Letters to the Editor

Apis florea in Sudan

It was with interest that I read about the discovery and introduction of Apis florea to the Khartoum area of Sudan. Some people may take it as a blessing in the short term, but we as beekeeping people will in the long run be the victims of the situation.

In your Newsletter No 11 (November 1987) I noted with great appreciation the ideas of Dr Robert Whitcombe which I strongly support. The idea of having A. florea in Sudan, be it naturally or accidentally imported, is nearly the same as importation of old beekeeping equipment or bees from an infected area. In my opinion the A. florea colonies in Sudan should be completely destroyed with immediate effect if we really want to keep bee disease out of this Eastern Region of Africa.

Paul Y Nnyiti, Tanzania.

I keep bees locally using pots made of mud, old buckets sealed nicely, and trunks of trees into which | drill large holes. Mult made from millet or maize is ground, some water is added to it and sprinkled inside the container. This usually gives a good smell and within 1- 2 hours bees are attracted into the container. This container is placed on a tree far from houses in an area with plenty of flowering plants. A good source of water is important.

Adongo A Daniels, Central Veterinary Laboratory, Tamale, Ghana.

Honeybees in mole holes

In most woodland and grassland bees are being destroyed by bush fires every year and colony numbers are decreasing. In Ethiopia, in the savanna grass and woodland area called Assosa, some colonies of bees can be seen living in the ground in preference to the traditional hives hung high up in trees. | believe that this is to avoid strong winds. Bees in this area placed in Zander* hives give good results if seasonal routine work is done, according to the colony's needs: the results are best when the hive is placed with protection from wind on all sides, rather than in the open field or in trees.

The holes in the ground taken over by the bees are made by moles and other similar animals which live under ground and excavate their holes. The colony enters the hole when it is empty and inhabit it from November to April.

They leave the holes from the end of April to the middle of May when the start of the rains leads to the chance of flooding.

I will be grateful to have your views and other beekeepers’ experiences of bees living underground in holes.

Wolde Medhin Fita, Jimma, Ethiopia.

* (The Zander hive, named after its inventor Professor Enoch Zander is a top- opening, movable-frame hive, widely used in Central Europe. Ed)

I would like to correspond with beekeepers interested in development beekeeping. At this mission we have 15 Tanzanian top-bar hives and try to encourage local people to start with bees using the methods advocated in ‘The Beekeeping Handbook’ by Bernhard Clauss.

Peter H Murless, Kwa Zainokuhle Diaconic Centre, South Africa.

Beekeeping in Nigeria: Mrs Marieke Mutsaers, International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Ibadan, would like to contact and visit other beekeepers in Nigeria.

QUESTIONNAIRE

Grateful thanks to ail who have completed the questionnaires and returned them to IBRA during the past six months. The responses we have received are currently being analysed. Your comments are very much appreciated and I will ensure that your requests and suggestions are considered as far as possible.

Thank you again for your help.

Nicola Bradbear