Beesfor Development Journal 78
CARIBBEAN CONGRESS / LETTERS
Preparing exhibits for the Honey Show Bees for Development would like to acknowledge the support of Trinidad & Tobago Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources, for sponsoring Dr Nicola Bradbear's participation in this Congress.
Honey on display
LETTERS Hybrid excellence I am writing from the island of Rodrigues, a tiny spot on the map 560 km northeast of Mauritius. I am hoping to help queen improvement. Now that DNA tests have disclosed the fact that inbreeding can lead to poor brood patterns, it is useful to look into arrangements for ensuring that mating hives are situated where drones are not siblings of the virgins to be mated. It is often assumed that the 'pepper pot' appearance of a slab of brood indicates that the queen has missed a cell here and there while on her endless quest for cells which the nurse bees carefully prepare for her. The reason for these gaps in the brood pattern can be due to sibling matings which have reduced the number of genes available. The nurse bees, aware that a particular egg will not develop into a satisfactory worker bee, sense this and destroy the egg, but are of course unable to replace it. Although only 13 x 3 km, Rodrigues' surface area is considerably increased due to its hilly, almost mountainous nature. From the aspect of beekeeping, not only are the bees remarkably docile and inclined to supersede rather than swarm, but they are free of Varroa! Langstroth frame hives are widely used and the very excellent honey produced has won prizes in international shows. To maximise the number of matings, while not taking large frames out of honey production, half-sized Langstroth shallow supers (20 to a box) are put five at a time into small boxes with room for a top feeder. Then they are filled with
bees, using a funnel, and a virgin queen is run in, or this can be done on arrival at the new site. To avoid losing bees or even being robbed out, the boxes are taken well away to another part of the island where there is a good chance that drones which are not siblings will compete for the matings. It might be thought that as drones can fly many miles it would be unimportant as to where the mating hives were placed, but after a few km flight a drone is not likely to out fly a local bee in the nuptial challenge. To import Varroa by getting queens from abroad would be sacrilege, especially as the robust Rodriguan bees have so many very good characteristics.
Ken Stevens, UK FURTHER READING Zooming in on Rodrigues Bees for Development Journal 31: 13 Craft Aid in Rodrigues Bees for Development Journal 58: 6-7
Would you be interested to work with the beekeepers of Rodrigues? See Notice Board, page 10
Important point on feeding pollen I am writing regarding the article on pollen substitutes in BfDJ 77. One way in which the dry powder can be fed to bees in top-bar hives, or frame hives, is to take out an empty comb, lay it flat, pour on a handful of the pollen or substitute and rub it into the cells. The pollen-laden comb must then be placed in the hive. It is most important that it is placed immediately next to the brood where it is to be used.
Chris Slade, UK 4
Cementing ideas In BfDJ 75 and 76, beekeepers from India and The Gambia described their experiences with the construction and use of cement hives. The debate is not entirely new as some others have documented their experience in earlier editions, for example the Vautier hive in BfDJ 51. However it will be good to look at this debate from another perspective. Based on my experiences in Nigeria, I hold the opinion that cement hives are not to be recommended, for the following reasons: 1. Excessive heat during hot weather, or in hot areas, and dampness or humidity during cold weather, or in cold areas, would affect the bees negatively. 2. Digging the ground could be extremely hard during the dry season, or in stony/gravely soil types. 3. Erosion or soil wash may result from massive disturbance of the soil when a large number of hives have to be constructed. 4. The heavy weight of cement hives makes their transportation very cumbersome and expensive. 5. It is highly improbable that bees will prefer cement to wood: it is known that some species of wood do have an aroma that attracts bees. 6. Cost-wise, wood hives are much cheaper and more versatile in Nigeria than concrete or cement hives.
