Zoom in on the Philippines

by Cleo Cervancia, University of the Philippines, Los Bafios, Philippines

The Philippines archipelago stretches 1,880 km North to South. There are about 7,150 islands and rocks belonging to the Philippines, with a combined land area of 301,000 km² spread over the 2.2 million km² of water within the exclusive economic zone. The long coastline is approximately 32,400 km. Three seas surround the Philippines: the China Sea on the West and North, the Pacific Ocean on the East, and the Celebes Sea and the coastal waters of Borneo to the South. The Philippines has a humid equatorial climate with high temperatures and heavy rainfall.

Human Population

75 million.

Climate

Tropical with a single rainy season between May and November

Main agriculture

Coconuts, maize and rice.

Bees

There are three indigenous species of honeybees: Apis cerana, Apis dorsata and Apis andreniformis. The introduced European Apis mellifera is used extensively in commercial beekeeping. There are about 3,000 colonies of Apis cerana and 5,000 colonies of Apis mellifera. Other bee genera are Borbus sp, Trigona sp, and Xylocopa sp.

Bee Products

Honey is a popular product. The average production per colony of Apis cerana and Apis mellifera are 2.5 kg and 25 kg respectively. The price of honey is US$6 per kg.

Pollen and nectar sources

The major pollen and nectar sources are Acacia sp, Ageratum conzoides, Alternanthera tenella, Amaranthusviridis sp,Callistemon citrinus, Centella asiatica, Citrus sp, Cocos nucifera, Coffea sp, Diplocycios sp, Erythrina sp, Euphorbiaceae, other Graminae species, Leucaena feucocephala, Merremia sp, Mimosa invisia, Mimosa pudica, Moraceae, Muntingia calabura, Pithecellobium dulce, Psidium guajava, Pterocarpus indicus, Rosaceae, Tridax procumbens, Urticaceae and Zea mays.

Problems encountered

The occurrence of El Nifio and La Nina adversely affected the vegetation. Consequently there was also a decline in the bee populations and produce.

The bee mite Varroa jacobsoni remains a threat to beekeeping with Apis mellifera. Industrialisation further reduces forage for the bees.

Beekeeping Association

A national beekeeping network Beenet Philippines Foundation Inc was established in 1995 with the aim of co-ordinating national efforts, activities and programmes to protect, improve, strengthen and develop the bee industry. Today there are about 200 members all over the Philippines. The network holds annual conferences with presentations of bee research, exhibits of bee products, and technofora. Members discuss current issues and draft strategies for further development of the bee industry. There are ten co-operatives concerned with bee product marketing.

Bee Research

The research thrust is on the genetic diversity of Philippines honeybee species, bee botany and pollination biology. A total of 22 research projects were completed in universities from 1997-1999. A breakthrough has come in the establishment of the taxonomic status of Apis cerana through the morphometric mtDNA studies (Tilde et a/, 1999; Delarua et al, 1999; Villafuerte, 1999). At least four distinct populations of Apis cerana have been identified. There are: the Palawan Group, the Luzon Highland, the Luzon Lowland, and the Luzon + Visayas Cluster.

Extension Programmes

The University of the Philippines at Los Bafios, St Louis University, Benguet State University, and Mariano Marcos State University regularly offer training courses on beekeeping. A Beekeeping Diploma Course is also offered by Mariano Marcos State University.

Government institutions, for example the Department of Science andTechnology, and the Department of Agriculture, give support to beekeeping research and extension.

References

Delarua,P; Tilde,A C; Simon,U; Moritz,R F (1999) Mitochondrial DNA analysis of Apis cerana in the Philippines. Heredity (in press).

Tilde,A C; Fuchs,S; Koeniger,N; Cervancia,C R (1999) Morphometric diversity of Apis cerana F within The Philippines. Apidelogie (in press).

Villafuerte,L S (1999) Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) polymorphism in the Asian honeybee (Apis cerana F) in the Philippines. MSc thesis, University of the Philippines at Los Bafios,