Zooming in on 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 miles²

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 between December and March caused serious damage. 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?

Prior to cyclone Bella in 1991 there were 231 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 years ago and soil erosion is a problem. Vast increases in numbers of goats and cattle have devastated the flora.

Important sources of forage for bees now include: Adenanthera pavonina, Antigonon leptopus, Eucalyptus tereticornis, Haematoxylum campechianum, Lantana camara, Melia azadirachta, Pongamia pinnata, Terminalia arjuna, Vitex trifolia, as well as coconut, mango, tamarind and Acacia species.

Beekeeping equipment

Thick wooden boxes about 50 cm x 50 cm containing 12 frames. Frames are made locally and wired horizontally, but there is virtually no foundation 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.

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.

Project

Funding was provided by the European Development Fund in 1986. A co-operative was formed and honey processing plant was installed in purpose-built building This included 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.