TREE BEEKEEPING IN LAOSby
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Khatri*
still retains 65% of its land avea covered by forest. The population is low and villages are so scattered that it takes a full day to walk from one village to another. The main activity of rural people is shifting cultivation (slash and burn agriculture) but the main source of income is from bee products. Beekeeping and honey hunting are practised in most of the country but the main area is in Sekong to the border with Kampuches and adisicina Victron. In most parts honey is collected from volonies of Province 67 the south Ay. 4 nesting ia the wild, without anu rine fide Laos
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4,
Opening the tree hole. Combs are visible inside.
The beekeeper making
a
four months before the swarming season. The time taken to make holes depends on the tree species. If the trees are soft it may take three or four hours, but if the wood is very hard it may take a full day. The holes are 50 cm above ground level to protect them from becoming damp, and if the tree is growing on a slope then the hole is made on the side facing the slope. c. Wedging the holes. Holes are kept open for three or four months until they are well dried and there is no more oozing of sap. When the holes are dry and ready for bees to occupy them, the beekeepers almost completely seal the holes with mud, but leaving a small entrance hole. Bees never occupy the holes until they are partly closed.
hole for bees.
A special technique of “tree beekeeping’, totally different from traditional
pe no Spe ‘eae
beekeeping in other Asian countries, is widely practised in Sekong Province. Instead of making hives, beekeepers simply form holes in the trunks of forest trees. Bees occupy the holes and build their nests, and subsequently all the combs with brood and honey are collected by the beekeeper. The practice is as follows: a. Selection of trees. Beekeepers use a wide variety of tree species but unfortunately the English and_ scientific
names are not available. The chosen species have dry timber and do not ooze sap. Bees will not occupy holes which are wet with sap. . Making holes in tree trunks. Only one hole is formed in each tree and the size of hole varies with the size of the tree. As the tree grows the hole also gets bigger. The average hole size is 50 cm long, 25cm wide and 25cm deep. The hole is formed using a long axe. Holes are formed in September and October, three to
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Combs within the tree hole. 4
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d. Arrival of swarms. In most of Sekong
swarming occurs between December and January, but this varies with location.
e. Management. There are no special
Empty tree hole, before the opening is covered.
4
A well-closed tree hole. Bees are visible around the entrance on the left.
Management practices for this type of beekeeping. After bees occupy the holes the beekeepers visit them periodically to confirm the number of
