News

Bahamas

Bee colonies are dying on our main island of New Providence and also Andros. Samples of brood comb and bees sent to the US Department of Agriculture Bee Research Laboratory confirmed our fear that Varroa mites are present. “We had always considered our bees safe from the diseases and pests found on the mainland of North America”. Mal Evans writing in Bee Culture, November 1999.

Bosnia

Our Association existed before the war in Bosnia during which honey production was wiped out and we lost most of our hives. The Association was re-established in 1997 and currently Sanica Beekeepers’ Association has 40 members, with numbers increasing rapidly, harvesting about 8,000 kg of honey.

Sanica is in north-west Bosnia, near Klju, an unpolluted region of mountain, forest and pastureland, very rich in wild flowers. Our honey achieved high quality grades from the analysis centre in Sarajevo. We urgently need partners or distributors to help us sell our honey in international markets. Contact Sanica Beekeepers c/o Bees for Development.

lraq

FAO is running the second stage of an emergency assistance project to restore honeybee populations for honey production and plant pollination. The project was based on the appearance of the phenomenon of “crawling bees” in apiaries throughout Iraq a few years ago (see B&D39). Because of UN Sanctions imposed on Iraq, beekeeping has suffered as there is no medication. Beekeepers are isolated from the world community and news of how to control Varroa and bee diseases.

The first stage of the emergency project was planned by Dr Nicola Bradbear and involved assistance in the control of bee disease and the provision of much technical information. Embossing machines and wax were provided and these have allowed the much needed production of fresh foundation.

The second stage of the project is now taking place with the assistance of Dr Otto Boecking. The objective is to teach beekeepers more about bee diseases and to establish a diagnostic laboratory in Baghdad. Also by helping with seminars and workshops about bee biology, queen rearing and honey production. It is hoped to find new methods for Iraqi beekeepers to control Varroa: by biological treatment or with available chemicals. We hope that our bees will be once again fine and productive. We are ready to share our experiences with anyone having similar problems.

Dhafer Behnam, National Consultant for the FAO Project

Brazil

We face great difficulties because our bees are “ africanizadas “ (Africanized), and we need to adapt to their defensive temper. My work in Sorocaba City is to capture swarms in places that put people’s lives at risk. At first we had problems with the bees: there were many accidents caused by them. I tried to help the situation improve, but I myself faced prejudice: in being a woman yet accomplishing capture of bees. When I was working at City Hall I developed environmental education for children and young people and included classes on beekeeping. Sadly this did not last, when the person who was Mayor changed, my position was extinguished! It was a period of great change for me and I was without employment.

Today things are much better, but I know that I can do more for the beekeeping in in my city: have passion for the bees! I am working towards municipal legislation that protects bees and guards against extinction of melliferous flora. Another factor that generates concern is the great number of industries that are transferring from SAo Paulo to Sorocaba. Our vegetation is disappearing and soon there will be poorer conditions for the bees. I keep my hives in Pilar, a city 40 km to the south, where there is plenty of vegetation, both savannah and transitional forest. We must also stand firm against the great number of false honeys that are brought into our City.

Mônica Grohmann

Uganda

Margaret Ogaba, B&D’s Correspondent in Uganda, shows off a marvellous honey display prepared by Kitgum Women’s Beekeepers’ Association. Well done ladies!

Pitcairn Islands

Honey is being exported for the first time from Pitcairn Islands (Central South Pacific) after a government funded project to rescue the Islands’ beekeeping industry.

The islanders and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London hope that the trade, initially between Pitcairn and New Zealand, could prove a “money spinner” for the Island that is almost totally reliant on selling stamps for export earnings. Indeed, the saving of Pitcairn’s honey industry has been celebrated by the issue of stamps.

The Pitcairn Island bees mysteriously died out in the 1970s. In 1978 and 1992 Apis mellifera ligustica were introduced and have thrived. The success prompted the UK Government's Department for International Development (DFID) to fund training for the Island’s beekeepers and prepare a study on the disease status of the bees and honey. Pitcairn’s bees have been found to be free of disease and are very docile. It is hoped to export queen bees to parts of the world affected by diseases such as Varroa.

Morocco

Save the Sahara Bee

This race of bees fives in oases in the south of Morocco and Algeria. It was discovered by Baldensberger and studied by Brother Adam. Originally from Cyprus this bee race was brought to the area by the Israelis during the Exodus. It is now in danger of disappearing because of drought and the insecticides used to kill grasshoppers.

Save the biggest apiary in the world!

This apiary of 2,000 honeybee colonies is situated in a green oasis in the heart of Damssira Territory. It is protected by Saint Marabout Sidi Anmed Ounacer and overseen by religious brotherhoods. This apiary deserves special attention to save it, mainly by building a seven km road so that tourists can visit and appreciate the apiary, and a museum showing the cultural riches of South Morocco.

To give moral or financial support, write to Moulay Radi Loumrhari, c/o Bees for Development

Mexico

Ecosur is an ecological research centre with strong commitments to sustainable development in the “Frontera Sur” region. The bee project is undertaking:

- Basic research on the tolerance of Africanized bees to Varroa;

- Applied research, aimed at adapting alternative Varroa control methods developed in southern Europe to tropical climates;

- Applied research investigating the European bee that offers the best manageable hybrid with Africanized bees;

- Training beekeepers to use methods to make them as completely independent as possible.

Remy Vandame More information about Africanization and Varroa in Mexico/Africanizacion y Varroa en Mexico:

English:

http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/~mts/apishtm/apis9 7/ap may97.htm#2

Espanol:

http://www.apicultura.com/articles/vandame

Francais:

http://www.apiculture.com/articles/vandame

Italiano:

http://www.eurolink.it/aol/remy1.htm

Zimbabwe

International Beekeeping Symposium

The Zimbabwe Beekeepers’ Council and Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) sponsored jointly a two-day Symposium in Harare in November 1999 on the promotion of beekeeping in Zimbabwe. The Symposium focussed on:

- Developing a common approach towards the threat posed by bee disease;

- Identifying priorities and strategies for research and support services;

- Understanding the current Bee Act and its impact on the bee industry;

- Bringing together all stakeholders in Zimbabwe's bee industry;

- Investigating ways and means through which Non Governmental

- Organisations and others can support the efforts of beekeepers countrywide;

- Discussing strategies for training rural beekeepers;

- Recommending strategies for sustaining the bee industry and its contribution to food production in Zimbabwe.

Representatives of the bee industries in Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa and Zambia also presented papers, which gave delegates an opportunity to learn from the experiences of others. About 100 delegates attended the Symposium. Papers were presented by 20 speakers covering rural beekeeping, pollination, honey by-products, training and extension services, marketing, bee diseases and access to finance. The Symposium was extremely successful.

Copies of the papers presented can be obtained from E-mail itech@samara.co.zw

Information kindly supplied by Emma Judge, ITDG, UK

Kenya

Baraka Agricultural College offers week long courses in beekeeping with a focus on appropriate and sustainable beekeeping, and all aspects of production and

marketing using top-bar hives. The courses are designed to be as practical as possible. Courses cost 3,500ksh (US$50) and are conducted in both English and

Swahili, or translated into local languages depending on the group.

For details of this year’s course dates see 'What's on' page 11. Tom Carroll (Beekeeping: a beginner’s handbook written by Tom Carroll is reviewed in Bookshelf, page 15).