BEEKEEPING AND DEVELOPMENT
TROPICAL ISLAND BEEKEEPING From a scientific point of view, the Island is quite isolated and free from any beekeeping ‘pollution’ from the mainland.
Management Hive construction coincides with the swarming period in October. Bees are lured into the hive by a traditional bait, an aromatic herb which is common on the Island. The herb is warmed on a flame and rubbed inside the hives. Hives are occupied in no time! According to islanders, hives smeared with herbs are more readily occupied than those not baited. Apiaries are installed near the homesteads. Even though hives are placed directly on the ground they can last over six years without being destroyed by termites or the weather. In all the colonies we worked with we found no existence of wax moth, ants or bee louse. When we asked about problems with wasps, the answer was no. After noting all these factors, declared the Island free from bee pests! |
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INHACA
What seemed a dream when the beekeeping programme was shaping up has now turned into reality.
Location Just 30 miles into the Indian Ocean off the Mozambique port of Maputo lies a unique island. It is hard to believe it was once part of the mainland. The island is quiet and peaceful with no wild animals except a few snakes and the honeybees.
Harvest The signal for honey harvesting is the end of acacia flowering. Traditional beekeepers use torches to calm the bees. People assume that beekeepers scorch the bees with the torch, but if this happens, it is accidental, just as a flame sometimes emerges from a badly managed smoker. Many beekeepers prefer to open hives at night (a tradition of many African beekeepers who work with defensive bees) and admired the way we handled the bees during the day. The colonies we worked with in log hives were as strong as double brood-box colonies. Nobody was stung and we were even cheered by youths near the apiary. The only problem we noticed was the bees’ tendency to follow people, even for 300 metres. Opening one end of the hive, the beekeeper can observe the nearest combs with capped, ripe honey and harvest these. Only one end of each log hive is harvested which ensures food stores for the colony during the dearth period. Island honey processing is traditional: the only equipment is the hand! Once at home, the beekeepers squeeze the combs and discard the residue. The value of beeswax and ways of rendering it are not known. The honey is ready to eat or to sell. Good beekeeping years yield up to four honey harvests of 15 to 25 kg per hive per harvest. Traditionally honey is chewed as food, used for treatment of minor wounds and burns, and for beer brewing. _
takes two hours to sail to the island from Maputo or a 15 minute flight to the small Inhaca aerodrome. Early in the morning you are lulled by the splashing sea waves mixed with the sweet songs of the storks and Indian house crows. It
People The islanders are calm, tall and friendly people. Their mother tongue is Ronga, slightly different in intonation from that spoken in the city of Maputo. There are few middle-aged people on the Island: most young people migrate to Maputo or are recruited to the gold mines of South Africa. The Island has a population of about 6,000 people, and the main occupation is fishing. Agriculture is difficult as crops do not flourish on the poor quality soil.
The honeybee The honeybee Apis mellifera scutellata (maybe) is smaller, calmer and blacker than the mainland variety and shows no negative reaction when approached.
Traditional beekeeping The Island has about 50 dynamic traditional beekeepers with an average of ten hives each. The traditional beekeeping is similar to that practised on the mainland. The difference lies in the hive construction and installation. Whereas mainlanders construct hives from bark, log, pot and straw, the islanders use only logs. When installing a hive the islanders simply place it on the ground, while mainlanders suspend hives in trees or place them on forked branches. SIX
Honey plants
The floral vegetation is marked by mangroves Avicennia nitida and Avicennia marina, Cocos nucifera, Acacia spp, Albizzia spp, herbs and other shrubs. The Island's natural forests are also highly conducive to beekeeping. The blooming period is October to November, leading to the major honey flow from December to January. The perpetual supply of pollen from the coconut trees allows colonies to build up rapidly and stongly. Though honey from mangrove is slightly dark and thin when mixed with honey from other sources the result will
