BEEKEE PING AND DEVELOPMENT
ZOOMING IN ON......THE SOLOMON ISLANDS Location A chain of islands east of Papua New Guinea and extending south-east for 1440 km. Total land area is 30 000 km?. Six main islands the larger of which are up to 200 km in length, and many smaller ones, some no more than coral outcrops. The terrain is quite rugged, with foothills rising gently to a peak and then falling away steeply to the sea on the other side.
Bougainville
|
SOLOMON
(PAPUA NEW GUINEA)
Choiseul Shortland Is geeasury
|
7 °
300 000
(
<
|
Solomon Sea
Main agriculture
Honey bees
Ya
a
tor
EBquator
Guadalcanal
2,6
.
FIJI
NEW
HEBRIDES NEW
Frame hives (Langstroth). No other types of hive are in use.
CALEDONIA
% Qe,
2
TONGA
Melliferous vegetation Albizzia falcataria, Avicennia spp, Cocos nucifera, Eucalyptus spp, Gmelina moluccana, Pterocarpus indicus, Vitex confassus.
Legislation The Apiaries Bill 1991 relates to the keeping of bees, disease contro! and importation.
Number of beekeepers 126
Number of Apis
mellifera
colonies
R AUSTRALIA |
/
Training The Government provides training courses, including one course specifically for women.
Honey bee diseases None.
Honey bee pests
Average annual honey yield per colony
Cane toads and lesser wax moth are pests of honey bee colonies.
Total honey yield 1037 kg (1990), 7211 kg (1991)
Honey imported 852 kg (1990), 26 kg (1991)
Beekeeping department Ministry of Agriculture & Lands, PO Box G13, Honiara.
Beekeepers’ co-operative Solomon Islands Honey Producers CoOperative Association, PO Box G13, Honiara.
Equipment Solomon Islands Timber Products Ltd.
Projects Between 1990 and 1991 VSA (Volunteer Service Abroad) and the New Zealand Government provided support and funds for training of Government beekeeping staff and to establish the beekeepers’ co-operative, which is now self sustaining.
mS
XY
752
60 kg
Cristobal
e
=f
:
NS?
San
3
aw.
*
N
Hon
|
TUVALU
3
Apis mellifera, originally of European origin introduced from Australia around 1960.
Ocean
Malaita
Co
“y
Beekeeping
Pacific
.
KIRIBATI" “PAPUA, solomon fey NEW GUTNEAr ISLANDS ”
Santa Isabel
Georgia
~
|
Ss
New
3
GNP $410 per capita.
9
wo
»
Island
'
Population
Banana, coconut, cocoa, sweet potato, taro, yam.
ISLANDS
|
Previous articles Newsletter 14: News
Around the World
Further reading
EVANS,B (1991)
Beekeeping Handbook:
A guide
on
how to keep bees in the Solomon Islands.
Agricultural Information Section, Ministry of Agriculture & Lands, Solomon Islands. ISBN 982 151 007 8.
FORSTER,S; GALVIN,
|
D (1988) Notes on honey
Forestry Note, Forest Division, Ministry of Natural Resources, Solomon Islands.
sources of Kolombangara for beekeeping.
island Bee News. Newsletter of the Solomon Islands Honey Producers Co-operative edited by D Galvin. PO Box G13, Honiara, Solomon Islands.
More articles and papers are held in the IBRA library.
The assistance of Rex Ramoiau and Bryan Evans in providing this information is gratefully acknowledged.
ELEVEN
