BEEKEEPING
AND
DEVELOPMENT
BOOKSHELF
Honey hunters and beekeepers. A study of traditional beekeeping in Babati District, Tanzania
Honey bee pathology by L Bailey and B
V Ball
Academic Press, London, UK (1991 second edition) 193 pp, hardback.
Available from [BRA price 27.00.
by
G
M Ntenga and B T Mugongo
Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Working Paper 161, Uppsala, Sweden (1991).
This is an in-depth study of traditional beekeeping practises within one district of Tanzania. It is extremely interesting. The authors deserve credit for the amount of information they have documented on traditional beekeeping practises and the importance of honey within this society: “A person suspecting another of theft or any other crime, summons the elders who proceed to a termite mound. A small trench is dug across the termite hill and the accuser and the suspect sit opposite each other with the trench between them. Honey is brought in a calabash and the suspect is asked by the elders to eat it first, saying ‘Leat this honey knowing that the accusation is false, but if it was true should not take long before dying’. The elders then ask him to cross over to the other side of the trench. Then the complainant is asked to eat the honey, saying ‘I eat this honey because my accusation is true, if it was false, this honey should not take me far, it should not take long before die’. He then crosses the trench to the other side. If the accusation is true then the suspect will soon die: if it is false the complainant will die”. The report suggests short and long-term measures to help beekeepers develop their activities. Some improvements are simple to implement, for example, honeycomb is currently carried home in wooden troughs or wide brimmed gourds: these could be improved by fitting covers to keep out bees and dust. Honey is stored in calabashes which are sealed with cow-dung and ashes: airtight stoppers made of wood would be better. Traditional beekeepers would benefit by the provision of efficient smokers, which could be manufactured locally. A strategy for effective extension assistance is recommended.
The ten years since the publication of the first edition have seen global change in the distribution of honey bee diseases and parasites and much advance in our knowledge of them. This text is for those who need to know the scientific basis of these diseases. For example the biology of Varroa jacobsoni, and the secondary diseases which result from its presence, are covered in detail. Methods for the treatment of Varroa infested colonies are reviewed relatively briefly. Both authors have particular expertise in the field of bee viruses and this is reflected in the text: the chapter on viruses contains considerable detailed and current information. The second edition is attractively presented. using a more easily-read style than the first. Amidst the science there is much good advice and warning to the beekeeping world: the common wish of beekeepers to import bees that are alleged to be superior to their own is easily gratified with the aid of modern transport, but little heed has been paid to the dangers of introducing exotic diseases or unusual strains of pathogens, especially of viruses, which are not easily diagnosed. For these reasons more attention needs to be paid than in the past to the prevention and suppression of diseases. The difficulties to be overcome may be great, but so is the room for improvement”.
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This report is an excellent example of a wellwritten field study together with logical and feasible suggestions for further assisting the beekeepers. It is full of helpful illustrations which add much interest.
The study formed one of a series of Community Forestry Studies, part of the Tanzanian Forests, Trees and People Project, financed by SIDA, and implemented by FAO and SUAS. Published by Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, [RDC. Box 7005, S-750 07, Uppsala, Sweden. TWELVE
Beekeeping in Malaysia: pollen atlas by R Kiew and M Muid Malaysian Beekeeping Research and Development Team, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (1991) 186 pp. Available from IBRA price 6.00. was very pleased to see this book. It contains information which will be of great help to beekeepers and researchers in Malaysia and other countries sharing similar tropical flora. |
The Atlas describes 95 plant species widely used by Apis cerana in Malaysia. Many of the plant species are common throughout the tropics. For each there is a picture of the whole plant, the flower, and a picture of a pollen grain as it appears using the most widely available method of examination. This is accompanied by a description of pollen colour and size, the plant’s occurrence, importance for beekeeping, pollination requirement and any other relevant information.
This type of publication assists beekeeping industry in many ways. it allows the marketing of honey to become more sophisticated: the floral source(s) of locally produced honeys can be stated, and imported or adulterated honey can also be detected. Knowledge of floral sources used by bees helps beekeepers very much - they can now manage colonies to ensure maximum numbers of foraging bees at times when major sources are in flower. An understanding of plants a
