Bees for Development Journal Edition 31 - June 1994

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FINDING QUEENS AGAIN

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1994

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31

BEE FODDER SHADE FOR BEES

DANCING AND TREMBLING * ZOOM

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BOOKS BOOKS BOOKS

RODRIGUES

BEEKEEPING

&

DEVELOPMNT

31

INSIDE INFORMATION It is now a

deav Ineuvds Bees for Development

is dedicated to providing But what is the best help? We believe that the most effective, long-term and valuable

help to beekeepers.

help is good information.

Vision Award

Information to improve

technical skills and understanding of bees. Help-in contacting other local beekeepers and getting

fr Dvelopmnt

assistance.

Initiative 1990

Ideas to stimulate beekeepers to improve

their craft and gain more satisfaction from it.

Reviews of new publications and how to get hold of Dates of upcoming conferences and courses,

wi

them.

and where ways that

to

obtain further details. These are all

Bees for Development

is fielping you

The main way we achieve this is in this journal, Beekeeping & Development.

INTHISISSUE Inside Information

2

Shade for Bees

3

|

Letters to the Editor

BAA

5

6

Make a Bee Fodder Calendar... 7 News Around the World

Look and Learn Ahead

11

.........

Zooming in on Rodrigues

'"

12

..........

.......

13 |

Bookshelf

14

Beeswax Barter

16

sPRODUCTION

'

|

'

Royal Farm in

Bangkok, Thailand. He

is

examining a frame

being used for queen rearing. The honeybees are Apis cerana, the Asian hive bee.

CLINE DE BRUYN

TWO

your enquiries - but please make them as specific as possible. The enquiries we find impossible to fulfil are those which begin: “Please send all information on beekeeping’!

But do write

to us with

your requests. and news

to

Nila

brradhear

Four editions of Beekeeping & Development are

Please use the payment methods shown in Bookshelf, page 15.

DISTRIBUTION

SPONSORS

-4000

copies of Beekeeping & Development are printed and distributed to individuals, projects, organisations and associations world-wide.

Beekeepers who are financially poor and living in remote areas of the world receive Beekeeping & Development without payment through the generosity of sponsors.

CONTRIBUTIONS

The journal has been sponsored in part. by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.

We have an active beekeeping network linking people interested in appropriate and low-technology beekeeping. Beekeepers everywhere are welcome to join by ‘subscribing and contributing to this journal.

Information published in Beekeeping & Development is intended to help beekeepers everywhere. We are happy for items to be reproduced or translated but please give acknowledgement to Beekeeping & Development and the author of the item you are using.

Items are written by Nicola Bradbear unless ‘stated otherwise. Please send us a copy of the reproduced or translated item.

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is rapidly gaining We welcome your comments, contributions and requests. We will strive to answer

published every year in March, June, September and December.

REPRODUCTION

Ping working al

Beekeeping & Development

appreciation.

The subscription rate is 12 or USS25 per year. Each subscription covers four issues of the journal and includes airmail postage.

P i;

COVER PICTURE: A beekeeper named

over: it seems that the different style and scope of

Advertisements in

| |

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Editor: Dr Nicola Bradbear Co-ordinator: Helen Jackson

ccc teen 6

Notice Board

We have.

received letters of support from beekeepers the world

PUBLISHED BY: BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT, TROY, MONMOUTH, NP5 4AB, UNITED KINGDOM.

5

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sponsors, subscribers and contributors.

BEEKEEPING & DEVELOPMENT

More on Finding Queens.......... 4

Dancing and Trembling

Its

future now looks well assured thanks to donors,

share with others.

be well informed.

Apimondi Broze Medal 1993

Bees for Development

Beekeeping & Development

reach many readers in many countries.

Various sizes of advertisements are available. Write to us for rates.

We have also received sponsorship from CTA, The Netherlands.

We are grateful to these sponsors and many beekeeping groups and individuals worldwide who are supporting us.

Beekeeping & Development's production is assisted by World Vision UK. Beekeeping & Development is the official newsletter of the Asian Apicultural

Association.

Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth, NP5 4AB, United Kingdom.

Telephone: 44 (0)600 713648 Fax: 44 (0)600 716167

LL

Wrld

year since

took over independent publication of the journal.

BEEKEEPING

& DEX

ELOPMENT

31

SHADE FOR BEES HONEYBEE COLONIES must not get too hot.

If the colony temperature is becoming high then foragers will be busy collecting water,

to reduce the nest temperature, rather than nectar or pollen. Edition 27 of Beekeeping & Development explained the importance of

water for bees.

In very sunny conditions, colonies protected by solid shade can produce 50% more honey than colonies exposed to the sun Beekeepers therefore obtain greater honey harvests by

providing nearby water sources and protecting colonies from too much heat

PROVIDING SHADE

The roof of the shade should be high enough to allow the beekeeper to work amongst the hives If a large number of hives are to be shaded and a long shade !s to be constructed, then it should run east-west to give maximum

f

In hot climates wild-nesting colonies always choose a shady spot for their nest, near to a ‘er supply The easiest way to protect colonies in hives from the sun 1s if possible, to place them under shade trees In a green grassy area If no shade trees are available then artificial shades must be constructed

SASENRS'

“

ae

he

Shade for

bees in India

Summer

management of colontes in areas where the temperature goes as high as 48°C requires the bees to be kept under thick shade or

under temporary structures made with a reed or grass roof, as shown here

4

EKEEPING CERPRACTICAL

benefit

KEEPING HIVES COOL Colonies also receive heat radiating from the ground Reduce this effect by siting the hives on grass or other green vegetation, or placing mats under the hives Hives can also be painted white or a light colour to reflect heat, rather than absorb it

ATER And always make sure that your bees have plentiful water supply, as near as possible

A well-shaded apary

int

Eaupt with combing plants

Coconut groves provide excellent shade for fives ut Malaysia

a

to give shade

and absorb the feat

Hives well shaded from the sun in Sudan

THREE

BREKEE PING

»

DEX ELOPMENT

-

-

31

cannot find the queen move the frames again from box B to A, checking for the queen.

Following the article by Breno Freitas in the last edition Beekeeping & Development, Professor William

of

Ramirez of Costa Rica has sent us some of his favoured techniques for finding the elusive lady.

2.

One of a beekeeper’s most time-consuming and tiresome activities is finding queen ina hive, especially when the colony has a large population of workers or the bees are very defensive The usual way is to take out each comb one by one from the brood chamber and examine both sides until the queen is found.

This method disturbs the bees and induces robbing and defensive behaviour, especially in African bees

place in the apiary, put a new box (B} in the original site of box A, and put in it one comb with open brood surrounded by empty drawn combs or frames with wax foundation. Wait for three das until all the field workers have moved from box A to box B. By that time colony A will have only young bees, which are unable to fly and sting, plus the queen. Smoke hive A very gently, remove the supers and search for the queen in the combs of the brood nest

a

1

P repare an

t empty

and d

ve clean hive

body pooy wlwith

Wilkan

Rare:

evanunes a colony of note the

bees clustering outside the hive \OWILLIAM RAMIREZ 8

.

.

a bottom board (box B), move the

Africanized bees in Costa Rica

Ifa colony is very defensive and overpopulated, remove it (Aj to another

queenright hive (box A) to elsewhere in the apiary and place box B at the side of it. Smoke gently on the top-bars on one side of the hive and remove the first lateral comb, check for the queen, and move the comb to box B. Move all the combs to box B one by one, checking for the queen If she is not found on the combs. she may be on the lateral walls of box A where the last comb was removed, or on the bottom board. the queen is not found in the empty box (A) or on the bottom of the hive, shake the remaining bees on to a light coloured board and search for her there. If you still \f

3

Take a queen cage {a Miller “pushing” is preferable) with an old, alive queen ar put it on top of the brood of the hive with the queen being searched for. Close the hive and open it again 20 minutes later, the queen being searched for will be found trying to fight with the introduced queen.

4.

Old dead queens kept in the freezer are useful Open the hive where y you need to P find a queen, and place a dead queen with a pin on a top-bar in the middle of the nest chamber. Close the hive and open it again 20 minutes later; the queen being searched for will be ‘fighting’ with the dead queen.

STING@.E Reading about stingless bees in Ghana in Beekeeping & Development 30 prompted a reader to send the following information about his experiences with stingless bees in Angola in 1959.

|

A stack of newly built top-bar hives provides appropriate sealing on which to read Beekeeping & Development!

Photograph sent by Martin Odima

FOUR

.

-

—_

a

:

-

All beekeeping work in Angola is conducted with indigenous African honeybees Apis mellifera and also no less than seven species of Trigona, the stingless bee. These seven species of Trigona have been identified by Senhor José Nufies Three of these stingless bee species, the tree dwellers, are living happily in hives of Senhor Nufies’ own design at Luso, but the others, which live underground, have so far always succumbed to temperature differences in surface hives This has not ted Senhor Nufies, who plans to na hive in a shaft which will be d to the surface for examination and returned to a gloomy but

BEEKEPPING

&

DEVELIOPMENT

31

DANCING AND TREMBLING WHEN A WORKER BEE finds

a source of nectar she informs other bees about it when she returns to the nest. They visit the nectar source and in turn inform others when they return to the nest. In this way forager bees are recruited to make efficient use of available nectar supplies It was Kar! von Frisch and his colleagues who, over many years, worked out

how the information is communicated by

means of the waggle dance.

As more bees visit the nectar source and return to the nest, so more bees will be recruited to visit the source But what will happen if so many bees are leaving the nest for the nectar that there are insufficient left behind to deal with all the nectar being brought in?

Wolfgang Kirchner of the University of rzburg in Germany believes that another ace, the ‘tremble dance’ provides a negative feedback The tremble dance stops workers flying off for more nectar if too much is currently arriving at the nest for the foodstoring workers to cope with Wolfgang Kirchner studied bees in hives placed 10 m from a feeder with sugar syrup. As the number of bees at the feeder increased, so the proportion of bees performing tremble dances

Kirchner showed that worker bees subjected to these vibrations performed significantly shorter lasting waggle dances, and consequently the number of bees leaving for the feeder decreased.

In this way the colony is able to ensure that it functions most efficiently: there is no point in foragers working to bring nectar which cannot be stored This research relates to the western hive bee, Apis mellifera

Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. 1993,

vol 33, page 169

THE WAGGLE DANCE The flowers offering nectar are along a line 45°C to the rialil of the sun as the bee leaves her nest

On returning

to her nest, to

commurucate the location of the flowers the bee ‘dances’ a figure of eight pattern on comb

the vertical) of the line along which she wagales lin Hus case 45°C) indicales the angle of the

nectar source to the sun. The duration of the waggle indicates the distance to the nectar source

Ae

7y\ sun

honeybee colony

45°

increased.

ge OL

The tremble-dancing bees produced vibrations at frequencies of 45-350 Hz, lasting for 142 milliseconds, which made the comb vibrate

'S§ BEES

within the nest. As she runs along the straight bit in the middle of the eight she 'waggles’ her body quickly from side to side The angle Uo

nectar source

IN ANGOLA

temperature constant subterranean existence.

The largest of the stingless bees, Trigona bocandei, has produced 10-15 kg of honey in a season and the wax, which is often used to dilute ordinary beeswax, has certain properties which are being studied The hives in which the three species of these bees are housed at Luso are very complex and natural reproduce many of the features of the store not does colony As is well known, Trigona like a in but grouped in comb cups large honey bunch of grapes around the brood cells. The hives have drawers which are of the exact internal height to accommodate the cups, and in which Trigona obligingly build them. identical Attempts to persuade the bees to fill been rubber cups with honey have unsuccessful A feature of the culture of these bees which has not yet been considered is their habit of storing propolis and pollen in The size of separate cups along with the honey.

the cups enables the pollen to be eaten unspoiled by wax or honey and very good it is.

Of the three species of stingless bee at Luso the smallest, Trigona landula, the ‘honey fly’ has proved the easiest to manage and a certain amount of information has been collected about it. Virgin queens are raised continuously by this species but are killed unless required.

This enables the colonies to be propagated by splitting the brood. Generally Trigona seem more susceptible to temperature differences than honeybees, and make extensive use of propolis and wax to insulate the inside of their hives. Trigona landula mix their propolis with sand for this purpose while Trigona bocandei surrounds the brood and comb with paper-thin membranes of a wax-like substance. The queens are easily identified in all these

species.

Murray Armor

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Inspecting a hive containing

Trigona

stingless bees.

RIVE

BEEKEEPING

&

DEVELOPMENT

31

AAA MEMBERS

ASIAN APICULTURAL ASSOCIATION

eK%?

oe

—

4

|

This will be an interesting and important meeting for all interested in Asian bees and

Remember to pay your annual subscription (local equivalent of USS20) to your Chapter

(listed in

beekeeping

Beekeeping & Development 29).

NEW MEMBERS You are very welcome to join AAA. Send the local equivalent of $20 to your Chapter. If there is no Chapter in your country, then join by sending $20 to AAA, Institute of Honeybee Science, Tamagawa University, Machida-shi, Tokyo 194, Japan.

NEXT AAA MEETING: JULY 1994 The Second Asian Apicultural Association Conference will take place in Yogyakarta, Indonesia 25-30 July 1994.

Yogyakarta is a University Town in the south of Central Java. A wide range of accommodation is available.

For further details contact:

Organising Committee of the Second Asian Apicultural Association Conference, Directorate Afforestation and Social Forestry, Ministry of Forestry, Manggala Wanabakti Building 13 Floor, Jl Gatot Subroto Senayan, Jakarta 10270, Indonesia Fax: 62 21 573 7092

Socom

Ba.

STUDY TOURS

IN

AGROFORESTRY

Study tours in Kenya on agroforestry, agriculture, forestry and environmental issues.

Includes use of ICRAF facilities and a visit to their field station at Machakos.

Contact:

Technical and Study Tours, PO Box 50982, Nairobi, Kenya. Fax: 254

2

780461.

MARKET NOTES DeCTA offers expertise

promoting exports from developing countries.

UK Market Notes contains product descriptions, tariffs and exemptions, market view, distribution channels and shipping specifications in

Write for details:

DeCTA, Bank House, Sutton Court Road, Sutton, Surrey, SMI 4SP, UK.

@eoeeeeoesseeeeeeeeeseaseeseeeeoes PHOTO CONTEST

The International Trade Centre is organising a photo competition to commemorate its 30th anniversary. 10 entries maximum per person depicting action shots involving people with the theme export from developing countries. Winning entries will be used in ITC Forum.

Contact:

ITC Photo Competion, Palais des Nations, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland.

ee eee BI-ANNUAL NEWSLETTERS “If we tap all our resources, am quite sure, we can be again the richest country in the |

|

world, which we were, suppose, at one time. We can repeat the phenomenon if we cease to be idle and profitably occupy the idle hours of the millions. All we need is to be industrious not like a machine but like the honeybee.” |

Mahatma Gandhi

The International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development publishes

a twice-yearly newsletter to inform policy-makers and planners. workers in the field and interested members of the public about the ongoing activities of the Centre. The Newsletter is distributed free of charge to those on the Centre's mailing list.

Write

te:

ICIMOD, Publications Unit, PO Box 3226, Kathmandu, Nepal.

QUALITY PRACTICES KWALITY provides training

for women and is working to promote environmentally friendly

practices through village meetings, seminars and workshops.

Write

KWALITY, PO Box 28,

to:

8, Chikballapur

SIX

_

~

eee

562 101, India.

BERKEE PING

&

DEVEE OPMENT

3

MAKE A BEE FODDER CALENDAR by

Nick Harvey, Jajarkot Permaculture Programme, Nepal.

JAJARKOT is a hill district in mid-west Nepal. The Jajarkot Permaculture

The abundance of bee fodder (or bee forage) plants throughout the year determines the growth of the bee colony and hence the productivity of beekeeping. Many forest-based and cultivated plants can provide bees with fodder. These plants may also provide other products, such as fodder for livestock, fuelwood, food, timber, tannins, dyes, medicines, fertilisers, pesticides and gums.

At the beginning of any programme- be it beekeeping, tree planting, fruit growing, agroforestry or community forestry, it is necessary to find out which plant species are locally-valued for providing particular products and their seasonal availability.

Our Programme has been helping beekeepers to create bee fodder calendars. They form a useful starting point when addressing the question of bee fodder availability during beekeeping and other training. The local beekeepers and other participants identify and record the quality and quantity of bee fodder throughout the year. From this information, strategies can be discussed for conserving and improving supplies of bee fodder and other plant products. in this article we present the bee fodder calendar created by members of Kalpat Village, Jajarkot District.

Programme works with farming communities there, helping them strengthen their capacity to solve problems, to teach and to work together.

Many villages in Nepal face degradation of the productive capacity of their land. This has resulted in lower, less reliable crop yields. reduced biomass for grazing, poorer fuelwood supplies, and a reduction in the supply of forest products. There is therefore great pressure on the remaining range of subsistence strategies available to rural

people To succeed in combating land degradation. ‘velopment programmes need innovative uesign strategies. They must involve: a} active participation of the resource users; b} organisational frameworks that can be

sustained, c}

technologies that are cheap, economical of labour and give recognisable productivity increases

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Programmes must use local resources, work through local institutions and fully involve the resource users in identification, design, monitoring, evaluation and implementation of activities, The aim is to strengthen the capacity of the local population to conserve their own

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kitchen gardening, weaving: farm forestry; nursery establishment; and whole farm design.

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Non-timber forest products (all biological materials, other than timber which are extracted from natural ecosystems. farm lands and plantations for human use) are of key importance in the land-use and subsistence

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practices of jajarkot farming systems. By identifying the availability and local importance of plant species which provide be designed particular products, strategies can is one such fodder Bee to sustain their supply of great importance non-timber forest product of fajarkot. to the many beekeepers

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Nepali hill-farming systems are highly integrated. Programmes must emphasise the connections between different land use actices, and provide support to the existing range of subsistence activities.

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continued on page 10

DEVELOPMENT

—

which months do these bee-

plant have?

What other uses does each

When are they in full bloom?

When do they start flowering?

food plants flower?

In

What plants do bees forage on in your area?

and when they flower during the year.

In Kalpat Village, Jajarkot District, we made a calendar showing which beefood plants are available in the area

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31

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This can be done on the ground or on paper.

PREPARING THE CALENDAR

Li

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IN

numbers of the bee-foo| d plants in which months are yo ur bees

= mid April - mid May

= mid May - mid June =

Jeth

Asar

July

= Bauhinia vahlii Malu

Vaisakh

mid june mid

= Shorea robusta Sal

coromondelica

Puyrus pashia

Dubdube = Launea

=

butyracea

= Prunus cerrasoides Paingyu

Do the local plant nurs srles provide any of these pl ints?

production season?

during other months of the year?

For example during the peak honey

Is it

possible to protect or plant bee-food plants which f lower

Is it

possible to protect or plant any bee-food plants to ‘lower during these times?

shortest of food?

In

your area, discuss:

= Aesandra

Mel

YOUR VILLAGE?

From your bee food cal 2ndar and from your knowledge o the

Chiuri

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CALENDAR

CAN YOU MAKE A B -E FOOD

MAKE A BEE FODDER CALENDA R

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BEI Ri RPING

&

DLYETLOPMENE

31

MAKE A BEE FODDER CALENDAR METHOD Make a grid showing the calendar months of the year. This can be done on the ground or on large sheets of paper. For the Kalpat calendar (overleaf), locally produced “Lokta” paper (processed from bark fibres of Daphne bholua) was used. For each of the |12 rows, the local name for the calendar month is shown. This can be done by labelling 12 stones or marking the months on the paper.

Participating villagers are asked in which months bee fodder is available, discussing one plant at a time. The plant name is marked on the grid by labelling a stone, writing on the paper or using part of the plant itself.

The participants use seeds. stones, or write on the paper to indicate relative availability of bee fodder. A scale of one to five is used. with one indicating only a few plants in flower and five showing all bee fodder plants in full bloom (see over). The calendar should be displayed at a prominent meeting place in the village. If the calendar is made on the ground it should later be transcribed on to paper for display.

The participants are asked to discuss the other uses of each plant. This establishes links to other agricultural and subsistence strategies and emphasises their importance as multipurpose plant species.

TIMING This exercise may take some time to carry out, depending on how many bee plants are described, and should therefore take place when participants are not concerned about having to rush off to other activities.

The timing, in respect of the farming calendar, is also important. In our village, the exercise was carried out when honey was being processed {filtered and packed) prior to trade, when local interest and conversation were centred around honey and beekeeping.

Other times could be when discussing appropriate species for multi-purpose tree plantations, or management plans for community forest areas.

We are interested to receive floral calendars for tropical areas. These provide much useful information for other

beekeepers.

|

Send to:

Bees for Development, |

!

Troy, Monmouth, NP5 4AB, United Kingdom.

TEN

DISCUSSIONS |

Next everyone discusses the findings presented in the calendar. This will include observing the overall seasonal diversity and especially periods when bee fodder is limited.

One parameter not included in the exercise is the relative abundance of each plant species although this must be discussed. Historical changes in the local plant population dynamics and ecology, and subsequent bee

fodder availability, may also provide useful information. Consider the potential of each bee fodder plant to provide nectar and/or pollen; both are needed for healthy and productive bee colonies.

INTERPRETATION From this information, strategies can be made to ensure seasonal diversity of bee fodder. In Kalpat, such designs are reflected in:

a) the protection of community forest resources, thus securing the availability of non-timber forest products, including bee fodder; b) the establishment of a local nursery for multi-purpose tree species, such as chiuri Aesandra butyracea, bhimal Grewia optiva and -

kimbu Morus alba;

c) the collection of seed of the spice dalchini Cinnamomum tamala, for propagation in the nursery;

d) the promotion of multi-purpose tree and fruit species, such as aru Prunus persica, amba Psidium guajava, suntala Citrus reticulata and kera Musa paradiscia, for. home gardens; small-scale plantations; integration on croplands and terrace risers: and for soil

conservation.

These strategies were designed with the participation of the Kalpat community, but their effectiveness in meeting the needs of the community have to be monitored and evaluated. We must measure: the value of information which appeared; the ease of communication; and the value of the method for other village communities.

CONCLUSION This way of creating a bee fodder calendar seems a good way to encourage communities to participate in combating decline in bee fodder availability. If bee fodder calendars are created in other villages of similar ecological zones, more information could be shared.

By using this method to encourage discussion, the information reveals important connections between many components of the subsistence activities of a farming system. For example chiuri Aesandra butyracea provides: fodder for bees to produce honey: edible oil for domestic consumption and trade; seed cake for fertiliser;

and a secondary source for livestock fodder. It is by the participatory design and promotion of strategies which support these components that productivity can be increased and sustained, thereby reducing the risk to the range of subsistence activities.

BEEKEEPIN

NEWS

AROUND

&

DEVELOPMENT 31

Sy f

THE WORLD

Australia with other materials, but since last year we cannot import due to the air transport restrictions imposed on our country, which led to a very critical situation, and many beekeepers expect great losses.

AA

Zawi

MIDDLE EAST

+

ABM

He

meaty

Announcing the Arabic Beekeepers’ Union!

MUS provides [rautng and matenals

for Bangladesh beekeepers

After six years and more than 300 letters, a meeting in Cairo in February 1994 of beekeeping representatives from all Arabic countries agreed with the findings of Dr Yahya Bakkour, Director-General of The Arabic

BANGLADESH

Organisation for Agricultural Development, and the Arabic Beekeepers’ Union was born!

MUS (Monchas Unnayan Sangstha) is a voluntary organisation for deprived people.

One of their activities is promoting beekeeping The honeybees in Bangladesh are the Asian hive bee Apis cerana, but recently Thai sacbrood virus has led to the loss of many

The aim of the Union is to protect the interests of Arabic beekeepers, and to exchange knowledge and products between them through congresses and exhibitions.

These are planned to be held annually in various countries.

honeybee colonies Abul Hossain

Rashid Yazbek, Vice-President, Arabic Beekeepers’ Union.

LIBYA

CAMEROON

Honey has always "pn special in Libya: considered a

The North West Beefarmers’ Association has a membership of 625 people In November last year they organised a Workshop in Bamenda to teach beekeeping skills: finance for the Workshop was provided by HELVETAS. The Workshop had 58 participants who took part in field work and discussions to identify the main problems faced by bee farmers in this part of West Africa.

remedy for many

illnesses.

Until a few years ago the State Agriculture Bank subsidised up to 50% of the initial costs for anyone who Libyan honey label wanted to start beekeeping. This policy encouraged many farmers and individuals to start beekeeping

estimate that there are now more than 2000 beekeepers around the country Most are members of the five associations located in different regions, and the State still encourages beekeeping by other means. |

Almost all colonies are kept in Langstroth movable-frame hives. These used to be imported from Germany or Italy. Other equipment is still imported from Europe.

Sometimes queens are imported from Italy and

A survey of participants revealed that all together they owned 1392 hives: 82% Oku cylindrical hives (the local style of hive), 12% top-bar hives (bamboo and wood) and 6% other types (pots, tins, boxes). It was stated that 50-75% of the hives are occupied by bees at any time For most beekeepers, even those with 200 hives or more, beekeeping is an important but still side-line activity Nearly 50% indicated that honey is disposed of (eaten or sold) in their own villages in its raw state ie without any processing.

Mzeka Paul, North West Beefarmers’ Association.

A Cameroon beekvepers hat and

veil

ELEVEN

BEEKEEPING

f DEVELOPMENT

31]

-——-

-

LOOK AHEAD BELGIUM

INDONESIA

Apimondia Meeting on Bee Biology

Second Asian Apicultural Association Conference

1994

26-29 July 1994, Yogyakarta.

Further details will be given in this journal.

Further details from: Organising Committee of the Second AAA Conference, Directorate of Afforestation and Social Forestry, Ministry of Forestry, Manggala Wanbakti Building 13th Floor, Gatot Subroto Senayan, Jakarta 10270, Indonesia.

Telephone: 62 21 573 0182. Fax: 62 21 573 7092.

BRAZIL 10th Brazilian Congress on Apiculture

||

14-18 August 1994, Golds.

Further details from. Rua 26 No 157, 2° Andar, Goidnia-Goias,

MALAYSLA

CEP 74015-090, Brazil. Fax: 55 62 224 4745.

Resources and Environmental Monitoring

Tropical Bees and the Environment 13-16 March 1995, Serdang.

3-7 October 1994, Rio de Janeiro.

BEENET ASIA, Plant Protection Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Telephone: 60 3 948 3514. Fax: 60 3 948 2507.

Further details from: Secretariat,

Further details fram: Roberto Pereira da Cunha, INPE. PO Box 515, 12201 Sao Jose dos Campos. Brazil

COSTS. Sos International Conference on Ecology and Environment |

_

'

LATIN AMERICS/CARIBREAN

20-24 June 1994, Drake Bay, Peninsula de Osa. Further details from: Celso Vargas, Department of Computer Science, Costa Rica Institute of Technology, PO Box 159, Cartago, Costa Rica. Fax: 506 5] 5348.

Development Alternatives Workshop 6-9 September 1994.

An opportunity for NGOs in the area to contribute to the development debate,

CUBA

Further details from) Development GAP, 927 Fifteenth Street,

Apimondia Meeting on Pollination

NW Washington DC 20005, USA.

1996

SWITZERLAND

Further details will

be given in this

journal.

The XXXIV International Apicultural Congress 8-14 August 1995, Lausanne.

FINLAR CO Research on Environmentally Sound Forest Practices to Sustain Tropical High Forests

i

|

|

|

APIMONDIA

Further details will be given in this journal.

THE CAMBIA

3-6 August 1995, Kotka.

Further details from: Rudolf Heinrich, Chief, Forest Harvesting & Transport Branch, FAO, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100 Rome, Italy. Telephone: 39 657 974727. Fax: 39 657 975137.

Enterprise Africa: Pan African Marketing Conference 3-5 October 1994.

Raising awareness of the marketing concept among Africans, governmental organisations and educational establishments.

Futher details from. MCA International, 65-67 London Road, Alderley Edge, Cheshire SK9 7DY, UK.

FRANCS XII International Congress on Social Insects 21-27 August 1994, Paris.

Further details from: Professor Pierre Jaisson, Laboratoire d'Ethologie, Universite Paris-Nord, 93430, Villetaneus, France.

Telephone: 33 49 403218. Fax: 33 49 403975. |

-

USA IX International Congress of Acarology 17-22 july 1994, Ramada University Hotel and Conference Center, Ohio.

|

Systems-Orientated Research in Agriculture and Rural Development 21-25 November 1994, Montpellier.

Further details from: Secretariat du symposium sur les recherches-

systeme, Bat, Les Moulins B-10, BP 5035, 34032 Montpellier Cedex 1, France.

Further details from: X International Congress of Acarology, Acarology Laboratory, Museum of Biological Diversity, The Ohio State University, 1315 Kinnear Road, Columbus, OH 43212, USA. Fax: 614 292 7744. |

LEARN AHEAD Internz tional Short Course on Land Use Management for

UK

Tropic

Diploma in Apiculture University of Wales College of Cardiff.

Further details from: Diploma in Apiculture, Universsity of Wales College of Cardiff, PO Box 915, Cardiff CFI 3TL, JK

-10

I

Agriculture

10 June 1994.

Further details from: Director General, Attn C Searle, International

Consultancies, Department of Primary Industries, Queensland, GPO Box 46, Brisbane, Queensland 4001, Australia.

Telephone:

61 72

393302. Fax: 61 72 213896.

if you want details of your event

to

appear here, send details

Telephone: 44 222 874147. Fax: 44 222 874305,

to

Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth, NP5 4AB UK Fax: 44 (0)600 716167

TWELVE

|

Indigenous Technical Knowledge in Tropical Agricultural Development 29 june-9 September 1994, Edinburgh.

Further details from. Tropag, University of Edinburg 16 Buccleuch Place, Edinburgh EH8 9LN, UK.

DES ELOPMENT

BEE REE PING

31

ZOOMING IN

RODRIGUES Where is Rodrigues?

It is a tiny island in the Indian Ocean, 400 miles to the north-east of Mauritius.

The land area is 425 miles’ How many people live there? 32,000 What is it like?

The land itself is hilly, with the principal peaks located along a central ridge The land is gashed with deep valleys which make the road system difficult. The island is surrounded by a coral reef

What is the climate?

Cool and dry (14-18°C) from June to October, but hot (29-33°C) the rest of the year. This year, as almost every year, cyclones occurring hetween December and March caused serious mage. The high winds defoliate the trees and plants and the loss of flower buds can affect the whole honey season. The salt spray also damages some tree species such as Acacia and Eucalyptus.

Another serious problem is caused by drought: in the 1980s there were seven years of serious drought and honey production fell dramatically.

Which honeybees?

The honeybees are Apis mellifera unicolor although Italian colonies were imported from the USA in 1981 and in 1991 four breeder queens were brought from western Australia. Colonies headed by Rodriguan queen bees seem to be more robust than the imported queen stocks.

There are many wild-nesting honeybee colonies.

What is the extent of beekeeping? or to cyclone Bella in 1991 there were 23| beekeepers in Rodrigues, managing

665 colonies. A few months after the cyclone the numbers had fallen to 120 and 450 respectively. This decline may have also been

due to the long drought conditions: a campaign to encourage feeding with sugar was introduced at this time Currently there are about 124 beekeepers and 750 colonies: the majority of beekeepers have three colonies or

less.

Bee forage The indigenous forest was destroyed many is a problem. Vast years ago and soil erosion and cattle have of numbers in goats increases devastated the flora bees now Important sources of forage for leptopus, Antigonon include: Adenanthera pavonina,

Beekeeping equipment Thick wooden boxes about

Southern

50 cm x 50 cm containing

Africa

frames. Frames are made locally and wired horizontally, but there is virtually no foundation 12

|

MAURITIUS

°

|

oe

NON

available on the island.

Queen excluders are not in common use. Not all beekeepers have extractors so there is frequently a system of mutual help by friends. Some extractors are home-made using galvanised tanks, bevel gears from drilling machines, and plumbers’ half-inch brass taps.

RODRIGUES

Honey The Ministry of Agriculture memorandum states that between 1983 and 1985 the average yearly production was 15 tonnes, and this doubled in the years 1985-1990.

Most beekeepers make four honey harvests between August and the end of December.

Honey is marketed in 700 ml rum bottles containing one kg of honey. The retailer asks for 75-80 Rs (about USS5) per bottle.

Any honeybee pests and diseases?

The death's head hawk moth Acherontia atropus is the most serious pest, along with greater wax moth Calleria mellonella and lesser wax moth Achroia grisella No brood diseases or acarine are known.

Cascade apiire Rodrigues

Oe

oe

Project Funding was provided by the European Development Fund in 1986. A co-operative was formed and a honey processing plant was installed in a purpose-built building This included a bottling plant It seems this expensive equipment has not been used Initially the co-operative was to provide foundation, frames, boxes and other equipment, but this no longer happens. The beekeepers who joined the co-operative became disillusioned by its failure. The failure of the project was probably due to inappropriate equipment and lack of teaching and training facilities.

Uncapping fioney, Rodrigues

We thank Michael Duggan for the information for this item.

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS

«

MICHAEL DUGGAN

The island of Rodrigues

Eucalyptus tereticornis, Haematoxylum campechianum, Lantana camara, Melia azadirachta, Pongamia as well as pinnata, Terminalia arjuna, Vitex trifolia, coconut, mango, tamarind and Acacia species.

THIRTEEN

|

BEEKEEPING

&

DEVELOPMENT

31

Asian apiculture Lawrence J Connor, Thomas Rinderer, H Allen Sylvester and Siriwat Wongsiri edited by

BOOK

Wicwas Press, Cheshire CT, USA (1993) 704 pages. Hardback.

Available from

Bees for Development

Buy”) price 50.00 These are the texts of 80 papers presented during the International Conference on the Asian Honey Bees and Bee Mites held in (see "Books to

THE HUMAN

FACTOR

IN

RURAL

MorvpcopMEntl

Orth

Monks Burth

O POLEM as

MEL BPASHLERO).

Chulalongkorn University, Thailand in February 1992. All together they provide what must be the most comprehensive single publication on Asian honeybee biology available to date.

Sections relate to biodiversity, biotechnology, pure biological research, bee products, pollination, bee mites, pathology, and pesticides The section on honeybee mites is particularly strong with many papers presented by scientists working on Varroa jacobsoni. The type of papers presented varies considerably: from honeybee molecular systematics to Thai honey wines with floral flavours. There is also a useful bibliography on Asian honeybees.

sumer 1988

Bees for Development Buy") price 13.00 An excellent account of how African bees ha spread through the Americas.

Available from (see “Books to

The story of Africanized bees is an astounding one. Greg Flakus has unearthed some new aspects of the saga and gathered together all the facts to make a most interesting account. A helpful text for people who know little of bees, and useful facts for beekeepers everywhere: at some time or another all beekeepers are asked to relate the story of killer bees.

The author, a skilled journalist, uses the K****R word to give an exciting title and cover to the book. But inside he has dropped the adjective ‘killer’ in favour of ‘Africanized’ by page four!

any more satisfactorily.

O polem no mel Brasileiro (The Pollen of Brazilian Honey)

by Monika O Barth

The human factor in rural development

by Tom Gabriel Belhaven Press, London, UK and New York, USA (1991} 159 pages. Hardback.

Those who are serious about assisting a community need a clear understanding of who they are trying to assist and the likely impact of the assistance. For example, there are many beekeeping projects which aspire to help rural women. But do the local women actually want more work, will they benefit from a new activity, or will it merely add to the pressures on them?

discusses knowledge of human thought and behaviour and provides insight into the needs of rural women’s programmes, extension services, pest management and rural health care activities.

This book will be of interest to people who care about providing assistance that is the most helpful to the intended recipients.

The human factor in rural development

FOURTEEN

Quick Trading Company, San Francisco, USA (1993) 144 pages. Paperback.

The contents of this volume reflect strongly the current status of Asian apiculture: knowledge of the biology of Asian honeybees is rapidly expanding but this is not yet assisting Asian beekeepers to manage their native honeybees

Available from Bees for Development (see “Books to Buy") price 37.00

Bio de

Living with killer bees: the story of the Africanized bee invasion

by Greg Flakus

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnoldgico - CNPq, Brazil (198 155 pages. Paperback. In Portuguese.

Available from: Dr Monika Barth, Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Caixa Postal 926, 20.001 Rio de

Janeiro, Brazil. Price USS$25.00 This book is an important contribution to the study of tropical honeys. The results are based on the analysis of 500 honey samples. Most of these samples are from honeybees, and were collected mainly in Rio de Janeiro state, also some honey samples from Meliponinae bees were collected from the states of Parnambuco and Parafba: 86 different pollen types are described and photographed. There is a discussion of qualitative and quantitative pollen analysis The most important families are Anacardiaceae, Compositae,

Convolvulaceae, Leguminosa and Rubiaceae.

At the end there is a useful glossary.

ROGEL VILLANEUVA

Esta publicagdo sé é disponivel em portugués

’

BEEKFEPING

.f

by Peter

SHELF

Available from Bees fer Development (see “Books to Buy") price 14.00

Small-scale food processing is a vitally important economic activity in the developing world, and beekeepers, along with other food producers often experience great difficulties in obtaining suitable containers for their

Bees of the world Christopher O'Toole and Anthony Raw by

Blandford Press, London, UK (1994) 192 pages.

Paperback.

Available from (see “Books to

Bees for Development Buy") price 15.00

ew paperback edition of this excellent siuoduction to bee species, first published in 199]. tt describes the huge diversity of life

styles and behaviour shown, starting with solitary bees and moving along to the sociality of honeybees and stingless bees. The excellent illustrations.and colour photographs, accompanied by very clear text make this book special, and the price of this new paperback edition makes it good value too.

products.

This book does not relate specifically to beekeeping but it gives much useful information on all aspects of packaging materials and methods which can be costeffective on a small-scale.

above address from developing countries.

This booklet considers royal jelly, pollen and propolis. For each of these products there is a description of the product itself, a brief outline of how the product is collected from honeybee colonies and used by man, and the main countries which market it. This section contains plenty of useful information but also some errors.

Information is given of importers and distributors in France, Italy and the United Kingdom. Based on further international and the USA an enquiries in Europe, Japan of market general is provided assessment in recent years and in these products trends for

the medium term.

Cette publication

est accessible en

Esta publication

es

francaise.

disponible en espaiiola.

beekeeping.

Books to Buy is a list of books available from Bees for Development. It is published quarterly and sent free of charge to readers of this journal. To order books use the form in Books to Buy or simply write to us listing your requirements. We are also able to obtain other publications not listed in Books to Buy. Just ask us!

Please send payment with your order. Prices include packing and post to any address. by surface mail world-wide, or in the UK.

-

to the

Bees for Development and we will do our best to review them in a future edition of this journal. We may also stock them for sale: we are particularly interested to expand our range of books and visual aids on tropical

BOOKS TO BUY

ITC, Geneva, Switzerland (1992) 38 pages.

Paperback. in English, Spanish and French editions.

Available from: International Trade Centre CTAD/GATT, Palais des Nations, 1211

__jeva, Switzerland. Price USS20.00.

BOOKSHELF offers you an opportunity to reach readers in nearly every country of the world. Our aim is to review as many books on beekeeping and development as we can. Send copies of your publications to

Sections include: types of food and prevention of deterioration; packaging materials; filling and labelling; production, re-use and recycling of packaging; implications of packaging; benefits and costs; useful references and addresses.

Note on markets, in the United Kingdom, France and Italy for selected products of the beekeeping industry: prospects and developments

This publication is sent free of charge to requests

Fellows and Barry Axtell

Tool Publications, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (1993) 136 pages. Paperback.

DEVELOPMENT 3i

AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS

Appropriate food packaging

Howey

&

To have your order sent by airmail, please add 20% to the total order cost. We cannot be held responsible for books lost in transit: for insurance please enquire and we will inform you of the extra cost. We can also issue invoices but we must receive payment before books are dispatched.

Publications will as far as possible be supplied at the prices quoted, however these are subject to alteration.

WHY BUY BOOKS FROM US?

WAYS TO PAY Please make all payments to Bees for Development

EVERY PENNY Bees for Development

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Bank transfer Account number: 10167967. Sort code: 20-00-85 beekeepers in Barclays Bank plc, PO Box 29, Monmouth, NP5 3YG, UK.: countries. __ developing Cheque and Eurochequesin sterling »

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If you wish to send a cheque or bank draft in USS then add $20 to cover the cost of exchange.

ORDER FAST BY FAX: 44 (0)600.716167 FIETEEN

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REMEMBER TO MENTION BEEKEEPING

&

DEVELOPMENT

BEESWAX BARTER Why not If

you

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WHEN

RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS

SECOND ASIAN 1

your beeswax?

residein barter

East Africa try Pinte we

bartering your beeswax for the

iat

CONSALLEN

25-30

handpump and obtain clean water ~

from your well or borehole. If you do

Yogyakarta, Indonesia Basen, POS Deadiine tor papers t UUNG Tose Second Announcement now available

not have a well or .

borehole, we can help you with safe

Write to:

well digging

Organising Committee of the Second Asian Apicultural Association Conference, Directorate Afforestation and Social Forestry, Ministry of Forestry, Manggala Wanabakti Building 13 Floor, JI Gatot Subroto Senayan, Jakarta 10270, Indonesia.

Fax: 62 21 573 7092.

techniques or even drill you a :

,

borehole.

Contact: CONSALLEN GROUP SALES LTD 23 Oakwood Hill Industrial Estate Loughton, Essex, United Kingdom Telephone/Fax: 44 (0)81 508 5006

PAY YOUR SUBSCRI Beeswax .

:

00

Onesubscription

12

Ten subscriptions to one address

6000

5

kg

25 ke

Candies 2

kg

10 kg

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Beekeepers in developing countries (only!) may pay their subscription in pure beeswax or with pure beeswax candles We accept candles in payment, and since they are of higher value than beeswax, only 2 kg of candles are needed to buy one subscription There will also be savings on postage costs.

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BEESWAX BARTER Conditions for paying |. ,

2 3

4.

5

6.

7.

July 1994

beeswax or candles.

Beeswax must be reasonably clean and of good quality. It must be presented in solid form and not as scraps of wax or pieces of comb.

Candles must be of saleable quality Beeswax from any species of Apis will be accepted as long as the name of the species from which it is collected is stated.

Inside the parcel state your name and address, the weight and origin of the beeswax, and the number of subscriptions you are paying On the outside of the parcel state "BEESWAX RAW (OR CANDLES} FOR BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT’ and the weight in kilograms Any parcel containing comb, very dirty wax or otherwise unusable wax will be destroyed on arrival at Bees for Development It will not be returned and will not be accepted for barter Payment in beeswax or candles is only available for subscriptions for Beekeeping & Development to developing countries.

Arrangements for costs of carriage of beeswax or candles to Bees for Development are the responsibility of the sender and Bees for Development will not be responsible for any postage or other costs whatsoever

to provide more information to beekeepers in developing countries.

In

Se,

SPONSORS NEEDED

YW

Sponsors are needed to provide bee book libraries for co-operatives and groups in developing countries.

If you are able to assist, please write to us at:

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Beekeeping & Development is published quarterly by Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth, NP5 4AB, United Kingdom.

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