News

BERMUDA

Honeybees are normally man’s best friend in the insect world. For one Island resident that relationship turned very sour recently when a swarm of honeybees killed 17 exotic birds in a private aviary in Bermuda. The owner fed and watered the birds as usual at 10.30 a.m. on July 20th. Everything appeared to be normal with his parakeets and cockatiels in their six large, outdoor cages. Two hours later, after being alerted by his son, he returned to find a horrible scene of dead and dying birds amidst a cloud of honeybees. Seven birds were already dead, ten more would die from their stings, and four others were stung but eventually recovered. As the Government Bee Inspector I visited the scene in an attempt to unravel the cause of this unfortunate incident and to determine if anything could be done to prevent it from happening again.

Swarming is a normal part of honeybee biology in which an overcrowded colony divides itself in half and sends out several thousand bees to start a new colony in a new home. A large percentage of Bermuda’s five hundred managed colonies and probably most of our wild colonies send out a swarm every year during the months of May to July. Beekeepers capture many of these swarms and reintroduce them into hive boxes so that they can be managed for honey production. Many of the rest take up residence in hollow trees or similar cavities, sometimes including air vents in houses and other buildings. Except for the anxiety they cause home-owners, honeybee swarms are generally harmless. The bees have no brood and no honey stores to defend and are therefore reluctant to sting.

In this instance, a honeybee swarm decided to move into a bird’s nestbox. Made from a hollow cedar stump the nestbox was suspended six feet off the ground inside one of the cages in the aviary. The birds in the cage must have become excited and, in their attempts to escape, set off a chain reaction in which the actions of the frantic birds excited and frightened the bees. Eventually birds in four adjacent cages were affected. Interestingly, the owner was able to enter the cages and remove injured birds without being stung himself. The swarm was eventually killed by spraying household Baygon into the nestbox.

This incident does not indicate Bermuda has been invaded by the African race of honeybee (the so-called ‘‘killer bee’) which is now established in Central and South America. It was simply a freak occurrence in which bees chose a nesting site inside an aviary and were unable to avoid contact with the birds due to the confines of the cage. Though a reoccurrence would seem unlikely it could happen again and owners of valuable birds are advised to remove nestboxes from outdoor cages after the nesting season is over.

(Daniel Hilburn, Monthly Bulletin of Department of Agriculture and Fisheries September 1986, Vol. 57 No. 9).

BOLIVIA

A new beekeeping project, FOMENTA APICOLA has been started in Bolivia this year, funded by the Santa Cruz Development Corporation (CORDEC- RUZ) and Muyurina Agricultural College. Africanized bees have been present in Bolivia for many years and one of the main objectives of this project is to provide a continual supply of pure Italian and Caucasian queen bees to beekeepers to maintain populations of honeybees with Italian/Caucasian characteristics. These Italian/Caucasian bees living in an ‘Africanized’ subtropical environment may be susceptible to high Varroa infestation, elevated levels of robbing by wasps and Africanized bees, and ‘piracy’ i.e. the invasion of hives by Africanized swarms. The project plans to develop and adapt management techniques to minimize these problems.

FOMENTA APICOLA will establish a laboratory at Muyurina to produce nucleus colonies, manufacture wax foundation, provide honey processing facilities, and give education and advice to beekeepers, and in addition, 40 beekeeping subcentres will be established throughout the Santa Cruz Department.

(C. J. H. Pruett, Britanica Cordecruz).

INDIA

Thai sacbrood disease of the Asian hive bee Apis cerana, caused by Thai sacbrood virus, appeared in the Jammu region of the State of Jammu and Kashmir early during 1985. By the end of 1985 the disease had reached all beekeeping pockets of the region, killing around 99% of all Apis cerana colonies. Apis mellifera colonies were not infected. The first incidence of the disease in Kashmir was in the Anantage valley in May 1986, and it has since been detected at Srinagar. The identity of the Thai sacbrood virus has been confirmed by Dr Brenda Ball of Rothamsted Experimental Station, UK.

(F. A. Shah, Kashmir).

INDIA

Successful establishment of the Western hive bee, Apis mellifera, in Northern India has given a boost to apicultural development in the country. Nevertheless, information on melliferous forage is lacking. Keeping this in view, scientists of the Horticulture and Forestry University in Himachal Pradesh at Solan, India have started extensive work on nectar sugar evaluation of bee forage and pollination of horticultural crops. Many melliferous species have already been evaluated for their honey potential. Autumn is generally a dearth period in plain areas but in submountaneous regions a second honey crop can be harvested from Plectranthus and wild cherry, Prunus puddum. Plectranthus (Fam. labiatae) was earlier reported not to be used by A. mellifera but now it has been unequivocally proved that A. mellifera gathers good amounts of nectar from this source. Very recently, private beekeepers who migrated their colonies to be near Plectranthus have harvested an average 45Kg of white honey per colony with a maximum of 110Kg per colony.

(Jitender Kumar Gupta).

PAKISTAN

A beekeeping project for Afghan refugees has been underway in the North West Frontier Province of Pakistan since September 1983. The scheme is run with UNHCR assistance and has proved successful in providing a way for Afghan refugees to supplement their income and minimise their dependence on foreign aid.

During 1985, 140 refugee beekeepers were identified, trained and provided with bee hives. An initial problem was finding a suitable market for the sale of honey in NWFP, but this was solved by help from the Ockenden Venture in Pakistan. In 1985, 13 275Kg of honey were produced, and this was sold to the Ockenden Venture and on local markets. Proceeds from the sale of honey allowed each refugee participant to earn Rs.4182 in 1985, a good return for a part-time activity. In addition, participants multiplied their own colonies of bees. A group of 30 refugees have been identified for training and assistance in 1986.

(Cesar Dubon, UNHCR, Peshawar)

RWANDA

Rwanda is a country of green hills, with altitudes between 900 and 4500 metres. The climate (tropical tempered by the altitude) and the flora (mainly eucalyptus) are very favourable to beekeeping.

Faced with the problems of overpopulation (more than 300 inhabitants/ Km²) and very impoverished soil, the Rwandanese authorities have become interested in the development of the beekeeping potentialities of the country.

There is a considerable quantity of traditional beekeeping. According to the region one finds 5 to 20 hives per Km². The hives are for the most part made with small plaited branches. After the capture of the swarm, the hives are taken down from the trees and put in little a apiary next to the house (often in the fence surrounding the house). The beekeeper visits the hive solely to collect the honey at nightfall. The product is slight, between 0 and 5Kg, the combs are squashed and used mainly for banana beer.

For several years now, French volunteers have been working in small areas on development projects with traditional beekeepers.

At present, after several the experiences, projects have adopted a new orientation which is more progressive and the where beekeepers are more involved in the experiments destined for popularisation. The achievements prove to be slow but it is our wish that after the project, the beekeepers will themselves administer something they have created. The programme is centred on the training of the beekeepers; on the bee, its behaviour, its organisation, on modern beekeeping and on transitional techniques. Practical training is considered of primary importance. Throughout this programme, the beekeepers are trained by a Rwandanese technician who is himself trained by a volunteer. Our initial objectives proved to be over-ambitious: the introduction of Langstroth hives and the creation of small cooperatives have partially failed. The Kenya Top-Bar-Hive has been adopted by the beekeepers who find it easy to visit. Recently we have tried to make hives of the Kenyan type but with local materials; sides and top-bars of papyrus and others made with plaited branches. The latter have been well integrated as they maintain the principal of the construction of traditional hives. In addition, the production is the same as with a wooden hive, whilst the investment is non-existent. When the production reaches the objectives, the beekeepers, if they wish, generally create a small cooperative to market their product. Here, once again, they are trained and supervised in the principals of management.

In fact, our main aim is to try to stimulate them so they will take their development into their own hands. However, the transition from traditional to modern (or at least improved) beekeeping remains the principal difficulty for the beekeepers. The initiation is spread over several seasons hence, sometimes, a lack of motivation but what a reward to see a traditional beekeeper visit his own modern beehive!

(Theirry Fedon, AFVP).

SUDAN

A two-year beekeeping project has been started in Kubbum in Western Sudan. Under funding provided by the Band Aid Trust, the project is being organised by the Near East Foundation. Traditional beekeeping has long been practised in this area, where various species of Acacia and other melliferous trees of woodland savanna provide plentiful nectar sources. Many farmers in the area around Kubbum depend on honey hunting as a major source of their income, but this is a wasteful means of obtaining honey, usually resulting in the destruction of the bee colony. Traditionally hives are made by hollowing-out logs or from bark, but with increasing desertification it is evident that hives must be prepared so that available timber is used most economically.

One of the aims of the project is therefore to educate farmers in low technology beehive construction and management, and it is hoped that approximately 1,600 farmers can be trained in beekeeping during the course of the project.

UGANDA

Uganda Beekeepers Association has recently formed, and the first edition of their Newsletter has just been published with the assistance of CARE-Uganda. The Association aims to coordinate beekeeping efforts throughout Uganda, to help beekeepers make contact with one another, and to provide an information and advice centre. The Association also intends to assist the Uganda beekeeping industry in developing the market for honey and beeswax. It is hoped that groups of beekeepers and commercial honey packers will advertise in the UBA Newsletter and thereby establish contacts with one another.

Apiculture Section, Ministry of Animal Industry and Fisheries, Kampala, or Apiculture Project, CARE- Uganda, Kampala.