Bees for Development Journal Edition 34 - March 1995

OFFICE COPY

eekeepIng W uevelopment

Please return to the file

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SELLING HONEY

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BEEKEEPING

&

DEVELOPMENT

34

INSIDE INFORMATION Beckeeping Ss develiowunent rs

The cover of Beekeeping & Development 22 featured a large

World Vision Award for Development Initiative 1990

colony of Apis

-

mellifera nesting

>

unusually in the open air. The same colony features again in this issue but pictured in a far less happy state. The was killed by honey hunter, using insecticide. As Dr Ole Hertz describes in

clony

our special centrefold on pesticides, humans also risk death if they eat honey obtained in this cruel and destructive way.

We hope this important feature will help

to

raise more awareness of the dangers of pesticides.

Remember this edition?

IN

Selling Honey

BEEKEEPING & DEVELOPMENT

3

.

is published by Bees for Development

News Around the World

6

Trees Bees Use Bees and Pesticides

7

.

Look & Learn Ahead Notice

Board.

Bookshelf

Thai Sacbrood

.

dl 1] 12

14

Beeswax Barter and

Candle

Currency...

15

Letters to Bees for Development 15

We run an active beekeeping network linking people interested in bees and sustainable beekeeping everywhere. Contact us if you have information to share, or need information. We welcome your contributions for publication in this journal.

BEEKEEPING & DEVELOPMENT

but please give acknowledgement to Beekeeping & Development and the author of the item you are using. Please send us a copy of the reproduced or translated item.

Editor: Dr Nicola Bradbear Co-ordinator: Helen Jackson

SUBSCRIPTIONS The subscription rate for 12 months (four editions) is 16 by airmail to any address. Back issues are available at 5.00 each. Readers in developing countries may pay by Beeswax Barter or Candle Currency: see page 15.

PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION Four editions of Beekeeping & Development are published every year in March, June, September and December.

ASIAN APICULTURAL ASSOCIATION the official Asian of the newsletter Apicultural Beekeeping & Development is

Association.

SPONSORS

ADVERTISEMENTS Advertisements and enclosures reach readers in many countries. The rates are: Quarter page 50; Half page 90; Full page 160.

Enclosures 40 per kilogram.

~\V

REPRODUCTION

COVER PICTURE A tree in Ethiopia with over 70 hives! This was

photographed by Reinhard Fichtl in Welega, Western Ethiopia. |s this a record number of

TWO

Information in Beekeeping & Development is intended to help beekeepers are happy or items to we be everywhere or translated reproduced

The journal has been sponsored in part, by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

Ss.

4000 copies of each edition are printed and distributed world-wide.

hives in one tree?

|

ISSUE

THIS

We have also received sponsorship from CTA, The Netherlands. Beekeeping & Development's production is assisted by World Vision UK. We are grateful to these sponsors and many beekeeping groups and individuals . who are supporting us.

We need more sponsors urgently.

Please contact us direct if you can help.

Contact us at: I Bees for Development

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A Bees for Development publication

BEEKEEPING &

DEVELOPMENT 34

SELLING HONEY...

TEN TIPS FOR ROAD-SIDE SELLING A large

Pay attention to your display. Customers feel more encouraged to buy from a stack of attractive jars than from just a few

display of honey for sale

tired-looking jars. Always arrange jars with the labels facing the front.

A bold, bright sign is essential. The

Link your honey with other products. Sell honey with, for example, a pack of lemons and give a recipe leaflet for honey lemonade. Other combinations of seasonal produce and recipes could be: honey & almonds, honey & oranges, honey & dates, honey & spices. Think a few weeks ahead. Plan promotions with the season and cultural or religious festivals.

lettering must be large and clear enough to tead from a passing vehicle. The minimum height for lettering is 15 cm. Keep your message simple: ‘HONEY’ or ‘HONEY FOR SALE’. Accept that pictures of bees may not attract customers: many people are scared of insects!

Honey for sale must always be of top quality and absolutely pure: no bees’ legs, scraps of wax or any contaminant specks at all.

Honey containers must be perfectly clean.

Jars must never be sticky with honey nobody wants to carry a sticky container home. Sticky containers will also attract bees and other insects to the stall: a discouragement to most customers.

Nobody wants to buy honey in a dusty container. As road-sides are dusty places, this may mean giving the containers and lids a quick polish every day.

Road-side purchasers can become regular customers. If they like your honey they will come back for more. Explain about your honey, which plants it is from, and how you harvest it from the bees. Make customers feel good about finding such an excellent supply of local honey! Emphasise the extra freshness of your product: the road-side buyer rightly wants to have bought something freshly harvested.

Do not forget tourists. Local honey can be popular gift item. Attractive labelling is essential here and must convey the local or national nature of the honey. Unusual, locally made containers filled with honey can attract a premium price. Perhaps you could sell pairs of jars inside a small, locally made wooden crate or basket? a

.

Selling honey at a roadside stall or market can bring the advantages of long opening hours and plenty of passing trade, without the overhead costs of a shop in town.

HONEY FOR

SALE

If you are

supplying a road-side market must ensure that you keep it you constantly stocked. This may mean that from time to time you have to buy honey from another local beekeeper. But never let the quality of your product or its presentation fall.

Roadside markets can sell honey too

Offer both liquid and granulated honey for sale if you can. Explain to your customers the difference between these products.

Replace any jars on display that are starting to granulate in an irregular way.

Improve your sales by offering different sizes and styles of packaging. But never compromise on quality of packaging. Since your customers will be travelling in a vehicle, maybe they would buy a larger container of honey? Try offering ‘family size’ 2 or 5 kg ‘economy’ packs.

ABees for Development publication

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BEEKEEPING

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KENYA RUAI BEEKEEPERS: A COMMERCIAL SUCCESS Ruai derives its name from the Kikuyu word for the whistling thorn, Acacia drepanalobium. The Ruai Beekeepers’ Co-operative was set up in 1977 by commercial rancher, Mr Fernandes and a few other enterprising individuals as a local, community-based initiative. a

the early 1970s the Canadian Government (CIDA) was persuaded by the Kenya Ministry of Livestk to assist in the development of beekeeping extension. It was inted to provide both the advice and facilities thought necessary for the modernisation and expansion of traditional apiculture in rural areas. The scheme set up numerous co-operatives, but Ruai is the only one still operating successfully. CIDA supplied material and financial assistance for Ruai members to build a small refinery and install essential In

equipment.

Ruai now has 800 members mostly operating log hives. Between 6 and 8 tonnes of honey and approximately 1.2 tonnes of wax are harvested annually. The bulk of these products derived locally and the remainder purchased from honey collection centres established elsewhere The Co-operative employs two individuals on a full-time basis, consistently makes a profit, and has a turnover of up to USS5,150 per year.

Ruai is renowned for its high quality honey, saddle soap and furniture polish. Beekeeping field days are held frequently. Ruai has recently developed a frame for the Kenya top-bar hive and this is attracting local interest. The Co-operative’s extraordinary success is largely due to the integrity and commitment of its founder members including Mr Fernandes who

still provides free transport, has taught the employees book-keeping and banking skills, and helps with marketing.

Mark Luckhurst

PROJECT NEWS Baraka Beekeeping Project was initiated in May 1994 by Baraka Agricultural College, Molo, Kenya, with the help of Voluntary Service Overseas and the Overseas Development Administration, UK. The Project aims to build on the College's already substantial commitment to the development of Kenyan beekeeping. The College has manufactured Kenya top-bar hives and other bee equipment since 1978 and has been training farmers, agriculture students and extension workers in modern beekeeping methods for many years.

Since the establishment of the Project a honey and beeswax purchasing and refining facility has been set up to assist farmers market their bee products, and also to improve training in the processing and marketing of honey and beeswax An already existing beekeeping programme in Mau Forest with forest-dwelling ‘Ndorobo’ beekeepers has been intensified and expanded to include farming areas surrounding .

the College For information on either our short one-week courses beekeeping or our 18-month Certificate Course in

agriculture please contact Baraka Agriculture College, Box 52, Molo, Kenya Tom Carroll

The Ruai Co-operative employs two people: here they fill and label honey jars The

furniture polish and saddle soap are also on

!

HAVE YOU PROJECT NEWS OR UPDATES?

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Send them to

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Beekeeping & Development

display

TOBAGO The Tobago Apicultural Society received funding from the Royal Netherlands Embassy to undertake improvement in the quality of honey marketing, the manufacture of beeswax foundation, a queen rearing programme, and education and training.

Before embarking on the programme we undertook a survey of the industry to determine its status and needs. A 45 point

FOUR

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Beles for Development publication

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BEEKEEPING

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WHERE THERE ARE }EES THERE IS LIFE almost ten years since people of this area of Masvingo, Southern Zimbabwe at community called Bondolfi Mission received adequate rain to support their lives. They used to grow food crops like beans, maize, pumpkins and sweet potatoes, and for a cash crop they grew cotton. As time went on rainfall started to decline and stopped these means of livelihood.

People became poorer because of the It is

a

questionnaire was distributed to active beekeepers in July 1994.

The results showed us that beekeepers were interested to. *

rent honey extracting and filtering

equipment, market their honey under a joint label:

buy locally made beewax foundation and solar wax melters;

persistent drought. They had nothing to eat and sell. They survived on food handouts.

Beekeeping at Bondoifi started as a way to alleviate poverty. was sitting on the veranda of my house near Bondolfi thinking hard what activity could help free families from poverty.

A little girl came by, she was selling honeycombs. A piece of 500g was Zim$2.00, equivalent to USSO.25. asked her where she got the honeycombs. She told me that her father has hives in the forest and he collects honey from the forest. Yes, this activity can be our economic rescue. tried to find out about this man. He uses fire when harvesting, no proper protective clothing, he uses tree bark hives which destroy some of the best trees in the forest. |

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*

contribute one of their best queens to a queen breeding programme;

*

improve their queen rearing skills.

While we can support the local manufacture of frames, foundation, hive parts and beekeeping clothing, the development of a large equipment-making subsector cannot be sustained because of limited market size. As such the Society has imported two six-frame electrical extractors and “Strainaway’” filters, which are being rented to beekeepers, and other beekeeping items not produced locally, for resale at a small mark-up Solar wax melters are also being made for resale to the beekeeping community.

Subscriptions to Beekeeping & Development and workshops and seminars are aspects of the ication and training component already niroduced., Gladstone Solomon, President of the Tebago Apicultural Society and B & D's Correspondent in Tobago

VIETNAM

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Traditionally women had nothing to do with bees. Perhaps because of the methods used in beekeeping. My assignment from Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau, a local NGO which hosts me in Zimbabwe, is to promote social economic activities to women who are considered disadvantaged in our society. So one of the activities we identified and we think is sustainable, as it can be

adopted by anybody, can enhance good environmental conservation, is

economically viable and socially acceptable was beekeeping. We got information about

Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau responded promptly to the community's request to be sponsored to the workshop. Five people attended the workshop including myself so that I could spearhead the project in the community. It was a very practical workshop and in those five days we managed to cover all the basic requirements of beekeeping.

Today we have a total of 81 hives. Out of these 34 are Kenya top-bar hives, 14

dry log hives, one basket hive and

32 bark hives (made before the

Ives. workshop). We discourage bar The majority of Kenya top-bar hives are owned by women, who were not involved in beekeeping before.

The dry log hive is the most interesting thing to me, because it is easy to find a large dry tree with hollow space. You can measure about 100 cm along then cut, shape the cut ends, cover both sides, leave a small entrance for the bees. Before covering both sides make some grooves inside like the ones you put into Kenya topbar hives. There you are with your hive. No money, no cutting down trees. Maybe you have stolen the shelter of lizards, snakes or scorpions.

Well, they can find new home under rocks! a

We have now formed an association called Bondolfi Beekeepers.

With this Association we hope to improve not only the economic status of women and their families but improve the environment, and promote other creative activities like sewing of beekeepers’ protective clothes, and making hives by local carpenters. Craft makers can weave a straw hat as a |

“~|

|

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helmet.

We conclude by saying “Where there are bees, there is life”.

Thomas

A Chale,

United Nations

Volunteer, Zimbabwe

beekeeping course at the Permaculture institute in Harare.

Course fees were

The hive is set low enough for a person to inspect it.

Ashes are sprinkled

ZimS$600 per participant for five

around the foot of the tree to discourage ants and

a

woman beekeeper, a member of Uie ethnic ntinority group Moong, inspects one of her Apis cerana colonies

A young

Photographed by Nguyen Thu Hang

ABees for Development publication

days.

other pests

FIVE

BEEKEEPING

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34

TREE VERNONIA Vernonia amygdalina

by Reinhard Ficht]

Apicultural value Vernonia is a very valuable honey source.

Especiaily in warmer areas the nectar secretion is abundant and bees produce a significant surplus of a dark aromatic honey. Honeybees collect the nectar and whitish pollen throughout the day.

Recommende for planting to increase hon y production Other names

|

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4

Also known as Bitter Leaf

REINHARD FICHTL

During flowering time honeybees develop very rapidly with a tendency to swarm easily. In some areas honey is generally harvested after the flowering season of vernonia.

Description Small tree or shrub, growing up to 10 m tall.

Bark: rusty to dark-brown, slightly fissured and sometimes much branched: the young branches have numerous white breathing pores (lenticels).

REINHARD FICHTL.

Leaves: somewhat coarse and rough, alternate,

The vernonia tree

simple, green above and pale below, ovatelanceolate, up to 20 cm long with regularly toothed margins.

Flowers: white, tinged purple or pink and sweetly scented particularly in the evening; arranged in numerous heads at the ends of the branches.

Flowering: Throughout the year. In Ethiopia the main flowering period is from January to February.

Distribution Found in a wide range of bushland, often associated with termite mounds, woodland,

river fringes, and forest habitats at altitudes from sea level up to 2800 m, it is also often found around houses. Its rainfall range is from 750 to 2000 mm per year. Occurring in Angola,

Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Céte d'Ivoire, Eritrea, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Yemen, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Practical notes Fast growing from seeds and flowering in the second or third year after planting.

Uses Vernonia is widely used as a hedge-forming shrub or tree and as a boundary marker. The wood is used for fuel and is also termite resistant.

Ethiopia the leaves are used to scour pots used for making Tela, the local beer, and Téj, honey wine.

In

The leaves and bark are bitter and in Ethiopian local medicine they are used against menstruation pain, as a purgative and worm remover, in wound dressing, and against urinary inflammations. Together with roots they are used against malaria. Leaves can also be browsed and the stems used as toothbrushes.

References Fichtl,R; Addi,A. (1994) Honeybee flora of Ethiopia. Margraf Verlag, Weikersheim, Germany.

In some parts

Vernonia as pictured in Kituo Cha Utafiti Nyuki Njiro (see

of Africa the leaves, although rather bitter, are commonly used as a vegetable and the bark and roots are used as a tonic by people suffering from fevers. A cold infusion of root bark is sometimes used to treat bilharzia. Small stems are commonly used as “chew sticks” and regarded as an

Bookshelf)

appetiser.

Fries,I B. (1992) Forests and forest trees of northeast tropical

Flowers of vernonia

Africa.

Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew, UK.

A Bees for Development publication

BEES AND PESTICIDES

PESTICIDES ARE DEADLY FOR BEES AND PEOPLE

FORBIDDEN

PESTICIDES Many pesticides have been forbidden in Europe and the USA because they are too dangerous. Some producers and dealers have then tried to intensify the sale of these

Pollution of the environment by

pesticides is an increasing problem in the tropics and subtropics. It arises from the development of large-scale cultivation of single crops monocultures. Increased use of exotic cultivars of crops is a

1

often accompanied by increased use of pesticides.

When these plants growing under new environmental conditions are attacked by pests to which they are not -74pted, the problem is often yroached by using more and more pesticides.

products in developing countries where they are delivered to farmers without any warnings.

Dead bees on the ground after honey hunters had killed the bees with pesticides.

Figure The honey they are selling in the market is contaminated by the spray, and probably some people will die from eating it The Gambia 1994 OLE HERTZ |

We often find heavy use of pesticides in small vegetable gardens producing food for the family and local markets.

Some pesticide producers are more interested in selling their products than in giving information concerning the dangers of

The use of pesticides should be banned in these places.

Pesticides used on crops often contaminate farmers, and the food and drinking water of local people.

From my own experience in Africa and the Caribbean, it seems that the basic problem is lack of information about the harmful effects of pesticides. Most farmers and ny extension officers are not aware of the risks to people, nor of the risks to useful honeybees and other bees.

Knowledge is lacking also about the need for bees to pollinate most tropical fruits, nuts, berries and some of the seeds. We cannot expect farmers to protect bees unless they understand the bees’ importance for pollination. Better knowledge is necessary both for the farmers, and for the beekeepers, so that they can co-operate to protect bees against destruction from sprays.

Use of pesticides without care for pollinating bees has brought disaster for many beekeepers. Wherever this has OCCUITEG

IL

pesticides. In developing countries, it is easy to get hold of cheap pesticides, but often impossible to get sufficient protective equipment for use by the person spraying (see Figure 6).

DO NOT USE

INSECTICIDES (FLY KILLER) TO KILL BEES Some honey hunters in the tropics are now using insecticides made for spraying mosquitoes, to kill bees {see Figure 1).

They do not know that the poison enters the honey. People who eat this honey can become very ill some people die from eating the poisoned honey.

-

NAS disO CaudSeU a puYviITl

harvest of bee-pollinated crops.

The problem is still growing.

Lack of knowledge about the need for bees to pollinate many crops has resulted in careless use of pesticides on flowering plants, and this causes the death of all the bees in a neighbourhood. The result is that harvests are never as big as they could be if the pesticides were used ina way safe for bees.

You are welcome to make photocopies of this feature for distribution to your beekeeping or farming group.

No copyright restriction.

The use of pesticides in countries where people are not told, or are not able to read warnings written in foreign languages, has caused plenty of accidents.

In many countries pesticides are sold in second-hand food containers like cola bottles or sugar bags. This results in people accidentally drinking or eating the poison. In some places pesticide containers are subsequently used for rainwater containers, and people are poisoned in that way.

In 1981

OXFAM declared that 750,000

people were poisoned in one year from pesticides (especially insecticides). Half of these incidents and 75% of the people killed were in developing countries. Other statistics from the World Health Organisation tell that one person dies from pest icide poisoning every minute in this part f the world.

The situa tion is even worse now.

ABees for Development publication

BEES AND PESTICIDES

POISONING OF BEES BY

A poisoned bee colony has lost its forager bees, and most of the young bees will die

INSECTICIDES

after some time, because they eat contaminated pollen If dead and dying light-coloured, newly emerged workers are seen, it is sure sign of pollen contamination. It means that no bees are cleaning the empty cells or feeding the brood, and the queen will not be able to find empty cells for egg laying.

Too many farmers are using insecticides without thinking of the honeybees they need for pollination of the same crop they are

a

spraying. If they spray a flowering crop in daytime with dangerous types of insecticides many bees will be killed. Depending on the type of chemical used, the bees will either die quickly or after some days. Symptoms can be: 1.

Dead honeybee workers accumulated at the hive entrance. They usually represent 10-20% of the total number being killed, but ants often remove them very fast.

The rest of the poisoned foragers will have died in the field.

2.

Many types of poisoning cause bees to be more agitated and aggressive especially evident with lindane and

When stored in the combs, pollen can remain toxic to bees for up to eight months ora year. Usually the queen will be superseded within the first 30 days following the poisoning, or the colony becomes queenless. When there is a lack of pollen the hive bees will begin feeding on the eggs.

Once there are no eggs or young larvae present, the workers can no longer rear a new queen. Another symptom can be that the queen produces drone eggs only.

organophosphorus compounds.

3.

4.

The bee colonies can produce loud angry sounds, and behave in a stressed and nervous way, running around with fast movements.

>.

HOW TO CONTROL CROP PESTS WITHOUT USING.

IMPORTED PESTICIDES

Inside the hive some bees will make a special “alarm dance”. The returning bees and some hive bees are running around on the combs in spirals or irregular the hive, bees are zigzags. Outside performing abnormal communication dances. This can be observed if you use hives with horizontal landing boards. .

.

Bees will

.

crawl

Often the farmer has a traditional knowledge of how to five with, or fight pests and these methods seem to work.

In reality most pesticides used in the tropics are for export crops.

1.

continues fr three days | before they die. Some are spinning on

Sometimes this

2

their backs.

7.

Regurgitation of the stomach contents is especially associated with exposure to organophosphorus insecticides.

10.

Make sure that cultivated plants are properly nourished. Too much or too a little fertiliser, water, or sun can for example cause aphid attack.

3.

4

Plants shouldbe in mixtures, so grown that pest or disease cannot spread the as easily as in a monocrop. For example, maize intercropped with cassava reduces the spread of cassava bacteria wilt.

The right plant density can help prevent some pests. For example, groundnut plants should be placed close together. This helps prevent aphid attack to the lower part of the plants, because of shadow and high

humidity.

Remove and destroy all infested fruits or tubers so that pests from them cannot make new generations.

5.

Do not let fruits and leaves touch the ground. Straw could help here.

6.

Prevent water flow, runoff or splash from infected plant parts to healthy

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rn

Rotate the cultivation of different plants. Crop rotation is very unfavourable to nematodes.

8.

Always use healthy seeds.

9.

If

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Grow plants in mixtures. Here maize, okra and other plants |

grow together.

possible use resistant plant varieties.

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sphids.

io

11. Proper weeding and destruction of infested plants. If possible use the weeds in compost making, where the high temperature will destroy diseases, before the material is returned to the fields.

biological control. Organise the environment and fields so that they provide habitat for a great variety of the farmer's natural allies such as insect-eating birds, spiders, and

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12. Indirect

Wasps.

13.

Biological control. This means the importation or cultivation of the natural enemies of a pest. It could be with parasitic wasps, or by spraying bacteria on to the field. The point is to attack only the pest and not to poison other creatures.

14.

Different types of traps can be used against bigger pests. For example, a fly trap made of a bottle with a sugar solution, a slug trap made of a plastic bottle with beer.

ones.

7.

Self-made natural products can be used to fight pests without making them become resistant. For example, . fine ashes can be used to discourage chewing insects, the juice of tobacco fo STEMS3 olsonous y andwit Soaps water can b be used d against apnids.

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;

,

around on the ground in

Many bees killed by poison have their tongues extended.

For example, some of the ald types of millet are better protected against birds and beetles because of sticky hairs.

;

.

6.

Pesticides should be banned in small vegetable gardens

producing food for the family and local markets

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BRES AND PESTICIDES

Honeybees gather nectar from the flowers of onions and other Allium species. while doing so they bring about the cross pollination needed for good seed

production,

In my Own country, Denmark, we have a law to prevent the use of insecticides in daytime on crops with open flowers, when the bees are flying. If a farmer applies pesticide

at an

inappropriate time and causes the death of bees of

F

surrounding beekeepers, he

orshehasto pay compensation to them There have even been cases where the

ALTERNATIVES TO PESTICIDES

farmer who sprayed the pesticide WR in a careless way was forced by the court to pay compensation both to the beekeepers and to other farmers who obtained smaller harvests because of the lack of bees Many

The use of pesticides is not without problems. A detailed knowledge of the life cycle of the pest is necessary A pesticide used at the wrong time, in the wrong place, and in the wrong way can be more harmful than not using it.

The wrong use of an insecticide can kill the pest for a time, but it will kill also the natural predators of the pest. After some time the pest will recover, but now there will be few natural enemies left to eat the pest.

This cause the predators are present in small.. ..umbers than the pest and will not recover their population as fast. So the pest will have time to grow to even larger populations Then even more insecticides are needed!

This can continue until so much poison is being used that the environment is spoiled, or the farmers ruined This happened in Central America in cotton areas where the fields eventually had to be sprayed 44 times during their growing time The cotton growing had to stop, and the environment was so polluted that the export of meat to the USA was also stopped.

These examples show that if pesticides must be used, it must be in combination with other ways of fighting pests

bees are killed when flowering crops or weeds are sprayed ut

daytime

HOW TO PROTECT BEES AGAINST PESTICIDES The beekeeper can help reduce bee poisoning in different ways:

i

After some time pests show resistance to the chemicals being used, and then new and more expensive ones must be bought.

F

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Bees can be kept at a distance safe from areas where pesticides are being

applied This must be at least 7 km, although this will also mean the farmer will get no crops pollinated.

2. The beekeeper and the farmer can co-operate. If beekeepers learn about different pesticides, they can discuss with farmers, warn them against the most dangerous pesticides, and develop beneficial agreements concerning pollination services and the prudent use of pesticides.

3.

Bees can be moved away before the spraying, and kept away as long as the poisons are still in the flowers.

4.

pesticides are used on flowering plants near the hives, and it is too difficult to move the hives away, the bees can be confined inside the hives.

If

The hives can be covered by large burlap sacks. It is necessary to put water on the sacks to cool the bees.

The bees should also be provided with water inside the so that they are able to cool the brood. If the hives are placed in shade, and the sacking is kept wet, the bees can be covered for up to two days.

hive,

It may be necessary to apply water to the sacking every one to three hours to keep the colony sufficiently cool.

Overheating of a colony of bees can lead to their rapid death. Larger colonies are more sensitive to overheating than small, and it is important that there is plenty of space and good ventilation in the hive.

If the bees are near a water pipe it can be possible to keep them inside their hive by constantly sprinkling them, so

that they believe it is a rainy day.

ABees for Development publication

BEES AND PESTICIDES

PESTICIDE 3 WITH HIGH TOXICITY TO BEES

|

(After Verma & -artap. 1993, Johansen & Mayer, 1990; Ad xy, Walker & Walker, 1986)

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For least hazard to bee 3 these should be applied only during late evening and night. The y should NOT be applied on blooming crops or weeds. Many of these chemicals have a high residual toxicity, even 10 hours after they have been sprayed.

G = granular D=dust

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EC=emulsifiable concentr

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F = |

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WP = wettable powder

ite

flowable

Acephate AldicarbG

Lead arsenate

Aldrin

Methamidophos Methidathion

Malathion D

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Aminocarb |

é OLE HERTZ

kill rats, mice.

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molluscs, slugs and snails;

Bactericides - kill bacteria in humans and other mimals. is mainly the insecticides which harm bees, bu : some of the other pesticides harm them too. Insecticides are dangerous for people as well as bees.

It

There are 4 major groups of synthetic insecticide

chlorinated hydrocarbons (organochlorines); otganophosphates (organophosphorus); carbamates;

pyrethroids.

THIS SUPPLEMENT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED WITH SUPPORT FROM THE DANISH BEEKEEPERS’ ASSOCIATION AND DANIDA.

Parathion-methyl Permethrin

Phenthoate Phosmet

Phosphamidon 100EC Phorate

Dicapthon Dichlorvos 100 EC

Phoxim

Dicrotophos

Pirimiphos-ethyl

Dieldrin Dimethoate 30 EC

Pirimiphos-methyl

Dinoseb

Quinalphos 25 EC Resmethrin

Permethrin 25 EC

Propoxur

Sulfotep Sulprofos Sumithion 50 EC

Tetrachlorvinphos Thiometon 25 EC Thionazin

Triazophos Vamidothion

Fenvalerate

Insecticides - kill insects; - kill

Chlorpyrifos

Fenthion

Herbicides - kill plants:

Molluscides

Oxydementon-methy] 25 EC Parathion

Fenitrothion Fensulfothion

Fungicides Miticides/acaricides - kill mites;

kill nematodes,

Omethoate

Carbophenothion 20 EC, D Carbosulfan

Etrimphos Fenamiphos

- kill fungi,

-

Carbary! 50% WP, D Carbofuran F

DNOC EPN

There are eight types of pesticides:

Nematicides

Monocrotophos 36 Naled D, WP

Mevinphos

DDVP 100 EC

Pesticides kill by direct contact, stomach poisoning or fumigation.

-

Calcium arsenate

Diazinon

a

Rodenticides

Methomy!

Deltarnethrin

TYPES OF PESTICIDES :

Methiocarb

Azinphos-methyl Bendiocarb

Crotoxyphos Cypermethrin 10 EC Decamethrin 20 EC

government poster advising farmers how to use pesticides Unfortunately it gives no advice about protecting the farmers from the pesticide.

The Gambia 1994.

Figure 6 Part of

Azinphos-ethyl

an

Flucythrinate

Heptachlor Heptenophos Isobenzan WSC

Fortunately there are some repellent insecticides, with a smell that makes bees abandon the flower instantly. Unfortunately farmers do not know to select such products to protect the pollinating bees.

LITERATURE Adey,M; Walker,P, Walker,T (1986)

Crane,E (1990)

Pest control safe for bees.

London, UK.

Bees and beekeeping: science, practice and world resources

Oxford,

UK.

Crane,E; Walker,P (1983) The impact of pest management London, UK.

on bees and pollination.

Dupriez,H, De Leener,P (1989) African gardens and orchards. London, UK. Johansen,C A, Mayer,D F (1990) Pollinator protection. a bee and pesticide handbook.

Connecticut, Cheshire, USA.

Verma,L R; Partap,U (1993) The Asian hive bee, Apis cerana, vegetable seed production Kathmandu, Nepal Weir,D; Schapiro,M (1981) Circle of poison, San Francisco, USA

as a pollinator in

pesticides and people in a hungry world.

Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth, NP5 4AB, United Kingdom

BEEKEEPIN

LOOK AHEAD

NOTICE BOARD MAJOR AWARD

Dr Warwick E Kerr was honoured by the President of Brazil, Mr Itamar Franco, (along with 46 other Brazilian Scientists) by being admitted to the National Order of Scientific Merit, in the degree of the Great Cross (the highest level).

eeseeoaeev0e0000080

AGAINST SLASH AND BURN ICRAF is co-ordinating

a “Global Initiative for

Alternatives to Slash and Burn”. A specially published bulletin will detail activities worldwide in particular research in Brazil, Cameroon and Indonesia, and related

ASB Update, PO Box 30677, Nairobi, Kenya eeeoseeoooaoaoe

WRITING RESEARCH

PAPERS Research Papers - an easy guide for non-native

English speakers.

Available in English, Chinese and Czech. to:

ACIAR, GPO Box 1571, Canberra 2601, Australia

For more information write to: The New Forest Project, 731 Eighth Street

SE,

Washington DC 20003, USA

APPROPRIATE EQUIPMENT The Albert Schweitzer Ecology Centre (centres in Burkina Faso and Switzerland) researches into equipment which is appropriate for developing countries, especially solar equipment - dryers, cookers and water-heaters. to:

Meeting on pollination to be organised under the auspices of APIMONDIA 1996 Further details will be announced in Beekeeping

& Development

Second National Beekeeping Conference March 1995, Upper East Region Further details from: Ralph Hoyte-Williams, GHABA, PO Box 9581, Airport - Accra, Ghana

October 1995, Palampur Further details from: Dr Atul, Department of Agroforestry and Environment, HP Agriculture University, Palampur 176062, Kangra (HP), India

26-30 May 1996, Tel Aviv Further details from: Dan Knassim Ltd, POB 57005, Tel Aviv 61570, Israel Fax: 972 3561 2303

XXth International Congress of Entomology 25-31 August 1996, Florence Further details from: The Organising Secretariat, Via A la Moarmora 24, 50121, Florence, Italy NORWAY

European Black Bee Symposium 8-9 September 1995, Flekkefjord Further details from: Nils Drivdal, Lovikgt 13 Flekkefjord 4400, Norway |

Fax: 38 32 4456

am hoping, given the odd hivesitter, to get myself among the Himalaya this year. am seeking advice and contacts, also encouragement and convivial company! |

Contact: Steve Balogh, Sinofile, Loweswater

THAILAND Recent Advances in Tropical Tree Seed Technology and Planting Stock Production 12-14 June 1995, Haad-Yai/Songkhla Further details from: Symposium Secretariat,

AFTSC Muak-Lek, Saraburi 18180, Thailand Fax: 66 36 341 859

34

UNITED KINGDOM British Beekeepers’ Association Spring Convention and Exhibition 22 April 1995, Stoneleigh. 0930-1700 hours Location: Royal Agricultural Society’s Convention Centre, National Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh, Kenilworth, CV8 2LG, United Kingdom Fax- 01203 690682 Under-utilised Crops 17-19 june 1996, Southampton University Further details from: Dy Nazmul Haq, International Centre for Under-utilised Crops, Department of Biology, University of Southampton, Bassett Crescent East, Santhamntan GOO 2TH Pnitad Kinadam

The Royal Agricultural Show 3-6 july 1995, Stoneleigh Location: Royal Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh, Kenilworth, CV8 2L4, United Kingdom

VIETNAM Third Asian Apicultural Association Conference 6-10 October 1996, Hanoi Further details from: Asian Apicultural Association, c/o Honeybee Science Research Center, Tamagawa University, Machida Shi, Tokyo 194, Japan Fax: 81 427 39 8854

LEARN AHEAD BELGIUM Spécialisation en apiculture First two weeks of July 1995, Mons Further details from: Apiculture sans Frontiéres, Moulin d’En-Haut 206, B-701 2 Mons, Belgium

KENYA Agroforestry Research and Development May - 2 June and 23 October November 1995, Nairobi Course in English and French for researchers and development workers.

Further details from: The Training Co-ordinator, ICRAF Training Programme, PO Box 30677, Nairobi, Kenya Fax. 254 2521 001.

15

10

E-Mail: ICRAF@CGNET.COM

NETHERLANDS Forestry for Rural Development August 1995 - July 1996, Enschede Further details from: {TC Student Registration Office, Attn Ms A Scheggetman, PO Box 6, NL 7500 AA Enschede, Netherlands 1

|

Fax: 44 865 275

SWITZERLAND The XXXIV International Apicuitural Congress ~ APIMONDIA Further details from: APIMONDIA Secretary General, Corso Vittorio Emanuele 101, 1-00186 Rome, Italy Fax: 396 685 2286

HONEY HUNTERS

Hall, Cockermouth CA13 0SU, United Kingdom

Resource Inventory Techniques to Support Agroforestry Activities

15-19 August 1995, Lausanne

2,

CH-2000 Neuchatel, Switzerland

A Bees for Development publication

CUBA

ISRAEL

seeds, technical information and training materials free of charge to groups world-wide interested in starting reforestation projects with fast-growing, nitrogen-fixing trees.

I

Fax: 403 382 3156

Bee Products: Properties, Applications and Apitherapy

The New Forests Project provides tree

Write

CANADA Seventh International Pollination Symposium 1996 Further details from: Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Lethbridge Research Station, Lethbridge, Alberta, T!J 4B1, Canada

Fax: 91 1894 2259

SOW SOME SEEDS

CEAS, Rue de la Céte

Further details not yet available.

INDIA

ACIAR (Australia) published Writing

Write

Scheduled for November 1994

GHANA

training programmes.

To join the mailing list write to:

In 1987

BENIN Third West African Bee Research Seminar

& DEVELOPMENT

UNITED KINGDOM Making Forest Policy Work 3-7 July 1995, five one-day seminars at Oxford University

Developing and Implementing Forest Policy Solutions

16 July - 30 September 1995, Oxford University Further details from: Course Co-ordinator, Oxford Forestry Institute, Department of Plant Sciences, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3RB, United Kingdom

If you want details of your event to appear here, send details to

Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth, NP5 4AB UK Fax: 44 (0)1600 716167

ELEVEN

BEEKEEPING

&

DEVELOPMENT

34

Ethiopian honeybee flora: some 500 common herbs, shrubs and trees

by Reinhard Fichtl and Admasu Addi

BOO!

Margraf Verlag, Weikersheim, Germany (1994) 510 pages and 600 colour photographs. Paperback.

Available from Bees for Development (see Books to

Crating

1d

a Pam ortho

sae

con jn

There are excellent colour photographs showing flowers of each of the 500 plants presented, often with honeybees foraging upon them. Each entry gives information about the plant itself, its flowering period and value to bees. Some of the plants occur throughout the tropics and subtropics, and others even more widely as crop or ornamental plants. There is a good description of the current status of beekeeping in Ethiopia too, even including the method for making Tej, the important beverage of traditional social gatherings. This book is expensive but will make an interesting and valuable addition to beekeepers’ libraries.

‘

TMpatool

BOOKS TO BUY Books to Buy lists the books available for you to purchase from Bees for Development.

Use the form in Books to Buy to order books or simply write to us listing your requirements. Please send payment with your order.

Prices include packing and post to any address by surface mail world-wide. To have your order sent by airmail, please add 25% to the total order cost.

WAYS TO PAY

Beeswax crafting Wicwas Press, Cheshire, Connecticut, USA (1993) 126 pages. Hardback. Available from Bees for Development (see Books to Buy) price 15.75

A useful text giving many practical ideas for

|

Cheques, Eurocheques and Bank drafts in sterling Access, Mastercard or Visa

State card type, card number, expiry date, and name and address on card.

Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth, NP5 4AB, United Kingdom

ORDER FAST BY FAX: 44 (0)1600 716167

TWELVE

00

This new flora has by now been mentioned several times in Beekeeping & Development, but we make no apology for this as it is one of the best produced guides to bee plants yet published. One hundred trees and 400 herbs and shrubs chosen from the 7000 or so flowering plants found in Ethiopia represent the wide range of plants that are important to bees.

eawak

poor BET

Buy) price 68

3

}

using beeswax. Introductory chapters explain what beeswax is, its chemical and physical properties and how to process it. A range of recipes for making cosmetics and ointments is given, although some of the ingredients may be hard to locate A number of art processes are described and the techniques of batik and encaustic art (painting with molten wax) are detailed. Elizabeth Duffin illustrates precisely her techniques for making wax flowers: these always attract attention and interest at beekeeping exhibits, showing the wide diversity of uses for beeswax. A separate chapter explains, with enough information to help the beginner get started, the different candle-making techniques. Plans are given for building a solar-wax extractor and a simple wax tank.

Promotion of non-wood forest produce through social forestry G Hedge and J N Daniel edited by N

BAIF

Development Research Foundation, Pune, India

(1993) 257 pages. Paperback. Available from Bees for Development (see Books to Buy) price 10.00

The cover of this book illustrates very well it content. The book contains 39 talks given or.

Multi-Purpose Tree Species, giving information on some of the less well-known products harvested from trees. One paper relates to beekeeping, others discuss all sorts of products: medicines, cosmetics, pesticides, gums, resins, dyes, spices and oils. Many of these commodities are familiar to rural people but their uses have not been documented by researchers. There is plenty of fascinating detail in this rather modest publication. For example, one author from South India describes how almost everyone in a village of 386 houses is employed for three months of every year in making plates and cups from the leaves of Butea monosperma ‘Flame of the forest’ trees.

Miel de abejas (Bee Honey)

by Patricia

Vit

Universidad de los Andes, Mérida, Venezuela (1993)

97 pages. Paperback. In Spanish Available from: Gloria Somoza, Consejo de Publicaciones Universidad de Los Andes, Av Andrés Bello, La Parroquia, Mérida,

Venezeula.

This book is a useful manual for those interested in the chemical composition and physical properties of honeybee honey It gives a general introduction to the origin, different types and uses of honeys. It describes analytical techniques to evaluate the quality of honeys, sensorial (colour and flavour determination) and physicochemical analysis (moisture, index of refractometry, pH, minerals, reducing sugars, HMF, diastase and nitrogen). It provides a general introduction to mellisopalynological analysis. It also includes the results of the analysis of 500 Venezuelan honey samples.

Rogel Villanueva

A Bees for Development publication

7

BEEKEEPING

&

DEVELOPMENT

34

Biogeography and taxonomy of honeybees

by Friedrich Ruttner (1988) In English Berlin, Springer Verlag, 284 pages, hardback

K SHELF

An extremely valuable text dealing with the evolution and ecology of honeybees.We are very pleased to be able to offer Beekeeping & Development readers this excellent book at the

Beekeeping for honey production in Sri Lanka: management of Asiatic hive

special price of 43.00, including postage The usual retail price is 76.00.

honeybee Apis cerana in its natural tropical monsoonal environment

This offer is only available on orders received before 30 April 1995.

RW K Punchihewa Sri Lanka Department of Agriculture, Peradeniya, Sri Lanka in association with Canadian \nternational Development Agency (CIDA}, Quebec, Canada (1994) 232 pages. Paperback. In English and Sinhala editions.

Available from Bees for Development (see Books to

Buy) price 19

95

We are delighted to welcome this excellent new book to our Bookshelf! There is no other text on Apis cerana, the Asian hive bee, to compare with this one. Dr Punchihewa is a scientist and beekeeper. He has distilled in this book his practical skills, experience and knowledge. The first chapter describes the biology of Apis cerana including up-to-date research findings. The main part of the book is precise explanation of how to satisfactorily manage Apis cerana: clear instructions are given on every aspect After ny years of practical trials, the author has

|

AFRICAN BEEKEEPERS SPREAD THEIR NEWS Two newsletters from East and West Africa

Honey News Published in Bamenda, Cameroon, this eight-page newsletter aims primarily to link members of NOWEBA - an Association of 38 beekeeping clubs in North West Cameroon. Honey News is sponsored by Helvetas, Switzerland and is published in English. Available from. NOWEBA, PO Box 5150, Bamenda, Cameroon.

....1lly settled on a method of using top-bars in the brood box and full (four-sided) frames in the honey supers.

The book contains also much apicultural information about Sri Lanka. It is estimated that the country produces about 25 tonnes of honey each year: at least 10 tonnes of this is from honey hunting. On average a further 20 tonnes are imported, mainly from Australia, and of this imported honey almost 90% is used for indigenous (ayurvedic) medicine.

Kituo Chautafiti Nyuki Njiro This Newsletter is published in Swahili and is intended for beekeepers in East Africa. It is produced by researchers at Njiro Wildlife Research Centre in Tanzania who have been working on an ODA-funded project to determine good, functional designs for topbar hives. The Newsletter has plenty of

The book is attractively produced with excellent diagrams and over 100 colour photographs.

A prologue is provided by the Professors Koeniger. They conclude: ‘keeping the local honeybees for honey production and conservation must gain more momentum’.

beekeeping news, practical tips - as well as beekeeping cartoons. The current edition is funded by NINA in Norway. Available from Njiro Wildlife Research Centre, PO Box 66], Arusha, Tanzania.

This book will help.

L A Bees for Development publication

THIRTEEN

|

BEEKEEPING

&

DEVELOPMENT

34

DESTROYING BEEKEEPERS - THAI SACBROOD VIRUS The situation in Tamil Nadu, South India

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Thai Sacbrood Virus (TSBV) attacks honeybees at the larval stage. It first struck colonies of honeybees in South India in 1991. At present the three southern states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu have been affected by this disease. The

Kanyakumari beekeepers were the first to suffer the disease in Tamil Nadu.

According to them intensive migratory beekeeping has been one of the main reasons for the spread to other areas of the state.

Many Kanyakumari beekeepers also feel that the disease has connections to the simultaneous efforts of introducing Apis mellifera.

According to tribal people in some hill areas, boxes with bees were brought from the plains and that is when the disease struck.

Scale 2,668,050 Due to this virus the natural LEGEND colonies of Apis cerana have a APs TSBV significantly reduced in the forests also. While honey hunting of rock bees some tribal people have also noticed the symptoms of TSBV in Apis dorsata.

The occurrence of a disease in Apis dorsata is a cause for concern. Though the symptoms identified are similar to those for Apis cerana, samples of brood combs need to be collected and the disease identified.

1

dorsata colomes olfected by unidentihed disease cerano colorses

wath

INDIAN OCEAN

This article is from an excellent field survey of beekeeping in Tamil Nadu undertaken by Keystone, a group for ecodevelopment initiatives in India.

ye A

GROUP FOR ECO DEVELOPMENT

INITIATIVES

symptoms

The map shows the different areas where disease has struck in the state. It is obvious that there are very few disease-free areas.

IDENTIFICATION The virus attacks at the larval and early pupal stage only and can be reasonably identified with the following indications: e

The diseased larvae lie on the cell wall with pointed tips towards the cap.

The larvae perish and form a mucous-like substance. With a matchstick this substance can be pulled out to 3-5 mm

e

e

lengths.

Inthe advanced stage it dries up and can be removed as scales.

Two tiny black spots can be seen on affected larvae.

The affected brood gives a strong urine/ ammonia odour. e

Affected larvae can be seen on the bottomboard and outside.

e

Pale yellow lines of mucous can be seen on

A close look at a disease-infected bee colony of

Apis cerana

FOURTEEN

Disused hive boxes - an aftermath of the Thai Sacbrood Virus

the bottom-board where bees have dragged themselves.

The colony has a restless and aggressive look when the top cover is removed.

EXPERIMENTAL STEPS Local beekeepers have tried treating with herbal plants, Azadirachta indica (veppam), turmeric, etc. in the hope of finding a remedy.

Requeening was also tried but it is effective only for a short period.

Scientists from the Central Bee Research and Training Institute, Pune, visited but apart from encouraging beekeepers to take up Apis mellifera beekeeping there have been no other steps.

Reports from Himachal Pradesh - a Himalayan state in North india where the disease struck earlier - show that the TSBV has a cycle of approximately five years. As yet, no treatment is available to address this disease. Some disease control steps can be: * Record the time the disease has been present. e Enforce a complete ban on the movement of colonies from one place to another. e Generate awareness amongst beekeepers of the symptoms and the need for isola of affected colonies. * Generate new strains of bee populations in areas like the Nilgiris, which is as yet free from the disease.

Provide assistance and monitoring so that disease-resistant colonies may be reared in the future.

CURRENT POSITION According to beekeepers in Kanyakumari, 40-50% of colonies becoming diseased are now able to recover. In 1994 beekeepers extracted some honey from these hives. Some beekeepers’ main aim during this period has been to multiply these colonies. But the disheartening fact is that a few large-scale beekeepers have changed their business to different fields such as agriculture, taken up salaried jobs, or gone abroad. Some beekeepers have even committed suicide, unable to repay large loans. Others are watching, waiting and hoping for the best in a year or two.

A Bees for Development publication

BEEKEEPING

&

DEVELOPMENT

34

KOMET OIL PRODUCTION PLANT FUTURE FOR THE EUROPEAN BLACK BEE?

|

We fear that time 1s running out for the European black bee Most geographical sub-races are already lost, and the rest are too few or might be affected by other races In Scandinavia we do not even know what races we have

All European countries signed the Rio Convention of 1992, and are obliged to make efforts to preserve genetic resources threatened by extinction As we have experienced however, governments are not very eager to take responsibility, as long as money is involved, and prefer to leave this all to private interests and idealism This, as well as scientific reasons, makes it urgent to focus on the situation for the European Black Bee in general, as well as for the sub-races (Apis mellifera mellifera, lehzent, silvarum

and others)

Representatives from Denmark, Finland Norway and Sweden assembled in October 1994 to discuss the matter Connected with this meeting a resolution was made to the Ministers of Agriculture he Nordic countries To form an all European network for the purpose of improving conditions for the Black Bee would be a great advantage, also for the possibility of structuring the trade In Norway we now need political attention more than anything else Is anybody concerned about the Black Bee?

Please write and tell the Norwegian Minister of Agriculture at: Landbruksministeren

|

Komet Oil Production Plants have been used for more than 30 years for the production of vegetable oils. They are robustly constructed and trouble-free in

operation. KOMET Oil Production Plants extract high quality vegetable/edible

oils from kernels, seeds and nuts for example sunflower seeds, sheanuts, copra,

peanuts, soya beans, cotton seeds, etc. The oil is produced by a cold pressing

system which is unique all over the world.

|

quite unnecessary to heat, boil or

consumed without any conditioning. KOMET Oil Production Plants are specially suited for small-scale production plants or village communities.

Norge, Akersgaten 42, Postboks 8007 Dep,

IBG MONFORTS GMBH & CO D-41208 Ménchengladbach, Postfach 20 08 53, Germany

0030 Oslo, Norway Nils

It 1s

steam the raw material prior to the pressing operation. The extracted oils can be

Telephone 0

Drivdal, Norway

21 66/

*

86 82-0 ‘Telefax 0 21 66/ 86 82 44 Tx 8 52 592 ibgry MADE

IN

GERMANY

BEESWAX BARTER CANDLE CURRENCY Beekeepers in developing countries (only!) may pay their subscription in pure beeswax or with pure beeswax candles Since candles are of higher value than beeswax, only 2 kg of candles are needed to buy one subscription, and the lower weight of candles will also give savings in postage costs

The rates are: 5 kg beeswax or 2 kg candles to pay one subscription.

25 kg beeswax or 10 kg candles to pay ten subscriptions to one address.

These are the conditions for paying in beeswax or candles Beeswax must be reasonably clean and of good quality It must be presented tn solid form and not as scraps of wax or pieces of comb 2 Candles must be of saleable quality Beeswax from any species of Apis will be accepted as long as the 3 name of the species from which it 1s collected 1s stated 4 Inside the parcel state your name and address, the weight and ongin of the beeswax, and the number of subscriptions you are paying On the outside of the parcel state "BEESWAX RAW (OR CANDLES) FOR BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT" and the weight in kilograms 5 Any parcel containing comb, very dirty wax or otherwise unusable wax will be destroyed on arrival at Bees for Development. It will not be returned and will not be accepted for barter 6 Arrangements for costs of carriage of beeswax or candles are the responsibility of the sender and Bees for Development will not be responsible for any postage or other costs whatsoever 1

We would like to invite beekeepers, scientists and all others who have interest in the European Black Bee (Apis mellifera mellifera) to a two day conference in September 1995, in the Norwegian Black Bee area Please see Look Ahead on page

A Bees for Development publication

\1

for details.

FIFTEEN

1

!

REMEMBER TO MENTION BEEKEEPING

&

DEVELOPMENT WHEN RESPONDING TO ADVERTISEMENTS EY

INE

XTRA INCOM FROM PROPOLIS PROPOLIS OR BEE GLUE Propolis is that brown black sticky stuff that bees seal up their nest with. In modern times propolis is often thrown away. But times have changed and it is now worth collecting and selling added value to the honey crop

WHAT IS PROPOLIS OR BEE GLUE? Propolis from the Greek meaning Before and POLIS meaning City, literally means DEFENDER OF THE CITY. Collected from trees and plants by the bees, this largely resinous substance is worked on in the hive to produce a glue with which they seal up the hive against infection.

Intruders into the hive too large to remove physically are first stung to death then are coated in propolis and can then remain perfectly preserved for years preventing danger of infection. The bees also coat the inside of the cells with propolis.

Propolis keeps the bee colony healthy.

Propolis is the Bee Colonies external immune system.

HOW IT IS USED Propolis has been used by man as a natural medicine since Egyptian times. Over the last fifty years modern scientific and medical research has shown that propolis has antibiotic - antiviral - antifungal - anti-inflammatory - antiseptic and analgesic properties and is now used to treat illnesses like arthritis - asthma - skin complaints and fungal infections.

BEE HEALTH LTD in the UK have done more than any other company in the last three years to make the public aware of propolis and to help "rediscover" the product. They are offering to buy smali and large quantities of propolis from around the world and at the same time support BEES for DEVELOPMENT.

the

HOW TO COLLECT IT If you use frame hives, you can collect propolis either by scraping it from the frame when you harvest the honey or by inserting screens in the hive containing small holes which the bees fill with propolis again to seal the hive. At the end of the season the screen is removed - frozen ideally - then flexed to release the clean pellets of propolis. There is no standard method for harvesting propolis from traditional hives: perhaps you can invent one!

MORE INF ORMATION

You can get more information about propolis - what it can do - how much it is worth - by contacting Bee Health directly at:

BEE HEALTH LTD 1 Racecourse Road East Ayton Scarborough North Yorkshire YO13 9HP

TEL. 01723 864001 FAX. 01723 86245

7

= published quarterly by Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth, NP5 4AB, United Kingdom Bees for Development 44 713648 Fax: 44 (0)1600 716167 E-Mail: 100410.2631@CompuServe.COM (0)1600 Telephone: Beekeeping & Development is

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ISSN 0256 4424