Bees for Development Journal 114: March 2015
NEWS AROUND THE WORLD
TANZANIA Thank you much for the Resource Box which just arrived here in Mwanza. We are looking forward to offering training and getting beekeepers groups started in the rural villages in the Lake Zone. Contact with other beekeepers and/or trainers in this area of Tanzania would be appreciated. It would be helpful in establishing a better network because we are very new to beekeeping. Please contact us via BfD.
PERU People living in a forest area of Iquitos have recently started keeping species of Melipona stingless bees. The usual way of gathering the honey is to smash open the nests in the tree trunks – this destroys the nests. The honey is known to be of high medicinal and antibiotic value, but it is scarce. Raiding the nests is extremely detrimental but the financial gains for subsistence farmers are too tempting. The project has been successful, but has helped only a few people in the many areas of the forest. The bees are easy to keep and require almost no equipment. A ten year old boy has started working with a colony, under the guidance of a local beekeeper. In one village the women have become the beekeepers. The main requirement is to keep the hives clear of invading ants, cockroaches and flies.
Rachel Monger, Emmanuel International, Mwanza Ed: See page 24 for details of how to apply for a Resource Box
Training is provided by one person from Iquitos who visits the villages once a month, providing locally made simple hives and a few additional items including jars, labels and the syringes that are used to extract the honey.
TECA to discuss Varroa treatments
The beekeepers have formed an association to help each other when the project funding stops. If you can offer assistance, please contact us through BfD. Jann DiPaolo
PHOTOS © JANN DIPAOLO
Honey is harvested from the stingless bees’ ‘honey pots’ using a syringe
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From 20 March to 15 April 2015, the TECA Beekeeping Exchange Group will host a moderated discussion on the effects of anti-Varroa treatments on the health of bees. The discussion will be conducted by Dr Giovanni Formato, Head of the Beekeeping Laboratory of the Regional Institute for Animal Diseases of the Regions Lazio and Tuscany, Italy (Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale del Lazio e della Toscana). Giovanni is a veterinarian and expert in bee diseases. He will present an overview of the pros and cons of different Varroa treatments and their effects on the health of bees. TECA is FAO’s free online platform for the exchange of information and knowledge for small agricultural producers. The discussion is organised within the framework of an agreement between APIMONDIA (the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations) and TECA. Charlotte Lietaer You are invited to join the discussion, share your experiences and/or post your questions on www.teca.fao.org/ group/beekeeping-exchangegroup
