Diversity in Honey Bees

Jonathan Vincent, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe

We had a great start to the seasonal rains here in Bulawayo in November 2022. The bees are busy, and all my colonies have swarmed and are building up again. I had some good harvests last year and if the weather is good, this year could be even better.

I managed to obtain cuttings of African Blue Basil, and from these I have produced hundreds of additional plants and distributed them at the local garden club and to all the people who host my hives. This plant is extraordinary in its ability to flower continuously in our subtropical climate. The bees find the blooms irresistible and are foraging on them constantly. Since the plant is a hybrid and does not produce seeds, it is easy to convince farmers that it will not become invasive. It would be interesting to see articles on the plant and some figures on the suitability of this plant as a source of forage for bees.

I have sent pictures of the colour variations I am seeing in my bees. After some research it appears that this is a good thing as it shows that my bees have good genetic diversity. The pictures were taken on the same basil plant, same time, same day. Observation of hive entrances show I have black and yellow bees in the same hives. Since, as far as I am aware, we have only Apis mellifera scutellata here in Bulawayo this is a natural genetic variation. I am establishing hives in a local farming area on the Umguza River, and the first two hives are building up well. There are both large and small hive beetles in the area which can be a problem: small, low hive entrances are required. I have found that guinea fowl and hens can be a great help to keep down the beetles as they eat the larva and scratch around the hives.

Images © Jonathan Vincent