Bookshelf

Beekeeping in the tropics - Agrodok 32

compiled by Ir P Segeren

Available from: Agromisa, The Netherlands, or from: TOOL, Entrepotdok 687/69a, The Netherlands (price Dfl 7.50 excluding postage).

This short booklet provides a basic introduction to beekeeping, a rapid review of management methods and hive types, and a section on pests and diseases of honeybees. Also available in French.

Beekeeping in Kenya

by K Kigatiira

Nairobi, Kenya; Published by the author (1988) 33 pp. Available from IBRA price £4* (excluding postage and packing).

An introduction to beekeeping as it is practised in Kenya. Beekeeping in log hives and in Kenya top-bar hives are discussed. Dimensions and instructions are given for constructing a top-bar hive.

Honey hunters of Nepal

by E Valliand D Summers

London, UK; Thames & Hudson Ltd (1988). Available from IBRA price £16.95 (excluding postage and packing).

An unusual book on_ beekeeping: many large colour photographs and very little text! The authors lived in Nepal for several years and during this time spent eight months living with forest-dwelling Gurung tribes people. This enabled the authors to photographs and study honey hunting: the plundering of honey from rock-nesting colonies of Apis dorsata/laboriosa. Climbing rock faces and dealing with colonies of these bees is a skilful but highly dangerous activity which may be a dying art. The photographs reveal the whole story; from setting out with the 160 foot rope ladder used to climb the cliff face, through plundering of the colony, to harvesting of the honey and beeswax. The photographs deservedly won the 1988 World Press Prize for nature.

Green fingers: a total commitment to the development of farming

by N Sahadevan

Seremban, Malaysia; Sahadevan Publications Sdn Bhd (1987) 527 pp. Available from Sahadevan Publications, Malaysia (price $120 plus postage).

This lavishly produced volume with over 1200 colour illustrations (many whole page) has been written with the intention of introducing to the people of Malaysia the importance of farming. It contains details of how to produce 33 vegetables, 22 fruits, 10 field crops and 6 spices. Informative articles on harvesting, handling and packaging of fruits and vegetables are provided by the DSIR, New Zealand. A comprehensive feasibility study is also included. This sets out all material and labour costs for each stage of the crop development process, together with the gross revenue likely at today’s wholesale prices. In a publication of this type it is impossible to cover every aspect of a crop’s management, or a type of husbandry. The section on beekeeping, for example, occupies only six pages (with 20 colour photographs).

D G Lowe

Biogeography and taxonomy of honeybees

by F Ruttner

Available from IBRA price £54.00 (excluding postage and packing) Berlin, German Federal Republic; Springer Verlag (1988) 284 pp.

This book deals with the subfamily of honeybees (Apinae), their evolution, ecology and taxonomy at the species and subspecies level. Data on evolution and distribution, ecological adaptation, and geographic variability of honeybees is presented. An overview of comparative behavioural studies is provided, with interesting examples of adaptations to various climatic conditions and the specific requirements of Apis subspecies.

Breeding techniques and selection for breeding of the honeybee

by F Ruttner

Derby, UK; BIBBA, by arrangement with Ehrenwirth Verlag, Munich (1988) 148 pp. Available from IBRA price £7 (excluding postage and packing).

An English translation of the 6th edition of an important text by Friedrich Ruttner, in which instructions are given for rearing queens, selection and the management of mating stations. The translation has been undertaken by Ashleigh and Eric Milner of the British Isles Bee Breeders Association primarily for British Beekeepers, but this English language version will be most valuable to many seeking to breed and select from Apis mellifera.

Small-scale queen rearing by beekeepers in the northeast

by F L W Ratnieks and R Nowogrodzki

Cornell, USA; Cornell Cooperative Extension Publication Information Bulletin 209 (1988) 11 pp.

A short bulletin with clear text and illustrations explaining the principles of colony management for queen rearing and the techniques involved, using equipment available in North America.

Introduction to beekeeping

by Peter Bechtel and Kathy Gau

Mbabane, Swaziland; Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Field Support guide FSG 92 (1988) 92 pp. Will be available from IBRA — price to be announced.

A nicely produced guide to low-technology beekeeping, written in the first instance for Swazi people but which will be of interest to all who seek to promote this type of beekeeping. The book gives details for people who want to get started without spending any money, as well as for those who can afford some initial outlay. Clear details supported by a wealth of line drawings provide information on how to trap bees, plan an apiary and manage colonies.

Dictionary of beekeeping terms with allied scientific terms: Volume 10 English- French-Arabic

edited by E Crane

London, UK; International Bee Research Association, published with financial support from the Near East Foundation (1988) 196 pp.

All Volumes are available from IBRA price £8 (excluding postage and packing)

This new dictionary will help to advance beekeeping by making exchange of information more effective between Arabic-speaking countries and the many others whose language is English or French. The dictionary gives equivalents in English, French and Arabic (in both Arabic and phonetic scripts), of over a thousand beekeeping terms, including allied scientific terms. This is Volume 10 of a series which commenced in 1953. All Volumes are compiled on the same system and Volumes 5 to 9, which are still in print, include 13 other languages: Volume 5 English- French-German-Russian- Spanish; Volume 6 English-Finnish-Hungarian; nr- 45 Volume 7 English-German-Dutch- Danish-Norwegian-Swedish; Volume 8 English-French- Italian-Spanish-Portuguese-Romanian; Volume 9 English- French-Japanese.

Biology, detection and control of Varroa jacobsoni: a parasitic mite on honeybees

by A Dietz and H R Hermann

Georgia, USA; University of Georgia (1988) 80 pp. Will be available from IBRA - price to be announced.

A straightforward introduction to Varroa: its biology, its detection and its impact on beekeeping. A clear and easy-to-read text.

Africanized honeybees and bee mites

edited by G R Needham et al

West Sussex, UK; Ellis Horwood Limited (1988) 572 pp. Available from IBRA price £69.50 (excluding postage and packing)

This publication is a compilation of the reports presented at a meeting held in Ohio, USA in early 1987. The purpose of the meeting was to gather information on the major problems facing apiculture in North America, namely Africanized honeybees and parasitic mites. The resulting book is therefore a comprehensive and up-to-date account of current knowledge firstly of Africanized honeybees, their ecology and reproduction, population biology and behaviour, and identification, and secondly of honeybee mites including Varroa jacobsoni, Tropilaelaps clareae and Acarapis woodi. This is an expensive publication but will be a worthwhile addition to beekeeping libraries.

Criação de abelhas

by José Joao Ferreira Alcobia

Maputo, Mozambique; Ministério da Agricultura (1987) 100 pp

Agricultura (1987) 100 pp. useful description of beekeeping in Mozambique. variety of hive types of varying degrees of sophistication are discussed and illustrated, and_ information is given on colony management and on harvesting and processing of honey and beeswax. Details of Mozambique honey plants and honeybee pests and diseases are provided. This publication in Portuguese is another welcome addition to the literature of current African beekeeping.

Le point sur l’apiculture: en Afrique tropicale

by B Villieres which was reviewed in Newsletter 12 is now available from IBRA price £12.50 (excluding postage and packing)