INDIA Apis mellifera in India. Many workers in
India have attempted several times to import and establish the exotic species, Apis mellifera in the country. But successful introduction and establishment of this exotic bee dates to 1962-64 in Himachal Pradesh. Beekeeping with A. cerana indica was practically unknown in the adjoining states of Punjab and Haryana until such times as colonies of A, mellifera were introduced to these states from Himachal Pradesh. During the last decade many tree plantation programmes have caught up and large scale plantations of trees (e.g. Eucalyptus) have provided plentiful forage for bees. Honey yields as high as 80kg per colony are being obtained from A. mellifera in the northern states. There are many large areas with conditions similar to Punjab and Haryana which offer great potential for the success of apiculture. Extension of A. mellifera was purposefully kept slow for fear of spreading bee diseases hitherto unknown in India. But constant vigil and surveillance revealed no new bee diseases during the last two decades. A widespread consensus has been developed and it has now been decided at the 2nd annual workshop of All India Co-ordinated Project on Honeybee Research and Training that A. mellifera should be allowed to spread to other states. (Dr. R. C. Mishra, Dept of Entomology & Apiculture, Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University)
Trials with Apis mellifera outside Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Haryana, can be
undertaken only by ICAR and CBRI research units and not by any private individual. Keeping these colonies by private beekeepers endangers the beekeeping industry. (Bee Science News, July 1985)
MOZAMBIQUE Mocambique
Stamps featuring bees and beekeeping provide a good way of increasing the public’s awareness of the subject. Four excellent stamps have been issued in Mozambique this year, and they feature a worker bee, a drone bee, a queen bee, and a beekeeper smoking a hive entrance. The stamps are illustrated.
NICARAGUA
Under the national plan for expanding beekeeping, 20 Nicaraguan beekeepers were sent to Panama, Costa Rica and Brazil to study ways of keeping African bees. At the same time 180 qualified beekeepers and 60 technicians familiar with these new bees were being trained. Advice has also been sought from France about setting up agricultural cooperatives where the members will have apiaries. Under the plan of growth (up to 1986) the number of colonies is to go up to 266,000 and honey production to 400 tonnes, some of which may be exported, though honey has to be imported to meet demand. Apart from honey production, experiments in Colombia and Panama have shown that Africanized bees are very good for pollination of coffee plantations and vegetable and bean-fields. (A. Stroev, Pchelovodstvo, 3, 1985, Translated by D. Galton)
UGANDA
A
promotion programme has been started to introduce more effective
methods of beekeeping throughout Uganda. This is a joint venture by the Veterinary Department of the Ministry of Animal Industry and Fisheries, the Cooperative for American Relief Everywhere (CARE) Uganda Ltd., the Uganda Red Cross and Uganda YMCA. A three day beekeeping seminar attended by over sixty participants representing the various Red Cross and YMCA Clubs throughout Uganda, was recently conducted at YMCA headquarters in Kampala. Commenting on the success of the Seminar, YMCA official, Mr. Wabwire Muwesa, said that the introduction of small scale industries which can easily be embarked upon by the ordinary Ugandan, will go a long way in helping to uplift the rural areas. It will also help to utilise unused land that is abundant up-country. Mr. Muwesa said that the Seminar was particularly important in motivating the participants who will in turn motivate the clubs members whom they represent. The YMCA is using its club system to mobilise the masses in small scale industries such as beekeeping, which require little capital. This venture to promote beekeeping is intended to enable Uganda to become self-sufficient in honey as food and to sell
CORPEIOS
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beeswax and honey to earn foreign exchange. Efforts have been made through the relevant ministries to acquire financial and technical aid from CARE, which has given technical assistance and modern equipment. Four major honey refinery plants have been set up at Nakasongola, Nalukolonga, Mbale and Soroti, and apiary demonstration firms are being established in
Gulu, Lira, Arua, Nebbi, Kumi, Kitgum, Kasambya, Mbarara, Namanve, Masaka, Kamuli, Apach, Amuria and Tororo. CARE has established a central workshop at Njeru, Jinja to manufacture beehives and these will be obtainable through district veterinary officers and apiary extension workers.
(Elias Wabwire Muwesa, YMCA, Kampala)
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BOOKSHELF The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Beekeeping, edited by Roger Morse and Ted Hooper. Sherborne, UK: Alphabooks. ISNB 0 906670 05 5, 432 pp. 1985. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Beekeeping brings together a surprising amount of information between one pair of covers so producing a book that will be needed by everyone who is concerned with beekeeping education or development. Its editors, who both have lifelong practical experience and are skilled teachers, are Professor R. A. Morse, Corneil University, USA and Ted
Hooper NDB, Writtle College of Agriculture, Essex, UK. As well as their own contributions they have obtained material from 46 specialists in apiculture and the life of honeybees and their colonies. In addition to a series of colour plates there are (on nearly every page) well produced black and white photographs and drawings, and technical
descriptions are supported by uncluttered diagrams particularly of honeybee anatomy and the hive and its constituent parts. The succinct entries have a reasonable balance and do not leave the reader bemused by a wealth of cross references, but it would have been helpful to have had more indications of the key literature. In turning to the section on bee books readers will feel the lack of M. V. Smith’s Beekeeping in the tropics, 1960, Longman, London, UK and of the Bibliography of tropical apiculture, 1978, IBRA, London, UK. No doubt this omission can be corrected in a subsequent edition. The Illustrated Encyclopedia is an important book, it is different from any other currently in print, it has a world-wide appeal and will be invaluable to ali who take a serious interest in beekeeping, particularly if they do not have the resources of a large apicultural library to call Karl Shower upon.
The Encyclopedia of Beekeeping is available IBRA, price 18.70 including postage.
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