THE BEE TREE OF SAHYADRI
Beesfor Development Journal 93
S Basavarajappa, Department of Zoology, University of Mysore, India Keywords: Apis dorsata, Asia, Ceiba pentandra, Eucalyptus sp, India
In the Nilgiris, Eucalyptus sp is grown on a large-scale, and felled by Paper Mills Ltd, to use as raw material for the manufacture of pulp and paper. Eucalyptus trees are one of the forage plants of the giant honey bee, and the rapid loss of these trees might have caused havoc for Apis dorsata.
The giant Asian honey bee Apis dorsata builds remarkable, large, vertically hanging combs. During our research in the semi-arid region of Bhadra Reservoir amazing Apis dorsata colony aggregates were observed.
Such dearth periods were extended for several years and were exacerbated by drought in 2001-2002. As a result, many Apis dorsata colonies became victims and disappeared from the Bee Tree. This unscrupulous loss of the giant honey bee population was unfortunate. Sadly not a single colony has reappeared on Ceiba pentandra since 2001 to date. Despite the abundance of other tree flora, colonies have not been seen on any tree species within 5 km2 of this area.
Bhadra Reservoir Project, at an altitude of 680-720 m, is considered a favourable habitat for honey bees. The region is locally called Sahyadri and lies at the foot hills of the southern tracts of the Western Ghats in Karnataka State, India. There are deciduous forests and a few crops including areca nut, coconut, and mango gardens in the vicinity of Nilgiri plantation owned by Mysore Paper Mills Ltd. Besides the natural vegetation, the plantation provides large quantities of floral resources for honey bees.
Whether successful reappearance of Apis dorsata nests on Ceiba pentandra will occur only with reforestation of Eucalyptus sp from the same area is still being debated. If this trend continues unchecked, it may also affect the reproductive success of innumerable numbers of both cultivated and wild plant species. In addition the people who live in the forests and nearby villages who have the best opportunity to make use of honey and beeswax will be deprived of these resources.
Apis dorsata nest in trees and on cliffs and in this area select the white silk cotton tree Ceiba pentandra, a dense, deciduous tree with many branches, growing up to 18 m. A large number of colony aggregates were on the defoliated Ceiba pentandra and we recorded 79 combs. The combs were fixed to the rough sub-surface of the tree branches, orientated east-west, north-east and south-west at different elevations. It was the first record made in this part of Karnataka, and the tree is now called The Bee Tree of Sahyadri.
Many cases of this type go without notice by the scientific community, and before we fully understand these species and their role within the ecosystem.
The 70 inhabited and nine abandoned combs were unevenly distributed within 15 colony aggregates. Each aggregate consisted of five to eight combs. These aggregates would remain undisturbed for a 12-14 month period during the study years 1999-2001. Later all these nests were abandoned within one week.
REMEMBERING
PHOTO © S BASAVARAJAPPA
Pak Teh Lebah
I am sad indeed to let you know that Pak Teh the honey hunter died on 16 November 2009 aged 84 years. Pak Teh passed on to me very valuable knowledge, wisdom and experience about the giant honey bees and honey hunting in the rainforest of Malaysia. I owe him a great deal for many of my insights about the forest, the bees and the wildlife. I feel lucky to have made the documentary with Discovery channel about Pak Teh conveying the cultural baton of honey hunting to his grandsons, Nizam and Shukor.
Professor Makhdzir Mardan, Universiti Putra, Malaysia Pak Teh’s honey hunting skills featured in BfD Journals 35 and 83, and in Diana Cohn’s book The Bee Tree
W W Jones
Bill Jones died at the end of summer. Bill gave unstinting support to Bees for Development for many years, gathering a group of fellow Trustees and ensuring that Bf D Trust became established as a registered charity. Bill was the right man for the job in developing a water-tight constitution and formulating workable rules for the new Charity. He supported us in all ventures, always offering sound advice. Despite tremendous mobility problems, Bill would until recently travel from Milton Keynes to Monmouth for meetings, and when that became too difficult, stayed in touch by e-mail. Bill supported several charities, especially Tools for Self Reliance, and there will be many other people missing him as we do.
In 2001, 79 Apis dorsata combs in 15 colony aggregates were recorded on the defoliated Ceiba pentandra 13
