Bees for Development Journal 136 September 2020
Dear friends Climate change, Covid and our imperative to be highly cost effective, are rapidly changing the ways that Bees for Development seeks to best serve beekeepers in the poorest nations. For these past months we have been enjoying weekly Zoom meetings with many of our partner organisations, and this has opened for us new ways of seeing and sharing, and new ways of working together. Starting next month we invite 500 of you to join us too – to think about Beeswax Trade on 7 October – see details of how to join on page 18. This edition of BfD Journal 136 again arrives electronically in your in-box because the world’s postal systems remain in disarray. We are aware that many of you are missing the paper copies for use in training events. At a summer natural beekeeping event in Italy - Tom Seeley’s instructions for using bee lining to find wild nesting honey bee colonies was put to good use. Now a new Resilient Bee Project has been initiated to create a network of guardian beekeepers being watchful of precious wild honey bee colonies. Read more from page 3. Gladstone Solomon reports on the Africanised honey bee collectors of Trinidad (page 7), and page 10 brings news of beekeeping empowering Maasai women in Tanzania. We bring you much other news too, with reports from our beekeeping friends worldwide, still working during Covid.
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Issue 136 September 2020 In this issue
page
Italian beekeepers set out to find, protect and learn from those living free....................... 3 Trees Bees Use......................... 6 Africanised honey bee removals in Trinidad................ 7 Maasai women beekeepers in Tanzania..............................10 News.......................................12 Bookshelf................................16 Look Ahead.............................17 The Global Hive......................18 Bees for Development Journal Produced quarterly and sent to readers in over 130 countries Editor: Nicola Bradbear PhD Co-ordinator: Helen Jackson BSc Subscriptions cost £30 per year – see page16 for ways to pay Readers in developing countries may apply for a sponsored subscription. Apply online at www.beesfordevelopment.org
Bees for Development Works to assist beekeepers in developing countries. Bees for Development Trust gratefully acknowledge: Alan & Nesta Ferguson Charitable Trust, Artemis Charitable Trust, Bees for Development North America, Briogeo, Charles Hayward Foundation, Didymus Charity, E H Thorne (Beehives) Ltd, Ethiopiaid, Healing Herbs, Hiscox Foundation, Hub Cymru Africa, Millom Rotary Club, National Lottery Community Fund UK, Neal’s Yard Remedies, Rowse Honey Ltd, UK Aid Direct, Wales and Africa: Welsh Government,Yasaeng Beekeeping Supplies and many other generous organisations and individuals. Copyright You are welcome to translate and/ or reproduce items appearing in Bees for Development Journal as part of our Information Service. Permission is given on the understanding that the Journal and author(s) are acknowledged, our 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
Image © Milan Wiercx van Rhijn
Nicola Bradbear Director, Bees for Development
Cover picture: A beautiful portrait of an Apis mellifera worker bee, by Bees for Development’s Project Manager Milan Wiercx van Rhijn. Honey bees have beautiful eyes, a total of five to be exact. Two are compound eyes that help her see the world, and three smaller ocelli help her navigate using polarised light. Amazing!
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