INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON *"'F BEE MITES HONEY _onference The Conference was opened by Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn. Spread over six days the Conference consisted of oral and poster presentations, Apiexpo, a visit to the Royal Chitralada projects and social events. 130 delegates from 30 countries participated.
apers A large proportion of papers related to honey bee mites: their identification, biology and possible control. Much research on mites is underway in south-east Asia and particularly Thailand, and also in the USA and Europe.
Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presides over the opening of Apiexpo 92.
This Conference took place in February, at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok. The Bee Biology Research Unit of Chulalongkorn, headed by Professor Sirtwat Wongsiri was responsible for organisation of the Conference. South-east Asia is an enticing region for study of honey bees: five species of the genus Apis occur naturally and european Apis mellifera
A Korean lady with displays of honey, royal jelly and ginseng
Plenty of Thai honey and royal jelly on display.
Diverse products
containing honey.
has been introduced. With this diversity of honey bee species there naturally follows a rich diversity of honey bee pests, diseases and parasites. These in turn have attracted the interest of bee researchers worldwide, who find rich resources in south-east Asia for fundamental research. This was underlined by the large number of scientists from all regions who participated in this meeting. The purpose was to provide opportunity for discussion of recent findings. With asian honey bee mites now spreading throughout the world, knowledge of the biology of these predators is of value to beekeepers everywhere. For example, an understanding of how Apis cerana and the parasitic mite Varroa jacobsoni have continued to survive successfully in the presence of one another assists us in combating Varroa now that it has moved to Apis mellifera as a new host species.
Serious issues were raised at the meeting. Are the increasing populations of Apis mellifera in some parts of Asia leading to reductions in Apis cerana populations such that they are no longer viable? Will continued treatment of Apis mellifera colonies to control Varroa infestation prevent us from identifying Varroaresistant colonies? Some papers reported fundamental research describing new mite species, morphometrics and new distributions of both bee species and mites. Other researchers are using biochemical analysis to establish evolutionary relationships between the bee species. And interesting new facts were reported - one example - that Varroa mites always tend to congregate on the left side of bees.
Apiexpo 92 This exhibition emphasised the extent of commercial beekeeping in south-east Asia, and the sophistication of marketing of honey and other hive products. Displays by companies from Thailand, Taiwan and Korea showed a wide range of commodities containing hive products in various reincarnations: honey with garlic, biscuits made with royal jelly, ointments using propolis, shampoo containing pollen - an amazing range and variety of value-added products. But the technology involved in creating these products is a long way from the labour-intensive beekeeping which yields the basic commodities:
