Bees for Development
JOURNAL
ISSUE NO 112, SEPTEMBER 2014
SOFT SET HONEY WOMEN IN BEEKEEPING BEEKEEPING PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT IN EAST AFRICA WWW.BEESFORDEVELOPMENT.ORG
20 1993
YEARS 2013
COVER PHOTO © LEONID SHARASHKIN
Bees for Development Journal 112
Dear friends Have you discovered TECA? The website run by FAO that provides practical information to help small producers in the field. Go to the TECA website: www.teca.fao.org and then to Exchange Groups and you will find the excellent Beekeeping Exchange Group. During September there has been discussion about stingless bees, and before that plans for bee houses. From 17 November we will be discussing how beekeepers best learn their craft, and how long it takes to become proficient.
Survey and subscriptions If you are receiving this Journal free of charge, your subscription has been sponsored by BfD Trust. We will soon be sending you a survey asking about the value of the Journal to you. You must complete the survey to continue receiving this Journal. Remember to let us know of any changes to your postal or email address – if we cannot contact you we cannot sponsor your subscription. Our cover shows Dr Leo Sharashkin who practises treatment-free beekeeping in horizontal hives in the Kaluga Region of Russia, south-west of Moscow, described in his book on page 18. Leo says “I am very glad to know that beekeepers the world over will find my information relevant to their beekeeping. My wife and daughter create the artwork for my hives”.
Issue No 112 SEPTEMBER 2014 In this issue
page
Practical beekeeping – the setting has to be perfect................................3 Combination beekeeping – a solution to the problem.......................5 Rethinking beekeeping development in East Africa..................6 Honey bees in East Africa resist pathogens..........................................7 Practical beekeeping – soft set honey.................................................8 Women in beekeeping- success and prosperity..................................10 Questions and answers in beekeeping.......................................12 Recent Research .............................13 News around the World....................14 Look Ahead .....................................17 Bookshelf.........................................18 Notice Board................................17,19
If you pay your own subscription - please renew when you receive the subscription reminder. Your subscription helps us to continue sharing information and advice between beekeepers worldwide.
BfD Journal Produced quarterly and sent to readers in over 130 countries Editor Nicola Bradbear PhD Co-ordinator Helen Jackson BSc Subscriptions cost £26 per year – see page 19 for ways to pay BfD Trust (UK Registered Charity 1078803) works to assist beekeepers in developing countries Readers in developing countries may apply for a sponsored subscription. Apply online or use the form on page 20. Support: Bees for Development Trust gratefully acknowledge Marr Munning Trust, E H Thorne (Beehives) Ltd, Trade Advance Ltd, The Waterloo Foundation, and the many groups and individuals who support our work. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to help. See our website for how to become a Supporter.
Erratum We apologise that in Good Beekeeping Practice – comb hygiene (BfDJ 109), one of the images was wrongly captioned. The correctly labelled image is shown below
Bees for Development Post 1 Agincourt Street Monmouth NP25 3DZ, UK Phone +44 (0)1600 714848 info@beesfordevelopment.org www.beesfordevelopment.org
The combs on the right are in good condition and can be used again. Although the dark honeycombs (centre) appear good in transmitted light (left), they are not in good condition and must be destroyed. 2
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PRACTICAL BEEKEEPING
GOOD BEEKEEPING PRACTICE
THE SETTING HAS TO BE PERFECT Wolfgang Ritter, OIE Reference Laboratory at CVUA Freiburg, Am Moosweiher 2, D79108 Freiburg, Germany PHOTO © P PETERMANN
Keywords: apiary location, bee density, legislation, migratory beekeeping, Varroa
Apiary location and placement of colonies during the season
The selection of an ideal apiary location is mainly according to forage availability and there must be a source of fresh water in the vicinity. Bees forage most economically within a radius of one kilometre. Anyone who owns an animal or takes care of it has to nourish it appropriately, according to its species and requirements. This means that one must consider not only honey yield, but ensure sufficient food supply before and after the foraging season. A bee colony starved for even a short time will produce less resistant bees with shorter lifespans. Moreover, Good Beekeeping Practice requires the avoidance of residues in bee products. Therefore a polluted environment, intensive agriculture, industry and traffic in the neighbourhood should be avoided.
Microclimate in summer
A loose arrangement in double blocks reduces drifting and avoids the spread of diseases
When there is a strong wind, bees fly hesitantly because their return to the hive is uncertain. Therefore, an ideal location has a natural windbreak to the north and east. Extra shade and/or additional water supplies are necessary in hot regions. Colonies in damp places face difficulties in regulating humidity inside the hive and in sufficiently concentrating the honey. This results in a loss of quality and increased stress for the bees. Bees at these locations are often less vital and more susceptible to diseases.
Neighbours and neighbouring beekeepers
It is important that bee colonies are located so that they do not disturb private or public interests. Beekeeping must comply with local conditions and respect neighbours’ legal rights. Beekeeping should not interfere with the use of adjacent plots or hamper passers-by. Also the requirements of existing apiaries sited at fixed places must be respected. During periods of nectar dearth or total lack of foraging opportunities, robbing may occur, especially between colonies of different strengths. In late summer at the end of the foraging season, it is incompatible with Good Beekeeping Practice to leave colonies for a long time at the latest out-yard, because diseases and parasites are not only spread by robbing, but also by drifting. Those who leave their highly Varroa infested colonies in a wood without any treatment deliberately risk their colonies’ ruin and act in an unsocial and irresponsible way.
Changing the location
When changing location – moving colonies from one place to another or because of selling colonies – statutory provisions must be fulfilled. To avoid the spread of pests and infection of your own colonies, you have to follow local pest control laws and regulations. At the apiary, the owner’s name and address should be displayed in a legible way (perhaps on the health certificate) to facilitate quick information in case of a pest outbreak or other hazards. This is not necessary when the owner’s name can otherwise be easily identified – for example if the apiary is in the owner’s garden or allotment.
Number and placement of colonies
PHOTO © J SCHWENKEL
There are controversial discussions about how many colonies are compatible with a location. Depending on the size of an apiary, accessibility and working time required will of course make a difference. Whilst considering these factors, animal health is most important. If bee density in the environment is not too large, 20–30 colonies during summer is an ideal number. When concentrating on honeydew forage, even 40 colonies can be managed. However, times when there is no foraging opportunity are the critical period, especially if additional feeding is necessary. At these times even 20 colonies can be too many. Also in late summer at the time of high Varroa pressure, it is better to have a smaller number of colonies. The spread of diseases between colonies can be reduced by placing the hives in a way that minimises drifting. Bee houses and migration wagons as well as a serial display of the hives are causes of high rates of drifting. Colonies standing alone, or in pairs, show considerable advantages in colony management. A good choice for beekeepers and bees is to place four colonies facing different flight directions on one pallet.
The arc of honey and pollen provides food for the brood and indicates the nutritional situation of the bee colony 3
PHOTO © J SCHWENKEL
PHOTO © J SCHWENKEL
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As long as the larvae are covered with food there is no shortage. The twins in one cell will soon be removed by the bees
In some federal states, the health certificate wrapped in plastic has to be displayed clearly visible at the apiary
HOW TO
location has to be requested from the veterinary inspection office, from the bee expert in charge, or the office monitoring migratory beekeeping.
Improve the microclimate
Evaluate the microclimate in summer (wind, humidity, heat) from the behaviour and the condition of the bee colony:
• Next, the intended migration has to be announced by submitting the health certificate.
• Determine the prevailing wind direction and flight activity of the bees – if necessary erect a windbreak.
• Afterwards, the health certificate must be prominently displayed at the apiary.
• Mouldy peripheral combs and honey containing too much water indicate a humid location – ensure a spaced arrangement of the hives and ensure good air flow under the bottom board.
Protect neighbours
• Adapt the number of colonies to the local setting.
• Bees cluster outside the hive entrance on hot days, so provide shade with branches or covers.
• Do not place entrance holes towards a neighbouring plot or towards streets and lanes.
• Do not continue using unfavourable places.
• Encourage bee flight upwards by using obstacles, for examples hedges at least two metres tall.
Check supplies
To meet its own needs, a colony requires about 40 kg pollen and 140 kg nectar each year. To maintain sufficient food supply, a bee density of 20-30 colonies/km2 can be appropriate in our area of Germany.
Checklist for Good Beekeeping Practice
Yes
No
Appropriate number of colonies and placement guarantee simple access for management, little drifting and minimal robbing
• Monitor food supply by means of a hive balance or by observing the honey and pollen arcs in brood comb.
Forage sources and bee density ensure sufficient food supply
• Take the food provision of the larvae as an indicator of the actual food situation of the colony.
Food supply is monitored regularly, especially at critical times
• Balance lack of water at temperatures below 10°C and on hot summer days by providing drinking troughs.
The microclimate facilitates good bee health and honey quality
• Roughly estimate pollen and nectar sources within the flight radius compared to bee density.
The owner of the bee colonies can be readily identified at the location
Respect regulation
Following the Bee Pest Control Regulation, bee colonies in Germany are allowed to be removed from a place only with a health certificate. However, different countries have different requirements.
Regulations in place are respected when the location is changed Neighbours are not disturbed by beekeeping
• An examination is possible as soon as the bees rear sufficient brood.
BfD acknowledges www.diebiene.de as the original source of this article
• Information on the situation regarding epidemics at the new 4
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COMBINATION BEEKEEPING – A SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEM André Wermelinger, Free the Bees, Switzerland Keywords: Dadant hive, extensive beekeeping, honey production, intensive beekeeping, natural beekeeping, pollination, Swiss hive, Warré People’s hive
hive can increase the colony’s susceptibility to disease by up to 20%1. The virulence of viruses and parasites in nucleus colonies tends to increase with artificial swarming2 and foulbrood spores are found on a much smaller scale in wild or feral populations than in managed counterparts3.
Why are activities like honey production, bee breeding and pollination provision described with fixed beekeeping guidelines and with fixed bee hives? Why not consider combining several beekeeping methods?
Conversely, natural beekeeping methods yield smaller amounts of honey but more natural swarms and therefore an increase in colony numbers. These methods also tend to need less treatment. The closer we manage to emulate the bees’ natural environment, the greater their chance of being able to adapt to environmental changes and thus ensure long-term preservation of the species. Natural beekeeping methods can ensure that increases in colonies are easily achieved with minimal effort as well as ensuring pollination on farmland. Furthermore, the hives are simpler to build and require lower operating costs.
Beekeeping today is largely classified according to which type of hive is used. Bees are kept in a Swiss hive, a Dadant frame hive or some other hive type – and so we tend to subjectively classify our beekeeping methods according to hive type. A Warré People’s hive beekeeper is thus more likely to be perceived as a ‘natural beekeeper’, whereas someone with a Swiss hive will be considered a ‘honey-producing’ beekeeper. However, several examples have illustrated that the Swiss hive does lend itself to natural beekeeping much in the same way that a Warré People’s hive is suitable also for intensive bee farming. The terminology applied is thus imprecise and the method of beekeeping cannot be determined according to the type of hive being utilised. Technical terms to refer to beekeeping methods are currently still lacking from our vocabulary.
There are no good or bad beekeeping methods, or right or wrong. Instead, it is much more likely that the key to the problem lies in finding an optimal way of combining various beekeeping methods with different hives. We must ensure that honey bee species are kept alive in the long term. Our second priority is pollination. And we would still like to harvest some honey. If we wish to focus on these objectives then the only way forward would be to adopt a combined method of beekeeping. As an example the Extensive Honey Production method is capable of delivering honey quite sustainably. If 10 or 20% of the bees are kept either fully naturally or at least according to Natural Beekeeping methods, honey can be sustainably sold and consumed with a clean conscience. Could this become a new seal or quality mark that places emphasis on the bees’ welfare?
So what are the actual factors that determine our level of beekeeping intensity? The table below enables beekeepers to evaluate the level of intensity at which they operate. Those who are aware of the factors will then be able to consciously make changes and move either in one direction or another. Many people will find themselves between methods. A beekeeper may consciously decide to work intensively with one colony and use natural beekeeping with another. The more intensive the beekeeping method, the higher the economic yield expected. However there is a side effect on biodiversity with a risk of long-term effects on the species. While the stacking of honey chambers, the division of bees and brood to create nucleus colonies and the use of foundation frames may increase honey yields, these methods also increase bees’ susceptibility to diseases. Studies have shown that increasing a honey yield by 10 kg per
Bernard Heuvel, based on numbers taken from T D Seeley’s book Honeybee ecology (1985) Princeton University Press, USA 201 pp 1
SEELEY,T.D. (2007). Honey bees of the Arnot Forest: a population of feral colonies persisting with Varroa destructor in the northeastern United States s.l. Apidologie 38 (1) 2
3
www.tandfoonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03014223.1994.951.7996
Table 1: Beekeeping methods with corresponding keys/indicators (from www.freethebees.ch) Natural nesting colonies
Natural beekeeping
Extensive honey production
Intensive honey production
Fixed volume, for example hollowed out tree trunk
Volume increase beneath the brood nest (nadiring)
Volume increase above the brood nest (honey chamber)
Volume increase above the brood nest (honey chamber)
Reproduction Natural swarm
Natural swarm
Natural prime swarm Afterswarms possibly pre-empted by dividing into nucleus colonies
Nucleus colonies, artificial swarms, queen rearing
Feeding
In extremis to avoid colony loss. Honey/sugar mix
Honey/sugar mix
Sugar
Natural comb, fixed comb
Natural comb, possibly using frames but no foundation comb
Removable frames with foundation comb
Natural (for example essential oils)
Essential oils, possibly oxalic acid
Formic acid, oxalic acid, acarcides
Natural swarms, small amounts of honey for personal use
Natural swarms, nucleus colonies, honey
Honey, nucleus colonies, occasionally a natural swarm
Hive and changes in volume
Comb building
Natural comb, fixed comb
Varroa treatment Yield
Natural swarms, maybe some honey after several years
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RETHINKING BEEKEEPING DEVELOPMENT IN EAST AFRICA Dr Elliud Muli 1,3 Maryann Frazier 2 and Fiona Nelima Mumoki 1 1 The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Nairobi, Kenya; 2 Penn State University, University Park, PA USA; 3 South Eastern Kenya University, Kitui, Kenya Keywords: ecosystem services, Kenya, poverty alleviation, stingless bees, Varroa
by the BREAD-funded project. The goal of the forum was to share the results of the research and the experience of invited beekeeping specialists from other East African countries focusing on management and health of honey bees. Participants worked together to identify a future vision for beekeeping in East Africa, barriers to the vision, and the next best steps to achieve the vision.
Over 50 years of attempts to improve the livelihoods of smallscale landholders in East Africa through beekeeping development projects have had limited success. These efforts have mainly involved the introduction of equipment (moveable-comb frame hives) and management techniques designed for European honey bees in temperate climates. The techniques are based on economies of scale; practices now under scrutiny for their potential contribution to declining honey bee populations in the EU and USA (Potts, 2010; vanEngelsdorp & Meixner, 2010). Strong evidence suggests that this approach in East Africa has been largely unsuccessful because 95% of the honey produced in Kenya still comes from traditional, local-style hives (Raina, 2007). Attempts to introduce top-bar hives in the Baringo District have been unsuccessful, reportedly due to lack of training (Gichora 2003), and among beekeepers who have been introduced to Langstroth frame hives, the number they keep typically decreases over time in favour of log hives (personal communication E. Muli).
The following individuals worked together to craft the outcomes below: Jared Arunga (HEART Africa), Grace Asiko (National Beekeeping Station, Kenya), Tilahun Gebey (Bees for Development-Ethiopia), Robert Kajobe, (National Agriculture Research Organization, Uganda), Alice Kasika (beekeeper, Kenya), Muo Kasina (Kenyan National Beekeeping Station and Agricultural Research Institute (KARI), Joseph Kilonzo (ICIPE, Kenya), Mercy Kiyapyap (CABESI Project, Kenya), Simon Lugazo (Tanzania Forest Conservation Group), Daniel Masiga (ICIPE, Kenya), Maxwell Lumbasi (CEDP-DesertEdge, Kenya), Damaris Mulei (beekeeper, Kenya), Benjamin Muli (SEKU, Kenya), Elliud Muli (SEKU, Kenya), Mulwa Mbithi (beekeeper, Kenya), Fiona Nelima Mumoki, (ICIPE, Kenya), David Mutua (Mwingi District Beekeepers Group, Kenya), Benard Mweu (SEKU, Kenya), James Njuguna (Bees Abroad), and Suresh Raina (ICIPE, Kenya).
Beekeeping potentially holds significant promise for improving the lives of small-scale landholders and rural people without land (land ownership is not required), capital investment is low and there is an unmet demand for honey, beeswax and propolis. Honey, produced by honey bees and stingless bees, provides a direct source of income for small-scale landholders and as an energy dense food, provides an important source of calories and nutrients especially in times of drought (personal communication E. Muli). Honey also has cultural and medicinal value.
The vision for beekeeping in East Africa
East Africa has a profitable and sustainable beekeeping industry that produces globally competitive products and contributes maximally to ecosystem services while also protecting honey and stingless bees as a valuable natural resource.
Barriers to the vision
Kenya is a net importer of honey with over 10 metric tonnes reported in 2005 according to an ITC report and in recent interviews beekeepers confirmed that there is high demand for local honey. Honey bee populations provide critical pollination services, nutrition (Eilers et al 2011), and income for small-holder farmers and rural families (Raina et al 2011). In western Kenya, pollinators provide US$ 3.2 (€ 2.4) million in ecosystems services to eight crops: beans, butternuts, capsicum, cowpeas, monkey nut, passion fruit, sunflower and tomatoes (Kasina et al 2009).
1. Inadequate knowledge and training of beekeepers and their educators in sustainable/profitable beekeeping practices. 2. Inadequate government support for the beekeeping sub-sector. 3. Promotion by government and NGOs that ‘improved beekeeping’ is synonymous with movable-frame hives. 4. Inadequate science-based information guiding beekeeping practices and decision-making particularly in the areas of bee management, health and ecology. 5. Lack of co-ordination along the entire value chain thus minimising the ability to establish and maintain a sustainable and profitable beekeeping industry. 6. Lack of standards for hive products (other than honey), and awareness by producers of existing honey standards. 7. Lack of marketing intelligence and market information by beekeepers. 8. Lack of knowledge among consumers concerning the quality of hive products such as the crystallisation of honey and the role of honey bees in ecosystem services. 9. Environmental degradation (deforestation, pesticides, alteration of wetlands) reducing habitat and forage for bees. 10. Inadequate regional co-ordination among East African countries in beekeeping policy making and information sharing.
Keeping honey bees in local-style log hives, employing minimal management practices may result in lower honey yields yet these practices have likely contributed to bee populations that are healthier than those in the developed world. Based on the results of a National Science Foundation-Basic Research to Enable Agriculture Development (NSF-BREAD) funded study, jointly conducted by the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) and Penn State University (USA), East African honey bees appear largely tolerant of recently introduced Varroa mites and some common pathogens (Muli et al 2014). An extension of this project conducted on the campus of the new South Eastern Kenya University (SEKU) is currently comparing local-style log hives, top-bar hives and frame hives for attractiveness to swarms, mite and disease prevalence, productivity, cost/benefit ratios and absconding rates. In March 2014, SEKU hosted a beekeeping forum, sponsored 6
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Action plan
7. Farmers and growers of bee-pollinated crops should be encouraged to protect pollinators from pesticides and to plant diverse flowering plants that bloom at various times throughout the season to attract a diversity of bees and provide suitable nesting habitat. 8. East African governments create a regional board to co-ordinate bee product standards, research results, and trade and policy frameworks across East Africa. 9. Recommendations resulting from this forum to be shared with all Kenyan counties and other stakeholders by the National Beekeeping Station.
This plan is specific to Kenya. Other East African participants will share this document with the stakeholders in their countries and modify it accordingly. The group requests that the following actions be taken: 1. The National Beekeeping Station strengthens beekeeping education and extension services at the county level by promoting networks and forums to share beekeeping information. 2. KARI and other agriculture research institutions invest in applied research to improve science-based practices and decision-making by beekeepers. 3. Promoting top-bar and frame hives as the ONLY way for beekeepers to make forward progress to be discontinued. There is now strong evidence that a range of hives including local-style log, basket or clay hives, top-bar hives and frame hives can be used to house honey bees and can be made profitable for the production of honey, wax and other products in East Africa. Choice of hive type should be based on the knowledge, skills and financial resources of the beekeeper and the environmental conditions where the bees are kept. Beekeepers should be made aware of all pros and cons and the full cost/benefit of each system. 4. The National Beekeeping Station co-ordinate and make available, to all interested stakeholders, documentation on all NGOs, companies, international organisations, government agencies working in the beekeeping sub-sector. 5. Kenyan Bureau of Standards effectively share with beekeepers and other stakeholders, all information related to honey and hive product standards. 6. The Ministry of Environment & Natural Resources, the Kenya Wildlife Service and the Ministry of Agriculture, include and protect bees as a key natural resource and integrate beekeepers into their training and other programmes.
PHOTO © MARYANN FRAZIER
This vision, barriers and actions plan will be shared as broadly as possible with East African stakeholders.
Participants at the South Eastern Kenya University Forum, March 2014 For references see www.beesfordevelopment.org/resources-for-beekeepers
HONEY BEES IN EAST AFRICA RESIST PATHOGENS
“Finding Nosema at all was a big surprise, and finding out that Varroa was already so widespread was unexpected” said Christina Grozinger, Penn State. When we did the analyses on how the pests were impacting colony health, we did not see any significant effect.” What explains the resilience of the East African bees? One source may lie somewhere in their genes, the researchers believe much of the explanation for the Kenyan bees’ resilience lies in different farm practices. African bees live relatively free of human input. The study found very low levels of only a few pesticides in hives, when there were any at all.
Scientists have discovered that bees in Kenya have strong resistance to the same pathogens responsible for the deaths of billions of bees elsewhere in the world. Entomologist Elliud Muli, (ICIPE) with researchers at Penn State University, USA surveyed hives in all of Kenya’s major ecosystems: savanna, mountains, tropical coast, and desert. They measured the size of colonies and the numbers of bees and tested them for parasites and pesticide contaminants.
Beekeepers in Kenya should copy Western practices as little as possible, the study authors say, if they want to keep their bees healthy—and in particular refrain from treating them with pesticides even though Varroa and Nosema are present. For now, at least, “the wild Kenya bees have their own resistance,” Grozinger says. “It would be a mistake to interfere with that.”
In a paper published in the online journal PLOS ONE, the researchers report that honey bees in Kenya are infested with the same pests and diseases that wipe out colonies elsewhere but do not succumb. Colonies remain healthy even where a combination of pathogens are present. “That resilience - I was amazed by the lack of manifestation of ill health in the bees,” said Muli.
Muli says: “The way beekeeping is done in the West has eroded the genetic pool through commercial breeding of queens and propping up sick colonies through use of medication - colonies which would otherwise be long dead. For us, instead, it is survival for the fittest, and Mother Nature seems to be getting it right. She is giving us a broad genetic pool of honey bees capable of dealing with any environmental shock.”
Muli and Penn State co-author Maryann Frazier first detected Varroa in Kenyan honey bees in 2009. Nosema had not been seen there before, but in the recent study both pests proved prevalent in all but the most remote study areas surveyed.
Source: Jennifer S Holland, www.news.nationalgeographic.com 7
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HONEY PROCESSING – SOFT SET HONEY Text and images © Ken Basterfield, Westcott, Gerway Lane, Ottery St Mary, Devon EX11 1PW, UK Keywords: creamed honey, crystallization, fructose, glucose, granulation, seeding honey
and irregular rather than the preferred fine and smooth. • Honeys that are only partly set also do not sell well.
Many people are confused by the terms ‘soft set honey’ and ‘creamed honey’. They are equally likely to be confused by the term ‘seeding’, thinking that they are one and the same process. They are not.
Do you want to sell your set honey or are you content to let it sit on the shelf once it has passed to the retailer, with few or no re-orders? Start by answering ‘Yes’ to the first bit and ‘No’ to the last bit and we are making progress and the soft set process is your salvation.
Recently I heard a new beekeeper telling prospective customers that he beats his runny honey in a food blender to cream it, that is – he beats air into it to give it that opaque look. Some of the air had floated out and all the jars had large frothy heads. I could have simply dismissed this but I have to confess to having the same confusion forty years ago!
Soft set honey is smooth and fine and can be spread thickly and easily with a knife. It will be consumed quicker and a re-order should be guaranteed.
Granulation as a natural process
Honey is produced from nectar by, amongst other things, reducing the water content to less than 20%. This is done in the bees’ nest at about 35°C. The bees remove the excess water to help preserve it against yeast fermentation during winter storage.
The object of this article is to clarify the terminology and process of producing fine soft set honey.
Overview
Soft Set is a version of set honey that has its crystal nature broken up by mashing to give a spreadable texture similar to butter or margarine spreads and sometimes referred to as ‘creamed.’
Yeast can only proliferate and spoil the product if there is enough moisture in the product. There should be no surplus of water in a ripened honey, just enough to keep the sugars in solution. In honey, the solution of sugars in water is said to be near saturated: no spare water, hence no yeast spoilage. Clever little bees!
Most customers prefer a fine, smooth crystal size of soft set honey, but this cannot be guaranteed with natural setting. In particular, honey that has been liquefied and then undergoes a secondary set will almost invariably set with large, irregular, coarse grains.
As the honey is cooled away from the hive - in the comb, in a bucket or jar - it becomes ‘super saturated’. That is, at lower temperatures there is not enough water to keep the sugars still in solution and it is physically unstable.
Seeding This is an optional process which forces a ‘willing’ honey to granulate with a fine smooth crystal size.
It stabilises itself by crystallising out (‘granulating’ or ‘setting’) some or all of the sugars. The principal sugars in honey are fructose and glucose, and glucose is less soluble than fructose. Therefore honeys high in glucose will rapidly crystallise to a granular nature.
Honey marketing If you want return customers for your product then it must sell itself by its taste, appearance and texture. Naturally set honey is unattractive to most customers for a number of reasons: • It is usually ‘spoon bendingly’ hard and has to be chipped out of the jar.
This formation of crystals is like the construction of rigid scaffolding: the crystals link to give a rigid crystalline structure, which is how the natural set honey can become so hard.
• The granular texture is usually uncontrolled and can be coarse
With soft set honey the crystals still remain but the rigid crystal to crystal linking is broken physically by stirring. To be able to stir the set honey you need to warm it enough to soften the linking. Soft set honey should remain soft and be spreadable like soft margarine.
Which would the customer most like: coarsely granulated honey?
Or a lovely soft set honey?
• On setting, (granulating) in the jar it usually shrinks in volume and retreats from the glass wall, leaving mirrored or frosted areas which do not encourage confidence in its wholesomeness.
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The soft set process – is it difficult?
is heated by two 100 W lamps and takes about ten hours a bucket. • An electric oven is good as a warming cabinet but check the temperature regulator setting with a thermometer beforehand as ovens are not accurate at low temperatures. Our domestic oven dial reads 70°C when it is heated to 60°C. It takes about five hours in the oven to completely liquefy a bucketful of honey. Check regularly - you do not want to heat the honey longer than necessary. • Allow the bucket to cool to about 30°C. • Warm three 500 g jars of fine set honey as the seed (naturally hard set or soft set, it does not matter) in a microwave for about 15 seconds per jar. Leave the metal lids on and just enough time to soften it but not liquefy it. • With a spatula empty the jars into the bucket and stir to mix thoroughly. We use a sturdy commercial potato masher. • Allow the honey to reset, taking about three weeks usually to give you hard, set fine grained honey. • Continue with the soft set process.
No, try out the following experiment with a 500 g jar of naturally set honey: • Leave the metal lid on and place the jar in your microwave. • Full heat for about 20 seconds to soften the contents (not long enough to dissolve it to liquid honey). • Stir the contents with a spoon to break up the crystalline structure. • You have produced a soft set honey. • It may be coarsely crystalline or may be fine but it will remain as a soft set honey. NB: Leaving the metal lid on forces the microwaves down to the middle of the jar rather than just heating the top of it. And dismiss the myth instantly; you will not get arcing flashes on the metal lid! Just remember that the inside of the microwave is made of the same sheet metal as your jar lid. Seeding honey This is an optional process to ensure that your soft set honey has a fine smooth texture. It is only necessary to correct a naturally set coarse textured honey. ‘Seeding’ does not force honey to granulate. It merely determines the crystal grain size should the honey naturally ‘want’ to granulate. It is pointless seeding reluctant high fructose honeys; it is only applicable to honeys that will ‘want’ to granulate – that are high glucose honeys.
15 kg bucket scale soft set processing • Warm the bucket of fine set honey in the warming cabinet for about eight hours at 40°C until it is soft but not runny, test by squeezing the bucket sides. • Cut with a palette knife to ease mashing. • Macerate with the potato masher to break up the lumps. • Bottle immediately.
One and a half kilograms of fine grained set honey will ‘seed’ a 15 kg bucket of liquified honey: a 10% ratio.
BfD acknowledges BBKA News February 2014 as the original source of this article
One of the mistakes that beginners make is committing their honey to jars directly after extraction and usually without any idea as to whether it will set in the jar or not, and whether any setting is even or irregular, fine or coarse.
Cutting the warmed, softened fine grained set honey with a palette knife prior to mashing Fine grained seed honey is poured into liquefied honey in a bucket. This is stirred thoroughly, then put aside to reset
Testing for naturally granulating honey
How can you know if your honey will granulate? Put it in 15 kg buckets after extraction, wait and see which buckets have granulated three months later. If it has not granulated, or only partly granulated, put it aside to be processed as clear honey. If it has granulated with a fine, small, smooth grain size then seeding is unnecessary; it is ready for the ‘soft set process’. However, if it has granulated with large coarse crystals it will need to be re-liquified and seeded with fine crystal honey.
The seeding process • Reliquify the 15 kg bucketful in a warming cabinet at 60°C. Ours
The masher ready and willing: just needs some “elbow grease” 9
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WOMEN IN BEEKEEPING – SUCCESS AND PROSPERITY Eleri Griffiths, Llanrwst, Conwy Valley, Wales, UK PHOTOS © ELERI GRIFFITHS
Key words: Cameroon, grassroots organisations, Joan Wakelin Bursary, poverty alleviation, training Eleri Griffiths writes: I attended a beekeeping course run by the Conwy Beekeepers Association in Wales, UK, which is how I came to meet Alan Morley and hear about his involvement with Bees for Development. I met with Alan to talk about his experiences in Cameroon, and came up with a proposal to visit the women beekeepers in the north-west region of the country. Following a period of research and project development, I wrote a proposal. As a result I was awarded the 2013 Joan Wakelin Bursary from the Royal Photographic Society which is run in conjunction with The Guardian News and this is how I was able to fund my travels. I am pleased to share this story through BfD Journal. My priority is to help these women who are in much need of funding and resources to run courses to train more women beekeepers in the region. If BfD is able to offer any support to this group I know that they will benefit enormously. In the town of Bamenda, North West Cameroon, there is a co-operative of women beekeepers established as a club in 1997 by its founder member, Marianna Tanda Fumsi (pictured right). Marianna became interested in beekeeping when she volunteered in a honey shop to gain work experience and then enrolled on a beekeeping course run by Alan Morley, a Bees for Development volunteer. With Alan’s guidance, Marianna gained practical knowledge and soon became an independent beekeeper, establishing colonies on her family’s smallholding in the rural community of Bambui, on the outskirts of Bamenda. Marianna recognised the potential for training women to keep bees as a less laborious means of generating additional income. Through the sale of honey, women are able to provide food and purchase seeds, but most importantly they are able to pay for their children’s education.
Marianna Tanda Fumsi, founder of The Village Women Organisation for Sustainable Development Cameroon Cameroon living below the poverty line, some families find it extremely hard to provide even the most basic needs. With this degree of deprivation children have little or no hope of accessing the education that ultimately makes all the difference to their future development – and that of their families and the wider community.
In Cameroon as with many African countries, children are forbidden to attended school unless they are wearing the correct uniform and proper shoes. School fees are typically FCFA 27,000 (US$56; €41) for each child. With 40% of the population in
Almost 17 years on, the beekeeping club has become a fully
Farming is labour intensive: honey offers an easier approach to income generation for the women of these rural communities
Women from the Bamendankwe Rural Development Group gather to watch a honey harvest. Protective clothing is too expensive for most women so they must watch and learn from a distance 10
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Fidalia Tim, independent bee farmer and branch manager of Belo Rural Development Association. Fidalia was recently widowed and has six children to support on her own. She relies on beekeeping as a source of income for her family
Fidalia carries a heavy honey crop back to her village. Hives are tucked away in the surrounding forest where forage for the bees is good. Fidalia has trained women from the nomadic Bororo tribes and Muslim communities of Cameroon and has travelled to neighbouring Nigeria to train beekeepers
certified organisation with endorsement from the Cameroon government. The Village Women Organisation for Sustainable Development Cameroon (VWOSD-CAM) offers training to women beekeepers and also other initiatives among women and youth through education, training and community development. It offers support and advice for widows and educates on environmental issues and natural resource management.
and are an indication that the world is changing too. The women of these co-operatives have long recognised the need to support each other and work together to enrich their lives and live in harmony with nature. “When a woman learns by doing, she registers it in her sub-consciousness – the act and the love it takes to share.”
Networking between grassroots women’s organisations means there are now several similar women’s co-operatives in the North West Region with co-operatives in the towns of Bamendankwe, Belo and Fundong. While each offers training for those who want to learn about beekeeping, they address also gender-based issues such as violence in the family home and education drop-out which is so common among young girls. In many of these smaller rural communities, boys still receive preferential treatment when it comes to paying school fees since girls can be forced into early marriage to use the “bride-price” to educate the male child. Outside the marital home, teenage pregnancies are common and this cycle of dropout, illiteracy and poverty is self-perpetuating.
(From the Bamendankwe Rural Development Woman Organisation’s manifesto)
Although Marianna’s role within the organisation has shifted from training to administration, she returns regularly to the family smallholding in Bambui to nurture a colony of bees and to attend beekeeping meetings with Bandndankwe women. This area is peaceful and fertile with plant life. Combined with a good climate honey bees here can produce a crop of 15 litres of honey at each harvest, up to four times a year. The taste of honey varies with changing seasonal forage including pollen from the flowers of plants of coco-yam, Eucalyptus and palm. In addition to honey providing food for the family, beeswax is used for candles, furniture polish and beauty products. In Cameroon the sale of honey does not conform to any food safety standards: new jars and screw top lids are too costly for most producers so honey is stored in old plastic and glass bottles, and sold either on the street or alongside other produce on market stalls. The women have come to recognise the importance of hygiene, correct labelling and storage. For these beekeepers, as in other countries, there is a noticeable drop in the honey bee population. Once dark swarms migrating from overpopulated colonies to establish new colonies were a common sight, but now these sightings are rare. There is no doubt that even in this fertile country, changes in the environment are affecting their behaviour. According to the local women beekeepers, the seasons for harvesting have changed dramatically
Josephine Musongong ready for an evening hive inspection: the bees are less defensive at this time of day. Some of Josephine’s hives have been damaged by thieves stealing honey and disrupting the colony 11
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS IN BEEKEEPING In eastern Uganda the local NGO Mbale Coalition Against Poverty organised beekeepers’ exchange visits within their local area. New beekeepers visited established beekeepers and all shared experiences and good practices. This work was facilitated by the Welsh Government and Bees for Development. Question
Answer
Some farmers spray pesticides on their crops, I fear this harms my bees – what can I do?
One solution is to locate your apiary in a place away from where farmers use pesticides. However, this is not always possible. Another way is to ask your neighbours to tell you in advance when they are planning to spray: you can close the entrance of the hive the night before and leave it closed until the following evening. The danger is that bees can overheat and suffocate when contained inside a hive. To prevent this from happening use a wire mesh that allows air in, and cover the whole hive with a sack soaked in water to keep the colony cool. Ask your neighbours to avoid spraying pesticides when crops are in flower - it is better just before or just after flowering. This may reduce the incidence of honey bee poisoning (see page 13 top left).
This part of Uganda is heavily populated and it is hard to find a place for bees away from the village. How can I be sure that people and animals will not be stung?
Follow simples rules: • Make sure children never throw stones or sticks at bees • Make sure animals cannot knock into hives by accident • Never tether animals near hives • Check you know where the bees’ flight path is, and ensure it does not cross where people walk regularly • Place the entrance facing a hedge, this way the bees are forced to fly high and out of harm’s way, as they exit.
I use top-bar hives. A top-bar hive should be as low-cost as possible – use of a queen excluder makes it much more expensive. Should I use a queen If used in a top-bar hive (and we do not recommend it) a queen excluder should never be nailed in one place, it must excluder? be moveable. In frame hives a queen excluder provides an easy way for the beekeeper to ensure that the queen remains in the brood box and there is no brood in the honey combs. However, some colonies perceive the excluder as a wall and do not pass through; they are expensive; and some types of wire mesh are very harsh and damage worker bees’ wings. I use top-bar hives and sometimes the bees build combs across from one bar to the next. What can I do?
This is a common situation – do not be surprised! If combs are built across the bars in a top-bar hive the bees will still live contentedly in the hive and produce honey. This is a problem for the beekeeper and not for the bees! However, it does mean that each comb is no longer moveable as a single unit. This undermines the principles of a top-bar hive. The best way to cope with this problem is to avoid it happening in the first place, as follows: 1. Make sure your top-bars are the correct width and all are the same (for African honey bees this is usually 32 mm). 2. Make sure there is a groove or ridge along the centre of the top bar as a guide for the bees, and best of all if this is rubbed with beeswax, or use starter strips of wax along the centre of each bar. 3. Take a straight comb (empty) from another top-bar hive and place this in the new hive. This also helps guide the bees. 4. If a new swarm are just getting going and they begin to build cross-ways, you can detach part of the comb and push it straight and re-attach it with string or grass. However, this is very difficult because fresh comb is soft and breaks easily.
I use local style hives. I have noticed that bees are not using the entrance but entering the hives through the ‘honey door’.
Local style hives seem simple to some people, however the best hives follow good design principles. The most important design features are: 1. The hive must be the correct volume for the colony, neither too large nor too small. Ask local beekeepers what is the best volume. 2. The entrance must be small so that guard bees can defend the entrance from predators: the problem with having many entrances is that the bees have to guard all of them. 3. The construction material must allow bees to keep warm in cold weather, and cool in hot weather. 4. The hive must be protected from rain. 5. There must be a ‘honey door’ so that the beekeeper can access the honey without damaging the brood. The honey door must be sealed so that the bees cannot use it as an additional entrance. Sealing with clay, which can be removed during honey harvest, is one way to do this (see page 13 top right). 6. The hives should be strong enough so that they do not collapse as they get heavy with honey, and to avoid the beekeeper having to replace them too often. 12
PHOTOS © BfD
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This local-style hive is well protected against the rain
To avoid killing bees and other pollinating insects, pesticides should be sprayed just before or just after the crop flowers Source: Partap, U (1999) Pollination management of mountain crops through beekeeping - Trainers’ resource book. Kathmandu: ICIMOD (www.lib.icimod.org/record/23289)
RECENT RESEARCH Top of the pollinators
The honey door (access for the beekeeper) can be sealed with clay so the bees cannot use it as an entrance
Solitary bees emerged as the most abundant pollinating insects in fruit crops in a survey carried out by scientists at East Malling Research (EMR), UK. They outnumbered honey bees and bumblebees as the second and third most frequent foragers. The survey formed part of a research project looking at ways in which growers can boost insect pollination in fruit crops and involved monitoring visitors to plants each hour in six orchards, including a hectare of apples, a hectare of pears and a blackcurrant plantation. “Often pollination is not something that is highlighted in best practice. Prior to the study there was a lack of evidence to show which insects visit the fruit blossom;” said Michelle Fountain of EMR. Andrena dorsata and Andrena haemorrhoa were common on all three crops. The term ‘solitary’ is misleading because they are communal insects - each bee is providing for its own eggs they are just nesting in the same place,” said Ms Fountain. She advised growers that solitary bees like to nest in undisturbed, south-facing, sparsely vegetated ground with loose, crumbly soil not susceptible to waterlogging.
The clay seal can be easily broken for honey harvest without damaging the brood
Source: www.Hort.week.com 13
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PHOTO © AUGUSTIN KONDA KU MBUTA
NEWS AROUND THE WORLD
Beekeepers from the Nkunku Bwiki Project
DR CONGO From 2008-2010 I was involved in providing technical assistance to beekeepers in Mbanza Ngungu Region as part of a Belgian development programme. This allowed me to see the ecological disaster caused by deforestation throughout Bas-Congo Province. This represents a significant obstacle to the development of beekeeping: 30–50 years ago there were many forests around our villages providing people with many resources. Most of these forests were created through the traditional culture of Nkunku (reafforestation involving scattering of a variety of tree and creeper seeds in a certain area and protecting them from livestock, fire and felling for 10–15 years. The process is managed by the clan chief and is remembered by the older villagers). The tradition has given rise to the Nkunku Bwiki Project. The aim is to produce money from beekeeping and thus interest land owners in creating and maintaining the forests. Forest owners enrolled in the project receive honey and cash to the value of 25% of the honey produced by the project, and are discouraged from selling trees for charcoal. The project began in February 2011. Beekeeping had not been practised in the areas of Ngeba, Nselo and Wungu. I am the co-ordinator of Songa Nzila IFD, based in Kilueka, which has introduced
beekeeping. Two qualified beekeepers and three apprentices work with forest owners or their representatives.
Extracting honey at Kilueka 14
In 2011, six villages were enrolled in the project with a total of 120 hives. 2012 saw 84 colonies in 120 hives. In 2013 there were 11 villages in 12 forests with 183 hives. By 2014 153 more hives are being made and installed in 20 forests, in 18 villages bringing the total number of hives to 336. In September, 15-18 beekeepers were trained at Kilueka, the participants chosen by the owners of the Nkunkus. Each will receive two hives to install in their own Nkunku woodlands, or they will start planting their own. Honey is collected then extracted from the comb at Kilueka. The honey harvest in 2012 was 580 litres and 740 litres in 2013: 2014 is still being collected. The main harvest takes place between July and September with a second, smaller harvest between December and March. We extract beeswax but cannot sell it. We could recover beeswax from beekeepers in Kasangulu, Nzungu and Mbanza if a market was available. Augustin Konda ku Mbuta
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BULGARIA
ETHIOPIA
PHOTO © BfD
Gizao Likasa is a school teacher who was posted to Supe, Illubabor Zone, four years ago. He did some local research to see what business opportunities were available in the area and honey production came out on top. He started to make his own hives from local materials which he collected from the forest. Gizao studied the local hive style and modified it by making it bigger and building a removable door at the back so that he can harvest honey without damaging the brood. This ensures that the colony is not disturbed when honey is harvested. He places his hives in the forest to catch colonies and then moves them to his apiary. He still has the same hives he made four years ago (and has since added more). Many remain occupied by the very first swarms he caught. Annual yield from his apiary has increased gradually from 30 kg in 2010 to 500 kg in 2013. He plans to harvest 1,000 kg at the next harvest season. Janet Lowore
Over 1,000 colonies have been affected by the mass death of bees in Zafirovo, a village in Bulgaria’s north-eastern region of Dobrudzha. Hristo Tsonev, who has kept bees in Zafirovo for 20 years, described the phenomenon as “unprecedented”. He said that many bees were also displaying strange behaviour: unable to make their way back to their hives and going around in circles disorientated. Some beekeepers suggest the recent events are related to the use of illicit substances sprayed on crops, but scientists are yet to discover the reasons. Source: www.novinite.com
MEXICO The Equator Initiative has announced winners of the Equator Prize 2014. Following a global call for nominations, the Equator Initiative received 1,234 nominations from 121 countries. An extensive review process concluded in 35 winners. While diverse in their innovations and areas of work, each winner demonstrates community-based, grassroots action to address environment, poverty and climate change challenges. One winner is Koolel-Kab/Muuchkambal founded by Mayan women, an organic farming and agroforestry initiative that works on forest conservation (an established 5,000-hectare community forest), promoting indigenous land rights, environmental education, and communitylevel disaster risk reduction strategies. The association advocates for public policies that stop deforestation and offers alternatives to input-intensive commercial agriculture. An organic beekeeping model has been shared across 20 communities, providing an economic alternative to illegal logging. Drawing on Mayan identity, the initiative is best practice in multistakeholder dialogue, forest protection, and free, prior and informed consent. The initiative recently won a legal battle with the State government which ensures Mayan communities have to be consulted before large-scale agricultural projects can be approved.
Gizao Likasa
Source www.equatorinitiative.org
Check on Notice Board in future editions of BfDJ where we will announce the next round. A removable door at the back of the hive means honey can be harvested without damaging the brood 15
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PHOTO © BfD
INDIA
Clay hives are good for Apis cerana offering the dark, temperature controlled conditions that the bees prefer For centuries, the people of Garhwal and Kumaon have been harvesting honey from honey bee colonies living in the walls of their stone houses. All traditional houses had cavities built into their walls specially designed to accommodate colonies of the Asian honey bee Apis cerana. In these cosy cavities – well protected from the weather – the bees built their comb. Three times a year, honey was harvested and was the only sweetener known to the people of Uttarakhand. Today, things have changed. With people abandoning their traditional homes and moving to modern brick-and-mortar constructions, the traditional wall hive technique is slowly disappearing. The walls of a cement house are far too narrow to accommodate a bee colony. Also, with the loss of this ancient technique, Apis cerana is losing its home and is under threat. Production of honey in the region is on the decrease and incidentally, the local demand for honey is also falling as inhabitants of modern cement homes have started to prefer white refined crystal sugar to natural, nutritious honey! The NGO Appropriate Technology India (ATIndia) has been active in Garhwal (Guptkashi) to revive beekeeping as an occupation to improve livelihoods for rural people, especially women. AtIndia also introduced the frame hive to keep Apis cerana. It is quite a challenge as Apis cerana prefers wall cavities as these provide the darkness and temperature required. Wooden boxes exposed to cold, heat and rain do not provide good conditions for bees. ATIndia is therefore experimenting with a clay beekeeping box that has a thatched roof. Muriel Kakani, Ancient Roots, Delhi It is not possible for modern, brick built houses to contain purpose-built cavities for bees to live inside. Bees for Development would like to encourage this practice!
NEPAL
Honey prices have doubled in a year due to increased consumption and less output reported the Central Honey Entrepreneurs Association of Nepal (CHEAN). Wholesale prices jumped to NPR300 (US$3.00; €2.30)/kg from NPR150 (US$1.50; €1.20)/kg a year ago. Retailers have been selling honey at NPR500-900 (US$5.109.20; €3.80-6.90)/kg depending on the type: these include chiuri, jamun, millet, mustard and rudilo. Raju Khatiwada, proprietor of Namaste Honey, said that domestic consumption had soared: “Until recently we had surplus honey which we used to feed back to our bees because of lack of market. But now we
are having a hard time fulfilling demand due to increasing orders from pharmaceutical companies, manufacturers of beauty products, five-star hotels and department stores. I can sell 20 tonnes of honey annually”. Honey is among the 19 major exportable items identified by the Nepal Trade Integration Strategy 2010. In the first 10 months of the current fiscal year, 1,100 kg of honey was exported, compared with almost no exports in 2012-13. Exports to the EU and USA are barred. However, Nepali honey has been gaining popularity in China, Japan, and South Korea, among other countries. “The chemical residues used by farmers on their crops – banana, millet and mustard - is a challenge for us,” said 16
Dharma Raj Shrestha, President of CHEAN. According to CHEAN, 40,000 people are directly or indirectly involved in honey production with 200 people engaged in packaging and marketing. The country produced around 2,050 tonnes of honey this fiscal year, up by 26% compared to last year, according to the Ministry of Agricultural Development. “Honey production had been decreasing for three years but there was an improvement last year,” said Shrestha. Nepali honey accounts for 45% of the total consumption in the country. Gandaki Honey, Gorkha Honey, Himalayan Honey, Namaste Honey, Nepal Honey, Himali Honey and Shakti are some of the top brands of honey in Nepal. Nepali honey has been competing with Indian brands like Dabur and Patanjali Honey. Source: www.Kantipur.com
ROLE OF PESTICIDES IN BEE DECLINE A restatement of the scientific evidence on neonicotinoids has been published by a group of nine scientists led by Professors Godfray and McLean (Oxford Martin School, Oxford University, UK). This follows the EU ban on certain neonicotinoids introduced in December 2013 and clarifies the scientific evidence available to enable different stakeholders to develop coherent policy and practice recommendations. Co-author, Professor Lin Field (Rothamsted Research, UK) said: “It is essential that we base decisions on science (evidence, not opinion) to ensure both pollinator success and good crop protection strategies for food production.” Professor Godfray said: “Pollinators are clearly exposed to neonicotinoids, but seldom to lethal doses. We need a better understanding of the consequences of realistic sub-lethal doses to the insect individual, bee colony and pollinator population.” Professor McLean added: “A major question to be addressed is what farmers will do: switch to crops that need less insecticide treatment or apply older, but more dangerous chemicals?” The restatement describes how much insecticide is present in a treated plant and how much is consumed by pollinators. It summarise how neonicotinoids affect individual bees and other pollinators, and the consequences at colony and population levels. See www.rspb.royalsocietypublishing. orgllookup/doi/10.1098/rspb.2014.0558 Rothamsted Press Office
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LOOK AHEAD BRAZIL
20th Brazilian Beekeeping Congress 5th Brazilian Congress on Meliponiculture 5-8 November 2014, Belém Further details cba.todos@gmail.com
ITALY
Apimondia Symposium: ApiEcoFlora 5-7 November 2014, Rome Further details apimondia@mclink.it
MEXICO
IX Congreso Mesoamericano sobre Abejas Nativas/IX Mesoamerican Congress on Native Bees 20-26 April 2015, San Cristobal de las Casas Further detailswww.ecosur.mx/abejas
SAUDIA ARABIA
13th Asian Apicultural Association Conference 2016 Further details will appear here
SLOVENIA
3rd International Beekeeping Conference 20-21 November 2014, Lukovica Further details www.apiroutes.com
1st Pan-European Honey Breakfast 21 November 2015 Further details www.czs.si
SOUTH KOREA
APIMONDIA: 44th International Apicultural Congress 15-20 September 2015, Deajeon Further details wooks@snu.ac.kr
TANZANIA
Apimondia Symposium 1st Symposium on African bees and beekeeping 11-16 November 2014, Arusha BfD Workshop – Developing Honey Trade 10 November 2014, Arusha Further details see page 20
UK
National Honey Show 30 October – 1 November 2014, Weybridge Further details www.honeyshow.co.uk
ZIMBABWE
4th ApiTrade Africa Event 6-11 October 2014, Harare Further details www.apitradeafrica.org/ apiexpo-africa-2014
BfD Beekeepers Courses The People’s Hive – a Masterclass with David Heaf 29-30 November 2014*
Strengthening livelihoods in developing countries through beekeeping 5 December 2014 Monmouth
Sustainable beekeeping April 2015*
*Ragman’s Lane Permaculture Farm, Gloucestershire, UK
BfD Beekeepers Safaris Vietnam
10-23 November 2014
Trinidad and Tobago
26 January – 5 February 15 2015 For more details about our courses and safaris see
www.beesfordevelopment.org
If you want notice of your conference, workshop or meeting to be included here and on our website send details to Bees for Development, address on page 20
NOTICE BOARD FUNDING FROM FAO TeleFood Special Fund Beekeepers’ groups and associations may apply for project funding of up to US$10,000. Request documents should include a brief description of project objectives, proposed food production or income-generating activities, work plan, number of participants, detailed list of inputs with cost estimates and reporting arrangements. See www.fao.org FELLOWSHIP Fellowships to African students for an MSc in International Rural Development and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security at the Royal Agricultural University Cirencester, UK. Experience in agriculture, food or natural resource exploitation and management; an interest in land reform; and a desire to make a strategic and sustainable contribution to Africa’s development. Up to 10 African fellows supported each year. Deadline 3 January 2015. See african.fellowship@rau.ac.uk GRANTS TO SCIENTISTS IFS Research Grants are for citizens of a developing country who are scientists under 40 years of age, with at least a Master’s or equivalent degree or research experience and attached to a university, national research institution or research-orientated NGO in a developing country. See www.ifs.se AWARD A professional development programme that strengthens the research and leadership skills of African women in agricultural science, empowering them to contribute more effectively to poverty alleviation and food security in sub-Saharan Africa. See www.awardfellowships.org GRANT Non-profit or cultural organisations can apply for funding from the Commonwealth Foundation to support activities including training courses, workshops, conferences, exchanges and study visits to promote international or intercultural exchange, co-operation and sharing of skills, knowledge and ideas between people from developing Commonwealth countries. Conditions apply. See www.commonwealthfoundation.com COMPETITION Beekeepers and honey bee fans are invited to enter our 2014 international photo competition. Winners’ photographs will appear in the 2015 Vita (Europe) Ltd Calendar and will each receive a copy of the calendar. There will also be a cash prize plus beekeeping products for the best as judged by an international panel of beekeeping journalists and suppliers. See www.vita-europe.com/news 17
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BOOK SHELF Keeping bees with a smile – a vision and practice on natural apiculture Fedor Lazutin 2013 224 pages £21 (US$35; €26) Published by Deep Snow Press ISBN 9780984287352 This is a thorough and well-written text which carefully sets out the author’s approach to natural beekeeping: based on horizontal hives with extra-deep frames and minimal colony manipulation. Fedor Lazutin believes in the underlying importance of honey bee genetics and advocates keeping only local races of bee and propagating colonies by swarming. Originally written in Russian, this book contains numerous insights and excerpts from Russian beekeeping texts, usually unavailable to English readers. Some interesting information about the practice of indigenous Russian log hive beekeeping is included. While the author’s experiences are from Russia, his overall approach of nurturing the colony’s natural means to keep itself healthy, contains important lessons for all beekeepers. His nature-based, simple approach ensures vigorous and productive bees, and saves also time and money. The book contains excellent colour pictures of the author’s beekeeping, family and farm in Kaluga Region, south west of Moscow in Russia.
In praise of bees – a cabinet of curiosities Elizabeth Birchall 2014 256 pages (Hardback) £30 (US$49; €38) Published by Quiller Publishing Ltd ISBN 9781846891922 A beautiful new book in which Elizabeth Birchall explains her interest to find “why bees have such great cultural importance”. The history of humans and bees – myths, religion, politics, philosophy, literature and folklore – are discussed and illustrated. The development of bee science and understanding of bee behaviour are introduced.
Bees – a natural history Christopher O’Toole 2013 240 pages (Hardback) £24 (US$40; €31) Published by Firefly Books ISBN 9781770852082 This large format book describes the challenges facing bee fauna – over 20,000 species comprising honey bees, bumblebees, solitary and stingless bees. Chapters cover the definition and behaviour of bees, bee and plant interactions, as well as those with other animals including humans. With many interesting facts and tips to help bees alongside lovely colour photographs, this book will be of interest to a wide audience.
Bee time – lessons from the hive Mark Winston 2014 266 pages £18.95 (US$25; €26) Published by Harvard University Press ISBN 9780674368392 Mark Winston, as a bee scientist, began referring to the interaction with bees whilst working in his apiary as ‘bee time’. He describes the calming effect of honey bees at work and the fascination of watching colony activities. Sometimes in his scientific work Winston was so busy (as bees are described to be) that he missed the pleasures of ‘bee time’ with bees. In this book he describes his further and deeper explorations, and the result is a useful synthesis of the bees’ and our environmental situation.
The myths of safe pesticides André Leu 2014 142 pages £9 (US$15; €12) Published by Acres USA ISBN 9781601730848 André Leu is an organic farmer living in Australia and President of the International Federation of Organic Agricultural Movements (IFOAM). Tired of becoming ill during every spraying season, despite not spraying his own crops, he decided to question the justification by studying peer-reviewed science concerning pesticide safety. This is a highly readable guide to this most important topic. The excellent introduction by Vandana Shiva is an additional bonus. She points out that 70% of food eaten comes from small farms – only 30% is from industrial agriculture. Yet it is this 30% intensive agriculture which is leading to so many ecological problems: biodiversity erosion, water depletion and pollution, soil erosion and degradation, and climate change.
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NOTICE BOARD
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A call to action for our pollinators Visit www.beesneeds.org.uk for more information and watch the film Why do bees matter?
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Bees for Development Journal 112
FIRST APIMONDIA SYMPOSIUM ON
AFRICAN BEES & BEEKEEPING
11 – 16 November 2014 African Bees for a Green & Golden Economy Arusha International Conference Centre, Tanzania
BfD Workshop on 10 November: Developing honey trade – lessons from a market driven beekeeping development project in Uganda More information
www.apimondia.org
www.apiafrica.org
SUPPORT FOR TRAINING SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE
This Journal is available for resource-poor beekeepers, projects, schools and groups in developing countries Supported with funds raised by Bees for Development Trust
Name................................................................................................. What is your involvement with bees and beekeeping? ......................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................... Organisation ..................................................................................... Postal address................................................................................... ......................................................................................................... ......................................................................................................... Country............................................................................................. E-mail address................................................................................... Date of application............................................................................. Additional copies of this form are available from our website Email journalrequest@beesfordevelopment.org Post to BfD Trust at the address below
BfD Training Booklets and Training Cards are for use by beekeeper trainers in Africa Each booklet provides one day of training on one topic. The cards provide pictures and plans illustrating techniques discussed in the booklets. These are included in our Resource Boxes for training events and workshops. Projects and associations in developing countries are welcome to apply for a Sponsored Resource Box by filling out an application form on our website, or request the form by email. Projects in other areas can purchase Resource Boxes through our website store.
www.beesfordevelopment.org
ISSN 1477-6588
Telephone +44 (0)1600 714848
Bees for Development
Printed on environmentally friendly paper
info@beesfordevelopment.org
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© Bees for Development 2014
www.beesfordevelopment.org
NP25 3DZ, UK
