Bees for Development Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
JOURNAL
No 137 December 2020
• BEESWAX IS BEST • BAD INVESTMENTS • DIVERSITY & GENETICS • COVID EFFECTS
The Journal for sustainable beekeeping 1
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Dear friends
Issue 137 December 2020 In this issue
page
Frame hives prove a bad investment.................................... 3 Refining beeswax and its commercial uses........................... 6 Caribbean Beekeeping Congress...................................... 9 Diversity as a source of agricultural employment.............10 T shirts.........................................11 Trees Bees Use.............................12 Honeybee Genetics 1..................13 Effects of Covid 19 in Kitui County, Kenya......................15 Community beekeeping in northern Guatemala....................17 Apiculture in Kano State, Nigeria.18 Book Shelf....................................20 Look Ahead..................................21 Global Hive Webinar – Making money from beeswax ..................22 Bees for Development Journal Produced quarterly and sent to readers in over 130 countries Editor: Nicola Bradbear PhD Co-ordinator: Helen Jackson BSc
More than 200 organisations from across the Americas representing beekeepers and groups that resist intensive agro-industrial farming presented their case to the InterAmerican Commission on Human Rights – declaring bees to be part of everyone’s natural heritage, and pollination to be an essential activity in preserving biodiversity and guaranteeing human right to adequate food. They request that all States begin to regard bees as part of our natural heritage, and in particular call for the urgent adoption of precautionary measures for pesticides, towards their eventual prohibition, and for honey bees and stingless bees to be declared endangered species. The coalition has prepared Bees and Agrotoxins: an immensely useful, up to date compilation of all the highquality research providing evidence of the damage being caused by agrotoxins in use worldwide. Continuously updated as new data becomes available, you can access it from our Resource Centre here http://resources. beesfordevelopment.org/ In this edition of the Journal we are pleased to bring you more discussion of biodiversity as a source of employment, more about beeswax, problems with frame hives in Ethiopia, benefits of banana plants for bees, a fact sheet on bee genetics, effects of Covid in Kenya, community beekeeping work in Guatemala and Nigeria, news of the recent Caribbean Congress, and much more. Be sure to send us your news too!
Nicola Bradbear, Director, Bees for Development
Subscriptions cost £30 per year – see page 20 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, Waterloo Foundation, Welsh Government,Yasaeng Beekeeping Supplies and many other generous organisations and individuals. Copyright Cover picture: Leydy Pech has been awarded You are welcome to translate and/or reproduce the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize 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
1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth NP25 3DZ, UK Tel: +44 (0)1600 714848 info@beesfordevelopment.org www.beesfordevelopment.org
Image © Goldman Environment Prize
Congratulations to Leydy Pech, a Mayan beekeeper, who has prevented Monsanto from planting genetically modified “Roundup ready” soybeans in seven states of southern Mexico. Leydy is an indigenous woman from the state of Campeche in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, who works with stingless bees Melipona beecheii – these bees have been kept by Mayans since pre-Columbian times. In 2012, after failing to consult with local and indigenous communities, the Mexican government granted Monsanto permission to plant genetically modified soybeans in seven States, including Campeche. Leydy formed a coalition of NGOs, beekeepers and activists who filed a lawsuit against the government. Her coalition advocated for research into the effects of the GM plots, resulting in evidence that GM soy pollen was present in local honey, and that glyphosate, the chemical in the pesticide Roundup, was found in the water supply and urine of people in Pech’s hometown of Hopelchén. In 2015 the Supreme Court of Mexico ruled unanimously that indigenous communities must be consulted before planting GM soy. Monsanto’s permits were cancelled in Campeche and Yucatán states. Further organising by Pech led to Mexico’s Food and Agricultural Service revoking Monsanto’s permits to grow GM soy in seven States. Leydy’s efforts have at last been recognised as she is receiving the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. Well done Leydy! A recent Apimondia Zoom meeting of bee organisations in the Americas also brought into sharp focus the tremendous problems caused by agrotoxins and deforestation. One after another, speakers from American nations spoke of declining honey production and declining numbers of beekeepers.
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Frame hives prove a bad investment Milan Wiercx van Rhijn, Project Manager, Bees for Development Ayele Wasihun is a young man raised in a village near Lalibela, Ethiopia. At the age of 16 he was conscripted into the army. After seven years, he returned to Lalibela to find a job. Unfortunately job opportunities for young men like Ayele are rare. Searching for an alternative, he had the idea to begin beekeeping and to establish a tree nursery. He created an association with 11 other friends with their aim to build sustainable livelihoods through beekeeping and horticulture. After much negotiation, writing a proposal and investing initial capital, they managed to secure a plot of land from the local government.
Beekeeping is an intrinsic part of Ethiopian culture, and the honey and beeswax derived by local beekeepers are highly valued, important sources of income. This is what Ayele and his friends had heard, and they decided to put their capital from savings, family, and personal loans together to buy ten frame hives and ten bee colonies. They were full of hope that this could give them some income in the near future. Frame hives are promoted by the local agricultural office. They are called ‘modern’, considered an ‘innovation’ and therefore ‘must be better’ than the ‘traditional’ hives that are most widely used in Ethiopia. Ayele and his friends paid the Lalibela Agricultural Office US$110 (€85) for each hive, a total of US$1,100 (€850) for ten hives, and US$300 (€254) for ten bee colonies. In total, they had invested over US$1,400 (€1,186). This for 12 unemployed young people, in
Images © Ayele Wasihun
We are a group of young people from Lalibela…. it has been very difficult for most of us to find a job and this was why we created this association
3
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
A year after the venture started, seven of the ten hives are empty save the honey they would otherwise use to produce beeswax. However, you have the added cost of an extractor, the frame hive, frames, and wax foundation. • Due to these high costs, it is in the interest of the beekeeper to meticulously take care of each colony. You cannot afford to have a frame hive without a colony, as it would be too expensive not to use this equipment in which you have invested. However, what about the nature of African bees? African honey bee colonies are more mobile than temperate zone colonies and quick to abscond when disturbed. • The recycling of comb, and the high investment by the beekeeper, should make it imperative that these hives provide a return on investment. Let us compare this with locally-made, simple hives: • These hives can be made from any material that can be locally obtained, for example from clay, a hollowed-out log, reeds or woven bamboo. • The cost of these hives will be time, plus the cost of the material (which will in most cases be at or close to zero). • Who stops you from making as many hives as you can? If we take the same occupancy rate Ayele experienced (30%), with ten simple hives he would have had three colonies. However, his initial investment would have been minimal. If he had made 30 hives, for the same low investment, then he would have nine colonies. The occupancy rate does not matter. What matters is how many colonies you have from which you can harvest. Even if it were 50% of the honey crop of a frame hive, Ayele would still have a better result, less financial hardship, and the additional benefit of harvesting beeswax as well.
a place where a typical salary of his peers is about US$170 (€144) a month. An enormously high investment for people in a vulnerable position. On the same land, next to the hives, they planted 5,000 indigenous fruit trees, vegetables and other trees and plants to provide abundant forage for the honey bees and at the same time to benefit from their pollination of the fruits and vegetables. A year later, the flora is doing well. However, seven of the ten bee colonies absconded - translating into a significant loss on the investment. Ayele and his friends recognised that simply applying so-called ‘modern’ technology - frame hives - was not appropriate for their situation. They had invested significant amounts of their money, believing this would result in a bigger return - as they were told that the frame hives were more productive than ‘simple’ hives. Now they had only three colonies left, and no money left to buy protective clothing or a honey extractor. At Bees for Development we frequently encounter stories identical to Ayele’s. Why does this happen? Why are frame hives considered to be appropriate for people who cannot afford them? Let us zoom in on the term productivity. It is a word that we hear unfortunately too often in a development context “Simple hives are not productive. We need modern frame hives; they have a higher productivity”. Often the people who pronounce these sentences do not know what they mean by the term ‘productivity’. • The principle of a frame hive is to extract honey from combs held within frames, so that the bees can use the same (emptied) comb again. The bees will 4
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
• As John Koster remarked in our recent Making money from beeswax webinar (see page 22: “Africa has the best and most pure beeswax in the world”). Why would you want to miss that by using frame hives that offer absolutely no beeswax to harvest? Ayele and his associates find themselves in a very difficult financial situation. Bees for Development has helped them by providing technical information and putting them in contact with our partner organisation Bees for Development Ethiopia. However, their money, time and enthusiasm have been wasted, and they cannot recover the money they have lost in a situation that could have been avoided. This nonsense must stop! Frame hives can work, but in many situations they do not. Frame hives are not pro-poor. Donor projects are keen on giving out frame hives because you can count them - often they will be found abandoned, used in people’s houses for furniture, or even repurposed as a wheel barrow (see picture right). At Bees for Development we agree that this may be a more useful destination for a frame hive. Precious money needed for real development work is thrown away on frame hives, and the ones profiting are the agents selling this equipment.
Send us your experiences with frame hives, we are interested to hear, and we will reply. info@beesfordevelopment.org
A frame hive being put to good purpose as a wheelbarrow. Do send us your pics of re-purposed beekeeping equipment!
BfD Connect
Reaching anyone - anywhere - with just a smartphone. Regular broadcasts sent via WhatsApp straight to your homescreen. Broadcasts provide links to find out more about topics. Subscribers receive messages from BfD Connect and you can reply if you wish. We are encouraging you to engage in this way and send us information, photos and videos for broadcast. Broadcasts will send updates on new resources, gain information through surveys and promote your events and projects to a wide audience. Sign up at www.beesfordevelopment.org/ blog/bfd-connect/
5
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Refining beeswax and its commercial uses Stephen Case-Green, Technical Director, the British Wax Refining Company Ltd, UK The British Wax Refining Company has been refining and supplying beeswax for over 100 years. Started in Surrey, UK in 1914 by my great grandfather, the Company has undergone many changes over the years, however our beeswax processing has changed little and remains a significant part of our business. Newer materials have become available and sometimes replaced beeswax, yet there are many applications where beeswax is irreplaceable and now, when people are increasingly concerned about the sustainability of products, it certainly has a part to play.
Company in Kenya to refine beeswax produced in Kenya and other East African countries. To gather enough beeswax, a network has been established that collects it from farmers and producer groups. When enough beeswax has been collected, lorries take it to a facility in Kenya for processing. We recently started a programme of sourcing pesticide free/organic beeswax using the same type of network of collectors. This has involved providing training to ensure bees are treated well, the beeswax is free of any pesticides such as pyrethroids found in mosquito repellent, paying good prices for high quality beeswax and providing access to beekeeping resources. Since 2011 all beeswax entering the EU has had to undergo a rendering process. The beeswax is melted and left at high temperature for a time. Leaving beeswax at an elevated temperature is not ideal for producing the lightest beeswax colour but it is necessary to stop the possible transmission of organisms that may cause problems to bees.
Refining beeswax A lot of beeswax is required: a usual batch size is 800-1,000kg. We import most of our beeswax and source enough crude beeswax to fill a shipping container: 14–20 tonnes. We purchase crude beeswax mainly from Africa and have set up a new Joint Venture
Images © British Wax Refining Company Ltd
Beeswax refining is more a case of cleaning it and changing the colour than removing any of the many
A training class for beeswax collectors in Tanzania 6
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
compounds of which the beeswax consists. The amount of refining carried out will depend on the quality of the beeswax and the end use.
early 20th century, the principal means of bleaching beeswax was the sun. At the facility in Kenya we are looking at ways to re-introduce this method, so that we can once again produce completely chemical free certified organic sun-bleached beeswax.
Step 1 This process removes any water-soluble materials and heavy solids. The beeswax is melted over water and allowed to settle. Water soluble materials will dissolve in the water layer and solids will fall to the bottom of the vessel. Liquid beeswax is then taken off the top and solidified. As this is done when the beeswax is rendered, we have less need to do it, as the received beeswax is already washed.
Once at the standard required, the beeswax can be solidified and testing is carried out to confirm its purity.
Good properties Before we look at some uses of beeswax, here are its useful properties: • Low melting point • Combustible
Step 2
• Insoluble in water
This process removes fine solids and helps improve the colour. Liquid beeswax is mixed with fuller’s earth and activated carbon, which have two functions: they absorb some of the molecules that colour the beeswax and act as a filter medium. After allowing time to react, the fuller’s earth and carbon are removed by pumping the beeswax through a filter press. This is a series of chambers surrounded by a cloth membrane. They allow the liquid beeswax to pass through the cloth, but not the fuller’s earth and carbon, which also act as filter media for very fine particles as they are deposited on the cloth.
• Compatible with oils, fats and resins • Inert • Non-toxic • Plasticiser • Translucent As a chemist, for many years when compiling this list, I concentrated on the chemical and physical properties of the beeswax. However, two characteristics are increasingly important to consumers: that beeswax is a natural product and sustainable.
The beeswax produced at this stage is of refined yellow standard and is usable in many applications. If a whiter product is required, further bleaching can be carried out, which is done using peroxides. Up to the
A few applications use pure beeswax, but most are in combination with other materials. We have many years’ experience in formulating beeswax blends and the materials used depend on several factors. While
A filter press – we use this one in the UK 7
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
some materials have been commercially available only since the last century, beeswax has been used in applications for thousands of years and for most of that time was the only material of its type. Consequently, there are many uses that have been around for a long time, many of which will be familiar. As more types of beeswax have become available, some of the uses have been replaced with alternatives, often due to price. For example, we rarely come across the use of beeswax in applications such as lost-wax casting or in explosives, which were important uses in the past.
products, beeswax is a minor component but for moustache wax, it is the major ingredient, allowing the hair to be stiffened and shaped.
Food production As beeswax is non-toxic it can be used in food contact applications and has an E number of 901. Examples of use include baking where it is used as a release agent, preventing sticking during baking. For confectionery, a barrier layer can be made on the surface of hard gums and sweets, mostly in combination with other materials such as carnauba wax. This acts to prevent the sweets losing water and gives them a glossy, nonstick coating. The waxes are applied by tumbling the confectionery in a rotating drum which has had wax melted on to the side. Layers of wax are built up as the confectionery tumbles around.
Uses of beeswax The first is the production of foundation sheets for use by beekeepers with frame hives.
Candle making A main use of beeswax is in candle making. We can all appreciate the comforting yellow glow from a pure beeswax candle. However, the trend over the last twenty years away from pillar candles and towards highly scented container candles has led to a greater use of hydrogenated oils such as coconut, rapeseed and soy, with beeswax used as a component to give a higher melting point and smoother surface.
With the current interest in reducing the use of plastics, reusable wrappings based on beeswax are being produced as alternatives to cling film. These are blends of beeswax, oils and resins that can be reused and are very environmentally friendly. I have heard beeswax called ‘nature’s first plastic’ and these sorts of products are a good example of why.
Cosmetics
Animal feeds
Another major application is in cosmetics where beeswax is used in barrier creams, cold creams, hair waxes, moisturisers, pomades and putties. For our own production of depilatory waxes, we have found beeswax to be superior to other waxes such as microcrystalline, for plasticising the resins that make up the bulk of the blend. While many of our depilatory wax blends contain mixtures of beeswax, colours, fragrances, polymers and resins, the simplest contains a mixture of beeswax and rosin, a simple formula from two natural, sustainable materials. In most cosmetic
The non-toxic/inertness of beeswax is used in mineral supplements for cows and sheep. Many diets of these animals do not contain enough trace elements such as cobalt, iodine and selenium, resulting in ill health, low fertility, poor growth and reduced milk yields. The beeswax forms part of a bolus given to the cows and sheep which slowly releases in the animal’s stomach (reticulorumen). The slow release allows the elements to be absorbed at a constant rate.
Figure casting One of the most well-known uses of beeswax is in figure casting, particularly those produced by Madame Tussauds museums. Beeswax makes up most of the wax blend used in these figures and being translucent gives the figures a more natural fleshlike quality. The first step involves the sculpting of a clay model, from which a mould is made. Casting of the head uses the slush casting technique. Liquid beeswax is added to the mould and allowed to cool. When an appropriate thickness of solidified beeswax has been built up, excess beeswax is poured out to give a hollow head. This technique helps to minimise shrinkage as the beeswax contracts and gives a lighter casting which is easier to support when on display. To give as lifelike appearance as possible, hairs are attached to the head by softening small areas and inserting them into the beeswax.
Other uses Artists and designers use beeswax in batik and encaustic painting. Beeswax is used in a variety of applications as a lubricant. Most are blends of beeswax with fats and oils. In the manufacture of sporting ammunition,
A selection of coloured depilatory waxes 8
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
a beeswax blend is applied to lubricate bullets as they pass down through the gun barrel. This type of ammunition was used to win 14 out of 18 medals at the London Olympics and is considered the world’s most accurate ammunition.
combined with linseed oil and turpentine to give an excellent wood nourishing and preserving coating. A polishing technique that makes use of pure beeswax is in producing the exceptionally high sheen on military boots. The technique called bulling starts by building up layers of beeswax on the boots, either by applying liquid beeswax or by heating the boots and then rubbing with a solid block of beeswax. Final layers of polish are applied and plenty of rubbing to give the parade standard shine, seen for instance, in the guards outside Buckingham Palace in London.
There is a diverse use in health applications. Creams made from beeswax blends allow the topical application of pharmaceuticals and lip balms protect our lips from cracking and drying. In the dental industry beeswax is often a component in inlay waxes to produce dentures and false teeth. An application in contact lens and intra ocular lens production makes use of the plasticising property of beeswax along with the low melting point. These lenses are cut from small blocks of plastic with a lathe. The block is then shaped on the other side using a wax blend as a temporary adhesive to attach the half-cut lens to the lathe. The finished lens can be removed from the lathe by heating gently to melt the beeswax.
Wax polishes also act as releases in plastic moulding. They can be used to produce a mirror shine on the mould which in turn creates a smooth surface on the plastic once the plastic has set and been released. A final and perhaps the simplest is use as a waterproofing agent in the protection of threads. Small solid blocks of beeswax are used as they can be held in the hand and the threads pulled across them.
Polish
More information British Wax Refining Company Ltd www.britishwax.com The East Africa Wax Company www.eastafricawax.co This article was first published in BBKA News, September 2020
The use of beeswax in polishes is well known. It has good solvent absorption properties and produces polishes with a smooth paste-like feel which makes them easy to apply. Blended with carnauba wax and solvents, the wax produced makes an excellent general polish with a high sheen. Beeswax can be
Caribbean Beekeeping Congress in St Lucia
BEEKEEPING TRAINING POSTERS
Earlier this month the 10th Caribbean Congress was organised by the Association of Caribbean Beekeepers Organisations (ACBO) in St Lucia and wonderfully broadcast to a global audience, free of charge! The Congress was organised in association with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and came from Castries in St Lucia, with support from GEF, SGP and UNDP, and many organisations co-operating to fill the week with interest.
The images used have been designed and pretested by people with hearing impairments in Uganda and are appropriate also for people with limited literacy. The six posters are:
Digital Download PDF
Six training posters designed in collaboration with our partner organisation TUNADO – The Uganda National Apiculture Development Organisation
1. Reasons for beekeeping 2. Establishment of an apiary 3. Making local hives 4. Harvesting honey
Highlights included the announcement of the production of medical grade honey from indigenous herbs and plants, by Dr Valma Jessamy of Grenada; the imminent start of a regional project to identify indigenous pollinators; the launch of a monthly ACBO Newsletter, the first issue of which was released at the start of the Congress; reports of increasing occurrence of hive theft throughout the region, and reduced honey production in some areas - attributable to climate change.
5. Processing honey 6. Processing beeswax These posters are appropriate for beekeepers promoting local styles of hives within the tropics. The posters are free of charge to projects and associations in developing nations (email info@beesfordevelopment.org for information) and can also be purchased through our website store.
Gladstone Solomon, President, Tobago Apicultural Society 9
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Diversity as a source of agricultural employment Dulce Gómez Carella2, Néstor Pérez-Méndez1,2,3 and Lucas Garibaldi1,2 Great efforts have been made to recognise the value of nature’s contributions to people. Many of the measures that have emerged include policy-level initiatives for the protection of biodiversity. However some of the most important links between nature and the well-being of the population - such as its role in rural employment- remain to be explored (Garibaldi & Pérez-Méndez, 2019)
by adequate management that integrates economic, social, and environmental dimensions. Ecological intensification incorporates these principles into agriculture through practices that increase the diversity and sustainability of productive landscapes. One of the most important procedures that has proven to have positive results in multiple socio-economic aspects is crop diversification.
The value of nature’s contribution
Trend studies show that there is a positive correlation between agricultural diversity and the number of agricultural jobs, and that this situation neither competes with other economic sectors nor compromise crop yield (Garibaldi & Pérez-Méndez, 2019).
Diversifying crops as an agroecological solution
Nature’s contribution to people affects every aspect of human life. Ecosystems regulate multiple environmental processes, contributing to the quality of human life in material (for example, optimising crop yield) and non-material ways (for example, providing a sense of identity and belonging) (Díaz et al 2019). Some studies have explored the potential impact that the loss of these benefits would have on people’s livelihoods and general well-being. One of the most relevant examples is the pollination service that supports the functionality of agroecosystems all over the world. It is estimated that in the absence of pollinators, 12% of the world’s main crops would have an almost total loss in their production (Gallai et al, 2016). Even though nature’s contributions are widely recognised in scientific literature, government policies usually do not reflect their value (Díaz et al, 2019), and there are still many dimensions to be analysed. Not enough attention has been devoted to understanding the relationship between biodiversity and unemployment, although this represents one of the most serious social problems worldwide (Kühn et al, 2018; Rifkin, 1995). Studies in this area are essential to support decision-making and the development of public policies with scientifically based information.
Farms that have greater diversity are important sources of rural employment because different crops will have their own requirements in terms of resources, techniques, and optimal moments for their development. Therefore, the variety of skills needed for their maintenance translates into employment opportunities for a higher number of people throughout the year (Garibaldi & Pérez-Méndez, 2019). As a result of diversification, farms will have a greater number of smaller crops evenly distributed, thus providing more heterogeneity to the landscape. There are many other advantages of promoting crop diversification. For example, variety is added to the consumers’ diet by preserving different crops that include indigenous species from each region. This is key for maintaining a healthy and complete nutrition. Also, additional jobs associated with agricultural production are indirectly created – for example, postproduction food chains, beekeeping, and agro-tourism. These rewards are further increased when considering the environmental benefits of nature-friendly agriculture that turns productive landscapes into highly resilient, regenerative systems.
Employment in agriculture
Agricultural production is one of the most important economic activities in the world. It occupies almost half of the earth’s surface and employs about a third of the human workforce (Kühn et al, 2018). Despite this great potential, rural employment around the world has declined considerably in the last few years, especially in emerging and developing economies (Kühn et al, 2018). Global tendencies show that demands for agricultural products have increased steeply while there has been a decrease of up to 75% in rural employment (Garibaldi & PérezMéndez, 2019). One of the main reasons is the use of agricultural techniques that favour monocultures and homogeneous landscapes, resulting in the loss of countless jobs, and causing serious environmental impacts. The agricultural sector’s capacity to generate employment can be recovered, and even strengthened,
The importance of taking action The loss of agricultural jobs is not followed by the incorporation of workers into other industries, because of the advance of of technologies that dispense with human labour. In some cases -such as occurs in Argentina - the lack of rural work has led workers to migrate to urban areas, where the shortage of opportunities derived in the creation of villages leads to worrying levels of unemployment (Neffa, 2018). Ecological intensification policies that are relevant to peoples’ needs, and consider the multiple advantages of increasing agricultural diversity, are crucial to make progress in the finding of solutions to this problem. In addition to higher employment, the benefits of this approach include improved human health, increased 10
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
It has been a good honey harvest The beekeepers and farmers of Proyecto Apicultura Comunidad Neuvo San Lorenzo production of nutritious food, and preservation of cultural heritage or traditions (Garibaldi et al, 2019). Policies must incorporate incentives so that small-scale producers can begin the transition process towards more diverse agricultural models and improve their living conditions. These measures must have clear goals at a local, regional and national scale, and offer tangible results that align with global initiatives such as the UN Sustainable Development Goals, for example, SDG 8 “Decent work and economic growth”, and SDG 2 “Zero hunger”. In an optimal scenario, the most favourable policies will consider agriculture as a comprehensive system that addresses national food security and provides well-being to rural populations through investment in ecological infrastructure and job creation (Garibaldi et al, 2019).
between crop diversity and agricultural employment worldwide. Ecological Economics, 164, 106358. GARIBALDI,L.A.; PÉREZ-MÉNDEZ,N.; GARRATT,M.P.; GEMMILL-HERREN,B.; MIGUEZ,F.E.; DICKS,L.V. (2019). Policies for ecological intensification of crop production. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 34 (4) 282-286. KÜHN,S.; MILASI,S.; YOON,S. (2018). World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2018. International Labour Organization, Geneva, Switzerland. NEFFA,J.C. (2018) Modes of development, work and employment in Argentina (2002-2017). Rev. Estado y Políticas Públicas 9: 93–119. RIFKIN,J. (1995) The End of Work: The Decline of the Global Labor Force and the Dawn of the Post-Market Era. G P Putnam’s Sons, New York, USA. AUTHORS 1 Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, Universidad Nacional de Río Negro, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina a Instituto de Investigaciones en Recursos Naturales, Agroecología y Desarrollo Rural, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina 3 Institut de Recerca i Tecnologies Agroalimentàries, Estació Experimental de l’Ebre, Spain
REFERENCES DÍAZ,S.; SETTELE,J.; BRONDÍZIO,E.S.; NGO,H.T.; AGARD,J.; ARNETH,A.; GARIBALDI,L.A. (2019). Pervasive human-driven decline of life on Earth points to the need for transformative change. Science, 366 (6471). GALLAI,N.; GARIBALDI,L.A.; LI,X.;BREEZE,T.; ESPIRITO SANTO,M.; RODRIGUEZ,J.; DICKS,L. (2016). Economic valuation of pollinator gains and losses. GARIBALDI,L.A.; PÉREZ-MÉNDEZ,N. (2019). Positive outcomes
BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT T SHIRTS
Images © Bees for Development
In a variety of designs and sizes, our new t shirts are made from organic cotton and printed in the UK in a renewable energy powered factory
Income from sales supports our work. Buy yours today at https://shop.beesfordevelopment.org 11
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Trees bees use – Banana Musa species
Images © Stephen Adu
Kwame S Aidoo and Stephen Adu, Bees for Development Ghana
Scientific name
in length and 61cm in width), with a prominent midrib. Each plant produces a single inflorescence, a drooping spike, and large bracts opening in succession, ovate, 15–20cm long, concave, dark red in colour and fleshy. Fruits are oblong, fleshy, 5–7cm long in wild forms and longer in cultivated varieties.
Musa sp
Cultivated varieties
Musa acuminata, Musa balbiasiana, Musa sapientum, Musa paradisiacal (hybrid between Musa acuminate and Musa balbiasiana)
Distribution
Family name
About 300 varieties of bananas are grown throughout the tropical and subtropical countries of the world. A vast majority have been cultivated in Australian, Asian and Indo-tropics. Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Philippines and Thailand are the top banana producing countries in the world.
Musaceae
Common names Banana; plantain
Apicultural value
Flowers of Musa sp are a very good source of nectar for bees especially during the dearth periods for colonies in many tropical areas. Flowers may secrete as much as 80-90 mg/flower with a sugar concentration of 20% (Taha, 2007). Investigations in Egypt estimate that, one hectare of banana plantation could produce 115.07kg nectar which will contain about 31.45kg sugar and could result in the production of 39.31kg honey/ha (Taha, 2007).
Uses
Banana and plantain are grown widely all over the world. The fruits are used as food for their nutritional values. The fruits can be eaten fresh or cooked. Other parts of the plant are used as medicine in many human cultures to treat a range of diseases.
Propagation methods
Flowering period
Musa sp is propagated by vegetative means using suckers which develop from the base of the main stem. Portions of the underground corm/rhizome with a mature bud can be used to develop young plants.
Banana plants produce flowers all year round with peaks in August and September in many tropical and sub-tropical areas.
Honey
References TAHA,EL-K. (2007) Importance of banana Musa sp (Musaceae) for honey bee Apis mellifera L (Hmenoptera: Apidae) in Egypt. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/281578975 IMAM,M.Z.; AKTER,S. (2011) Musa paradisiacal L and Musa sapientum L: A Phytochemical and Pharmacological Review, Journal of Applied Pharmaceutical Science 01 (05); 2011:14-20. MOHANNA,N.E. (1989) An important source of nectar and pollen during the dearth period in Egypt. (Alex J Agric Res 34(2): 173-182). Musa x paradisiacal, Wikipedia, en.m.wikipedia.org
The honey is light yellow to amber in colour with a rich flavour and delicate subtle overtones that stay in your mouth for some time.
Description
Musa sp is not a tree: it is an herbaceous plant (up to 9m tall) with a robust treelike pseudo-stem, a crown of large elongated oval deep-green leaves (up to 365cm 12
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
FACTSHEET
Honey Bee Genetics 1 Milan Wiercx van Rhijn, Project Manager, Bees for Development Genetics is the study of how hereditary traits are passed from parent to offspring, and how they are expressed. The basic ‘rules’ of genetics apply to all forms of life. We start this Factsheet by explaining how these rules apply to humans, before moving on to look at honey bee genetics.
This model of human genetics is necessarily simplified for the purpose of explanation. The expression of any particular trait is determined by several genes, the interaction between genes, and an interaction between genes and the environment.
Human genetics
For example, did you know that a drone bee has no father?
Honey bees are different to humans! That is no surprise perhaps, however some aspects of honey bee genetics really are surprising!
Everyone is different because of the variations in their genetic make-up. You may inherit your eye colour from your mother and your temperament from your father – you possess hereditary traits from both parents, and you are unique. The traits which you have are determined by genes (molecular information) which are located on molecules called chromosomes. All babies inherit a set of chromosomes from each of their parents, which explains why children are a ‘mixture’ of their parents. In humans, genes exist as a combination of two alleles – an even more detailed genetic information unit – and while a human will have a pair of alleles for each of their genes, there are often more than two allele variations available in the gene pool. Each particular trait is usually determined by more than one gene, and hence we can begin to see that the range of options in terms of genetic variation is large.
Humans are diploid (meaning ‘two sets’): our chromosomes are in pairs. We inherit one set from our father and one set from our mother. With honey bees something unique happens in the passing on of genetic material: female honey bees (the workers and the queen) develop from fertilised eggs, while drone bees develop from unfertilised eggs. How does this happen? We need to understand how honey bees mate.
Honey bee mating When a queen emerges from her queen cell, she will inherit a colony that has no queen – the old queen has already left the colony with several thousand worker bees in a swarm – and this new virgin queen will be encouraged by the worker bees to mate as soon as possible. Until mated, the virgin queen is of no use to the colony as she cannot lay and fertilise eggs. Shortly after emergence from her queen cell the new queen will fly out to perform her nuptial flight. This happens at specific areas where drones are present, so-called drone congregation areas, where the queen will be mated on the wing by many drones. Only the fastest drones that can catch up with the queen will be able to inseminate her. Any drone that inseminates the queen will die in the act and the next drone will be able to eject his sperm into the queen. After mating with 12 drones or more, the queen returns to the colony. She
Alleles may be dominant or recessive. If a child inherits a dominant allele of a gene from one parent and a recessive allele of a gene from the other parent, they display the dominant trait. An example is eye colour. If a child inherits an allele for blue eyes and an allele for brown eyes, the child will have brown eyes, because the allele for brown eyes ‘dominates’ the blue, and the blue colour is not expressed. If a child inherits an allele for blue eyes from both parents, this ‘domination’ effect cannot occur, and the child will have blue eyes.
Images © Bees for Development/Milan Wiercx van Rhijn
Left: The spermatheca, where the queen stores millions of sperm. This photo was taken when I dissected a dead queen and can be seen with the naked eye. The spermatheca is the size of a grain of sand Right: Sperm of a drone at the end of its endophallus. When a drone mates with the queen, he will inject this sperm and in doing so he will die. The photo has been taken through a microscope but can be seen with the naked eye just like the spermatheca 13
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Egg
Queen/Mother
Drone/Father
Outcome
Fertilised
16 chromosomes
16 chromosomes
16 chromosome pairs = diploid female (worker/queen)
Unfertilised
16 chromosomes
No sperm
16 chromosomes = haploid male (drone) At the point of fertilisation, the set of chromosomes from the egg (derived from the queen herself) and the set of chromosomes from the sperm (derived from one of the drones she mated with) pair up. The resulting embryo develops into either a worker bee or a queen bee and will have two sets of chromosomes and will be diploid. When the queen lays an egg in a drone cell, she releases no sperm. The egg is not fertilised by sperm and receives no additional genetic material. The bee which develops from this unfertilised egg has only one set of chromosomes from the queen. This bee develops into a haploid drone bee.
Male honey bee (drone) Queen
Female honey bee (queen / worker)
R
Dominant allele (capital letter) or recessive allele (small letter)
r
r
Son (drone)
Queen r
r
r
R
r
Daughter r
Drones have a mother but no father (see figure left). The DNA of a drone is an exact copy of half of its mother’s genetic material. These haploid bees develop into male bees and can produce sperm.
r
There is always only one variant of each allele in drones and therefore all are expressed, it does not matter if they are recessive or dominant (picture below).
R
While gender in mammals is determined by specific chromosomes, this is not the case in honey bees. The gender is determined by whether they are haploid (male) or diploid (female).
Son (drone)
In the next Honey Bee Genetics Factsheet we will talk about genetic variety in honey bees
R
Drones have a mother, but no father may have spent two days engaging in these mating flights and this only happens once in her life. The sperm of all the drones she has mated with do not enter her womb and fertilise her eggs: because the queen bee has no womb! Instead she stores the millions of sperm in her spermatheca, separated from the eggs in her ovaries.
More on genetics When the queen lays an egg in a worker or queen cell, she passes an egg through her oviduct into the cell and releases a sperm from her spermatheca at the same time. The egg is fertilised outside her body.
A drone bee with a golden colour
Gene – a unit of hereditary information on a chromosome, consisting of two alleles Haploid – having single editions of chromosomes Locus – the specific location of a gene on a chromosome
INFORMATION BOX Allele – a form of a gene Chromosome – a molecule with parts or all of the genetic information of an organism Diploid – having pairs of chromosomes 14
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Effects of Covid-19 in Kitui County, Kenya Alphonce Mumo Kasimu, Kitui, Kenya In eastern Kenya, beekeeping is an important part of the Kamba Community’s livelihoods. The Community is known worldwide for its wood carving. This process has been used to carve log hives designed to be extremely weather resistant. Unlike in the past when the Akamba people practised beekeeping for subsistence, the trend is now towards making beekeeping an economic activity to supplement livelihoods.
towns could not travel due to the restrictions. They could not continue buying honey from the beekeepers as it was not known when travel restrictions would end, and as small-scale buyers, they could not hold stocks for long. The few who were financially stable enough to continue buying did that, but at reduced prices, and only until May. With all public gatherings suspended, beekeepers working in groups, youth groups, women’s groups, associations and community-based organisations were in limbo. Major decisions taken at groups meetings did not happen and operations stagnated until late August when some meetings could resume.
Kitui County has over 5,000 beekeepers with 30,000 log hives. Some individuals and groups have started using frame hives and top-bar hives. The Covid-19 pandemic was first reported in Kenya on 12 March 2020. Within days infections were increasing and the government introduced measures to curb the spread. Schools were closed indefinitely, working remotely from home in some sectors and others closed, all public gatherings were banned, social distancing measures and cessation of travel were introduced.
When the travel restrictions to the villages were lifted in late July, things did not return to normal as expected, because of the poor financial situation of almost all those within the honey value chain. With social distancing on public transport, and the need for the transport operators to break even, saw fares almost double as public vehicles carrying capacity was halved to ensure social distancing. Many were stopped from going back to their usual way of operating.
Although these measures worked in preventing the spread of the disease, they spelt doom to village beekeepers as their main market is with urban dwellers across Kenya. Their supply route was immediately cut: middle men who bought their honey at the local markets and transported it to the bigger
Rural areas stigmatised those who travelled from the major towns, due to the belief that Covid-19 first came to the capital city, then to other towns, and finally to rural areas. In some cases, people from towns were openly avoided in the rural areas: this further hindered a recovery for the beekeeping sector. Training
Images © Alphonce Mumo Kasimu
Alphonce checks a log hive
15
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
The honey bee colony is visible inside this log hive
Drop in demand
programmes and follow-ups did not take place because most of the trainers come from urban areas.
Thirteen out of 15 beekeepers experienced a reduced demand for their honey and other bee products, with six experiencing over a 50% decline in demand. These beekeepers were those selling mostly to specific outlets and middle men, who then had to source alternative selling avenues within the local community. Those beekeepers who experienced less of a decline in demand had diversified market channels within local markets, and communities within villages.
With supply channels cut, there were fewer buyers and low prices. For many beekeepers and middle men their livelihoods were financially disrupted. The honey packaging companies were affected with employees forced to work shifts and others on unpaid leave. From the top down, everyone in the honey value chain was negatively affected by the situation. By mid-October I was permitted to travel to one of the villages and I met 15 representative beekeepers. It was evident from our discussions that Covid-19 has had a devastating effect.
Conclusion
Beekeeping across the country has been devastated, with serious market and price drops. Incomes have been lost and livelihoods threatened. Beekeepers could not sell their products while consumers were forced to change their consumption behaviour.
Drop in revenue All 15 beekeepers experienced loss of revenue from beekeeping, mostly due to the travel restrictions enforced between March and August. Their main buyers, who transport honey to cities and urban areas, supply to packing industries and alcohol brewing, were not able to operate. Hotels, bars and restaurants were not operating, further constraining the honey market space. The beekeepers could sell only to their immediate neighbours, and at much lower prices than selling to customers in the cities.
Drop in production
Against all these negatives there is good news with an increase in the number of apiaries in villages. Within the eastern region in Embu, Kitui, Machakos, Makueni and Tharaka counties, which are predominantly beekeeping zones, several youths have begun beekeeping. With the near closure of economic activities in urban areas many people returned to their rural roots. We will continue to monitor whether they will sustain their activity and whether this will culminate in increased production of honey and other bee products.
Ten out of 15 beekeepers experienced a drop in output, largely associated with a delay to harvest time because groups could not meet to make important decisions about harvesting. Beekeepers living outside the villages, especially young people working in urban areas and running apiaries in villages, were not allowed to travel for harvesting.
Several honey suppliers and enlightened beekeepers (including myself) moved to e-commerce marketing their honey and other bee products on different online platforms. The need to support and sustain the positivity coming out of the pandemic will be of essence for livelihoods to be sustained in the beekeeping sector. 16
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Community beekeeping in northern Guatemala Barbara Vallarino, Executive Director and Elmer Urizar, Field Technician, EcoLogic Development Fund, Quetzaltenango, Guatemala phone and with text messages. Just as the world has adapted to all things virtual I have been able to continue walking these communities through key processes of honey production and harvest, remotely. Although the communities’ technology is not very advanced, many have cell phones. A phone call and text messages can do the trick just as well!
We are grateful for the generosity of the FAO 1% for Development Fund*. This support provided in July 2019 has allowed us with our partners in Ixcan, to make significant progress towards our project goals. Our field staff purchased the first 50 hives from a local supplier to ensure a strong start to the project and with healthy colonies. They developed a comprehensive technical sheet specifying the requirements for the hives. After receiving three proposals and selecting the best one, our field staff visited the facility to ensure the hives were built to specification.
In March, I had several phone calls with beekeepers. We discussed how to create and place wax foundation for the bees to build honeycomb to help them work. In April, I had a lot of communication with the producers because everyone was ready for the honey harvest.
Selected sites were visited to ensure appropriate conditions. Once approved, 50 hives, gloves, smokers and suits were delivered to 25 new beekeepers in the two new communities. The communities are remote. The bees were delivered at night so that they would be calmer.
The harvest has been good. For example, Don Jorge, with his son Moisés, from the community of Nuevo San Lorenzo each harvested 18 litres of honey. Marcos, Benino, and Vicente, from the Machaquila II community, stated the same. It is worth mentioning that these are the new beekeepers who started in 2019.
The day after each delivery, a technical assistant visited the new beekeepers to ensure that everything was in order. Ixcan TV covered the event. All the beekeepers signed an agreement acknowledging receipt of the equipment, expressing their commitment to care for the bees as they had been taught through the workshops, and committing to developing two additional colonies which they would pass on to new beekeepers by May 2020.
* https://www.onepercentfund.net
Field Technician, Elmer Urizar has been providing remote guidance to the beekeepers and wrote the following update in May: The beekeepers and farmers I work with have requested technical assistance which I have provided over my cell
Images © EcoLogic Development Fund
Barbara Vallarino with Nuevo San Lorenzo Community
17
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Apiculture in Kano State, Nigeria Dauda Sani Abbas, Audu Bako College of Agriculture, Dambatta, Nigeria Demand for honey continues to increase in Kano State and across Nigeria. What role can our government play in boosting beekeeping production? What lessons can be learnt from dynamic international honey sellers that may guide our emerging State beekeeping?
bodies of water from silting or collapsing, and to protect roads. (Danyaro 1991). Yanbawa shelter belt (the largest plantation in Africa) located in the Dambatta local government area of the State, contributes to the development of beekeeping by providing adequate forage for bees and pollination of other nearby crops.
Trees in the forest and plantation
Introduction
Most of the plantation trees are Eucalyptus sp and Neem Azadirachta indica. Others include Egyptian mimosa Acacia nitotica and Gum Arabic Acacia senegal.
Kano State is in northern Nigeria, in the semi-arid zone of the country with drought and unfavourable weather conditions. The State has a population of 15 million: the most populated in the country.
The natural forest consists of hundreds of flavour-giving traditional plants, shrubs and trees including:
Agriculture is the main occupation with cereals and groundnut grown as food and cash crops. Beekeeping and honey hunting are other aspects of cash-flow among farmers. There are 50 beekeeping groups and societies, with 2,500 members in the State.
• Locust tree Parkia biglobosa which gives one of the sweetest honeys • Shea butter Vitellaria paradoxa also provides a flavoursome honey
Improving the forest
• Ginger bread - plum tree Parinari macrophylla provides a very thick honey
From 1990 to 2000, Kano State Government focused its attention on the control and management of the forest cover, establishing:
• Guiera senegalensis provides the lightest (whiteamber) honey
• 27 irrigated forestry nurseries
• Christ’s thorn Ziziphus spina-christi we obtained a very strong honeycomb from this tree
• 40 rural wood lot plantations (each 35ha) • 60 watershed plantations of 120ha
• Black plum Vitex doniana produces a dark (black) honey.
• A sand dune stabilisation project over 65km in affected areas
The role of government in boosting honey production
• 395km of roadside tree planting.
Bee forage in Kano State In addition to the natural forest, Kano State Government has established many small-scale forest plantations, watershed plantations and roadside tree planting programmes with the aim of supplementing the fuel requirements of rural people and to protect large
Beekeepers and honey hunters have benefitted from abundant supplies from natural and planted forests and water dams. Kano State government recognised the importance of honey and beekeeping. The State government provides training and empowers participants:
Tudun Wada Dam Water with watershed plantation in Kano State
Top-bar hives at the Dam Water Side in Bagauda, Kano State 18
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
• Harvesting equipment is provided • One straw hive and one top-bar hive are provided • Each participant is given NGN10,000 (US$26; €22) to encourage business expansion.
Beekeeping training in Kano State Kano State beekeeping training programmes began in 2010 under the Kano Afforestation Programme (KNAP). According to Training Officer Mutari Bello, the programme was targeted: • To increase investment in beekeeping industries • To add value to beekeeping products • To boost local and regional honey markets in the State and country • To encourage farmers to keep bees • To utilise beekeeping to enhance the image of Kano State.
Top-bar hives for distribution to KNAP training participants
Alhaji Aminu Kabiru, KNAP Project Coordinator reported to News of Nigeria that the State plans to train 300 young people in 2020.
We realised that people came from all over Nigeria to purchase honey in Kano State immediately after the shut-down - another indication that we have abundant honey!
Honey flow during Covid-19 restrictions In many developing nations the demand for honey continues to grow. With rapid population growth, rising income and expanding urbanisation this trend is expected to continue. Revenue generated from honey sales has supported the livelihoods of Kano State beekeepers during this period. I am a good example: I generated over NGN400,000 (US$1,050; €900) and was able to purchase a van to help in my beekeeping.
References BELLO,M. (2010) Keynote Address delivered during the Opening Ceremony of beekeeping training in Kano State. Unpublished manuscripts. DAM SAFETY MEASURES REPORT (2004) Volume 2 E863 Federal Republic of Nigeria. Federal Ministry of Water Resources, National Urban Water Sector Foam Project (NUWBRP). DANYARO,M.M. (1991) Kano State Handbook 1991 and who is who. Baraka Press Ltd, Kano Nigeria. https://leadership.ng/2020/08/26/kano-govt-to-train300-youth-on-beekeeping/
During the Covid-19 shutdown I travelled to honey markets in Dambatta, Darki, Doguwa, Gwarzo and Kura (within the State) to buy honey because my apiaries alone could not satisfy my customers. I met beekeepers in good spirits generating a substantial return from their bees. Many told me that this was due to the absence of imported honey from neighbouring states.
Land-use change disrupts wild plant pollination on a global scale
reducing the abundance of other pollinators (such as other bee species and butterflies). The team compiled a global dataset quantifying the degree to which pollination limits plant reproductive success. Today the dataset includes data from over 2,000 experiments and more than 1,200 plants with global distribution. This data allowed for a global meta-analysis, which showed that wild plants in intensely used landscapes, such as urban areas, are highly pollen limited. Plants that are specialised in their pollination are particularly at risk of pollen limitation, but this varies across the different land-use types and is based on which pollinator taxa they are specialised on. For example, plants specialised on bees were less pollen limited in agriculturally managed lands than those specialised on other pollinator types. This could be because domesticated honey bees support the pollination of wild plants on these lands. Source: www.sciencedaily.com/ releases/2020/08/200810103233.htm
Human changes to the environment have been linked to widespread pollinator decline. New research published in Nature Communications shows that intensive land use will further decrease pollination and reproductive success of wild plants, especially of those plants that are highly specialised in their pollination. An international team of scientists performed a global data analysis that provided conclusive evidence of the links of human land use and pollination of plants. Despite concerns of facing a pollination crisis, it is not known which types of plants will be most affected by pollinator decline and under which conditions decline in plant reproductive success is to be expected. Changes in land-use are the leading threat to plants and pollinators, although different groups of pollinators may have different responses to these changes. For example, some farming practices may increase honey bee abundance, yet at the same time 19
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
BOOKSHELF Bees and their keepers Lotte Moller 2020 224 pages Hardcover This is a beautiful book, full of charming illustrations and packed with interesting anecdotes interspersed around bee culture and history. Lotte is a Swedish author who writes in a completely engaging way. The first part of the book loosely follows a calendar year with the author giving interesting accounts along the way. For example, March features a triggerhappy Californian beekeeper raging against honey imports, while October focusses on Brother Adam where Lotte recounts her meetings with him, and sadness that in his last few years he was forbidden by his Abbot from working to find a Varroa-resistant bee. The second part of the book addresses contemporary issues, for example bee wars underway on Danish island Læsø, and natural beekeeping. It all adds up to a charming, fun and informative read about many interesting corners of the bee world.
Biodynamic beekeeping – a sustainable way to keep happy, healthy bees Matthias Thun (translated from German by David Heaf) 2020 192 pages Softcover Matthias Thun’s life-work was published in German in 2015, sharing his 50+ years of research and experience of looking after bees according to biodynamic principles, seeking to ensure healthy and contented bees. It was with sadness that we learned of the sudden passing of Matthias Thun in June 2020, just as the English edition was nearing publication. David Heaf has prepared this excellent and clear translation, enabling an English-reading audience to access for the first time this biodynamic approach, and translating into modern beekeeping practice Rudolf Steiner’s indications on the essential nature of the honey bee. The book introduces concepts that will be new to many readers, and, for example, challenges current conventional approaches of swarm control: Matthias explains how, if swarming is continuously prevented, a honey bee colony will lack harmony and become prone to disease. The book describes methods for colony regeneration, propagation and queen breeding, and discusses comb, honey, feeding bees, controlling diseases, use of ash, plants for bees and their conservation. Plenty of interesting ideas for the thinking beekeeper!
Pollinators & Pollination – nature and society Jeff Ollerton 2020 297 pages Softcover This is a highly readable text on pollination ecology, very useful for students and anyone who needs to get up to speed on this topic and its surrounding issues. The author explains the importance of pollinators and pollination, introducing their diversity, evolution strategies and much else. Agricultural and urban environments are discussed, along with recent happenings, and the politics and organisations involved with this topic. Written in a personal and engaging style and with many clear diagrams and illustrations – this excellent text provides much useful insight.
Special offer for BfD Journal readers Quote the discount code: BEESDEVELOPMENT30 to save 30% when ordering this book at www.pelagicpublishing.com
WAYS TO PAY
• Secure order and payment at www.beesfordevelopment.org • PayPal to store@beesfordevelopment.org • Credit/Debit card: 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 20
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
LOOK AHEAD ETHIOPIA
VIETNAM
15th Asian Apicultural Association Conference NEW DATES 1-4 April 2021, Hanoi Further details www.asianapiculture.org
ApiExpo Africa 2021 Virtual Broadcast 25-27 February 2021, Addis Ababa Further details www.apitradeafrica.org
IRELAND SICAMM Conference NEW DATES 3-5 September 2021, Athlone Further details www.sicamm.org
BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT EVENTS
RUSSIA
UK
APIMONDIA: 47th International Apicultural Congress NEW DATES August/September 2022, Ufa Further details www.apimondia2021.com
Global Hive Technical Beekeeping Webinar Making money from beeswax 3 13 January 2021, 2pm GMT Straw Skep Making with Chris Park and Bees for Development 24 January 2021 Ross on Wye HR9 6JZ
SERBIA EurBee 9 Congress NEW DATES September 2022, University of Belgrade Further details www.eurbee9.bio.bg.ac.rs
SLOVENIA
Willow skep hive making with Chris Park and Bees for Development 21 February 2021 Ross on Wye HR9 6JZ
SOUTH AFRICA
Sustainable Beekeeping 17-18 April and 4-5 September 2021 Ragman’s Lane Farm, GL17 9PA
11 International Meeting of Young Beekeepers 5-9 July 2021, Ivanca Gorica Further details www.icyb.cz th
XII International Symposium on Pollination NEW DATES 31 August – 4 September 2021 Cape Town Further details www.icppr.com
For details of all these events visit
www.beesfordevelopment.org/ events-calendar
TURKEY 7th International Beekeeping & Pine Honey Congress NEW DATES 31 March – 4 April 2021, Muğla Further details www.muglacongress.org/eng
If you want notice of your conference, workshop or meeting to be included here and on our website, send details to Bees for Development.
UK BBKA Spring Convention 16-18 April 2021 Further details to be confirmed
Like us on Facebook
and Instagram
Follow us @BeesForDev on Twitter
Bee Bulletin - interesting news for people working in beekeeping and development. Subscribe at http://link.beesfd.org/newsletter
Tell us your story... We accept articles and short reports on new or improved techniques, information about bees and beekeeping in your country and your events. We welcome your comments and responses to articles we have published. Articles should be 800-1,600 words in length and accompanied by images. Items can be sent by post or in email text or attachment in Word or PDF format. We accept images as colour prints or digitally saved as jpeg files. Please send images at the size they are taken off the camera. (Images resized for website use are not suitable for printing). If it is not possible to include your submission in BfD Journal, we may place it in the Resource Centre on our website. 21
Bees for Development Journal 137 December 2020
Global Hive Webinar – Making money from beeswax “This was an incredibly informative webinar! I appreciate how you brought diverse actors together to share their experiences and recommendations. I sincerely hope you do more of this in the future”, reported one of over 200 participants who joined us from around the world for our first Global Hive Webinar on 7 October. We had several guest speakers including John Koster from Koster-Keunen (USA), who discussed the history of his company, the value of beeswax and why African beeswax is so highly prized, and Dr Sara Robb (UK), a close supporter of Bees for Development who demonstrated the practical uses of beeswax. She treated participants to a live presentation on how to make a beeswax balm, using a basic, flexible recipe. All of the ingredients (except beeswax of course) can be substituted for something that is locally available to you. You can get the full recipe here: www. beesfordevelopment.org/documents/h/honey-cerate Ezekiel Okuga, a field officer from TUNADO in Gulu, Uganda shared a brilliant ‘how to’ instructional video demonstrating how simple and effective is the hot water method for beekeepers in rural locations extracting valuable beeswax from honeycomb. It never fails to amaze that we can turn what looks like trash into treasure: just remember to use the correct filtering material to keep your beeswax as clean and pure as the bees made it.
Informative Q&A sessions are an integral part of our webinar strategy. We know how valuable it is for you to put forward real beekeeping questions to real beekeepers whose knowledge of their sector is vast. “The Webinar was excellent. Got good information. We are a group of 40 beekeepers (10 women, 15 tribal people, 15 farmers) in Dahanu/Palghar district of Maharashtra State, India. We keep Apis cerana indica each of us with more than 10 hives. Our region is known for good forest and palm trees khajri and coconut trees. Beekeeping for some of us is an ancestral activity which is ancillary to farming. The Webinar was very informative. Please give us the link so we can see it again”. Mrugank Divekar, India BfD: In case you missed it, you can catch up and watch it again on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/QtoNUpeo7Ak
Next Seminar
13 January 2021, 2pm GMT Making Money from Beeswax Book here http://link.beesfd.org/webinar
Image © Bees for Development
The Guest Speakers and the Bees for Development Team Zoom in to the Webinar
Joining the Webinar (left to right) Top row: Sean Lawson, Milan Wiercx van Rhijn, Sara Robb, Janet Lowore. Middle row: Giacomo Ciriello, John Koster, Dickson Biryomumaisho, Nicola Bradbear. Bottom row: Ezekiel Okuga, John Metaxas, Isaac Mbroh and Richard Harrington. Bees for Development, 1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth NP25 3DZ, UK Telephone +44 (0)1600 714848 info@beesfordevelopment.org www.beesfordevelopment.org © Bees for Development 2020 ISSN 1477-6588 Printed on environmentally friendly paper and delivered in a fully compostable wrapper made from potato and corn starch
