BEEKEEPING & DEVELOPMENT 438
CAMEROON Bum- the anti-bee tree The Nso and Kom people call the tree Bum. The scientific name is still to be determined. It has a straight, lean, hard, trunk and leaves. Bums grow slowly and blossom only after nine years. The nectar is believed to be extremely dangerous to bees.
So every nine years bee farmers in areas where Bums grow are sure to experience some losses arising from the complete extinction of colonies, and heavily reduced honey production. Recently beekeepers in Boyo Division reported that they went to their hives and found no bee activity at the hive entrances. They thought the bees had absconded. However, upon opening the hives to clean them, they were alarmed to find all the bees lying dead in the hives. When the bum tree flowers die they fall off and the fallen seeds germinate. The unfriendly bee tree seedlings begin to grow again, and will flower after another nine years. Reports collected aso from bee farmers in experienced the Anyajua area who claim that bees died as a offer OF you result of sucking NOWEBA any advice? nectar from Bum are still speculative. Nevertheless, a good number of older people who have practised beekeeping since childhood are firmly convinced that bees die as a result of sucking nectar from this deadly tree.
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Another factor that could lead to such extinction of a bee colony is that bees near coffee farms may suffer from poisonous pesticide sprays, and these kill bees instantly.
Plans are underway for NOWEBA (North West Bee Farmers’ Association) to investigate why the bees collect nectar from the Bum flower that kills them. We need help for this project. Source: Honey News, 1996
GRENADA At the beginning of 1997 beekeeping in Grenada was in a sorry state due to the devastation wrought by the Varroa mite. estimate that 80% of the wild bee population had succumbed, as well as 60% of kept bees. All my colonies had perished, the last one in November 1996. Five of the twelve commercial beekeepers on the {sland have been out of production for the last three seasons. |
BUT, Mother Nature has a soft spot for us and the good news is that in January 1997 the beekeeper with most colonies decided to try the methods described in American Bee Journal using a beeswax based cream with some 3% wintergreen oil (after pondering for some months the photocopies of the article had given to him). At about 0500 hours one February morning was awakened by the overexcited gentleman who even without greeting or apology for this unearthly interruption of my dreams told me “Jorge, I tried your thing and now I am picking dead mites by the handful!” At the time he had 99 hives, but the initial trial was made on four of the colonies considered beyond hope. |
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following couple of days he went ahead and treated all his bees, with the same results. Now two more beekeepers have replicated the experience and we have good reason to believe that there is after all a future for beekeeping as a viable commercial endeavour in Grenada. In the
HAITI An apiary of approximately 80 hives in the village of Balan. The trees provide light shade and the 30 m’ site is enclosed by a thorn hedge.
We have also made two trials using locally produced nutmeg essential oil (instead of oil of wintergreen). Again the bottom boards were littered with dead Varroa after 24 hours!
So, as you can imagine, the hitherto crestfallen Grenadian beekeepers have now big feathers in their caps. The hives are made from clay, or formed from stones. Many are left open at one end, as shown here.
Source: Paul Latham
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Meanwhile officials of the Ministry of Agriculture continue to debate (since my first report of April 1994) whether the Varroa
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