when delegates described beekeeping in their home countries, and displayed videos and other extension materials: these often demonstrated not only the beekeeping skills but also the ingenuity of those involved with beekeeping development! The linguistic abilities of apiculturalists must also be admired; there was always someone willing to translate when two delegates of different native tongues wished to converse. A special feature of this Conference was the distribution to delegates of a number of beekeeping publications: Arabic speakers received the new Arabic language beekeeping dictionary funded by the Near East Foundation (for further details see Bookshelf), FAO generously donated copies of their beekeeping publications, and a number of the ODAfunded information charts were also
available. Other useful outcomes from the Conference: the Arab-speaking delegates organised the inaugural meeting of what will be known as The Arab Beekeepers’ Union, delegates from Caribbean and Central American countries resolved to form a Regional Union, and various regional meetings and workshops were also planned. And the venue for the next Conference? A full Council of IBRA will decide the venue after further consultation with prospective hosts.
The Conference Proceedings will be available shortly from IBRA.
Many of the delegates would not have been able to participate without the support of aid agencies including the British Council, Deutsche Gesellschaft fir Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), International Development Research Centre (IDRC), International Foundation for Science (IFS), Near East Foundation (NEF), New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ODA, Swiss Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid (SBC), Technology Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA) and Traidcraft Exchange UK. We gratefully acknowledge the support of these organisations, and of Australian International Development Assistance Bureau (ADAG) and IDRC in Cairo who contributed towards the costs of staging the
Egyptian beekeepers examine a colony
BEEKEEPING Egyptians have been beekeeping for at least 4500 years! Today traditional pipe hives are still used as well as modern Langstroth frame hives. Traditional Egyptian beekeeping Pipe hives are cylinders about 1 m long and 0.2m in diameter and are made variously from mud and straw, clay or Concrete. These cylinders form receptacles in which colonies of bees build their Nests: timber is a scarce commodity in Egypt so there are no log hives as found elsewhere in Africa. Each end of the Pipe is sealed with a cylinder of mud and straw, with a hole in one end for an entrance. The pipes are placed horiZontally in stacks: each stack may be 10 m long and contain several hundred Pipes, although not every pipe will be Occupied by bees. In Egypt irrigated land (where there are crops requiring Pollination and supplying forage for bees) is scarce. The traditional method of beekeeping allows a large number of honeybee colonies to be maintained within a relatively small area and is certainly more space- effective than modem frame-hive beekeeping. Traditional Egyptian beekeeping is a skilled process, often involving careful Management of the honeybee colonies: Special toois are used for this and for harvesting honey. Brood comb is normally near the entrance at the front of the hive; to harvest honey beekeepers remove the rear end of the hive and remove only combs containing honey.
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This traditional beekeeping method requires fittle or no financial outlay by tural people, provides worthwhile crops of honey and ensures pollination of — it should not be disnearby crops couraged. Modern beekeeping Apiaries of Langstroth hives, in total around 500000 colonies, are found throughout agricultural Egypt. Again, because agricultural land is precious, the hives tend to be very closely-spaced within apiaries. All hives seem to be grey in colour, and considerable drifting of bees must occur. A characteristic of Egyptian beekeeping is the use of a piece of sacking in place of a crown board, and entrances are constricted during the winter period using cow dung. The cost of a hive including frames and bees is around 60LE (US$30). Cotton honey sells at 2 LE per Kg, alfalfa at LE. and citrus at 5 LE per Kg. Wax sells at around 10 LE per Kg (GS$5). Beekeepers rely on three main honey flows; alfalfa, citrus and cotton, and a number of other minor crops. These crops are grown on continuously irrigated land which would otherwise be desert and for this reason there is no natural forage available for bees in these areas. Egyptian beekeepers must therefore move colonies between crops as they come into flower. There is a general dearth period during the winter (October — February) and colonies are fed during this period with sugar syrup or sunflower honey. Honey yields of 4
A beekeeper examines a colony in a traditional pipe hive The front of the hive has been removed. a piece of smouldering dung is used to subdue the bees The tirst comb can just be seen within the hive
around 20 Kg per colony per year are obtained. The native race of honeybees is Apis mellifera lamarckii, but Italian and other races have been widely introduced resulting in the presence of a great vatiety of honeybee colours. Varroa jacobsoni does not appear to be present in Egypt despite its presence in neighbouring countries, probably because Egypt's relatively small amount of irrigated land can be considered an ‘island’ separated from its neighbours by desert. The absence of Varroa is a great advantage for Egyptian beekeepers and it will be to their credit if Egypt can be maintained Varroa-free. Beekeeping receives support from the Government: with agricultural land at a premium it is vital that all crops are
adequately pollinated, and honey is a popular and widely available food. There are a relatively large number of scientists involved with apicultural research, and a bee breeding and queen distribution programme is underway. There are also plans for developing beekeeping training courses within Egypt. A major problem facing Egyptian beekeepers is the ever-increasing use of pesticides, and the levels of insecticides used on cotton make this a hazardous crop for beekeepers: upon seeing that one of the Conference Sessions was entitled ‘Pest control safe for bees’ an Egyptian academic was prompted to observe “There is no such thing!”
