Bees for Development
JOURNAL
No 143 JUNE 2022
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NEWS FROM GHANA BARK HIVES RWANDA MONGOLIA
The Journal for sustainable beekeeping
Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
Dear friends Bees help us in so many ways. And we engage with them in so many different ways – this can be part of the problem for beekeeping development efforts. There is no single, universally perfect way to do beekeeping – it all depends upon the bees and the resources available. We can say that if productive beekeeping has been continuing for a very long time, and the local bee populations are abundant and healthy, then the beekeeping is sustainable. This has been the situation in the miombo woodlands of East Africa - where there have been too many misguided attempts to change the way beekeeping has been done for generations.
honeycomb, always leaving the brood nest undisturbed, is a wonderful way to support these forests.
In this edition we bring you the final part of Janet’s explanation of how Zambia’s beekeepers are the guardians of the forests where they work. Apart from the beekeepers themselves, few people living beyond these forests have taken the time to understand the factors involved in forest beekeeping. Janet has spent many years interviewing the beekeepers and studying what they do, and carefully compiling all the data. Indeed, Janet was awarded her PhD for this research, and importantly, she has compiled all the information needed that should ensure that forest beekeeping methods, and forest beekeepers are protected, and respected.
Other features in this edition include stories of significant income from beekeeping in Ghana and Rwanda, and detailed research underway in Mongolia – showing that honey is highly nutritious – providing the precious trace elements that make a good diet – for bees, and for us humans too. All good reasons to do everything we can to protect bees, support beekeepers, and take care of their habitat.
Buying honey or beeswax from these Zambian forests, where the beekeepers practise careful harvesting of
Nicola Bradbear, Director Bees for Development
June 2022
News from Ghana.......................... 3 Bark hive beekeeping and forest maintenance.................................. 4 Beekeeping improves rural incomes......................................... 8 Research and innovation in Mongolia.......................................10 News............................................. 12 BfD Journal Hubs........................... 13 Bookshelf.......................................14 Look Ahead...................................15 Bees for Development Journal Produced quarterly, we have readers in 128 countries Editor: Nicola Bradbear PhD Co-ordinator: Helen Jackson BSc Subscriptions cost £30 per year – see page 15 for ways to pay
It is time to value this nature-based beekeeping, and to appreciate the indigenous knowledge and skills that underpin this highly sustainable beekeeping system.
Bees for Development Works to assist beekeepers in developing countries. Readers in developing countries may apply for a sponsored subscription. Sign up to our Resource Centre and apply online: resources.beesfordevelopment.org/sign-up/ Bees for Development Trust gratefully acknowledge: ADM, Bees for Development North America, British Wax Refining Co Ltd, Charles Hayward Foundation, Darwin Initiative, Didymus Charity, E H Thorne (Beehives) Ltd, Ethiopiaid, Euromonitor International, Eva Crane Trust, Healing Herbs, Hiscox Foundation, Incubeta, John Paul Mitchell Systems, Koster Keunen, Rowse Honey Ltd, Waterloo Foundation, Welsh Government, Yasaeng Beekeeping Supplies and many other generous organisations and individuals. Copyright:You are welcome to translate and/or reproduce items appearing in Bees for Development Journal as part of our Information Service. Permission is given on the understanding that the Journal and author(s) are acknowledged, our contact details are provided in full, and you send us a copy of the item or the website address where it is used.
Image © Giacomo Ciriello
Edition 143
This way of life is of course threatened, by loss of forest to roads and clearance for charcoal and shifting cultivation. It is threatened also by ‘experts’ who do not understand this extensive, forest beekeeping, and encourage the beekeepers to change to more ‘modern’ methods.
Cover image: Bees for Development Ghana Operations manager, Gideon Hopeson Zege (left) selling honey to their first customer, Emmanuel Awutey (right)
1 Agincourt Street, Monmouth NP25 3DZ, UK Tel: +44 (0)1600 714848 info@beesfordevelopment.org www.beesfordevelopment.org 2
Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
NEWS FROM BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT GHANA Beekeepers in Afram Plains now have a fantastic new opportunity to sell their harvests, easily and profitably. This May, the Bees for Development Ghana Honey and Beeswax Trade Company has opened for business. We are buying honeycomb by weight at farmgate at a fixed price 20% higher than the average local seasonal honey price. That is to reward beekeepers for meeting our stringent quality control measures. Full buckets are transported back to our processing facilities in Donkorkrom, where we extract perfect fresh honey and golden residue-free beeswax. We have been training beekeepers to make clean, safe and sustainable harvests. Check our online Resource Centre for a new video how to guide on honey harvesting. We have been training and working closely with volunteer honey collection coordinators. Operating with Bees for Development Mobile Honey - our innovative open-source digital traceability system – they are registering beekeepers, distributing buckets, completing purchase forms and implementing quality control measures.
A honey bee flying into a flower of Martynia annua Bondasso
Harvesting from a log hive, Krachi
Shafik Aminu, Honey Collection Coordinator for Kojobator, issuing a honey purchase receipt
Images © Giacomo Ciriello
The BfD team at work processing honey at our facilities in Donkorkrom
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Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
Bark hive beekeeping and forest maintenance - Part III Janet Lowore, Programme Manager, Bees for Development In this article we consider this last point in more detail – the actions taken by forest beekeepers to reduce the damage caused by hot, late season fires.
This is the third article about bark hive beekeeping in Zambia and the connection between beekeeping and forest maintenance.
Impact of fire on beekeeping
Part I (BfDJ 140) considered whether bark hive making causes deforestation: it does not! There are a low number of trees suitable for making hives within any given area of forest, and most of the trees in an area used for forest beekeeping are retained – because they are the wrong species, shape or size for hives. Smaller trees are left until they grow larger.
During focus group discussions held with beekeepers in Ikelenge and Mwinilunga in 2015, beekeepers explained that fires which burn at the end of the dry season are intense and can destroy the flowers which provide nectar and pollen for bees. This must be avoided if possible. Hot, late season fires also disturb bees, burn hives and kill tree saplings. “Late fire is a problem ”, and beekeepers in Jimbe said, “If the forest burns at this time [end of dry season] it is bad”. These comments fit with an observation by Clauss, who noted that, ‘… beekeepers are generally worried about late fires between August and October which widely scorch the flush and above all the flowers of the most important nectar sources’, (Clauss 1992).
Part II (BfDJ 141) showed that beekeepers are very protective of their hive sites in the forest, as they provide them with all the resources they need to make an income from beekeeping. Beekeepers use forest resources carefully and wisely, yet there are many causes of forest loss which are outside their control. Where beekeepers can control factors which damage forests, for example, harmful late season fires, they will do so.
To reduce the impact of late season fires, beekeepers explain that they engage in a practice known as ‘early burning’. Beekeepers in Muzhila explained, “Fire destroys flowers. Early burning is the solution and the Forestry Department used to get people to do that in June and July. We beekeepers do that now, we burn here and there, where the hives are, in June”, (beekeepers, Muzhila, 2015), corroborated also by others, “We do early burning - to protect the flowers from late fires. Yes, everyone does early burning”, (Beekeepers, Saluzhinga, 2015).
Image © Janet Lowore
This fire was set in June when the ambient temperatures are relatively low. At this time of year the fire creeps along the ground and does not reach the tree canopy (Chibwika, Zambia, 2018)
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Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
Early burning is a forestry technique
Beekeepers practise early burning
The activity of early burning is a miombo woodland management tool widely advocated by foresters who have long recognised that late season fires are hotter and more damaging than early season burns. The damage caused by frequent, hot burns has led foresters to note that ‘fire is probably the most important management problem in miombo’ (Chidumayo 1997, p132).
During my PhD study fieldwork I asked beekeepers about threats to their hive sites, and how they protected them, I asked questions about whether beekeepers took any deliberate actions to ensure that there would be enough trees for future hive-making and I asked about forest protection in general.
The management regime advocated by foresters revolves around managing the heat of the burn. Given the impossibility of total fire prevention and the damage caused by uncontrolled burning, the best option is to promote a policy of planned and controlled burning ‘ …what is needed is to influence and encourage people to use fire in a more responsible, controlled, and beneficial manner so that they obtain the benefits while reducing the environmental, economic and social costs’. (Frost 1999, p199).
What is a forest beekeeper’s hive site? A ‘hive site’ is not a collection of closely located hives as might be found in a commercial apiary. It is a large forest area with widely spaced hives in trees with no clear boundary. Yet there is a sense of exclusivity and ownership. Beekeepers explain that each person has their own hive site and no one else can interfere with it: “Each person might have different places, but they stick to them when they have them. I know my place. I have used the same place for 20 years, and I replace hives if old. We have our own places,” (beekeeper, Kasochi Central, 2015).
The main fire mitigation measure at the disposal of forest managers is to reduce the intensity of burns and this is best achieved through the practice of early burning. Trapnell’s research in Ndola, Zambia 1933-1956 showed that most of the dominant miombo species suffered a 2.5% per year mortality under late dry-season burning compared to mortality rates of between 0.2-0.5% under completed protection or early dry-season burning regimes (Trapnell 1959 in Campbell 1996).
In fact, beekeepers have no formal ownership rights to the forest which belongs to the Chief and is governed by statutory laws, “The forest doesn’t belong to me, but my hive site does. I have used the same place for 30 years. No one can interfere”, (beekeeper, Muzeya, 2015).
Early burning involves the setting of fire early in the season when the grass is only just dry, the daytime temperatures are low and there is residual moisture in the forest undergrowth and litter (Trapnell 1959 in Campbell 1996). Early burning creates patches of burned areas and these reduce the intensity of fires in the dry season when large, destructive fires would otherwise occur (Frost 1999; Eriksen 2007).
Most beekeepers have more than one hive site, to cater for local fluctuations in forage availability, to spread risk and to maximise opportunity.
Image © Janet Lowore
Brachystegia seedlings and saplings can be killed by intense, late season fires. Avoiding fires in October is a key forestry technique in protecting miombo woodland (Chibwika, Zambia, 2018)
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Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
season fires which can kill trees. The purpose of burning in June was readily explained as a deliberate measure to avoid late season fires. The beekeeper at the second hive site did the same. Neither beekeeper attempted to create firebreaks around their hive sites, nor did they try to burn everything, instead burning patches here and there. This approach created a mosaic of burnt and unburnt areas.
What beekeepers said 89% said they used early burning to protect small trees from fire, to ensure there will be enough trees for hive-making in future 88% said they practised early burning to protect their hive sites from late season fires
Area of forest impacted by fire mitigation measures
72% said they practised early burning every year to protect trees and forests in general
If beekeepers take actions to reduce the impact of damaging late season fires in their hive sites, this raises the question about how much forest is protected in this way by forest beekeepers. One way to answer this question is to gauge the size of an average hive site and multiply this by the number of beekeepers. However, given that hive sites are not fenced apiaries in the conventional sense, and have no clear boundaries, measuring the size is not easy.
Field work was undertaken in 2018 to investigate these actions in more detail. Two beekeepers were accompanied to their hive sites in June. Both sites were about 15km from a road and visits took place at the beginning of the dry season when it was relatively cold, yet dry. The grass was still green in parts, elsewhere dry and flammable. On the way to the first hive site the lead beekeeper ignited some dry grass about 4km prior to reaching his main hive site, explaining that “all the forest is important”. During the subsequent three days of work he walked throughout the hive site hanging hives he had made in March and making new hives.
The method used to measure two hives sites visited in June 2018 was to follow each beekeeper through his hive site and take GPS waypoints of as many hives as possible. Hives in each site were then plotted using GIS software. An assumption was made that the size of the hive site was equivalent to the size of the plotted polygon which was created by the most exterior sited hives. This was necessarily an estimate as the hives were not uniformly distributed.
It was during the course of this work that he set fires while walking from one side of the hive site to the other, putting a match to the grass where there was a clear build-up of dry grass. He explained that at this time of year the fire does not burn hot and does not damage trees, even small ones, compared with late season fires which burn hot and are extremely destructive. He explained that trees might be scorched by early season fires, but they quickly recover; this is in contrast to late
This method resulted in estimates for two hive sites, one being 163ha, the other 259ha, with a calculated average of 211ha. While these may seem large, it should
These trees can withstand less-intense, cool fire but are vulnerable to fierce fire. (Ikelenge, Zambia, 2018)
Image © Janet Lowore
Positive outcomes
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Image © Janet Lowore
Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
This beekeeper practises ‘early burning’ at his hive site in Chibwika, Zambia, June 2018 be explained that working through each hive site took two whole days in the case of the smaller, and three for the larger. The beekeepers work in and use very large areas of forest. If these results are extrapolated further an extraordinary picture emerges. The honey company Forest Fruits Ltd. buys honey from 3,000 beekeepers and if each beekeeper has two hives sites of an average size of 211ha each – this suggests that 211ha x 2 x 3,000 beekeepers = 1,266,000 ha of forest being used for forest beekeeping. This is a significant result.
While other beekeeping systems depend on the management of individual colonies, the forest beekeeping system involves a very different approach. Forest beekeepers do not manage the bees, which live as they do in nature, they manage instead the habitat and the food source of the bees, that is the forest. Yet this management does not take the form of a scientific forest management plan, involving forest inventory and the setting of ‘Annual Allowable Cuts’. Instead, forest beekeepers recognise that to gain from forest beekeeping it is necessary to protect hives sites and because hive sites are forest; protecting hive-sites, means protecting forest. Forest beekeepers engage in a number of activities which cumulatively result in a maintained forest. Forest beekeepers do not ‘keep’ bees in the conventional sense, instead they ‘keep’ forest: in this way forest beekeepers are forest-keepers.
We might assume that the two hives sites which were visited and measured were larger than average – after all – not all beekeepers are the same, and the visits were deliberately arranged with ‘senior’ beekeepers. Yet, if an average hive site is half the size of the two which were measured, and only 88% of beekeepers practise early burning, this still means that 1,266,000/2 x 88% = 557,040 ha of forest are being protected to some extent through early burning. That such a large area of forest is being protected by fire mitigation measures by beekeepers more often maligned as forest destroyers than forest protectors - is extraordinary. This finding supports the view promoted by Smith (1966) who referred to beekeepers as the ‘foresters ally’ in the fight against fires.
References CAMPBELL,B. (1996). The Miombo in Transition: Woodlands and Welfare in Africa. Bogor: Center for International Forestry Research. Retrieved from http://books.google.com/ books?hl=nl&lr=&id=rpildJJVdU4C&pgis=1
Conclusion
CLAUSS,B. (1992). Bees and beekeeping in the North Western Province of Zambia. Ndola: Mission Press.
The forest beekeeping system comprises a collection of actions; hive-making, hive-siting, attracting swarms to hives, early-burning and honey-harvesting. The precise and exacting requirements for bark hive making places a self-constraining limit on tree use which prevents intense exploitation. This low-impact tree use is coupled with early burning, which protects saplings from being killed by intense bush fires. Hive placement provides bees with excellent and plentiful nesting sites, which support the overall bee population. Forest beekeeping is a practical and sustainable beekeeping system, although not possible for every context. The system requires large areas of forest - not all communities have access to these as in Zambia. The methods involve long periods of working in the forest, making the system less accessible for women.
CHIDUMAYO,E. (1997). Miombo Ecology and Management: an introduction. London: Intermediate Technology Publications. ERIKSEN,C. (2007). Why do they burn the bush? Fire, rural livelihoods, and conservation in Zambia. Geographical Journal, 173(3), 242–256. DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4959.2007.00239.x FROST,P.G.H. (1999). Fire in southern African woodlands: Origins, impacts, effects, and control. Proceedings of an FAO Meeting on Public Policies Affecting Forest Fires, 138 (January), 181–205. LOWORE,J. (2021). Forest beekeeping in Zambia: analysing the nexus of sustainable forest management and commercial honey trade. Unpublished PhD thesis. University of Huddersfield, UK. SMITH,F. (1966). Beekeeping as a forest industry. East African Agricultural and Forestry Journal. Volume 31, 1966 – Issue 3. DOI: 10.1080/00128325.1966.11662064 7
Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
Beekeeping improves rural incomes Vincent Hakizimana, Twitekunzuki Beekeeping Group Founder, Kigali, Rwanda Beekeeping can serve as an important means of income diversification, especially for residents of developing communities with limited income prospects. When properly managed, beekeeping has low input costs and large returns on investment. The activity is neither land nor time intensive, and it typically flourishes in tropical climates with diverse vegetation. The next step for many communities is to transform beekeeping into a prosperous business opportunity.
honey and other value-added bee products, for example beeswax candles and pure beeswax.
Impact of beekeeping Before 1994 little consideration was taken of the biodiversity within NNP. There were many illegal activities - bushfires, mining, poaching, snares and tree cutting - and beekeepers were often targeted as those damaging NNP.
Hives in use in Nyungwe National Park
Cooperatives and Unions
Local style
Successful agricultural value chains retain coordination amongst all key actors and build the capacity of producers at the micro-level. Surrounding Nyungwe National Park (NNP) in Rwanda, communities utilise the abundant natural cooperatives to sell their harvests of
Top-bar
268
Frame
175
Total
Good quality beeswax harvested and processed from a training session with the cooperatives
3,018
3,461
Table 1: The type and number of bee hives recorded in Nyungwe National Park, Rwanda
resources and the flow of tourism for livelihoods. Located in the southwestern region, NNP attracts both residential and international visitors. Beekeeping has been practised for generations, however, only recently have beekeepers organised into cooperatives and unions to allow themselves and the park to prosper. Established in 2010, the Ubwiza bwa Nyungwe Beekeeper Union (UBNBU) is a partnership of 15 beekeeping cooperatives located in the buffer zone around NNP. The Union offers a variety of services to its members, while also acting as a sales channel for
Image © Vincent Hakizimana
Image © Vincent Hakizimana
Since 1994 beekeeping methods have changed with beekeepers organised into associations and cooperatives seen to undertake beekeeping professionally as a revenue generating activity. Beekeepers receive training on techniques, equipment and hives and infrastructures to build on their skills from their parents’ heritage. The Union is using top-bar hives in addition to local style and frame hives.
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Beekeepers are involved in Nyungwe National Park management
Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
The table (right) demonstrate the gross income for beekeepers over two years (2020-2021) from honey harvest (11.50 and 20.84 tonnes respectively). Income increased because:
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Motivating beekeepers to join existing beekeeping cooperatives and unions through training, and sensitisation on the importance of biodiversity, conservation and protection.
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Beekeepers started feeding colonies during dearth periods so many more were saved than previously.
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A diversity of hives (including top-bar hives) were introduced into the community through improved knowledge received through information in Bees for Development Journal.
Awareness of weather conditions and environmental resources which are beneficial (or not) for honey bees.
There was support from the Wildlife Conservation Society Rwanda Programme for the purchase and distribution of top-bar hives and beekeeping equipment, capacity building for bee farmers in different beekeeping domains, infrastructure for improving quality and storing and marketing of honey.
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Improving beekeepers’ knowledge in respect of apiary management, bee biology and behaviour, bee product processing and marketing, bee species and race, biodiversity, conservation and forest livelihoods, economy and melliferous flora and pollination.
Beekeeping has helped to reduce illegal activities in NNP and communities are involved in management and forest restoration. Honey bees have enabled NNP trees and other plants to reproduce fertile fruit and seeds for future generation of plants through pollination.
Image © Vincent Hakizimana
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Socio-economic conditions
Top-bar hives delivered for Coabisetwu Cooperative
Cooperatives incomes in 2020 and 2021 Name of Cooperative
2020
2021
Change +/-
$736
$518
$(218)
$3,981
$16,074
$12,093
Kaubwe
$581
$1,189
$608
Codape
$1,547
$1,217
$(330)
Kauka
$653
$567
$(86)
Kuaga
$628
$648
$20
Kauki
$428
$8,717
$8,289
Kodubabu
$232
$1,379
$1,147
Kauru
$614
$513
$(101)
Coaseki
$67
$325
$258
Kodabu
$596
$102
$(494)
Abtari Muri Koperative $16,558
$19,288
$2,730
$511
$422
$(89)
$2,698
$4,634
$1,936
$442
$308
$(134)
$3,498
$8,204
$4,706
Intimirwa
Image © Vincent Hakizimana
Cooduru
Coabisetwu Dukwizuburyohe Coasecya Impuzaruvumvu
Inspection of top-bar hives 9
Table 2: Source: Ubwiza bwa Nyungwe Beekeepers Union (2021), Annual Progress Report (US$1 = €1,16)
Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
Research and innovation in Mongolia Togtokhbayar Norovsambuu, Head of Professor’s Team, School of Animal Sciences and Biotechnology, Mongolian State University of Life Sciences, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia Since 1959 apiculture has been developing in Mongolia, based on its rich bee forage resources. In 1974 the Mongolian government decided to support beekeeping on a scientific basis with the Bee Breeding Research Unit, expanded into a research and production station in October 1983.
Also from 2013 the Japan International Cooperation Agency implemented projects to develop Mongolian beekeeping (see BfD Journal 140). Research by the Asian Development Bank’s Agricultural Value Chain Development Project, from 2017 to 2021 included:
Results of research and training on bee pasture management
The station carried out scientific work on bee production and care, wintering of colonies, queen rearing, bee breeding, establishment of beekeepers’ labour norms, and the study of honey plant resources and the biochemical composition of honey and other products. However, during the transition period, from a central-planned economy to a market-based economy, and the privatisation of state-owned beekeeping enterprises, the collapse of research stations led to a sharp decline in research.
A survey mapped pastures with honey plants at participating farms to determine flowering time, recommended use and types of honey collected. The study was conducted by a team of researchers from the Research Institute of Animal Husbandry and covered covered 17 soums of aimags including Darhan Uul, Dornod, Hentii, Orkhon and Bulgan, Selenge and Tuv aimags. During the study, geographical locations of bee pastures of Project Participated Enterprises (PPE) were identified through sampling 25 points producing 1:100,000 scale maps of 706.4 hectares of bee pastures.
The innovative project Introduction of advanced technology to beekeeping and production of ecologically pure biological additives was implemented with a grant from the Science and Technology Foundation of the Ministry of Education and Science of Mongolia (20172019).
Flowering calendars for honey plants were developed and beekeepers provided with training on pasture management for bees.
Effects of Apis mellifera pollination on yields and quality of strawberries in greenhouses Researchers from the School of Agro-ecology of the State University of Life Science determined the effect of bee pollination on strawberry crops grown in summer greenhouses in 2018 and winter greenhouses in 2019. The study revealed that pollination by bees influenced the appearance, shape, and quality of the strawberries and that deformity of fruit was corrected by 96-100%. Standard crop yield reached 87.4-93.4%, with a significant reduction in waste.
Image © Togtokhbayar Norovsambuu
A trial to determine the effects of pollination by bees in open fields of buckwheat and oilseed rape was conducted in collaboration with crop farmers in the Tsagaannuur and Zuunburen soums of Selenge aimag. Results showed that not only did plant yield increase dramatically but also honey harvest increased to 25-30 kg for buckwheat and 44kg for rapeseed per colony. Based on the research, training cards for pollination of buckwheat, rapeseed, strawberries and tomatoes by bees were developed and a manual on Technology of pollination services by bees published.
Geobotanical data recording 10
Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
Nectar and pollen sampling
Interviews with local beekeepers
Researchers discussed with beekeepers the effects of pollination by bees in open fields
All mages © Togtokhbayar Norovsambuu
Quadrant sampling of nectar and pollen sources
Biological characteristics and antioxidant properties of Mongolian honey The highest DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) record with 31.53 mg/ml and vitamin E content with 0.94 µg/g was from honey produced from pasture, where the dominant plants was Scabiosa comosa and Allium senescens.
Researchers analysed total phenolic content (TPC), total flavonoid content (TFC), vitamins A, C, E, and minerals Calcium, Iron, Potassium and Zinc in ten different samples of honey from four organisations. The highest results in TPC, TFC, and vitamin E were detected in honey collected from buckwheat.
The highest amount of calcium and potassium in honey was from Thymus spp.
The honey derived from Thymus spp showed significant high data in vitamin C with 6.41 µg/g and the second-highest result in vitamin A with 0.92 µg/g.
The highest amount of iron was detected in canola honey with 2294 mg/l, and Zinc was highest in the multi-floral honey.
In TPC and TFC the thyme honey also displayed moderate-high data.
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Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
NEWS FROM AROUND THE WORLD Papua New Guinea
India
Thank you for sending me Bees for Development Journal which is helping me to increase my knowledge regarding honey bees. I operate a training centre for bee farmers and a factory for honey processing and have written beekeeping training manuals. To see more visit my page Mountain Honey or Helping Hand Honey Producer or on Facebook Kelly Inae.
The National Dairy Development Board under the National Bee Board and Honey Mission, Department of Agriculture organised a seven-day training programme, 23-29 April. We distributed BfD Journal to the participants. Shiny Rehel, Programme Coordinator, Keystone Foundation
Kelly Inae, Helping Hand Honey Project, Goroka
Bees for Development and Keystone Foundation have been partners for many years. We are pleased to announce a new Training of Trainers project to help support small, poor tribals and farmers to recover from the effects of the Covid pandemic.
Wild-living Apis mellifera colonies worldwide
Keystone Foundation is also one of our BfD Journal Distribution Hubs (see page 13)
United Kingdom
The western honey bee, Apis mellifera, lives wild throughout much of its endemic and introduced range. Despite the global importance of Apis mellifera as a crop pollinator, wild colonies have received comparatively little attention in the scientific literature and basic information regarding their density and abundance is scattered. 29 studies were reviewed to quantify wild colony density directly and analyse a larger dataset including an additional seven studies that quantified density indirectly using genetic markers. Densities varied from 0.1-24.2 km² at 38 locations worldwide and were 24 times lower in Europe (0.35/km²) than Africa (8.4/km²) on average. Survey area varied from 1.2-924.0 km² and was negatively correlated with density. Survey areas were largest in Europe (average of 70.4 km²) and were partly responsible for the low densities reported in this region. After controlling for survey area in a GLM, mean annual temperature and net primary productivity became important predictors of density.
Hub Cymru Africa Hub Cymru Africa is a partnership supporting the Wales Africa community, supported by the Welsh Government. Every year Hub Cymru Africa presents Awards, and we are delighted that the 2022 Sustainability Award was won by Bees for Development and TUNADO - See Project Manager Sean Lawson’s Award winning Youtube here: https://youtu.be/vwSMgq_ oSHM
RHS Chelsea Flower Show Bees for Development received a Silver Medal at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show. Our award-winning exhibit Hives for Lives was sponsored by Rowse Honey, designed by Sarah Mihalop and built by EH Thorne (Beehives) Ltd. The Show was held in London in May 2022. Discover more about the award winning installation on our website: www.beesfordevelopment.org/ rhs-chelsea-flower-show-2022
This model was used to estimate wild colony numbers at a regional scale, which varied from approximately 135 million in Central and South America to 8 million in Europe and 250 million worldwide. Overall, wild colonies were estimated to outnumber managed hives in all regions except Europe and were estimated to be over twice as numerous worldwide. This is a significant result given that Apis mellifera is often viewed as a domesticated species that primarily lives under human management. Citation: Oliver Visick, Francis Ratnieks. Density of wild-living honey bee, Apis mellifera, colonies worldwide: A review. Authorea. May 24, 2022. DOI: 10.22541/au.165342071.17994585/v1
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Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
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Tell us your story We accept articles and short reports on new or improved techniques, information about bees and beekeeping in your country and your events, and welcome comments and responses to articles we have published. • • •
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Articles should be 800 - 1,600 words in length and accompanied by images. Items can be sent by email text, as attachments in Word or PDF format, or by post. Please send digital images (as individual jpeg files) at the size they are taken off the camera. Images resized for website use are not suitable for printing. If it is not possible to include your submission in BfD Journal, we may place it in the Resource Centre on our website (see page 16).
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Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
BOOKSHELF Protecting pollinators from pesticides - Urgent need for action FAO 2022 13 pages Citation www.doi.org/10.4060/cc0170en Download at www.fao.org/documents/card/en/c/cc0170en Pollinators are essential for fruit, oilseed, vegetable and forage production, as well as the production of seed for many fibre and root crops. In addition to being essential to food quality and security, pollinators contribute to the production of biofuels (for example canola and palm oil), construction materials (such as timber), fibres (cotton and linen) and medicines. Livelihoods based on beekeeping and honey hunting are embedded in many rural economies. The huge importance of pollinators, for both cultivated and wild plants, means they are fundamental to maintain ecosystem services and uphold global biodiversity.
Insect diapause David L Denlinger 2022 454 pages Hardcover. Published by Cambridge University Press (UK) ISBN 978-1-108-49752-7 (£49.99) Diapause is a dormant state that enables insects to bridge unfavourable seasons. This book explains how insects monitor seasonal signals and changes, and enact specific mechanisms to halt or retard their development and to then reinitiate it when the adverse season is past. Offering a comprehensive perspective on the phenomenon, Prof. Denlinger brings insights on topics ranging from pest management, evolution, speciation, climate change and disease transmission.
Insectpedia – a brief compendium of insect lore Eric R Eaton 2022 190 pages Hardcover. Published by Princeton University Press (UK) ISBN 978-0-691-21034-6 (£9.99) Fun and fact filled this entertaining collection of insect facts and folklore celebrates entomology, our dependence on insects for food and ecosystems and explains the meaning behind many entomological terms and offers new perspectives on the vital relationship between insects and humans.
Hand pollination in China – the shadow of the future Mariann Fercsik 2022 92 pages Softcover. Published by Northern Bee Books (UK) ISBN 978-1-914934-19-3 (£24.95) Mariann Fercsik is a ethnographic researcher and has prepared this visual story to highlight the dangers facing the planet, with interest not only for beekeepers but for all concerned about pesticide use and global warming. The ecological side of this issue is the changes for ecosystems and habitat loss with natural pollinators driven away from the area. The economical side is that large-scale commercial hand pollination is not a sustainable practice due to ever increasing labour costs.
The mind of a bee Lars Chittka 2022 260 pages Hardcover. Published by Princeton University Press (UK) ISBN 978-0-691-18047-2 (£25.00) The power of bees as a collective is well known and recognised as amazing. Lars Chittka has spent decades researching the remarkable cognitive abilities of individual bees to show that they are incredibly smart with distinct personalities. Bees can recognise flowers and human faces, they show basic emotions, can count, use simple tools, learn from observing others and solving problems. 14
INSECT DIAPAUSE David L. Denlinger
Bees for Development Journal 143 June 2022
LOOK AHEAD CHILE
BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT EVENTS
APIMONDIA: 48th International Apicultural Congress 2023, Santiago Further details will appear here
FINLAND
Straw Skep Making Course with Chris Park and Bees for Development 23 July 2022 Ross-on-Wye HR9 6JZ
XXVI International Congress of Entomology 17-22 July 2022, Helsinki Further details www.ice2020helsinki.fi
NETHERLANDS
Skep Hackles and Floors with Chris Park and Bees for Development 24 July 2022 Ross-on-Wye HR9 6JZ
Honey bee and Insect Session World Congress for Genetics for Livestock Production 3-8 July 2022, Rotterdam Further details www.wcgalp.com
Introduction to Skep Beekeeping with Chris Park and Bees for Development 30 July 2022 Westmill Farm, Watchfield (Swindon)
SERBIA
EurBee 9 Congress NEW DATES 20-22 September 2022 University of Belgrade Further details www.eurbee9.bio.bg.ac.rs
Bees for Development Sustainable Beekeeping Course 10-11 September 2022 Wakelyns, Suffolk
SLOVENIA
12th International Meeting of Young Beekeepers DATES TO BE CONFIRMED 5-9 July 2023 Ivančna Gorica Further details www.icyb.cz
Sustainable Beekeeping Weekend Course 24-25 September 2022 Ragman’s Lane Farm GL17 9PA
SWEDEN
Willow Skep Making Course with Chris Park and Bees for Development 15 October 2022 Ross-on-Wye HR9 6JZ
XXVI IURFRO World Congress 23-29 June 2024. Stockholm Further details www.iufro2024.com
TURKEY
APIMONDIA: 47th International Apicultural Congress 24 - 28 August 2022 Istanbul Further details www.apimondia2021.com
For details of these events visit: www.beesfordevelopment.org/bee-involved/ courses
UK
Conwy Honey Fair 13 September 2022, Conwy Further details www.conwybeekeepers.org.uk
If you want notice of your conference, workshop or meeting to be included here and on our website, send details to Bees for Development.
91st National Honey Show 27-29 October 2022, Epsom Race Course Further details www.honeyshow.co.uk
Resource Centre Bulletin – interesting news for people working in beekeeping and development. Register and subscribe: https://resources.beesfordevelopment.org/sign-up/
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