&
DEVELOPMENT
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NEWS AROUND x4
WAVING Bees for Development is
BELIZE Following the invasion of Belize by Africanized honeybees in 1987, honey production and export has significantly declined:
Year
Production (kg)
Export (kg)
1987
226,155
225,500
building a new and active network of people interested in development
1988
226,025
225,500
1989
111,100
110,990
beekeeping.
1990
50,390
30,000
199]
51,000
44,000
Make sure you and your colleagues are involved.
Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth, NP5 4AB, UK.
(source: Belize Honey Producers’ Federation)
Africanized bees can be more productive in the tropics than Italian or European bees, if properly managed. The potential to revive the honey industry still exists in Belize. As in most Central and South American countries many beekeepers abandoned their apiaries.
Some however, particularly in Orange Walk, Corozal, Cayo and Toledo Districts, remain active and are willing to reinvest their resources, and learn how to manage Africanized bees. The Honeybee Rehabilitation Programme, financed by USAID, has been initiated. The Programme provides funds for an Awareness Campaign, procurement of materials and equipment to be made available to beekeepers under loans, procurement of motorcyles for apiaries’ inspectors, the establishment of a queen rearing and mating centre, the employment of a statistics clerk, short-term training, queen-bee acquisition, and the reactivation of the National Beekeeping Council. Under the auspices of FAO, technical assistance, equipment and materials are being provided to co-operatives. Source: Ubaldo Miranda
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ANTENNAE
foraging insects were taken every 30 minutes between 0700 hours and 1930 hours on bright days. The species of bees visiting most frequently were Apis cerana (the Asian hive bee}, Apis florea (the little bee) and Melipona iridipennis (the dammer bee). In coconut varieties bees visited in the proportions of Melipona iridipennis 1.5 Apis florea 2.5 Apis cerana. In hybrid coconuts these 1.7: 2.5. Apis cerana proportions were therefore visited the plants 2.5 times more than Melipona iridipennis. The number of honeybees visiting the inflorescences of hybrid plants was 36% more than visited the varieties. This contributes to the increased button setting and nut yield in hybrid coconut |
Bees in coconut plantations Coconut Cocos nucifera is a perennial crop, providing plenty of nectar and pollen for bees throughout the year. We believe that honeybees play a major role in crosspollination of this crop. Our studies were conducted during 1992 at the Coconut Research Station, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India. We studied the bees visiting inflorescences of 47 coconut genotypes comprising 28 varieties and 19 hybrids with the ages of palms ranging between eight and 30 years. Records of
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:
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plantations. Source: S Sadakathulla
PHILIPPINES Bee Programme The Bee Programme at the University of the Philippines, Los Bafios was established to promote and achieve more effective coordination of all bee projects and related research and extension activities The objectives include:
demonstration apiary.
e
Establishing
e
Designing an apicultural management scheme which can be used in income-
INDIA
TEN
tt
BEEKEEPING
a
generating projects for small-scale farmers. e
Offering training courses on all aspects of beekeeping.
e
Promoting beekeeping as a productive business and important component of agriculture and forest ecosystems.
e
Maintaining honey.
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Acting as a service centre for commercial operators dealing with management, production and marketing of wax and honey, as well as a supply of high quality, mated queens and nucleus colonies.
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a
quality control laboratory for
participants including farmers,
