Bees for Development Journal Edition 50 - March 1999

SMC OM

AIT RiTTS

the journal for sustainable beekeeping March 1999 No 50

OFFICE COPY

Dear trienols

Welcome to the 50th edition of Beekeeping & Development! is bumper edition. We are delighted to bring you the first of several articles by John Free on pollination. To coincide with his call to protect pollinating insects we have an article by Michael Thiele, one of few people entrusted with the certification of organic beekeeping. More top-bar hive news, this time from Kwame Aidoo, our Correspondent in Ghana, and lots of news items from all around the world.

T=

a

Beekeeping & Development exists to: COVER PICTURE An Iraqi beekeeper

in

his sun-drenched apiary.

*

More about beekeeping in Iraq on page 12.

*

*

Share new ideas in apiculture; Raise the profile of beekeeping. It is an important income generator!

Increase the profile of beekeepers. Our work is important!

Keep us all informed of what is happening, where and when; Stimulate new activities; Broaden the horizons of beekeepers everywhere.

We are delighted to reach our 50th edition. We have increased our number of pages to share with you some special messages we have received.

Nitbla Bradbear EDITORIAL

REPRODUCTION

Editor: Dr Nicola Bradbear Co-ordinator: Ms Helen Jackson

Beekeeping & Development provides information to help

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

PRODUCTION The journal

is published four times a year. 5000 copies of each edition are printed and distributed by airmail to readers world-wide. English and French versions are available. Apiculture & Développement, the French edition, is translated by Ms Valérie Petey.

SUBSCRIPTIONS A year’s subscription costs just 16 or 35$US for four editions including air mail delivery, Past editions are 5 each. Readers in developing countries may

pay by Beeswax Barter or

Candle Currency (see B&D49 page 16).

beekeepers world-wide. To ensure this, we allow you to translate and reproduce material published in the journal. Permission should be obtained before reprinting and credit should be given to Beekeeping & Development.

Please send us a copy of the item.

ADVERTISING Advertisements and enclosures in

B&D reach beekeepers

Sponsors We are grateful to

beekeeping groups and individuals who have assisted us to reach Edition 50. Thank you!

We depend

on sponsors

to support our many readers working in countries where it is impossible to pay the cost of a subscription. Please sponsor a subscription!

in

more than 100 countries and support the work of Bees for Development. Consider our attractive rates:

Advertisements: quarter page, two-colour cost 65; a full page only 200 (these prices include translation into French). We can send you our rate card for further information on colour and cover prices.

Enclosures: insertion and distribution cost for one kilogram of AS flyers is 50.

(Prices subject to VAT in EC countries)

Production and distribution of Apiculture & Développement is supported by API-Promo

GTZ, Germany.

STOP PRESS! B&DS1: CERA RICA Beeswax contest.

In

WAS

ment publication

all the

Tal

eli

a

Greetings

from some of our friends

world-wide!

Congratulations on the 50th issue of B&D. Information about the activities of AAA has been dependent on B&D since it was adopted as our official newsletter. We have learned of many events in Asia through B&D, which we did not hear about directly. are We hankful and admire Dr Nicola Bradbear and staff for their efforts, and hope them to be continued. Nicola joins our biennial conferences and suggests many things for our direction, because many Asian countries are now developing, especially new styles of beekeeping of their own. These situations are well

reported

in

B&D.

Now AAA has grown to publish its own journal, Asian Bee Journal, from this year.

A new relationship and collaboration

will begin between AAA and B&D in the near future. But think and hope we may still depend on B&D for a while. |

|

Congratulations from all of Tamagawa eople too!

t

edition

Achievement Acknowledged Congratulations on your 50th edition NAC, Stoneleigh Park, Warwickshire CV8 2LZ, United Kingdom Fax (+44) 1203 690682 E-mail bbka@bbka.demon.co.uk

Congratulations on your 50th Edition

Race Course Road, East Ayton Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO1I3 9HT, United Kingdom Fax (+44) 1723 862455 E-mail BeeHealth@aol.com |

Well done

on reaching your 50th edition!

Corso Vittorio Emanuele Ii, 101

00186 Rome, Italy Tel/Fax (+39) 6685 2286 1

E-mail apimondia@mclink.it

Beekeepers around the world are a special group of people. To a degree unequalled in other development fields, they share commitment to their vocation, a willingness to share their experience, and a strong drive to advance beekeeping technology. They sincerely believe the world would be a better place with more and better beekeeping! a

B&D

is at the active centre of this world-wide network of beekeepers. It is the indispensable link among a far-flung fraternity (and a growing sorority!) of beekeepers. In its pages, success stories are reported, information shared and good practices encouraged.

important job.

On the occasion of this 50th edition the Near East Foundation is pleased to join the beekeeping community in recognising an important milestone in the life of B&D and wishing Nicola and Helen all success with their plans for expansion.

A Bees for Development publication

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Page 3

Congratulations partners!

Communication between us and other interested parties in beekeeping has been very difficult in the past, but as B&D increased its popularity the barriers have been tremendously reduced.

This has been so especially from 1996 when more people have been able to access to our messages on Sustainable Beekeeping for Africa through B&D.

We

have this on record which has been possible through B&D: between 1996 and now, more than 200 people from Asia, America and Africa have contacted us after reading BRD. More than 70 people from outside Tanzania have visited us to witness what they read from B&D, some of whom are from

Europe,

countries where English is not common language. As a result we have increased the number of our beekeeping friends and we are confident many more are coming. a

At Njiro

we encourage people to practise sustainable beekeeping through appropriate technology and we are proud of our universal beekeeping messenger and courier B&D.

The number of your readers

is

increasing all the time. The layout is getting even better with each edition.

We can only recommend to readers: make your own experience, write about it and give it to other people. B&D is ideal for this!!

Dear Bees for Development team: keep on working as you have done up to now! Best wishes for the future and

journal.

Bees, through pollination, feed the

World’s millions

11 Thomson Drive, Codnor, Ripley Derbyshire DE5 9RU, United Kingdom

Congratulations

Codden, Golf Links Road Westward Ho!, Bideford, Devon EX39 IHH, United Kingdom

|

Congratulations

Beehive Works, Wragby, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire LN8 5LA, United Kingdom Fax (+44) 1673 857004 E-mail thorne@dial.pipex.co

Sveriges Biodlares Riksférbund Trumpetarevagen 5 590 19 Mantorp, Sweden E-mail: forbundssekr.sbr@biodlarna.se

Congratulations

Baldric Close, Folkestone, CT20 2NR United Kingdom Tel/Fax (+44) 1303 254 579 E-mail nathon@zbee.com |

Congratulations Danmarks Biavlerforening, Mollevej 4140 Borup, Denmark E-mail dbf@post4.tele.dk www.biavl.dk

Bees for Development is coping with the difficulty of distributing a journal to beekeepers that live in remote areas of often poor countries, and who often lack money to pay. And yet, the copies of B&D are amongst the most treasured possession of beekeepers, as am able to verify from past experience.

kind regards.

Congratulations on your 50th issue. Keep up the good work!

Nowadays it is great to acknowledge the 50th anniversary of any special publication. To do so means that the publication is well written, immensely readable, the material it contains is along the right lines, is wanted by the readership and is presented in a suitable style. All of this is true for B&D, but it must be especially so because the majority of the readership is financially poor and some even need financial support to purchase the

Congratulations from all of us at Njiro!

Congratulations on the 50th edition of Beekeeping & Development

! have asked for, and been granted the privilege of writing a few words about the achievement of reaching the SOth edition of B&D. Few of us know how great this achievement has been and the intensity of the struggle involved in the early stages.

15

Dr Nicola Bradbear has had practical beekeeping experience in many tropical countries and is ideally placed to impart beekeeping knowledge. She has dedicated herself to improving beekeeping and the quality of life throughout the world. Bees for Development has not only kept financially viable, but is increasing in staff, and their organisation is not only thriving but provides the only beekeeping expertise in the tropics available in the United Kingdom. have never known any individuals to display such fortitude and dedication in continuing with their work, and so helping beekeeping in the developing world. This has quite rightly attracted grants from CTA, DANIDA, DFID, FAO, GTZ and other organisations. |

We congratulate Nicola and Helen on B&D, and on their other beekeeping and advisory work - and wish them every success in the future.

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Congratulations

Congratulations!

Suomen Mehilaishoitajain Liitto, Kasarmikatu 26 C34, 00130 Helsinki Finland E-mail smi@sci-fi

Peterborough PE4 6AT Fax (+44) 1733 324117

25 & 28 Sages Lane, Walton

Special 50th edition of BED May B&D live to be 101 May your advert reach all corners Long live the bees race Long live all beekeepers!

Delighted to help Bees for Development with international mailing requirements

International Distribution Centre Fern Grove, Feltham, Middlesex TW 14 9YA, United Kingdom Tel (+44) 181 844 2711 Fax (+44) 181 844 2472

Congratulations Norges Birokterlag, Bergerveien |5 1396 Billingstad, Norway E-mail sekretariat@norges-birokterlag

21

wish to express my personal gratitude, and the appreciation of the co-hosts of the First Caribbean Beekeeping Congress, the Tobago Apicultural Society and the Tobago House of Assembly, for the valued assistance received from Bees for Development during the planning and staging of the recently concluded Congress. |

The decision to stage the First

B&D

is unique.

Congratulations work

We wish the team

more years of useful and effective information-processing and dissemination to a lot of people and projects all over the world. This journal

on

your good

clo Graham Loveridge, Exonia Villa, 13 Usk Road, Pontypool, Gwent NP4 8AQ, United Kingdom E-mail graham@exonia.demon.co.uk

which is relevant,

carries knowledge easy to comprehend and applicable to several regions and situations.

Caribbean Beekeeping Congress was greatly influenced by the tremendous contribution to beekeeping development in rural communities by the co-founders of Bees for Development, Dr Nicola Bradbear and Ms Helen Jackson, whose work has and continues to be a source of inspiration to many beekeepers throughout the developing world.

We want to express our warmest wishes of congratulations to the crew of Bees for Development on the occasion of the 50th issue of B&D. You have endeavoured and fulfilled a great task in reaching beekeepers in remote and almost unaccessible places. witnessed myself the arrival of your 'Beekeepers’ magazine’ in the house of a Vietnamese beekeeper, living eight hours travel from the it gave nearest Post Office.

The joy and the way he shared this magazine with fellow beekeepers showed me the great importance of it. The content always brings beekeepers closer together. We hope you will be able to circulate the 500th issue as well!! |

Milestones and Milestones rather arbitrary fashion, we humans assign particular importance to dates and events marked with a figure followed by one or more zeros. Some such occasions occur in an inexorable and totally effortless way, such as a person’s 40th or 80th birthday, or the impending millennium (Y2K, just to be “in”), Other milestones, however, come about as a result of great amounts of tireless toil and unselfish dedication by individuals and teams with vision.

In a

The 50th issue of B&D is a shining example of this type of milestone, in as much as what may have been considered by some a few years ago as an almost desperate Plan B, has become the beacon for the promotion of apiculture in the Developing World, as a rational way to help Humankind to see life from the

NECTAR wishes to contribute and co-operate much more with you in future. Your readers are the people we want to get in touch with.

Planet’s point of view.

Dear Nicola and Helen, let us go for the next 50!

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appropriate design of

ar top-b hives

by Kwame S

Aidoo

B&D’s Correspondent INTRODUCTION

in

Ghana

n many parts of tropical Africa, the top-bar hive seems to be the most appropriate tool for harnessing the great potential of African bees. Critics of the top-bar hive focus their argument around the fact that honeycombs built by the bees are destroyed completely during honey extraction. This means that unlike frame hives, the top-bar combs are not returned to the bees for re-use.

The appropriateness of top-bar hive beekeeping in Africa and other areas of the tropics can be explained as follows: *

*

African beekeeping has evolved around the production of beeswax, a very important product in external trade. Honey has sometimes been regarded as a secondary product and used extensively for brewing alcoholic beverages (Ntenga and Mugongo 1991). Modern beekeeping in Africa therefore puts two products, honey and beeswax, on the market. This is made possible through the use of top-bar hives.

moa *

*

Horizontal nest arrangements offer better means of temperature regulation for bees under hot and humid tropical conditions.

Other supportive equipment is

a

in

simple and

top-bar beekeeping easily available to the beekeeper. *

Traditional beekeepers can easily adapt to the simple but effective methods of management using

top-bar hives.

In recent times the widespread use by The side to side arrangement of the rural communities of top-bar hives means they have received critical top-bars offer an effective way of examination. Studies have re-examined controlling the defensive African bees during colony manipulation. The space the original design as exemplified by the created by removing two top-bars is Kenya top-bar hive. all the beekeeper needs to control the Between 1992 and 1994, about the bees. He or she can go through the same time as the studies at Niiro entire hive removing one comb at a Wildlife Research Centre in Tanzania time and then placing it at the other (described in BR&D49) were taking side of the space. place,| investigated top-bar hive design.

Construction of top-bar hives is My research was funded by the International Foundation for Science, simple and can be at minimum cost

when locally available materials are used.

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Sweden. My studies critically examined the following:

for Development publication

KWAME AIDOO

tases

Top-bar width To determine whether the top-bar width of 32 mm as used for the West African bee (Apis mellifera adansonii) was appropriate, the comb-to-comb spacing of 20 feral colonies was examined.

Nest volume Cavities of 20 wild nesting colonies in southern Ghana were measured towards finding an appropriate hive volume.

Side walls of hives To investigate the comb attachment to the side walls of top-bar hives, trials were made with hives with sides sloping at 0°, [5° and 25° to the vertical.

Hive construction with local materials Designs using cheap and locally available bamboo, clay, oil palm fronds and raffia were tested.

2S -

The study concluded that the top-bar width for Apis mellifera adansonii is in the range 31-34 mm. This compares with European honeybees, 35-41 mm (Morse and Hooper, 1985), and Apis cerana 26-35 mm (Segeren et al, 1991). Depending on the species and race of your bees, the top-bar width must fall within the range and must be accurately the same for all the top-bars for a colony.

Hive volume It was found that Apis mellifera adansonii nests in cavities ranging between 16 litres and 316 litres. With due

Side walls of hives Side walis 15° and 25° to the vertical had no comb attachment. However hives with 0° side walls had honeycombs attached to hive sides.

Points of attachment were between 10 and 30 mm long and were found at the very top of the comb. During manipulations these came off easily and posed no problem to comb removal.

Little or no damage was caused to the combs.

Figur e 1. The Saltp ond hive

The Saltpond Hive (Figures 1-5) was designed and developed out of this study.

Versions of this design were constructed using locally available materials.

Features of the Saltpond Hive

*

*

*

Volume of 100 titres and capable of producing 32-40 kg honey per harvest Entrance at the extreme end of the long side. This restricts brood development to that section of the hive. Honey harvest becomes easier, with little disturbance to the colony

Morse,R; Hooper,T (1985) The illustrated encylopedia of beekeeping. Dutton Inc, New

York, USA.

Ntenga,G M; Mugongo,B T (1991) Honey hunters and beekeepers: a study of traditional beekeeping in Babati District, Tanzania. {RDC, Uppsala, Sweden.

_

All measurements

MA

body

i1 i. _

Figure 4.

The roof

t

Figure 3.

Hive body and entrance

in cm

Figure 2.

The hive

2

e3 77

10

——

“4

|0

25-4

The double span roof offers excellent colony protection Top-bars have a constant width of 34 mm and length of 480 mm; 25 top-bars per hive.

References

j— 44—

Straight side walls at 0° to

the vertical *

construct using cheap and locally available materials.

Segeren,P; Mulder,V; Beetsma,J; Sommeijer, R (1991) Beekeeping in the tropics. Agrodok 32, Agromisa/CTA, Wageningen, Netherlands.

the saltpond hive

*

Sustainable beekeeping for rural communities in Africa and other parts of the tropics can be fully realised by the use of top-bar hives that have been designed and developed with the local bee in mind. Such hives are easy to

4

te

pe

sf

Top-bar width

CONCLUSION

consideration to hive handling and management and also the multiple honey flows in West Africa, a hive volume of between 60 litres and 100 litres is recommended.

ks

FINDINGS

ay

A8

Figure 5.

The top-bar

3-4-4

C4 The Saitpond hive

A Bees

KWAME AIDOO

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Bee hives are best made

of natural material like wood

the need for

Beekeeping

by Michael Thiele, Germany he strength of an agricultural

ecosystem depends on the diversity of crop and field margins. For instance wild flowers have lots of functions in agroecology; not every function is well-known but it is verified that if wild flowers are eliminated by chemical weed control you will lose an important mechanism for biological pest control. Organic agriculture prevents those pests and diseases that are maintained by the so-called “conventional agriculture” of industrialised countries. The well-known problems of “conventional

agriculture” are: * * * *

*

*

insecticide resistant pests; pesticide residues; susceptibility; predator enhancement is impossible; almost no chalcid wasps or hoverflies, no mites, very few ladybirds, no lacewings; very little soil life; instead of ecological diversity there is only species impoverishment; almost no welfare-oriented animal husbandry and nutrition.

The factors that “conventional agriculture” eliminates: wild flowers,

field margins and hedges, are the same factors that maintain the ecosystem.

At the beginning of the 20th century “conventional agriculture” increased in industrialsed countries and scientific research predicted that continued organic farming would lead the farmer to ruin. There still existed voices that - without scientific research maintained the contrary, in the long run “conventional agriculture” would lead the farmer to ruin.

Organic beekeeping: more important than you think!

Bees, wasps and ants are the most important animals in the world; this and much more can be studied in the highly recommended lectures on bees given by

Rudolf Steiner in 1923. * *

*

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It is a pity that most of the European countries are not crowded with beekeepers managing their apiary organically

Ants invented organic farming; Wasps invented paper and are ancestors of the honeybee (larvae of some wasps are able to cause an internal process of making honey, for instance in figs); Bees developed a perfect external process for making honey.

for Development publication

“.. Therefore, in agriculture more attention should be given to letting insects and birds do their bit in the right way. The farmer should, of course, understand agriculture, but at the same time have insight into cultivating insect and bird life.

Generally speaking, it is possible, through establishing wetland pasture, to keep pests away from arable land. The appropriate distribution of woodland, orchards, shrub land, and pasture with fungi growing naturally, is the essence of an almost perfect agriculture, so much so that more is achieved by working along these lines, even if the productive area has to be reduced. In any case, no economical agriculture is possible if in the hope of increased productivity, the ratio of productive to unproductive area is pushed up to such a degree that all | have spoken of is lost. The improvement

of the

volume

of a crop obtained

in this

way is outweighed by the loss in quality, as a result of the facts mentioned above.” Rudolf Steiner, 1924.

|

JMS. fate

Oe”

ALL PHOTOGRAPHS

MICHAEL THIELE

|

Bee hives need to be in remote places with no air or water pollution

Steiner gave these lectures to the workers at the Goetheanum in Dornach, Switzerland. Among the workers was a professional beekeeper, Mr Miller, who contributed to these lectures in the form of insights and questions. However, Mr Miiller rebelled vehemently and showed no understanding when Steiner explained the intricacies of the queen bee, mentioning that the modern method of breeding queens (using the larvae of worker bees, a practice that had already been in use for about fifteen years) would have long-term detrimental effects, so grave that: “A century later all breeding of bees will cease if only artificially produced bees are used (November 1/0)... It is quite correct that we can’t determine this today; it will have to be delayed until a later time. Let's talk to each other again in one hundred rears, Mr Miiller, then we'll see what kind of opinion you'll have at that point”.

Seventy-five years have passed and the kind of queen breeding Steiner spoke of has not only continued, but has become the standard, and is now supplemented with instrumental insemination. What about the health of bees now? *

*

*

Honeybees are dying in those parts of the world, where these practices are common (USA, Canada, European

countries); During a period of ten years, 75% of the beekeepers in Quebec, Canada vanished together with the bees (1987: 97,000 hives; 1997 only 30,000 hives); In 1997 many German beekeeping journals wrote, “Experts estimate the loss of colonies in Germany to be about 50%, some talk of 70%”;

We need to ensure plenty of forage for insects

Over 60% of the American honeybee

*

population has died during the past addition to artificial breeding methods, honeybees die because of intensive agriculture. For example in 1997 the professional beekeepers in France lost 70% of their honey harvest.

The reason? The seeds of sunflowers were treated with an insecticide “Gaucho" (imidachloprid) made by Bayer. This insecticide travels systemically from the seeds into the sunflower and then the nectar. After collecting the nectar the insecticide poisons the honeybees who lose their orientation, are unable to return to the hive, and die. In some districts more than 80% of the sunflowers were treated with “Gaucho”. Honeybees in Germany also died, although this insecticide is not permitted for sunflowers. Imidachloprid is also used for fruit and vegetable crops under the name “confidor”.

In

supplemented by instrumental insemination that minimises the strength and health of honeybees. There are many aspects of beekeeping that contribute to the decrease of honeybees’ health: *

The location of bee colonies (intensive

*

agriculture, industry, traffic areas); Modern breeding methods (including instrumental insemination and wing clipping);

*

honeycombs made of napthalin); Honey harvest methods (harvesting unripe honey, combs containing brood, the use of chemical repellents); ° The effects of mineral fertilisers on the quality of nectar and pollen; * Insecticides (“Gaucho”), air and water pollution (heavy metals, radioactivity); * The constantly dwindling variety and quantity of wild flowers; * The effect of genetically engineered maize, soya and others). pollen (rape,

order to do justice to an animal, we must have a deep understanding of its nature. This understanding enables us to reunite economy and ecology.

In

Bibliography Frisch von,K (1962) Dialects in the language of the bees. Scientific American 207: 79-87.

Steiner,R (1923) Lectures on bees. Uber das Wesen der Bienen, Dornach/Schweiz

(GA 351).

It is not only artificial queen breeding

*

Wax production (synthetic

*

ten years.

*

«

The use of plastic hives, and materials used for painting hives;

Sugar feeding, pollen substitutes which contain antibiotics; Allopathic disease control (medicines against American foulbrood, Varroa);

Steiner,R (1924) Lectures on basics for the health of farming. Geistewissenschaftliche Grundlagen zum Gedeihen der Landwirtschaft. Dornach/Schweiz

(GA 327).

Thiele,M (1995) Zur Wechselwirkung Gkologisch bewirtschafteter Fldchen mit dem

Naturraum. Z Lebendige Erde 46/6:

457-464.

Thiele,M (1998) Modern beekeeping and honeybees’ health in the long run depends on our way of thinking.

Ed: Thanks to Justus Klaar, United Kingdom, for the translation of the excerpt from Rudolf Steiner's lecture.

A Bees for Development publication

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& Development:No 50

in

ollination ‘the Tropics

by Professor John

Free CMG, United Kingdom

B

ollination is the transfer of pollen from the anther of a flower to the stigma of the same or another flower. This process begins seed production in flowering plants. In some regions the need for pollination has long been understood: the practices of artificial pollination, and the encouragement of natural pollination originated in the Middle East. Since ancient times humans ensured that female date palms are productive by hand-pollinating them with pollen from male inflorescences. It is a long established procedure for owners of fig groves to introduce capri figs, which although inedible, produce pollen and harbour the tiny wasps that pollinate other fig flowers.

This knowledge of pollination even extended into religious life. An Assyrian Palace relief from 2750 years ago depicts an eagle-headed god who appears to be pollinating a sacred tree _with pollen from fir

pers

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a z= 9S

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carrying possibly contains more fir cones and pollen. So our subject is not only important to humans, it is a concern of the gods!

countries with highly mechanised agriculture, the use of bees for pollination has increased greatly during the 20th century and it is now an integral part of crop production. In recent times far less attention has been paid to the pollination of tropical crops.

This is partly because other factors, such as inadequate soil, water, and poor soil fertility are also limiting crop production. In these cases pollination as does occur is sufficient to provide for the plant’s bearing capacity. With the use of improved cultivars and irrigation, pollination may easily become the limiting factor, leading to increased need for pollinating insects.

In

Pollination requirements The effect of pollination on the yield of

in yield would seem to depend

depicting an eagle-headed god hand pollinating flowers of a ‘sacred tree’

sorHEBY PARKE BERNET & CO

solely upon increasing the bearing capacity of the plant by favourable nutrition and by plant breeding.

Some apparently insect-pollinated flowers are parthenocarpic. Examples are various cultivars of banana and Citrus. In contrast, plants traditionally supposed to be wind pollinated may benefit from insect pollination. Thus we now know that the oil palm is primarily insect-pollinated and not windpollinated as previously supposed.

There are indications that the following tropical crops benefit from insect pollination: allspice, avocado, cashew, coconut, coffee, cotton, lychee, mango, melon, passion fruit, safflower, sunflower, and many varieties of Citrus and Cucurbits.

most crops grown in temperate climates is well-established. There is relatively little information about the pollination of tropical crops. More data is urgently needed, especially as the results of pollination research can be of direct benefit to growers, who can take immediate action without the need for complex equipment, or large-scale investment, and reap an almost immediate reward.

It is likely that some (for example safflower, mango, okra, and opium poppy) give only moderately increased yield when pollinated by insects while others (for example cashew and guava) give greatly increased yields. However, more research is needed. The

Some flowers self-pollinate without the aid of insect visitors, although their structure indicates that in the evolutionary past they were insectpollinated. For example, placing bags over flowers (so that insects cannot reach them) of paw paw, sweet pepper, hot pepper and egg plant usually does not decrease fruit set. So growers need not be too concerned about the pollination of these crops: improvement

Because of the lack of time and facilities, too many of the studies on tropical crop pollination have been of a preliminary nature only. Careful studies must be instigated to determine:

pollination requirements of other crops including tropical legumes, which are beginning to be used in large-scale production, are mostly unknown.

whether fruit or seed set is *

*

usually adequate; whether the crops benefit from

pollination; and which insects pollinate the flowers.

Does a crop need insect pollination?

A

standard method to determine whether a crop benefits from insect pollination is to compare the yields of plants that are grown under three different conditions: covered by nylon screen cages containing honeybee colonies; covered by cages to exclude insects;

*

*

not caged.

*

Many varieties of fruit tree need crosspollination. When an insect moves from a tree of a polliniser variety to a tree of a main variety, it pollinates only the first few flowers it visits, so parts of trees adjacent to the polliniser tree get most fruit set. To obtain an even fruit set, orchards should be planned so that the main variety trees are surrounded by polliniser trees.

Availability of pollinating insects

If cages are not available useful information may be obtained by bagging individual flowers or flower heads to exclude pollinating insects. Some of the bagged flowers must be hand-pollinated to find the maximum set possible under these conditions.

Experiments must also determine whether the crops benefit from self- or cross-pollination. Cross-pollination is obviously needed when the sexes are segregated on different plants (for example melon) or by different periods of flowering of the same plant (for example avocado). Cross-pollination may also increase yields of plants that

Having considered the need for pollination wish now to turn to the availability of pollinating insects.

Probably humans at first encouraged wild bees and other pollinating insects as primeval forests were cleared, allowing light to penetrate and low growing plant species to multiply. |

However in many parts of the world, including the tropics, there is a tendency for populations of wild bees and other pollinating insects to diminish until they are too few for crop pollination. A number of factors have contributed towards this: Intensive cultivation

can be self-pollinated.

Cross-pollination can only occur when the insect moves from one plant to another, and this usually happens on only a small proportion of flower visits.

Production of hybrid seed crops ona commercial scale is creating a special need for cross-pollination by insects, and a high population of pollinating insects is needed to carry pollen from rows of male plants to rows of female plants.

of the land, including

of hedgerows, banks and has diminished the number rough verges and hibernation sites available; of nesting the destruction

Regular cutting of roadside verges and around field crops and the use of herbicides have destroyed flowering plants that help to provide beneficial insects with food;

agricultural areas and provide the greatest deterrent to using honeybees as pollinators.

The damage to honeybee colonies differs according to many factors including the insecticide’s toxicity, the method and time of day of application, the number of applications, the proportion of foragers visiting the treated crop, the crop and its floral structure, the foraging behaviour of bees on the crop, and the ‘drift’ of insecticide to other sources of forage.

Too little is known about the toxicity of insecticides to wild bees and honeybees in the tropics, although some information is now being obtained.

Fortunately practices tending to diminish wild bee populations are in general less severe at present in the tropics. But unless care is taken to avoid destroying wild pollinators in tropical countries, pollination will be almost entirely dependent on honeybees. Already, it is supposed that in a number of tropical countries the honeybee colonies managed by beekeepers will soon be the major pollinators, although in the past, large areas of vacant bush land, and scattered holdings provided ample nest sites for wild pollinators, including wild honeybees.

Modern agricultural practice not only tends to diminish the numbers of wild pollinators but also tends to increase demand for pollinating insects.

Use of selective herbicides destroy flowering weeds within crops;

COMING SOON! In

Use of insecticides. These are probably the most serious threat to wild pollinators in

B&DSI,

Part Il: Types of pollinators; and Ways to increase pollination

explanation please!

Cross-pollination: the transfer of pollen from the anther of a flower to the stigma of a flower on another plant of the same species

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Self-pollination: the transference of

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pollen from an anther to a stigma of the same flower, or to the stigmas of flowers on the same plant.

“4 With thanks to Quantum Print, Cardiff, United Kingdom for sponsoring the colour Pollination cages over coffee bushes

JOHN

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Mango flowers bagged and tagged

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printing in this article.

for Development publication

-

Page 11

Cool operators new to

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protect bees in hot climates

way

by Dhafer Behnam, Iraq

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The colonies in the trial were confined to the refrigerator for one week and then taken out for one day. During this day the bees flew and carried out

foraging activities before being returned to their cool confinement at nightfall.

After this time the colonies were divided into two groups of five colonies:

reserve for emergencies would solve this situation.

To be considered This system works to protect bees in hot climates, but to make it a success the following are to be considered: *

Group was kept for periods of one week in the refrigerator and then taken out for one day; |

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Summer is a stressful time for honeybees in Iraq

any honeybee colonies are lost in Baghdad during the summer.

It is a very hot and dry season with no food available for the bees.

There is no compensation for the massive loss of worker honeybees,

M

whilst there is a simultaneous increase in the natural enemies of honeybees, particularly wasps Vespa orientalis, and bee eater birds Merops sp.

The purpose of the following experiment was to keep bees

cool confinement during the summer season, preventing them from leaving the hive.

Would this help them to survive through a very difficult period? in

Method In July 1996 ten colonies of honeybees were kept in a modified refrigerator

with a temperature range of 6-8°C. The bees were in five-frame Langstroth nucleus boxes, about 2 kg of bees in each box (range |.25-2.5 kg per box).

Comb with open brood (eggs and larvae) was not included, but there was some capped brood, about to emerge.

There were at least three frames of honey, sealed and unsealed, included in each nucleus box. The refrigerator was an automatic defrost type, and therefore did not become humid. Two weeks prior to the trial the bees were fed with Fumidil B and tetracycline using a dripping method. The remaining colonies in the apiary were used as a control.

Page 12

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A Bees

Group 2 was kept for periods of two weeks in the refrigerator and then taken out for one day.

This system of confinement was maintained until conditions once more became favourable for brood rearing.

Conclusion All ten trial colonies survived this experiment. The populations were kept strong compared with the colonies remaining in the outside apiary which dwindled sharply, and some of the weaker nuclei that died out. The trial colonies also escaped the annual

predation by Vespa orientalis and Merops sp during August and September.

*

*

*

A well-controlled

air conditioned cellar can be used where the

temperature and humidity are easily adjusted; The system will work well in countries where energy is cheap Arabian Gulf countries, lraq and Saudi Arabia; Confined colonies must have plenty of food stores at the start of confinement; Prophylactic treatment against diseases should be carried out before confinement.

Other

uses

Cellar confinement could be useful during insecticide spraying times as bees can be confined for a few days instead of transporting them to a distant location.

When the bees were freed from confinement at the end of September the weather had improved and many flowers were in bloom. The bees that had stayed in the apiary were adjusted for defence, whereas those coolly confined were foraging better and ready to build up their nests. The weather in October and November in Baghdad is very good and the optimum for rearing brood. The ten trial nuclei colonies were very strong before winter time and did well the next spring.

Further trials The author hopes to carry out further trials with larger populations of bees.

Due to various problems there were constant electricity cuts during 1997 and 1998 which made more trials impossible. An electricity generator as a

for Development publication

Stain

=

Honey and beekeeping equipment for sale in Baghdad

If you would like to know more about the problems faced by Iraqi beekeepers, read BRD39.

explanation please!

Nucleus: this is a small colony of bees, usually occupying three, four or five combs. A nucleus box is a small hive, just large enough to contain up to five frames.

f thegndiagbutter tree 0}

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2 ae

by Surendra R Joshi and Hermann Pechhacker, Institut fur Bienenkunde, Austria

Background: Indian butter tree

Apicultural value

Species

Pollen grains:

medium-sized The Indian butter tree Aesandra butyracea (Roxb) Baehni (36.6 + 9p in diameter) provides abundant (Syn: Bassia butyracea (Roxb) or round, mostly Madhuca butyracea Roxb Macbride) nectar for honeybees some tetracolporate; ind is a major source of Family _are tricolporate with voney in Nepal. Sugar granular exine Sapotaceae concentration in this sculpture. nectar is recorded at up Other names Flowering: a long to 42%. As a rich Indian butter tree is locally known flowering period source of nectar, as “Chiuri” in Nepal. In Hindi it is beginning in September coupled with a long called “Madhuca”, and in Sanskrit and lasting to February. blooming period, Indian “Madhupushpa”, which translates butter tree has a major into English as “honey tree” or Uses flower”. role in honey “honey Indian butter tree is production. In the low the few plants from which a among hill areas of Nepal, beekeepers can sweetening material can be harvested harvest honey two or three times without the aid of honeybees. People in during the blooming period. Beekeeping the western part and Chepang tribes in is most common in areas where Indian central Nepal shake the flowers to butter trees are abundant. Highly collect nectar. This nectar after recommended for beekeepingprolonged steaming is made into sugar oriented, multi-purpose candy, locally called “gur”. This sugar plantations. candy is very rich in pollen. The total distribution number of pollen grains per gram of candy were counted at 83,500. It is It is distributed throughout the highly prized for its nutritive value and sub-tropical forests of the Himalayan is also used to cure several diseases region from the Kumaon Hills of India stomach disorder, and fever. to Bhutan. It is found widely distributed including The ripened seeds of Indian butter tree in the hills of Nepal ranging from 500 yield fat which is used as a substitute to 2000 m above sea level. for butter and oil. The oil content of the seed is about 55-60%. The oil is Description also used as a base for face cream, and Indian butter tree is a slow growing, as an ointment to ease rheumatism, medium sized tree attaining a height of paralysis, sprains and contusions. The oil 20-30 m. or butter contains palmitic acid which Bark: dark grey or brownish and slightly soothes itches, chapped lips, hands and fissured. feet, particularly during winter. The oil Flowers: The flowers are creamy white, is also used for illumination as it give a long stalked, usually crowded in fascicles smokeless flame. After extracting the on the leafy axis and have a soft, sweet oil from the seed, the remaining cake is aroma. The number of flowers per used as fertiliser. fascicle varies from 50 to 72. Each The collection of the flowers’ nectar for flower is 2.64 cm in diameter, and has making “gur” and seed collection for its 10-15 petals and 36-45 stamens. oil extraction provides temporary work

for some people. Dabur India Limited (Nepal) has recently appointed some local agents for seed collection. There is always a good demand for butter or oil and farmers earn a good amount from its sale.

Indian butter tree is considered to be a good soil binder and could be of

immense value for promoting soil conservation. The tree also yields timber and fuelwood. The wood is hard, strong and durable and is used in making windows, doors and furniture.

The leaves provide excellent quality fodder for cattle. Understanding these values, the lopping of trees for fodder gathering and cutting of trees for wood is prohibited in some districts. People have started conserving and planting this species near the villages.

Indian butter tree provides habitat and food for a large number of animals and insects. Monkeys and small children shake the flowers and collect nectar for

drinking.

References AWASTHIL,P R (1994) Bahuguni Chiuri (Multipurpose Chiuri). Bataidi, Nepal. In Nepali.

CRANE,E (1997) Harvesting sweet material from plants without the aid of honey storing insects. Bee World 78 (3): 108-114.

KAFLE,G

P (1979) Adharbhut Maurialan [Elementary beekeeping]. Rupayan Press, Kathmandu, Nepal. In Nepali.

PARTARU (1997) Bee flora of the Hindu Kush-Himalaya Region: inventory and management. ICIMOD, Kathmandu, Nepal.

SHARMA,L P (1995) Reconciling conservation and development in the hills of Nepal; problems and prospects of apiculture in Jajarkot District, mid western Nepal.

Msc Dissertation, AIT, Bangkok, Thailand.

PHOTOGRAPHS

SURENDRA RJOSHI

You are welcome to send contributions for TREES BEES USE: contact us at the RAGES

A Bees for Development publication

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Page 13

Bangladesh

Areas of activity

Proshika: a glimpse

2700 people

Training: Proshika

Proshika was established in 1976, and is one of the largest private voluntary development organisations in Bangladesh. The beekeeping programme commenced in [984 with the goal of providing income and employment for people in rural areas.

Proshika objectives *

To generate income and employment

opportunities; *

*

*

in

beekeeping techniques including disease and pest identification, colony management, and honey and wax extraction and processing;

Technical assistance: after training is completed Proshika offers

follow-up monitoring and extension services providing bees, hives and equipment, and offering solutions to problems that arise;

Credit support:

technology for colony production and multiplication;

beneficiaries are provided with a loan from a revolving fund. The average size of loan is US$ 150;

To increase the production and quality

Demonstration: through

of honey and other bee products;

village-based activities Proshika offers demonstrations of beekeeping, honey flow management and dearth period

To develop suitable and appropriate

To use honeybees for pollination

crops to increase yield; *

Ethiopia has trained over

To establish apiculture

nurseries and model apiaries for expansion of the programme.

of

management.

Md Abdul Alim Bhuiyan, Senior Programme Co-ordinator, Apiculture Programme

Promotion of indigenous trees The Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society, in collaboration with the Akaki Red Cross Branch planted 3000 seedlings of indigenous trees: Hagenia abyssincia, Juniperus procera, Olea africana and Podocarpus gracilior.

The Society also distributed 21,720 seedlings to the Ethiopia Heritage Trust for the 1998 planting season. Similarly 30,136 seedlings were planted by seven rural associations, five schools and six churches in Debre Birhan.

One of the Society’s aims is to promote indigenous trees for they support a great variety of plant, animal, bird and insect (of course including bees) life which greatly help in the conservation of biodiversity. Indigenous tree species are more beneficial to the soil and more efficient at conserving water than exotic tree species.

Source: Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society Newsletter,

July-September 1998

Haiti Varroa arrived

The Ministry of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development was informed by peasants from the NorthEast Province of the country about the

extinction of some apiaries. A team from the Ministry was sent to investigate the situation and collect samples. In the laboratory, the Varroa mite has been identified.

Swaziland The Swazi National Beekeepers’ Association is collaborating with the Government in operating a training centre for agricultural extension officers and farmers who are interested in becoming beekeepers and producing honey to supplement their incomes.

Source: Near East Foundation

Page 14

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A Bees for Development publication

early March we will organise meetings for beekeepers in 133 communities, with an average of In

beekeepers per community.

The subjects in these meetings will be beekeeping and Varroa pathology.

15

Ing Agr Phanord Siméon

Kenya Mr Joseph Ogega displays the bee products

of the Kiamokaama

Beekeeping Project’s Harvesting Day in August 1998. What a wonderful sight!

Mr Ogega

is a qualified welder and maker of hive tools, smokers and expert bee brushes. Kiamokaama Beekeeping

Project has been in the self-help business for 20 years. The group currently needs assistance in purchasing new machines and transport.

If you can help please contact Mr Ogega clo Bees for Development.

Tanzania

explanation please!

Honey creams

Mkorogo? We asked Mr Liana Hassan, Director of Njiro Wildlife Research

Fatma Ntare has been skilled in making cosmetics and beauty creams since she was 15 years old. Following the sudden death of her husband she began to draw on these skills to support herself and two children.

Her traditional cream prepared from honey, avocado, ghee and various flowers is a best seller. “My customers are my neighbours and friends who really know how good my creams are. Using the cream three times a day for two weeks restores damaged skin to its normal condition. An excellent treatment for skin damaged by ‘Mkorogo’, the cream is also ideal for treating pimples”, says Fatma.

The honey, flowers and ghee (Samii) are boiled together with dried avocado.

“Avocado needs drying out first, otherwise it spoils if mixed when it is wet”, reveals Fatma. “I have a small, oven-like machine which use for drying some of the ingredients. This in itself keeps me very busy. The ghee comes from boiled fresh milk. let the milk coagulate into yoghurt out of which get pure ghee”, |

|

|

she says.

The entire process requires care and patience, and takes a long time. When four ingredients are ready and mixed together the cream is ready for use.

A 300 g jar of

Fatma’s special cream sells for 5000TSH (US$5).

Source: Business Times, November 1998 sent to

B&D

by Christopher Mkilanya

all

Centre, Tanzania to explain what this is:

“Mkorogo is the Swahili name for a locally-made face cream which ladies use to soften their skin. Mkorogo is normally made and used at home, and washed away before leaving the homestead. have once seen a typical Mkorogo of which the ingredients included an egg, avocado, a bleaching solution, spices, detergent and others which fail to describe. There are highly corrosive Mkorogo recipes concocted from other |

ingredients. Many young ladies have damaged their skin, especially their faces because of Mkorogo. Doctors have warned people through the radio and newspapers about the dangers of Mkorogo but people are still using the

concoctions. You will be surprised to see someone who was dark skinned and now is light skinned. It is all about

for reasons felt by the users”.

“BEAUTY”

A Bees for Development publication

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Page 15

look ahead

CANADA

Apimondia International Apicuitural Congress 12-18 September 1999, Vancouver Further details from: Apimondia 99, c/o Venue West Conference Services, #645 - 375 Water Street, Vancouver,

BC V6B 5C6, Canada Fax (+1) 604 681 2503 E-mail congress@venuewest.com http://www.apimondia99.ca

FRANCE 7th Symposium on Hazards of Pesticides to Bees 7-9 September 1999, University of Avignon Further details from: Dr Luc P Belzunces, Laboratoire de Toxicologie

Environnementale, INRA - Zoologie, Site Agroparc, 84914 Avignon Cedex 9, France Fax (+33) 490 31 6270 E-mail belzunce@avignon.inra.fr

GERMANY

ISRAEL XIV International Plant Protection Congress 25-30 July 1999, Jerusalem Further details from: Congress Secretariat, XIV International Plant Protection

Congress, PO Box 50006, Tel Aviv 61500, Israel Fax (+972) 3514 0077

NIGERIA Medicinal Values of Bee Products:

Applications and Apitherapy 8-12 August 1999, Ibadan

Further details from: Bidemi Ojeleye, Centre for Bee Research & Development,

PO Box 22691, Ul Post Office, Ibadan, Nigeria Fax (+234) 2241 3385 E-mail cebrad@ibadan.skannet.com

SOUTH AFRICA Apimondia International Apicultural Congress 13-18 September 2001 Further details from: APIMONDIA, General Secretariat, Corso Vittorio Emanuele Il 101, 1-00186 Rome, Italy Fax (+39) 6685 2286 E-mail apimondia@melinicit

European Bee Research and Beekeeping (European Conference for the Millennium)

SPAIN XI Concurso Nacional de Catadores de Miel (XI National Contest of

23-25 April 1999, Dornburg/Jena Weimar

Honey Tasters)

Further details from: Freunde und Férderer

18-21 March 1999, Pastrana

der Bienenkunde in Europa ev, Europabiiro Jena, Lobdergraben 13, D-07743 Jena, Germany Fax (+49) 3641 493 634

Further details from: Feria Apicola de Castilla La Mancha, c/o Constitucién 2, Apdo 307, 19003 Guadalajara, Spain Fax (+34) 949 21 84 76

HUNGARY

THAILAND

8th International Symposium on Pollination

Fifth Asian Apicultural Association Conference

10-14 July 2000, Mosonmagyarovar

19-25 March 2000, Chiang Mai

Further details from: Professor P Benedek,

Further details from: Asian Apicultural Association, c/o Honeybee Science Research Center, Tamagawa University, Machida Shi,

Faculty of Agriculture, Pannon University of Agricultural Sciences,

H-9201 Mosonmayarovar, var 4, Hungary Fax (+36) 96 215 931

learn ahead CANADA Bee Venom Collection Course 15

September 1999, Richmond

Further details from: Michael Simics, Apitronic Services, 4640 Pendleburgh Road,

Richmond, BC V7E 1E7, Canada Fax (+1) 604 271 9414 E-mail msimics@direct.ca

UNITED KINGDOM / TANZANIA

Tokyo 194-8610, Japan Fax (+81) 427 39 8854 E-mail hitomi@agr.tamagawa.ac.jp

UNITED KINGDOM Managing Forests, Managing Change

28 June -

16

July 1999, Chatham Maritime

Further details from: Training Officer, Natural Resources Institute, University Greenwich, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Kenc

ME4 4TB, United Kingdom Fax (+44) 1634 883386 E-mail j.pilcher@gre.ac.uk

UNITED KINGDOM British Beekeepers’ Spring Convention 24 April 1999, Stoneleigh

Sim

:

|

Rmeeedn

~WE___ stand

Agricultural Centre, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire, CV8 2LZ, United Kingdom E-mail bbka@bbka.demon.co.uk

noticeboard VOLUNTEER WANTED La Programme de Redynamisation de

’Apicuiture dans le Centre-Est du Sénégal (PRACES) is looking for a volunteer to help with their beekeeping programme.

An ability to converse in French an

advantage.

Contact: Mamadou Seye Diagne, Chargé de Programme, PRACES, c/o UGAPS-BCC, BP 03, Koungheul,

Senegal

FOOTSTEPS Footsteps is a quarterly newsletter for people working in health and development. It is published by the Christian organisation, TearFund. The newsletter is published in English, French, Portuguese and Spanish. Donations towards its production are welcome.

Write to: Footsteps, PO Box 200, Bridgnorth, Shropshire WV 16 4WQ, United Kingdom E-mail imc@tearfund.dircon.co.uk

WORKSHOP MATERIALS Bees for Development provides training and information materials to beekeeping workshops in developing countries. Send details of your workshop, and the

anticipated number of participants to us at least three months ahead of the date.

BEE BOOKS NEW AND OLD 10 Quay Road, Charlestown, PL23 3NX, United Kingdom for your new and secondhand books. 01726 76844 or

www.honey.memail.com

Want to advertise

in Notice Board?

Advertisements cost only 0.50 per word (VAT applies in EC countries).

Your conferences, workshops and meetings

http://www.nri.org

August 1999, Cardiff University and Niiro Wildlife Research Centre

Page 16

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A Bees

for Development publication

here

Further details from: British Beekeepers’ Association, National

Beekeeping in Rural Development

Further details from: Bees for Development at the address opposite.

us

Bees for

E-mail busy@planbee.org.uk

SAUDI

ARABIA

Hives

Pesticides

Most of the hives in Yemen are traditional types: box hives, log hives, pipe hives and skeps. In the last 15 years many beekeepers have tried top-bar hives and frame hives

Pesticides are a great threat to honeybees in Yemen. The mortality of bees can reach a mean of 48% when fields are sprayed during the flowering

Peninsula.

(Langstroth) and adopted apicultural techniques that are new to Yemen.

Research

Capital Sana’a

Melliferous vegetation

Main agriculture

There are more than 1000 species of bee plants in Yemen, 705 of these grow wild. These can be sub-divided into herbs, dwarf shrubs, shrubs, and trees that provide nectar and pollen for foraging bees. The most important

Size 555,000 Population

km?

16 million

Location The Republic of Yemen is in the south-west corner of the Arabian

Cereals: barley, maize, millet, sorghum and wheat Fruits: banana, date, grape, oranges and papaya Vegetables: cucurbits, onion, potato and tomato

Cash crops: coffee and cotton.

Honeybees The honeybee Apis mellifera is found everywhere in Yemen. In isolated hills Ad wadis it is still possible to find the adigenous, pure race of Yemeni honeybee Apis mellifera jemenitica.

Beekeeping Beekeeping has been known in Yemen since ancient times. In 10 BC the production of honey ranked fourth in the economy of the country.

Yemen has a diversity of honey plants spread all over the country. Their flowering period varies significantly from one area to area. This has resulted in the increase of migratory beekeeping across Yemen.

Data shows that the number of honeybee colonies has increased by three times in the last ten years to about 284,000 colonies.

honey sources are: Acacia sp, Euphorbia sp and Ziziphus sp. Many of the major Yemeni food crops provide useful pollen and/or nectar for bees.

These include coffee, dates, maize, oranges, sesame and sorghum.

Honey

Research activities on beekeeping are carried out in universities. Research includes studies of honeybee biology, honey production, honeybee diseases and pests and their control.

Training and extension The Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation is responsible for training in, and extension of beekeeping. Short and long-term training courses are

conducted in the Faculty of Agriculture in the University of Aden. The

Agricultural Training Center also holds short courses on apicuiture.

We are grateful to Dr Mohammed S Khanbash from the University of Aden for providing this information.

Honey production is about 1700 tonnes annually. 17.2% of this is

period.

exported.

Honey price: Yemeni honey is considered one of the most famous and expensive honeys in the world. One kilogram of “siddr” (Ziziphus spinachristi) honey sells for US$50. Other types of Yemeni honey are sold for US$20-25 per kilogram.

“Siddr” tree (Ziziphus spinachristi) yields one of the most expensive honeys in the world

MOHAMMED

S

KHANBASH

Honeybee diseases, pests and predators The Varroa mite

is causing problems for beekeepers in Yemen. It has been spread by migratory beekeeping and is difficult to control in traditional hives.

Nosema disease is widespread in some

places. Other pests and predators include ants, wasps and wax moth.

A Bees for Development publication - Page 17.-

How to make and use visual aids

vsg}

VSO Books

by Nicola Harford and Nicola Baird

bookshelf

1997 - 128 pages.

Paperback.

Available from Bees for Development price 9.00 including postage

This book describes ways to achieve good sharing of information between people. The “chalk and talk” method of teaching (teacher talks, students listen) is gradually changing to

§

Available from Bees for Development price 10.00 including postage

ae

There are more than 400 oi oceur througheut the stingless begs.

They

“learning by doing’. Projects increasingly use participatory approaches for decision making. This book assumes that both the trainers and the students (or the development workers and the community) will be involved in making the visual aids, and this will help everyone to participate, learn and remember more.

The book is full of ideas and suggestions, with excellent illustrations on every page.

There are six pages of useful contact addresses for organisations around the world that are involved with participatory development.

Honey Bee

by Seyyed Javad Saadatmand

1998 - 484 pages.

Paperback.

Arabic.

In

Available from Bees for Development price 15.00 including postage

A book about beekeeping

PN «ot Poke

by HayoH W Velthurs

There

Heinemann

poster Bees, wasps and other hymenoptera 97 x 68 cm - full colour Available from Bees for Development price 10.00 including postage

An entertaining and decorative poster: drawings of, and brief descriptions of 33 species. The Latin, English, French, German, and Spanish names are listed along with notes on where the insects are found and their behavioural tendencies.

A pleasingly artistic addition to the range of

is a chapter on stingless bee keeping,

many

Honey Bee

colour plates of the bee

Colored \das of Primtiive & Mixiees Hives Stingleas Haney Bee

Beckerplay Caleadar of bran

forage found in Iran, and a

in

the

appendices.

teh

is included

asperasten Sip

English

dictionary

adeno

short Arabic/

roan

d

g

in fran including advice on the best place to site hives and flowering calendars for the country. Other chapters discuss top-bar hives and their benefits, frame hives and traditional! hives.

These chapters include information and illustrations obtained during the author’s stay at Njiro Wildlife Research Centre in Tanzania and he has special mention for the assistance he was given by the Centre and Borje Svensson.

a

Page 18

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A Bees for Development publication

Detail of poster - Bees, wasps and other hymenoptera

videoshelf

t.

It’s a fair crop

ae I hee

Available from Bees for Development price 10.00 including airmail postage

A well-planned video which describes

cata Be

a es rete

The world of bees

Correspondent in Tanzania and until recently Manager of the Tabora Beekeepers’ Co-operative (which has over 1000 members) features in the video. He explains why fair traded honey is good for the producers: no debts, a confirmed income which makes money available to buy all the essentials for everyday living, and some income on one side for a rainy day.

He tells why it is important that consumers value fair traded goods, and buy them in preference to non-fair traded products.

The film also shows how banana plantation workers in Costa Rica are not yet benefiting from the bonuses to be reaped from fair trade, and again emphasises how consumers can make a difference.

work.

*

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«

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For large orders we can issue a pro forma invoice in sterling or US$.

*

Books and charts are dispatched by surface mail: for an additional 25% of the total order value we will send your order by priority air mail.

*

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are happy to offer suggestions for a selection of books to establish an

excellent beekeeping library. Our services include specialised advice on the publications that are available.

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Bank transfer Account number: 10167967 Sort code: 20-00-85 Barclays Bank ple,

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FAIR

*

CROP!|

*

It has been made by a commercial beekeeper in the USA, Mr Charles

Hofmann. It explains how and why bees gather nectar and pollen and how these are used within the colony. The video is particularly strong in explaining how pollination is brought about and the significant and undervalued role of bees in

Videos are always sent air mail at no

extra cost.

please.

1997 - PAL/VHS. Running time 62 minutes

The World of Bees provides a ready-made, ‘ofessional, hour-long “slide show” that gently explains how honeybees live and

x

All prices shown include postage and packing costs.

B&D’s

Produced by Larry Hofmann

Available from Bees for Development price 24.00 including airmail postage

}

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fair

trade and its benefits to producers and consumers. Separate sections show how fair trade mechanisms are in place and working for a coffee growers co-operative in Peru, a tea plantation in Tanzania, cocoa producers in Ghana and honey producers

neering, ehcediondl. wonderful. A remarkable videw”

emp

Pot ~~

order?

1998 - PAL/VHS. Running time 23 minutes

Justin Madaha,

&

Be

o

Produced by Traidcraft

in Tanzania.

§

:

Se

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crop production.

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The pictures of snow-covered hives and fields of dandelions will not be familiar to viewers in tropical countries, but the story that this video tells of the life of bees is equally true and fascinating everywhere. For

Send your order to

@®

Bees

for Development +44 (0)16007 16167

PHONE +44 (0)16007 13648 POST Troy, Monmouth, NPS 4AB,

example, honeybees often fly 50,000 miles

United Kingdom

to collect enough nectar for one pound (about 0.5 kg) of honey!

E-MAIL busy@planbee.org.uk Justin Madaha, B&D’s Correspondent in Tanzania, now starring in “It’s a fair crop”

WORLD WIDE WEB http://www.planbee.org.uk

EMMANUEL HERMAN

A Bees for Development publication

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Page 19

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PROPOLIS REQU Pao D |

Chunbo International: importers and distributors of bee products want to import a total of 100 tonnes of crude propolis annually for beekeepers world-wide.

Specifications are:

APICULTURAL CONGRESS of the INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION | , of BEEKEEPERS’ ASSOCIATIONS

Congress Theme: Beekeepingin the New Millennium Venue: The Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre

Purity Total flavanoid content - over 5% ° Heavy metal content- below 10 ppm *

Colour

199 XXXVI INTERNATIONAL 12-18 Se pteambey 1999 Vancouver Canada

- over 50%

*

Fa,

Congress sessions will be highlighted by presentations from invited guests world renowned for their knowledge of apiculture

- red, brown or green

Information from: Apimondia ‘99 c/o Venue West Conference Services #645-375 Water Street, Vancouver, BC V6B 5C6, Fax (+1) 604 681 2503

rey Y may be accepted on inspection P P ) (g Y . . . .

Prices negotiable in accordance with purity and quality

Contact: Chi Soon Kim, President Chunbo International Co Ltd 3rd Floor Kangnam-Jeil Bldg

CANADA

Apimowaia “oY Yeh site: htep://www.apimondia99.ca

822-4 Yoksham-Dong Kangnam-Ku, Seoul, Korea

Fax (+82)

2 555 8439

Tel (+82) 2 555 8402/3

E-mail chunbopr@ppp.kornet21.net and chunbopr@kotis.net

Of course you want to press your complete honeycombs in the most hygienic conditions Would you like to press the wax -a af

,

residues from uncapping knives, and uncapping machines using the same machine?

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Or visit us at Apimondia in Vancouver Beekeeping & Development is published quarterly by Bees for Development, Troy,Monmouth, NP5 4AB, United Kingdom Telephone +44 (0)16007 13648 Fax +44 (0)16007 16167 E-mail busy@planbee.org.uk World Wide Web http://www.planbee.org.uk Printed on environmentally friendly paper ISSN 1369 9555 Bees for Development 1999

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