Bees for development
JOURNAL
No 117 December 2015
• BEEKEEPERS DECIDE BETWEEN LIFE AND DEATH • BEES HELPING PRISONERS • APIMONDIA IN KOREA • SOUTH SUDAN EXPORTS HONEY TO USA
The Journal for sustainable beekeeping 1
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
Dear friends a survey of you, our esteemed readers, and realised that this paper edition of the Journal is highly valued, with most copies being read by more than one person. It is increasingly expensive for us to send to you, four times each year by air mail, however we will endeavour to do so as long as you are keen to receive the Journal. We are working hard to provide information to you in other useful formats too, and by the time you read this, work on our new website will be well underway – check our progress at www. beesfordevelopment.org. There is more for you to read on our new blog www.beesfordevelopment. wordpress.com, do not forget to ‘like us’ on Facebook and follow us on Twitter, and if we have your e-mail, you will receive our Technical Bee Notes too. Do join in these various discussions if you would like to – we are always interested to hear of your bees and their marvellous honey too.
Issue 117: Dec 2015
Readers in developing countries may apply for a sponsored subscription. Apply online or use the form on page 20
In this issue
page
Practical Beekeeping – when beekeepers have to decide between life and death................. 3 Telling the Bees – how bees are helping prisoner rehabilitation..... 6 Apimondia 2015, South Korea – photo gallery...............................10 Factsheet: The importance of bees and other pollinators...........12 South Sudan’s first exports to the USA include 100% natural honey.16 US quilters fundraise for Bfd’s work in Ethiopia...........................16 Look ahead / Learn ahead...........17 Bookshelf.....................................18 Noticeboard.................................19
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 18 for ways to pay
Nicola Bradbear Director, Bees for development
At the recent Apimondia Congress in Daejeon, South Korea, Philip McCabe from Ireland was elected as the new President of Apimondia, the World Federation of Beekeeping Associations. Philip takes over from Gilles Ratia, who had served as President for six years. See more of the Congress on pages 10 and 11. Photo © Bees for development
Honey is one of nature’s amazing products – and beekeepers know best how much labour, time, good weather and flowers are needed for bees to produce a surplus. Bees create honey from the nectar and pollen of flowering plants and then further elaborate it with some of their own substances – including enzymes and beneficial bacteria, into the complex and concentrated product that we know as honey. Honey’s physical and chemical properties have all sorts of properties that make it a very good medicine, maybe our oldest. Manuka honey’s medical attributes have been well studied, and it is proven that its antibacterial potency is due to one of its constituents, methylglyoxal. Methylglyoxal is not unique to Manuka honey - and your bees’ honey might contain it too. Honey has many other constituents and properties that make it beneficial, and the more we learn – the more amazing we realise it to be. After all the work by you and your bees, do not sell it too cheaply! Earlier this year we carried out
Bfd Trust Works to assist beekeepers in developing countries. (UK Registered Charity1078803) Support Bees for development Trust gratefully acknowledge Marr Munning Trust, E H Thorne (Beehives) Ltd, Size of Wales, The Waterloo Foundation, and the many groups and individuals who support our work. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to help. See page 20 for how to become a Supporter Copyright You are welcome to translate and/or reproduce items appearing in Bees for development Journal (BfdJ) as part of our Information Service. Permission is given on the understanding that BfdJ and author(s) are acknowledged, Bfd contact details are provided in full, and you send us a copy of the item or the website address where it is used.
Bees for development 1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth NP25 3DZ, UK Telephone: +44 (0)1600 714848 info@beesfordevelopment.org
www.beesfordevelopment.org 2
Cover picture: Frame hives containing European Apis mellifera honey bees in DMZ – the de-militarised zone separating South and North Korea. Bees and beekeepers know no boundaries! The Apimondia Congress took place in Daejeon, South Korea in September – see more on pages 10 and 11.
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
Practical Beekeeping –
Healthy bees by natural beekeeping
When beekeepers have to decide between life and death Wolfgang Ritter
is being caused to bees, it is helpful to compare with the natural living conditions of a honey bee colony. Whenever our interventions contradict the natural situation, then we have a special responsibility to ensure that our actions be as harmless as possible. This is illustrated by the following examples:
Squeezing bees When moving combs or inserting frames, bees may be squeezed. This cannot be totally avoided, although harm to bees can be minimised by working in a very calm and thoughtful way, by using smoke and brushing the bees very carefully. Great care must be taken when using a bee-blower. In this case, many bees are squeezed as you blow out densely populated honey chambers. However if the boxes are first emptied with the use of bee escapes, the few remaining bees can be blown out easily without causing much harm.
Dr. Wolfgang Ritter Head of Reference Laboratory for Bee Health of OIE World Organisation for Animal Health CVUA (Chemischen und Veterinäruntersuchungsämter) Freiburg, Am Moosweiher 2, D 79108, Germany
Keywords: Natural, ethical, brood, transportation.
Killing bees during night beekeeping African honey bee races are more
Transportation of hives with open entrance holes It is fundamentally unnatural to move honey bee colonies to new areas of nectar sources. However there is sometimes no other choice for beekeepers who aim to provide good forage for the colonies and to obtain better honey yield. Disregarding the unfavourable CO2 balance on one
It may be considered natural to remove all brood to reduce the number of Varroa mites Photos © J. Schwenkel
All beekeepers, regardless of whether they consider themselves to be working ‘conventionally’, ‘naturally’ or ‘biologically’, always have to consider if they are prepared or are required to accept that animals are damaged or even killed. Some points of orientation concerning ethically justifiable limits in beekeeping are discussed here by Dr Wolfgang Ritter.
prepared to defend their nest than other races of honey bees. Therefore, it can be difficult to open bee hives and to harvest honey near to human housing during day time. Some African beekeepers do all their activities with bees during night time. However then all the bees that lose contact with the bee colony and their nest are doomed, and the death of thousands of bees is accepted. This mode of operation is more ‘honey hunting’ than animal husbandry. African management methods must enable colony handling during day light to prevent losses of bees, and to enable other problems to be recognised.
Nobody is entitled to cause unnecessary suffering, pain or damage to animals. This basic rule of the EU’s Animal Welfare Act is valid for not only ‘higher’ animals, but also for bees and other insects. As honey bees can survive only within their community, the whole bee colony is the animal itself, while single bees are each one part of it. So, the death of an individual honey bee can be regarded as weakening or damaging to the animal, whereas with the death of a colony the whole animal dies. To judge how much suffering 3
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
hand, long transportation always presents stress for bee colonies. In transporting bees with frame hive entrance holes left open, bee losses are inevitable, no matter whether they are transported in an open or closed vehicle, at day or at night. This can be avoided if the hive entrance holes are closed. Nevertheless, you should always pay attention to good ventilation and air-conditioning, and sufficient provision with water, and to avoid bees escaping while in transit.
Requeening In most cases the honey bee colony recovers easily from the loss of worker bees; however, the loss of the queen is always critical. In a honey bee colony living in the wild, a queen lives for around five years. Only after her laying capacity has decreased, does the colony silently replace its queen, and for some time, there will be two laying queens in the colony.
Many beekeepers kill the queen after two years, because the older she becomes, the more her laying capacity decreases, and the more the colony’s swarming increases. Even if the queen in a wild colony may die early, requeening by the beekeeper cannot be regarded as natural.
Destruction of drone brood In its unique role as sperm supplier, the drone is only of secondary importance for the bee colony. This is obvious during critical situations for a honey bee colony when drone brood is the first to be neglected. Therefore it would seem to be acceptable that for Varroa control, drone brood is cut out and destroyed. In spite of this, some beekeepers reject this for ethical reasons. Here again it is helpful to compare with the natural situation: in the original host species for Varroa, the Asian honey bee Apis cerana,
the capping on the drone brood cell is so thick that a developing drone infested by Varroa mites cannot emerge. The worker bees seal the cell with a mixture of wax and propolis. So the cell becomes a trap for the parasite, thus facilitating the survival of the colony. The same effect is intended by the extraction and destruction of the drone brood by beekeepers working with Apis mellifera colonies. Therefore, drone brood destruction may be considered natural.
Complete brood removal However, is brood removal valid also for worker brood, when it is completely removed in case of brood diseases (like foulbrood and Varroa) to reduce the infection pressure? Colonies of the Asian honey bee Apis cerana and African bee races of Apis mellifera show a similar behaviour: they abscond from the nest and by this fresh start for the colony, secure its
Beekeeper’s disaster beyond all expectations – because of lack of air and heat accumulation, the strongest colony died during transport.
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Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
survival. Even if most races of the Western honey bee rarely show this behaviour, it is completely natural, without any doubt, to form an artificial swarm or a nucleus without brood for the purpose of disease control.
Killing colonies Very weak colonies suffering from diseases or parasites represent a danger for neighbouring colonies when they are robbed. Therefore, they should be killed. Even if it is not natural, it secures the healthy survival of other colonies. In the course of pest control (American foulbrood or, at present, the small hive beetle) it is at this time obligatory in Germany.
Neglecting colonies To leave colonies alone and let them die is not natural and has to be strictly rejected from an ethical point of view. The welfare of the bee colony has to be more important than the desire for a huge honey yield. The situation is the same when too many colonies are placed at one location, resulting in insufficient food and the spread of diseases.
During day time fewer bees are killed and better inspection of colonies is possible
Replacing colonies To fully benefit from a good honey harvest opportunity, or to balance disease-caused losses, sufficient young colonies are created in spring. In general, there is nothing to say against this practice, under the condition that the death of
the managed colony cannot be blamed on the beekeeper, and that it was not intentionally caused. Also in the wild, some bee colonies die during winter. In former beekeeping times, losses of 10% were regarded as normal. With diseases and other problems, nowadays a loss rate of up to
Checklist: Is my bee colony management natural? Condition Entrance hole during transportation Transportation distance Winter losses Colony replacement
Beekeeping activities
Very good
Good
Bad
Very bad
closed at night
closed by day
open at night
open by day
0 km
up to 30 km
up to 60 km
5 to 10%
up to 15%
up to 30%
100% young colonies
50% young colonies
25% young colonies
50% additional purchase
75% additional purchase
more than 60 km more than 30% 100% additional purchase
Mostly day time
Mostly night time
Always day time
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Night time only
15% is acceptable. Disregarding disasters, the portion of colonies to be replaced must stay below a loss rate of 20%. If a considerable number of colonies have to be replaced regularly, it is an obligation from the ethical point of view as well as because of animal welfare reasons to evaluate both the apiary site and the management methods being used - especially during periods of disease control. These examples mentioned above are intended to give incentive to consider and reflect about the reasons for one’s own behaviour. If everybody reflects critically upon their own actions, then unnecessary bee losses can in future be avoided.
Author details OIE, Reference Laboratory at CVUA Freiburg, Am Moosweiher 2, D79108 Freiburg, Germany ritter@beehealth.info Bfd acknowledges www.diebiene.de as the original source of this article
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
Telling the Bees When you have bees in your life, you tend to talk to them, tell them what is happening, consult them. In that vein, we told our bees that they had to move. They were wanted in a prison! Years ago, the Natural Beekeeping Trust had received a message from Dave Bloomfield of Rye Hill Prison in Warwickshire, England enquiring about teaching prisoners to take care of bees and to make hives. “Your approach to bee husbandry would suit us here; we would like our people to learn to give rather than take.We envisage gardens with sun hives.”
Could it be true? At Rye Hill Prison, soon, so it seemed, there would be meadows, and a garden. Prisoners would learn to sow, cultivate and
reap, make beehives, become beekeepers. A bee-loud glade and a hive for the honey bee, in a prison! We were delighted to get on board.
was the evidence that caring for bees was of therapeutic value. Could we provide it?’ Time to throw down the gauntlet, we reckoned:
It was our first encounter with committee culture - nothing much happened for months on end, not counting an avalanche of correspondence, followed by silence. Had the plan been shelved? Not entirely, but the prison would become a specialist unit for people convicted of sexual offences. A year later a greenish light: the project is before the management! Approval is imminent. Could we reserve a date for a hivemaking workshop please? Making sun hives1 away from home base is not easy: it requires lorry loads of specialist equipment, straw, two instructors etc. Dates had been offered, accepted, then cancelled. In some exasperation, but hopeful still, we offered another.
‘We regret to inform you that the submission of evidence about the therapeutic value of caring for something, especially a creature vital to humanity, is beyond the remit of our charity; abundant literature testifying to the benefits of vital and wholesome pursuits on the human soul is extant.You may wish to peruse it.’ Perhaps they did. Perhaps the bees invaded their dreams, who knows - the date offered was accepted. A workshop took place in which seven prisoners and members of staff patiently wove six impressive hives for their future bees.
Next came an official request from the governing committee: ‘where
Making a home for bees
mysteriously connects the maker to the bees. In the days of steadily weaving a hive with loving hands, inner pictures arise; tender bonds are woven with the future
(Left) A Warré People’s hive occupied by a honey bee colony (right) A Sun hive lowered from its protective roof
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Photos © Stephen Hammond
Heidi Herrmann
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
Working with bees – Gareth John demonstrates with bees in a Warré People’s hive bees. Sun hives are designed for the heights where bees want to live. They need special stands and covers. When the prototype appeared from the prison’s carpentry workshop, an impressive stand had been designed for the new hives. Moreover, there was even talk of the prisoners’ new skills leading to a novel cottage industry: making skeps from biodynamically grown rye straw for the beekeeping world outside.
Bees for sun hives Six perfect hives now waiting, the prison asked us to procure bees. We scoured the bee market for colonies naturally reproduced from swarms, untreated, raised on organic/ biodynamic land. Bees are local creatures, adapted to the flora and fauna of their origins, and moving them is not ideal. Gareth John, a Trustee, did not relish the prospect of parting with any of his bees, but procuring bees from chemically treated stock was not an option and a journey from Sussex too hard on the bees. One colony, not six, would go, we decided. When you have settled, dear bees, and if you like the place, go forth and multiply. Six perfect hives waiting. Sun hives!
Prisoners and bees Now it was time for the bee course, to tell the prisoners about the bees, how they live and what they need. Getting lost on my way there, my heart sank. Where would our bees find food in these monotonous wastelands of chemical farming? Bees go far for forage, it is true, but there was not much to be seen. By the time Gareth and I had declared our intent, stowed away our bags in lockers, were searched and walked through screens and armoured doors to emerge in the first wire-fenced compound, all I could think of was Dostoyevsky: ‘The degree of civilisation in a society is revealed by entering its prisons’. This was bleakness taken to a completely new level of menace. Gates, treble locks, red-lettered warnings of huge fines for security breaches. Razor-wire coils stretching into infinity. The prison is run by security services giant G4S. ‘Securing your world’ is the company’s maxim. We arrived in the project area. There stood a little white hive. Gareth’s bees! Content looking bees, returning with pollen loads. 7
Exceedingly comforting to see. The garden was buzzing with life. Casually dressed men tending to weeds, planting, watering. Lettuces, broccoli, herbs, sweet williams, wallflowers in pristine beds of rich dark earth. Winding paths lead to polytunnels, sheds and a pond, a very pleasing layout devoid of hard lines. We learnt that the prisoners, involved from scratch, had pleaded for meanders and curves. Straight lines dominated their lives here. We spotted a little stand of rye swaying in the wind - the prisoners had saved the seeds left over from the sun hive workshop and planted them! The men who had made them would now attend the bee course. Except for one who was barred because of a violent incident. Violence is rife in the hell of incarceration. A prison is like a gigantic quarantine facility. Terrifying, demeaning, ugly. Staff shortages spell extended lock-up periods for inmates. Self-harm, suicides, depression are pervasive. In a hive, every single bee always knows what to do and when to do it. And does it, we explained, after our students had introduced themselves. All men, most on life sentences, all ages. Every single
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
bee relates to the other, and works for the good of the colony. All that is brought into the hive - nectar, pollen, propolis, water - is for the good of all. Everything is shared. Bees work together for the good of all. The queen is the mother of all. We showed them pictures. Told them about the young nurse bees who visit their charges thousands of times before the cradle is closed with wax. It is always warm inside the hive. The bees make sure of that by thousands venting their wings. The bee is perfectly fitted to the world into which it emerges. The bee babies must never be chilled; they need the same warmth that we do. The men began to engage. Questions galore. Good questions. The sessions were short. Lock-up times are tightly prescribed. Attention was being paid to every detail. We learnt that many of the men had already taken to standing near the hive in quiet moments, watching the bees come and go. How quickly will the hive swarm so that we can have bees in our sun hives? Engagement indeed! Steve Hammond, one of the instructors here, told us about the huge
changes he had seen over time in the men working in the garden. ‘It is not like this, normally.You should see them on the wings. Tense, closed, unpredictable. They are different people when they work in the garden.’ Next, swarming was the theme. What happens in the hive before the bees take-off for the wild abandon of swarming? Will our bees do it? How do we tell? When? They were keen on the detail, on imagining the swarm that might issue and perhaps set up home in one of their hives. ‘What if the scout bees find a better place over the wall? Will we lose our bees? ‘We suggested that the bees might well choose to stay with them. They were animated now, keen to rush out and get their sun hives up so that the scout bees, the house hunters could find them. There was plenty of time. It was mid Easter. The men were relating to their bees now. Tomorrow, weather permitting, we will have a look inside the hive, was how we left them. Remember to prepare for it.
Meeting the bees Inner calm. A quiet attitude. No
The gardens at Rye Hill Prison in Warwickshire, England
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anger, no fear. Would these troubled individuals be mindful of what we had impressed on them? Had they remembered to think about meeting the bees last thing at night? Bees are highly sensitive to people’s emotions and react in kind. Watch yourself, they say. Bearing in mind that all of the prisoners were here because of acts of violence, it was a tall order. However, Gareth, bent over the busy hive in shirtsleeves, trusted that they would be mindful and the bees forgiving. We assembled around the hive. Things can go wrong quickly if you are not on your best behaviour. The bees remained calm. The men pointed out the pollen-bearers to each other. Then, silence, save the music of thousands of wings as the bees were leaving and arriving at the hive. Were they aware of us, aware that something extraordinary was unfolding for the men watching them? Gareth gently loosened the boxes. Two men slowly lifted the top; others took turns to draw closer to gaze at the mass of bees in full view now. Indrawn breaths. What were the men feeling? Nobody spoke.
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
Gareth John, who has lived with bees for more than forty years, describes his first visit to the prison:
Heidi Hermann and Gareth John explain the Sun hive - the bees build their combs attached to curved top-bars. The combs are encased in baskets, with the hive entrance at the base. Hundreds of bees were circling and spiralling above our heads, chanting softly. Of course, the bees were aware of us. The circlers above are the watchers. They keep an eye on things, on behalf of the hive. Ready to deploy their defences should danger arise. The hum of the bees became louder now. A certain pitch expresses a higher state of alert. It is best to take notice. We closed the hive and thanked the bees. The prisoners’ first encounter with bees had gone exceedingly well. However, we had noted that one of the men was constantly bothered by a single bee that buzzed around his veil insistently. He resisted swatting it. He moved away and came back, the bee with him. When a bee lands on you, say hello. Do nothing. He had not forgotten. Self-control is essential in the presence of bees. Sitting quietly on a bench in the garden a little later, he confided to Gareth that he had been feeling very angry. “Couldn’t shift it. When I am feeling better, I’ll go and stand by the hive and say sorry” he said, “It wasn’t fair on them.” The bees were already showing that they have gifts to bestow more precious than honey. The Rye Hill Garden project is bearing fruit. Prisoners are keen to be involved. The work is voluntary, there is no pay. I am proud to be working here, with these people, I am proud of what they achieve. Steve Hammond told us; he took early
retirement to follow this vocation. Robin Baxter is employed by Garden Organic. For both working here is full of rewards. The prisoners can feel that. Robin and Steve are treated with the greatest of respect. The project’s impact was evaluated by Coventry University: “Participants related well to the activity of gardening and were aware that in undertaking the programme they had a common bond; this is important as prison is almost always a very individual experience. In addition, the staff working directly with participants on the Master Gardener programme were accepted by participants to be part of the community, and viewed themselves similarly too. A community spirit was created so that all felt part of something greater than their own role.” The food grown in the garden is for the inmates to eat or share around on the wing. Steve tells me that some of the men had never tasted a salad leaf, or fresh vegetable. Acknowledgments First published in Star & Furrow, the Journal of the Biodynamic Association 1 The sun hive was invented by German sculptor and bee expert Guenther Mancke. The Natural Beekeeping Trust teaches how to make and use sun hives. Author details: Heidi Herrmann, Natural Beekeeping Trust www.naturalbeekeepingtrust.org 9
‘At about mid-morning, we arrived at the prison with a hive full of bees, and - on my part at least - mixed feelings. We introduced ourselves. Peter Brown had been before and knew the ropes, or rather the walls. Our photos were taken, and fingerprints too. The whole prison was aware of the arrival of the bees. We were given a list of the items that cannot be taken inside. Neither bees nor hives featured, so we waited our turn to go through the entrance gates with the Land Rover and its cargo. Just as our turn arrived, a medical emergency was declared: no vehicles in or out until the ambulance had come, collected the patient and departed. Nothing happened for a very long time. I mean, nothing! My bees stuck in the back of the car. Not a great start. I started fretting for my bees lest they overheat. Locked up, taken on a few hours’ car journey, staying locked-up. A poignant picture, given the circumstances. Thankfully, it was cool, and a slight breeze would reach them. Finally, more than three hours after arriving, we were ushered into the vehicle search compound. The vehicle was searched, but not the hive. The inner gates opened and we were inside. When we arrived at the garden area with our precious cargo the prisoners gathered round in keen anticipation: “Are you the beekeeper? Is this our hive? Where are you going to put it?” Prisoners are allowed budgerigars and, now, bees. Before the hive entrance was opened, crowding prisoners had to be shooed back to a safe distance. After a hive has been closed up all day, the bees often rush out in a state of some excitement. This can lead to awkward introductions. As it was, only a few bees came out to explore their new quarters.
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
44th Apimondia International Apicultural
The famous Flow Hive – everyone wanted to see this multi-million $ internet sensation, and meet its inventors too
The Con Daejeon,
Rickshaws pedalled by smiling students assisted delegates to travel speedily between venues
Delegates had opportunity to see very h
Gladstone Solomon presenting his talk – one of over 400 presentations at the Congress
Young urban beekeepers: Mitchell Pearc Rhijn, a Dutchman living in France
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Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
l Congress – Daejeon, South Korea
ngress venue was in the Science Park of , in Korea’s ‘silicon city’
Our Korean hosts provided spectacular cultural entertainments
high tech honey processing
Yasaeng, the family-run, major apicultural company in South Korea, were a focus of attention in ApiExpo
ce (left) from Australia meets Milan van
Korean beekeepers use wooden hives imported from China – complete with frames 11
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
Factsheet
The importance of bees and other insect pollinators Bees and biodiversity Biodiversity is the number of different plant and animal species in an area. Without bees and pollinating insects, there would be no flowering plants and no life on earth as we know it. The reproduction of plants at its simplest is vegetative reproduction – a new tree develops from a root shoot or cutting. The new tree is genetically identical to its parent tree. Vegetative reproduction alone is no problem as long as the prevailing environment within
which the trees are growing remains identical. However environments are not stable over time: conditions change. This may be change in weather or climate, a change in topography, diseases, pests or predators. To be able to adapt to changing situations, every species needs genetic diversity. In this way, there will always be some plants that are better adapted than others because of their better suited genetic constitution. For example, in the UK we are currently seeking ash trees that are resistant to the recently introduced ash dieback disease. Plants are literally rooted to the spot where they grow, yet to achieve genetic diversity, need to mix their genes with distant plants. This is achieved by pollination, whereby a bee (or another pollen vector) carries the pollen from one plant to another plant, so that the plant’s offspring
are genetically different from the parents. In this way, there is a greater chance for at least some of the offspring to survive in the competition of life. Bees and other pollinating insects play a crucial role in achieving this.
Insect pollinators as part of ecosystems Bees and other insect pollinators play this important yet little recognised role in most terrestrial ecosystems, and many species of plants and animals would not survive if they were missing. It is not just that plants need viable seeds; their fruits are important food sources too. By providing an enticing fruit, the plant hopes to have the seed dispersed away from the parent plant. Therefore the production of seeds, nuts, berries and fruits are highly dependent on insect pollination.
Photo Phil Savoie © Bees for development
Honey bees returning to their nest with their ‘pollen baskets’ packed with pollen from Solidago Golden rod. Their flower constancy is one factor that makes honey bees such effective pollinators.
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Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
Insect pollinators Worldwide, there are over 30,000 species of bees, most of which are important for the pollination of flowering plants, including crops. Other insects that serve as pollinators include the butterflies and moths, some of the flies and other insects such as beetles, wasps and thrips. These insects play their part in maintaining the ecosystem and as Sir David Attenborough has said: ‘If we and the rest of the backboned animals were to disappear overnight, the rest of the world would get on pretty well. But if the invertebrates were to disappear, the world’s ecosystems would collapse.’ During the last forty years there has been steep decline in all of these types of insects, with for example, three species of British bumblebees already extinct.
Pollination To reproduce, plants need to set viable seed. Pollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther (the male part of the flower) to the stigma (the female part of the flower). Plants need pollen to be transferred between different flowers or different individuals of the plant. This is cross-pollination. Some plants can pollinate themselves: in this case, the pollen passes from the anther to the stigma inside the same flower, and this is called self-pollination, however it is preferable for a species to achieve genetic interchange and this selfpollination is usually the fall-back position in case cross-pollination has not been achieved. Because plants cannot move around as animals do, most flowering plants rely on insects to bring about pollination. Around 80% of flowering plants are entomophilous i.e. depend more or less on insect pollination to be able to reproduce. Another agent that can bring about pollination is the wind, for example in the pollination of grasses. Because grasses rely on the wind, rather than insects to pollinate them, grasses do not have insect attracting flowers, and have to produce copious amounts of pollen to ensure successful pollination. Each pollen grain is a male haploid gametophyte. When this pollen
Perfectly formed apple fruits are the consequence of optimal pollination by insects, in this case honey bees. Each flower needs several bee visits to deliver sufficient pollen grains to ensure the maximum number of fertile seeds in the developing fruit. grain arrives on the stigma of a flower, it grows a pollen tube down the style to the ovary. The gametes travel down the tube to where the gametophyte(s) containing the female gametes are held within the carpel. Fertilisation has taken place, achieving the development of a fertile seed.
Flowers and bees
Colourful and scented flowers have evolved to attract their pollinators and not to delight humans! Bees and flowering plants have developed complex interdependencies during millions of years. Bees have to obtain all their food from flowers - usually the nectar and pollen (sometimes some other plant sap too). Nectar is produced solely to attract and reward bees or other insect pollinators. Pollen also attracts pollinators, however it has another function: it is the plant’s male gametophyte - essential for producing seed. Bee pollinated flowers have evolved in such a way that a visiting bee has to brush against the flower’s anthers bearing pollen, or there may be a special mechanism to release the anthers to spring up or down to cover the bee with pollen. Compared with other insects, bees are extremely hairy. Each hair has a branched structure that makes it highly effective at catching pollen, and pollen also ‘jumps’ on to bees by electrostatic charge. 13
While flying to the next flower, the honey bee will comb herself and move many of the pollen grains, to arrange them in the pollen baskets made of stiff hairs on her hind legs. Some pollen grains are so dry that they cannot be formed into a clump. To prevent the pollen falling off during flight, the bee may regurgitate a little nectar and mix it with the pollen. Some bee species (e.g. Osmia bees and leaf cutter bees) do not have pollen ‘baskets’ on their hind legs – but instead transport the pollen in the hair on their abdomen. When the bee with pollen is landing in the next flower, there will be pollen enough left on the bees’ body hairs to pollinate the new flower, by delivering some grains to the flower’s stigma. Now pollination has taken place. The flower shape often provides a landing platform for bees. Bees are especially attracted by flowers of white, blue and yellow colours. Bees have to learn where in a flower the nectar is to be found. To guide the bees, many flowers have ‘nectar guides’ - patterns on the petals directing the bee towards the nectar. These can sometimes be seen by human eye, but some are in the ultra-violet part of the spectrum and visible to bees, but not to us. In this way, the plant also guides the visiting bee to pass the anthers or stigma in the right way. Bees have no problem to find the
nectar in flat, open flowers, but in flowers that are more complex, they have to learn by trial and error. After some visits to the same type of flower, the bee has learned where the nectar is, and learns this for visiting the next flower. When her pollen baskets are full of pollen and/or her honey crop is full of nectar, the forager bee returns to the honey bee colony with her nectar or pollen loads, which are placed in the nest in areas of comb close to the brood. Pollen is the protein food for bees. Without pollen, the young nurse bees cannot produce food to feed the queen and brood. If no pollen is available to the colony, egg laying by the queen will stop. Some flowers are open and offering nectar all day, while some, for example honeysuckle hoping to be pollinated by night flying moths, open at night; yet other flowers are open only for a few hours in the morning, midday or afternoon. Honey bees and bumble bees pollinate a great number of different plant species, and they do it effectively. Some solitary bee
species are much more specialised for pollinating specific plant species.
Bees are good pollinators Flowers have evolved to suit the insects that will be pollinating them, and for example honey bee pollinated flowers will have nectar tubes not more than two cm long, because this is the maximum proboscis (tongue) length of a honey bee. Red clover has a longer flower tube and will be pollinated by (longer tongued) bumblebees. Honey bees are important pollinators and their efficiency is due to the large number of forager bees in each colony (easily 25,000 bees at the height of the season), their physique and their behaviour of foraging on only one plant species at one time.
Flower constancy When bees are foraging for pollen and/or nectar, they work on only one plant species, visiting its flowers as long as plenty of nectar or pollen can be found. For example, if a honey bee starts collecting in a cherry tree, she will fly from cherry flower to
cherry flower, and never visit a dandelion flower on the same trip. This behaviour of bees is called flower constancy, and means that in each foraging trip, bees forage on flowers all of the same species. This is beneficial for the plant - because it increases the chance of receiving the only type of pollen that it needs, and beneficial for the insect because it increases its chance of finding productive flowers easily accessible and recognisable by familiar clues, and enables the insect to fly home with a neatly packed load of one type of pollen.
Pollinator efficiency
Flowers and bees have evolved ways to prevent bees wasting their time. For example, there are chemical ways by which bees can detect before landing if a flower has very recently been visited by another bee - this might mean that the nectar supply is temporarily low. Moreover, some flowers change colour when they have been fully pollinated - a message that it will be better for the bee to visit another flower. Usually a honey bee can visit between 50 – 1,000 flowers in one
Honey bee collecting nectar and pollen from a flower of Cosmos bipinnatus. After visiting this flower she will move on to another flower of the same species, and some pollen will be transferred from the anther of one flower to the stigmas of another.
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Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
trip, which takes between 30 mins to 4 hours. Each forager honey bee makes between seven and fourteen trips a day. A honey bee colony with 25,000 forager bees, each making 10 trips a day, will be able to pollinate 250 million flowers. The ability of the honey bee to communicate to other bees in the colony where to go for collecting more pollen and nectar is very important for their efficiency as pollinators. When a scout bee has found a good nectar or pollen source, she will return to the colony and communicate to other bees where they can find the same food. This is done by the figure of eight dance and vibrations indicating the distance, quality and direction from the nest.
Pollination requirements of plants Some plants need several successful visits from bees to ensure that all the flower’s eggs are fertilised. For example, varieties of strawberry need about twenty pollen grains – requiring visits by several bees, an apple flower may need four or five bee visits to receive enough pollen grains for complete fertilisation. If the fertilisation is inadequate because of lack of bees, not all seeds will develop, and without the seed stimulating growth, the shape of the fruit will be poor and small. Fertilisation is the beginning of a new seed, which perhaps will grow and develop to a new plant. The new plant will bloom, provide the bees with food, be pollinated and
Bees for development publish factsheets as a key part of our Learning and Knowledge Programme. Our intention is that all beekeepers and organisations that support them have access to the information they need to build sustainable beekeeping livelihoods and know how to use and care for our environment wisely. Please use this information in the education of others and acknowledge Bees for development.
be fertilised, and in this way, life continues.
Example of specialised pollination Some species of plants and bees have developed a close interdependence in connection with pollination. Such a mutual adaptation and interdependence between a plant and pollinator is a result of a long and intimate co evolutionary relationship. The pollinating bees of the Brazil nut tree Bertholletia excelsa is an illustrative example of such a relationship and its economic importance. The Brazil nut tree grows wild in the Amazon Forest. Brazil nuts are one of the economically most important wild products in the area, with more than 50,000 tonnes of the nuts exported from Brazil every year. The Brazil nut trees cannot be grown in plantations, because they need to be pollinated by a special bee species, a small shining Euglossa bee. This bee is dependent on the presence of an orchid species that is found only in the rain forest. They are also the only pollinators for a number of orchids in the forest. In some species of Euglossa, the male bee collects some scented material from the flower, which they distribute to attract other males who do the same and multiply the effect with a scented cloud, in the end so strong, that it attracts female bees so that mating can take place. During the collection of the scented material, male bees transfer pollen from orchid to orchid and pollination takes place. The female Euglossa bees live from nectar from the Brazil nut tree and pollinate it. This means that without the orchids, there would be no Euglossa bees and no Brazil nut trees, and none of the many other plants, insects and animals associated with that tree – including the people whose livelihoods include collection and sale of the Brazil nuts.
Forest requirement for pollinators Studies have shown that many small bee species do not cross open areas. That means that parts of forest lose their pollinators when the forest is cut, with open areas of land created between remaining 15
forest islands. This is the reason why hedges and verges are now so important as corridors for wildlife. In deciduous forests, the forest floor can be totally covered by flowering plants in springtime, before the trees produce their leaves. These plants often need fast pollination from high numbers of honey bees and bumblebees. Not many other insects are present in high numbers in early spring of temperate climates. In Denmark, it is seen by foresters that the presence of bees in forest areas helps to protect the newly planted trees from being eaten or spoiled from gnawing by roe deer, compared to other plantations with no bees. The reason is that bees secure a better pollination and seed production of so many other plants, which the roe dear can forage on instead of the tree seedlings. By pollinating trees, bushes and herbaceous plants, the bees are important for the food production of all the other animals and birds in the forest ecosystem dependent on it for food berries, seeds and fruits. Bees and trees belong together. Given the choice, wild honey bees chose nesting places in trees rather than in an open landscape, and they prefer to nest high in trees (more than three meters above ground) instead of close to the ground, as beekeepers’ hives are kept. When enough bees are present in a forest, they provide a better pollination that leads to improved regeneration of trees and conservation of the forest’s biodiversity. Reference McGregor S.E., Insect pollination of cultivated crop plants (1976) USDA This is an extremely useful guide to which crops need pollination by bees, how many honey bee colonies to ensure optimal pollination, pesticides, how to arrange pollination contracts. Continuously updated and now available online. Although it is written primarily for North America - much useful information www.ars.usda.gov/ SP2UserFiles/Place/20220500/ OnlinePollinationHandbook.pdf
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
South Sudan’s first exports to the USA include 100% natural honey South Sudan’s first export to the USA is 100% natural Sosu Pure honey and shea butter, and both will soon be making their American debut in natural grocery stores in Texas. This landmark trade is the result of collaboration between South Sudanese beekeeping cooperatives and Texas-based Lone Star – Africa Works. Although the Republic of South Sudan makes headlines as petroleum-rich nation facing war and famine, South Sudanese entrepreneurs and Lone Star – Africa Works are working together to invest in sustainable industries, strong communities, agricultural production and scientific innovation. Ongoing activities include supporting farms to supply
affordable healthy food to local markets, developing a network of weather stations for meteorology and climate change monitoring, as well as organising timber and gold mining cooperatives to attain socially and environmentally sustainable business models. Lone Star – Africa Works and partners call the flagship South Sudan enterprise Sosu Pure – inspired by the country’s spirit, people, and natural diversity. The raw honey is harvested from local style, simple hives, manually strained, then carefully stored by artisan beekeepers living near the River Nile in South Sudan’s Kajo Keji region. An all-women’s cooperative creates the shea butter by cold-pressing oil shea nuts from local trees. Sosu Pure honey and shea butter are 100% natural: created without any use of artificial chemicals on the bees or the surrounding plants. Bees for development are delighted to have been able to offer advice and support to Lone Star – Africa Works since July 2013. Our correspondence, which included guidance on honey quality, the
construction of hives from naturally occuring, locally available materials, and effective honey storage was published in the March 2015 issue of Bees for development Journal.
Lone Star – Africa Works
Lone Star – Africa Works is a non-profit organisation based in Austin, Texas which works with communities in African countries to improve access to markets, investment, technology, vocational skills and humanitarian support. For more information about Sosu Pure Honey and Lone Star – Africa Works visit www.sosupure.com and www.lonestarafrica.com
Lone Star – Africa Works Managing Director, Christopher Douglas writes: “Despite the continuing violence in South Sudan, our partnercooperative continues to harvest and store honey. They are in negotiations with a few regional buyers. Meanwhile they have been investing the money from their first USA honey sale into a new farm, including the rental of a tractor.”
US quilters fundraise for Bfd’s work in Ethiopia Dr. Diana Sammataro, Hope Johnson and their respective quilting guilds have partnered to create a magnificent community quilt to raise funds for food security, biodiversity, and increased standard of living, using the example set by the industrious honey bee. Members of the Champlain Valley Quilter’s Guild from Vermont and the Tucson Quilters Guild from Arizona contributed to the intricate and colourful Sunflower Quilt (pictured left) which made its debut at the Eastern Apicultural Society Conference held in Guelph, Ontario in August this year. Ms. Johnson designed the pattern, pieced the top, appliquéd the central bee medallion and quilted the quilt with numerous individual Guild members contributing the applique blocks depicting sunflowers. The finished quilt was purchased by a beekeeping couple from Rhode Island with proceeds from the sale being donated to Bees for development. In total, Rhode Island beekeepers made a donation of $2,700 to support Bees for development Ethiopia’s beekeeping projects and rural development initiatives.
There’s even more news on our blog...
Regularly updated with interesting and informative content written by members of the Bfd team from the UK and worldwide; plus news, views and comment. Keep up to date at: www.beesfordevelopment.wordpress.com 16
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
LOOK AHEAD PHILIPPINES
APIMONDIA Symposium on Indigenous Bee Species 1-4 February 2016, Tagaytay City Further details apimondiaphilippines2016.com
RWANDA
5th ApiTrade Africa Event 21-26 September 2016, Kigali Further details apitradeafrica.org
SAUDI ARABIA
13th Asian Apicultural Association Conference 24-26 April 2016, Jeddah Further details 13thaaaconference.com
TOBAGO
8th Caribbean Beekeeping Congress Further details page 20
TURKEY
APIMONDIA: 45th International Apicultural Congress 29 September – 4 October 2017, Istanbul Further details will appear here
UK
Ulster BKA 71st Annual Conference 11-12 March 2016, Greenmount Campus Guest speakers are Bees for development’s Patrons Professor Tom Seeley and Bill Turnbull. This year is a special partnership between Bees for development and Ulster BKA Beekeepers. Further details ubka.org BBKA Spring Convention 8-10 April 2016, Harper Adams College Further details bbka.org.uk
LEARN AHEAD
Beekeepers Safaris by Bfd TRINIDAD & TOBAGO 11-21 January 2016
TURKEY 23 July – 4 August 2016 More information www.beesfordevelopment.org/ what-we-do/beekeeping-safaris email: safari@ beesfordevelopment.org Telephone: 01600 714848
COSTA RICA
UK
TANZANIA
Sustainable beekeeping 9-10 April 2016, Ragman’s Lane Permaculture Farm
Bees and pollination 16-26 August 2016, Universidad Nacional Heredia Further details m.j.sommeijer@uu.nl BSc Beekeeping Science & Technology University of Dar es Salaam Further details coasft.udsm.ac.tz
To have your conference, workshop or meeting included here and on our website send details to Bees for development, address on page 2
Bees for development
11 to 2 JANUA 1 RY 2016
Beekeepers’ Caribbean Safari
Strengthening livelihoods in developing countries through beekeeping 8 April 2016, Monmouth
Further details beesfordevelopment.org/ what-we-do/training Find us on Facebook Follow us on Twitter @BeesForDev
■■ Escape those winter blues for the warmth and riches of the Caribbean on our 11-day beekeeper’ safari ■■ Gain unique insights into tropical island beekeeping ■■ Experience both European and Africanised honey bees ■■ Discover dramatic tropical fauna and flora ■■ Enjoy friendly local hospitality ■■ Hosted by Bfd Trustee Gladstone Solomon, President of the Association of Caribbean Beekeeping Organisations. From £1,795 per person
email: safari@beesfordevelopment.org or telephone: 01600 714848 17
Proceeds from our safaris help raise fund for our work in poverty alleviation and protecting bees and habitats.
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
BOOKSHELF
Prices in US$ and € are approximate
Field Guide to the Bees of Great Britain and Ireland Steven Falk, with illustrations by Richard Lewington 2015 432 pages, £31.50, Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, UK and USA This is a fantastic new field guide fulfilling an urgent need for a comprehensive guide to the 270 species of bees present in the British Isles. The first 50 or so pages are a very useful introduction, explaining about life cycle, habitat, field techniques and the classification of bees into six families. The guide helps the reader to ascertain that an insect is indeed a bee (and not a fly or a wasp), and then to determine its gender. For each species, there are photographs of male and female, a description, and distribution map. Keys to the genera are provided too, so that this guide will help people towards identifying bees, whatever their entomological experience. There are over 700 colour photographs and 1,000 drawings in this information packed work. This marvellous book will surely help to gain wider awareness and appreciation of bees and greatly inform the various citizen science endeavours now underway. The last species mentioned is the honey bee and sadly the information provided is not completely accurate – it should have stated that British honey bees are an indigenous species: wild colonies have been surviving here since the retreat of the last ice age, as small leaved lime trees spread northwards. This error does not detract from what is otherwise a fantastic new book.
Honeybee Veterinary Medicine: Apis mellifera L. Nicolas Vidal-Naquet 2015 260 pages, £60, 5m publishing, UK This is a cguide to all pathogens known to affect Apis mellifera. It is a comprehensive textbook, describing in detail honey bee biology, environmental problems and intoxication, viruses and viral diseases, bacteria, parasitic, fungal and protozoon diseases, pests and enemies. Principles of good sanitary practise are described and honey bee veterinary medicine and practice. A final chapter concludes that ‘colony losses in general, irrespective of the cause, are complex disorders that probably involve many stressors.’ A useful text for veterinarians.
Beginner’s Bee Book Ted Hooper 2014 128 pages, £9.95, Stenlake Publishing Ltd, UK Ted Hooper was a highly skilled and experienced British practitioner and teacher of beekeeping. In this text he provides all the advice that a good teacher would provide to a novice beekeeper. Much of the text refers to practical aspects of looking after European honey bees Apis mellifera in frame hives – Ted Hooper’s frame hive of choice was the Modified Commercial Hive. It is well written and with an excellent rage of supporting and interesting photographs.
The World of Bees (DVD) Charles Hofmann, Text, photographs and narration; Tom Buckman, Piano score and performance; Larry Hofmann, Production, direction restoration. Hofmann studios, Minneapolis, MN, USA www.theworldofbees.com Charles Hofmann was a commercial beekeeper in Minnesota in USA. He was also a fine photographer, and over many years he used his fabulous close-up pictures to create acclaimed talks for students about bees and beekeeping. His eldest son, Larry, has now produced this DVD based on Charles’ presentation, updating it with current technical possibilities, to create an extremely useful and engaging explanation of all the major aspects of bees, their flora, and the craft and science of beekeeping. The pictures are the best, achieving Charles’ aim of showing bees ‘as other bees see them’. Of course, Minnesota has long, cold winters and beekeeping appropriate for this climate is the system that is presented. This DVD would be useful for schools and for presentation at beekeepers’ meetings.
WAYS TO PAY
• Secure order and payment at www.beesfordevelopment.org/shop • PayPal to store@beesfordevelopment.org • Credit/Debit card Maestro/MasterCard/Visa. We need card number, name on card, valid from and expiry dates, card issue number (if given), security number on back of card. • Cheque/bank draft in GBP payable to Bees for development 18
Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
NOTICE BOARD In memoriam Pam Gregory We are sad to report the death of Pam Gregory. Pam worked with us at Bees for Development during 2009-2010. Pam wrote detailed and informed beekeeping text for the Information Portal of the Bees for Development website. The purpose was to provide an information access point for beekeepers around the world. Pam’s knowledge of beekeeping in developing countries meant that she was able to always ensure that the information was tailored and relevant for the intended audience. In a recent feedback survey about the Informational Portal one user said: “It helps us to learn and share knowledge and experiences”, Alex Okiro, Uganda. This and much of her other work – in Malawi and beyond – was done as part of her commitment to promote bees and beekeeping to support livelihoods in poor communities. Pam was a thoughtful and dedicated beekeeper and development worker, and her cheerful personality will be greatly missed.
Peter Molan Dr Peter Molan of New Zealand was the scientist whose dedicated research over many years explained the healing power of manuka honey. In 2001 he was awarded New Zealand’s Science and Technology Silver Medal and the citation stated that he “Revolutionised the New Zealand honey industry”. Molan’s discoveries about manuka have been used to help many people and animals with slow-toheal wounds.
Stop press Propolis Conference 2016 Glasgow Technology and Innovation Centre 16-17 June 2016 More details at www.propolisconference2016.com
Bottlingtanks Made of high quality stainless steel. All tanks come with a loose-fitting lid or with an airtight lid as an option. Capacity from 25 kg - 600 kg.
Solar Wax Melter For frames or comb. It has a strong wooden frame, insulating double window and a small tray for collecting the melted wax / honey.
Refractometer Measures water content in honey. Range: 12-25%. With automatic temperature compensation.
Honey Press Easy and effective way to press your honey. Made entirely of stainless steel. Holds approx. 9.5 L.
Honey Extractors Our modern tangential manual extractors. High quality machines at a very affordable price.
Packaging Many different sizes and shapes in both PET plastic and glas. Available with plastic and metal lids.
Have your say... We’re always happy to hear your news, views and comments and we’d like to share them with our readers. You’ll find our contact details on page 2 and page 20.
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Bees for development Journal 117 December 2015
SUPPORT FOR TRAINING 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 Bees for development Trust is the charity which raises the funds Bfd needs to undertake our work both in the UK and overseas. The main strands to our efforts:
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
PROTECTING BEES & POLLINATORS TEACHING SUSTAINABLE LIFE SKILLS CHAMPIONING BIODIVERSITY
WORKING TO ALLEVIATE POVERTY FACILITIATING FAIR MARKET ACCESS SHARING KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE
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Bees for development, 1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth NP25 3DZ, UK Telephone +44 (0)1600 714848 info@beesfordevelopment.org www.beesfordevelopment.org © Bees for development 2015 ISSN 1477-6588 Printed on environmentally friendly paper
