industry. Africanized bees do not exist in Belize,
and a recently established queen-rearing programme aims to
make the import of queens unnecessary.
14. H.C. Mulzac (1977) Honey, the many types, its many uses.
Belmopan: Transcripts - A-0. Pitts.
163
APICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN CENTRAL AMERICA AND PANAMA:
SOME HISTORIC AND ECONOMIC CONSIDERATIONS
b$ ROBERT B. KENT
(Department of Geography, California State College, Stanislaus
Turlock, CA 95380 U.S.A. - April 1978)
(original contribution)
APICULTURAL DMLWMENT IN CENTRALAMERICA AND PANAMA
SOI’% HISTORIC AND ECONWIC CONSIDERATIONS
by ROBERT B. KENT
(Department of Geography, California State College, StanisLaus
Turlock, CA 95380 U.S.A. - April 1978)
Original Contribution
Current Econo- Between 250,000 and 300,000 honeybee colonies are found in
mic Status of Central America today, over half being located in Guatemala;
Apiculture next in importance are El Salvador and Costa Rica (Table 1).
While the official agricultural censuses for these three
countries include hives and honey production, those for
Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama do not(57,67,73)
168
TABLE 1
TABLE 2
* 1968 data.
+ In short tons.
169
The use of the less productive fixed-comb hive varies from
country to country. It is estimated that between 3% and
25% of all hives in GuajF;$la have fixed c~mbs.(~~~~~! and
in Costa Rica about 15% ; ,Estimates for Honduras haved
ranged from 25% to 75%(7°n'2: but there are few in Belizet65),
and none in Panama(291 Reports for Nicaragua are contrad-
ictory. Ordetx(6g)believed there was no fixed comb beekeeping
but Drescher(2g) reported that half the colonies were fixed
comb hives. There are no data for El Salvador.
Nearly all the honey exports are made by the first three coun-
tries in Table 1. Guatemala's annual production ranges from
loo0 to 2800 tonst29) , and about 75% is exported, most to
Germany and the United States 43r52. Production in El Salvador
according to agricultural censuses was 419 tons in 1961(36),
and 376 tons in 1971(38). These data must be too low or
production must have increased in the last few years, because
in 1974 the German Federal Republic purchased 1200 tons of
honey from El Salvador(l\ Honey has been exported from Costa
Rica for about 60 years, except during World War II to
European markets(6O). During the mid 197Os, annual production
was nearly 500 tons(77), about 400 tons being exported @1#22)
(Table 2).
170
391 and 466 tons in 1974 and 1975 respectively(63j and to about
738 tons in 1976(58al the United States purchasing 366 tans.(7)
National And The only countries in Central America with extension services
International for the beekeeping industry are Costa Rica (since 1943) (14)
Aids to Nicaragua, Belize and Panama (recently)(28 72) Beekeeping
Apiculture became well developed in Guatemala and El Salvador without
government aid(32 39) but the current distribution of honeybee
disease in Central America demonstrates the value of extension
services.
Today the bank operates an office in San Pedro Sula and one
in Tegucigalpa, which supply equipment and credit to beekeepers
172
at reduced rates@*) In the tributary area of the Tegucigalpa
office 50 beekeepers have received approximately US$ 2,000
each in credit, and are operating with between 50 and 100 colo-
nies each(54al Nearly 4000 colonies have been funded in the
Tegucigalpa area, and the San Pedro Sula office has reportedly
financed over 7000(la) The bank also purchases honey and wax
from beekeepers in 22 regional agenciestlal
173
wood in Costa Rica has given impetus to the development, cons-
truction and sale of cheaper hives of asbestos-cement(81) In
Belize, Mennonite settlers have developed a cottage industry
for manufacturin hives and extractors and the majority is used
in the cour~try(~~~ In Nicaragua , it was often difficult to
purchase these items until a few years ago, when a government
agricult*lral experiment station initiated a programme to supply
them to local beekeeperst2*1
4. (1976) The World Honey Market. Am. Bee J. 116 (1): 6-7
il. British Honduras, (1965) Trade report for the year 1964.
Belize City: Government Printer
176
20. (1974) Censo agropecuario 1973. 6an Jose
27. (1975) The flowers honey comes from. pp, 3-76 from Honey:
A comprehensive survey. ed. E. Crane. London: Heinemann &
IBRA
177
38. (1974) Tercer censo national agropecuario, 1971. San
Salvador: Direction General de Estadistica y Censos
41. Gardener, R.H. (1976) The San Benito frame. Glean. Bee
Curt. 104 (9): 336-337
63. Melzer, G.R. (1975) World honey crop reports Bee World
56 (41:139-140
179
70. . . (1963) Flora apicola de Honduras. Tegucigalpa: Banco
National de Fomento. unpublished
180
87. Segismundo, Principe (1975) Personal corresponence
183
Gl-&WAAND NEPAL:
BEESWAXUSED IN LOST WAX ERASS~ASTING
A Pl-KlTCY3?.APHIC
REVIEW
by Tony Moody
The mould, while still warm, is pierced and the wax allowed
run out. The moul.d is then put back in the fire, carefully
upright with brass scraps atop the hole. As they warm and
melt, the brass fills the mould, which is then cracked open to
release the cast figure.
185
But one of the first steps that the Kurufoforum co-operative
wants to take, and needs to, is the development of its own pro-
duction of beeswax. With the help of the Technology Consul-
tancy Centre, they hope soon to embark on their own beekeeping
programme.
186
(0. Wright)
jxlylt) 1DO1ltT
lng moltm brass into am :ozlld -
note the pile oj-in the Dachg??mnd.
tn 0 11 Ids
(0. Wright)
187
Ashanti Figurines
The old man is carrying a gunpowder keg on
his head - and !le is smoking a pipe. The
blatant message of danger is a typical motif of
the “‘proverbial” message in these fi.:gurirzes.
(R@ht) The old Lady is carrying firewood.
(Bottom) The old man cannot resist looking
in the woman’s basket. It is empty, however,
and there is no reward for the would-be thief!
APPENDIX I
190
(b) Sri Lanka Botanical Name Local Name Flowering
month
Azadirachta indica A.Juss
(Meliaceae) Kohomba May-June
Chloroxylon swietenia DC
(Rutaceae) Kurutha May-June
E. citriodora Hook
(Myrataceae) June-August
E. microcorys. F. Muell
(Mycrataceae) June-September
Musa paradisiaca L.
(Musaceae) Kehel All Year
Species
Acacia sp September
Achras sapota August
Acromia mexicana January
Albizzia sp January
Anacardium occidentale February
Anona spp February
Avicennia nitida April
Bixa ornella September
Bucidia belizensis Feb, May
Carica papaya October
Cassia spp April, Sept.
Ceibapentandra April
Coccoloba belizensis (Standl) March
Cordia alliodora March
Crescentia cujete October
Cynodon dactylon August
Dalbergia Stevensonii April
Znterolobium cyclocarpus July
Glyricidia sepium January
Gossypiusi mexicanum August
Guaiacum sanctum , August
Baematoxylum campechianum April
Ilex panamensis April
Inga sp. September
Lonchocarpus spp July
Mammea americana January
Mimosa sp October
Nectamdra samiomea July
Orbignya cohune April
Persea americana July
Phytolaca icosandra October
Piscidia piscipula March
Pithecolobiwn sp. October
Psidium guajava May
Rhizophora mangle October
Phinorea .=?p. March
Roystonia 3pp. August
Rynchospora cephalotes September
Sabal spp. July
Sapindus saponaria June
Schizolobium parahybum November
Sideroxulan anyadalinum January
Swietenia macrophyalla March
Tabebuia spp February
Tamarindus indica March
Terminalia obovata June
Vitex spp July
Zanthoxylum Kellermanii March
Zea Mays February
Mangifera indica January
AFENDIX II
195
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