News

INDIA

Canning Town

Every year, man-eating tigers kill at least 150 of the honey collectors and fishermen whose livelihoods come from deep within the Sunderbans forest reserve.

No attempt has been made to drive the wild cats out of the 2,585 km² of river delta mangrove swamp in the Bay of Bengal because they are protected by India’s decade old Project Tiger.

Villagers in the area will not give up what they say is their only source of income.

Project Tiger officials say attempts to reduce the death toll by introducing steel safety helmets and to deter the man-eaters using electrically-charged clay dummies of humans have also failed.

“Killings will continue as long as people enter the core area of the forest” said Arin Ghosh, a senior official of Project Tiger in Sunderbans.

Mr Ghosh blamed the victims for the high death toll, saying they ignored clearly demarcated areas for fishing and honey collecting.

He said most of the killings go unreported because villagers fear they will be prosecuted for entering the reserve’s ‘danger zone’. Fines for entering the zone can reach 5,000 rupees, a sum well beyond their means.

The villagers in turn blame the Government.

“The Government makes a profit selling beeswax, honey and fish but doesn't bother to protect us”, one of the villagers said.

“There are crocodiles in the river, tigers and snakes in the forest and money lenders in the villages. We are the ones who always suffer’, Prahipraj Loch, said here in the small town that houses Project Tiger.

Lodh, a fisherman, said most of the people who work in the area know the Government regulations about entering the forest, but have no alternative.

“There are no bees in the areas set aside for collecting honey and no fish in the portion of the river marked for fishing. Naturally we violate the rules”, he said.

“We are poor, we need the money”, said Uttam, a honey collector. "Should we go to Calcutta to beg like refugees?”.

The area's high salinity, due to tidal rivers which flow in the Bay of Bengal, means no food crops can be grown, leaving the villagers dependent on the forest for their livelihood.

Local residents estimate that more than 1,000 people have been killed by tigers in the past eight years and most relatives have missed out on the 10,000 rupees compensation because

they were attacked in the prohibited area.

“It seems the Government loves animals more than men. We just keep our fingers crossed when our men leave for the jungle because it is sure that when they come back, someone will be missing’, said Ratnadevi, whose husband was killed by a man-eater five years ago.

Last week Phulkumari, the newest widow, was mourning the loss of her husband Manik, a honey collector whose body was left halfeaten in the Sunderbans.

The New Zealand Beekeeper, 1991.

Elephant Ear Tree

Wygandia urens

This tree grows to 4.5-6 m with a fair spread. It flowers from May to October, bearing clusters of blue flowers about the size of apple blossom, with a very sweet perfume. The older houses in Lusaka, Zambia had one or two of these trees shading outdoor closets at the end of the gardens. It is very easily propagated from cut stems stuck in the ground when the rains come (in mid-November). The bees work it so intensely that one had to talk very loudly to be heard under this tree in July and August. In very dry conditions, bees worked for an hour or more at dawn and again at dusk, activity being correlated with the relative humidity. If occasionally in July some cloud brought the temperature down below 15°C bees would work even at midday. Towards the end of its flow, a few hummingbirds would usually be working it also. Honey from this source was very fine indeed, a light colour with a delicate flavour, and with pure white cappings, not unlike the best clover honey. By far the best source (in quality) of any the year round. When I retired to Torquay, Devon in 1964 I brought 9-14 kg of the honey back with me — it was much admired by local beekeepers.

An extract from Ron ‘Beeswax’ Brown's diary, Lusaka, Zambia.

ISRAEL

After three disastrous ministerial trips to Israel, British diplomats may have finally mastered the technique of avoiding catastrophe. In Mr Hogg's case this took the form of inspecting Gaza bee hives rather than rubber bullets or tear gas canisters.

The Times, May 1991.

LESOTHO

Honeybees in Lesotho are known as ‘Semana’. I have surrounded my small home apiary with a tall and dense vegetation screen of Acacia species and Eucalyptus producing minor sources of pollen and nectar for the bees, and safety for the passers-by. The Acacia is especially valuable because it provides pollen in July and August when no other pollen is available.

Colonies are housed in double-brood chambers with queen excluders and a single modified shallow super, with 18 frames. A narrow strip of wax foundation is fastened on the underside of a top-bar of each frame.

I rob my bees often during a flow when find some ripe honey in sealed combs. I go to the first hive, open it, and take out two frames in the centre. I replace the covers and do likewise with the rest of the hives until the super is full. Then I carry it to the kitchen table where I take out frames one by one and lay them flat on a wire rack standing in a shallow drip tray.

I cut honeycombs out of the frames with a water heated knife, but leave narrow strips under the top-bar as foundation for the next combs. I pack the combs ready for market. Comb honey is in great demand — one sells for R5.00. Without going into production-cost analysis of cut-comb honey, the I way keep and manage bees is no doubt low cost. I believe that I process cut-comb honey under satisfactory hygienic conditions. Comb honey’s attractive appearance, its nutritive value, its flavour and other desirable characteristics make it the finest product in beekeeping.

I return empty frames to the supers on the hives and place them on the outside of the box after shifting unsealed combs with unripe honey towards the centre.

Honeybees can be used to improve the socioeconomic conditions of people in rural areas who do not hold land to grow their own subsistence crops or who have not received sufficient education or training to earn a living wage.

I recommend it wholeheartedly.

T Mahalefele, Tefobale Bee Research.

NIGERIA

The Leventis Foundation, Nigeria, has taken the initiative to include beekeeping in the curriculum of its agricultural schools in Ilesa (Oyo State) and Dogon Dawa (Kaduna State).

The schools offer a full-time training course for 60 ‘students. Students are secondary school graduates. After the training course they go back to their own farms. During the one-year course they take care of their own farming plots and rabbits, pigs and cows. The cows are also used for traction. Improved crop varieties and new farming techniques are introduced to the farmer-students. The major course curriculum consists of theoretical and practical lessons on: crop production, animal production; agricultural engineering; farm management, farm products, processing and utilization; and agroforestry.

Beekeeping has been added to the programme first in Ilesa and will follow in Dogon Dawa.

Apiaries have been set up in a patch of permanent forest. This provides coolness and isolation for the bee colonies.

During the one-year course theory is taught in 12 afternoon sessions and practical's are held in 12 morning sessions.

Subjects taught are: honeybee biology and ecology; honeybees in their natural environment; seasonal development of vegetation and the honeybee colony; bee botany with observation and collection of plant species and pollen. Some attention is paid to stingless bees and pollination by other insects. Practical beekeeping in top-bar hives is demonstrated. Record keeping on individual hives is taught as a management tool. Honey processing using a centrifuge, wax Processing and candle making are taught. The economics of beekeeping and how to integrate it with other farming activities form the last part of the programme.

Beekeepers’ days will be organised for Students and school leavers in years following the course.

Dr A Adeola, Principal, Leventis Foundation School of Agriculture, Nigeria.

Source: Mrs Marieke Mutsaers, c/o International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria.

YUGOSLAVIA

Apparently brown bears have taken to climbing the telegraph poles in the Sarb Planina mountains.

The theory is that the bears mistake the humming of the wires for bees, and conclude that there is a banquet of honey to be had.

Sunday Express, April 1991.