Bees for Development Journal Edition 61 - December 2001

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dtov (ends As we go to press the events of 11 September and the war in Afghanistan continue to dominate the news headlines. There have

also been too many other catastrophes in 2001: floods in some countries, droughts in others, earthquakes, continuing wars in Africa, hurricanes, refugee crises: the list is never-ending.

Given the scale of these events it may seem as if the individual can do nothing to alleviate the suffering of so many people. It is true, nobody can solve all these problems. However, what we can do is to focus on one tiny area and try to assist. Beekeeping is a form of agriculture possible almost everywhere, and is recognised increasingly as a good way to help people to create and sustain livelihoods. It is even sometimes feasible for people living in refugee camps or in other very vulnerable and difficult situations.

The number of requests for information arriving at Bees for Development from projects and individual beekeepers, just goes on increasing. We are currently in touch with well over 7000 beekeepers and projects all over the world, the majority in developing countries.

Aside from specific enquiries, we cannot continue one-to-one correspondence with everyone, and this magazine is the best way to keep everyone informed and in touch with the world of beekeeping. Sponsorship from our supporting charity The Troy Trust enables us to send this information to those of you working in countries where payment is impossible. We still have many correspondents waiting to join the network.

2001 has been another busy year for Bees for Development.

Recently we have participated in the 37th Apimondia Congress in South Africa (see page 3) and the UK’s 70th National Honey Show in London: these events have enabled us to meet with many B&D readers and supporters.

What is lined up for next year?

Early in 2002 Bees for Development will be honoured to have Professor Dewey Caron of the University of Delaware, USA working with us for a short period: indeed he will be taking over as Guest Editor of the next edition of B&D. We are also starting a research project in collaboration with our long-term partner Gladstone Solomon in the Caribbean island of Tobago. This project will compare the economy and productivity of top-bar hives and frame hives under the conditions prevailing in Tobago.

thank everyone who has supported us this year. Please continue in 2002 and we will continue endeavouring to provide information and advice to beekeepers worldwide. Let us hope for more bees and beekeepers, and more peaceful times in the year ahead. |

Nibla hvadbear Contact details Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth, NP25 4AB, UK Phone +44 (0)16007 13648 Fax +44 (0)16007 16167

E-mail busy@planbee.org-uk A Bees for Development publication

Web www.planbee.org.uk

Beekeeping & Development 61

APIMONDIA IN AFRICA THE XXAVII INTERNATIONAL BEEKEEPING CONGRESS The Apimondia Congress is the largest international event for the world’s beekeeping industry. In October the 37th Congress took place over five days in Durban, South Africa.

The venue for the Congress was the Durban International Congress Centre that provided all the facilities needed for ceremonies, the

trade exhibition, meetings large and small, social events, and catering for beekeepers made hungry from their efforts.

There was unique historical value attached to this Congress for it was the first time it has taken place in Africa. The South African Organizing Committee responded admirably and presented a vast programme of plenary sessions, symposia, posters, receptions, local history, singing and dance.

Apiculture is a very wide field and Apimondia organises the subject according to seven Standing Commissions. These are: Beekeeping Economy, Bee Biology, Bee Pathology, Beekeeping Technology and Equipment, Pollination and Bee Flora, Beekeeping for Rural Development and Apitherapy.

STANDING COMMISSION FOR BEEKEEPING

FOR RURAL DEVELOPMENT The Standing Commission for Beekeeping for Rural Development organised three large sessions where dozens of papers were presented. These described projects and research underway worldwide, beekeeping with different species and races of honeybees, and also with stingless bees.

The great benefit of presenting your work at Apimondia is that it enables other people to hear of you, and to make contact with information and experiences to share. (If you want to present information at the next Congress in Slovenia then please read the box right.) the formal sessions, the Standing Commission for Beekeeping for Rural Development organised a special area within the exhibition hall.

This was the place to renew acquaintances, meet new colleagues working in this field, ask questions, discuss world honey prices, the merits and demerits of local hives, top-bar hives and so on. The area was enhanced by a large 3-D model of Bees for Development’s logo, with beautifully-made African hives brought along by Congress participants, and displays of honey and wax products from different continents.

In addition to

Bernhard Clauss, veteran Apimondia participant and renowned beekeeping development expert offers the following advice:

Lear Friends in rural and pert-arban development, The next APIMONDIA Congress will take place in Slovenia from 24-29 August 2003.

Again we are all invited to contribute the richness of our experiences. Maybe you already have some topic in mind you want to present to the international beekeeping community? Bear in mind that you have to follow strictly the rules and requirements.

Do not fool yourself: time is not with you and the event is just around the corner. Do not postpone!

At the recent Congress many of our speakers dragged their feet. They did not observe the deadlines for the submission of abstracts and papers or posters, and consequently government officials and donors were irritated or shrugged their shoulders when being faced with last-minute approaches for funding.

These are the steps required: *

Contact the organisers of APIMONDIA 2003 today; you will find the address in Look Ahead, page 12.

*

Be serious: start collecting your facts, data and audiovisual documents immediately.

Have your abstract ready for submission by the time the organisers send the First Announcement to you.

Carefully read and follow their rules and regulations: only then will you have a chance to “sell” your case to a donor, who may fund your participation, and only then can your abstract and paper be made available to everybody who is interested. «

APIMONDIA and Bees for Development do not have funding resources to support attendance at Apimondia Congresses. However, plan ahead, approach donor organisations and private companies in your own

country, and you can be there.

APIMONDIA is the International Federation of Beekeepers’ Associations. The Apimondia

Headquarters are based in Rome,

Htaly.

Apimondia

also has an Institute, the International Beekeeping

Bees for Development would like to thank the following organisations for sponsoring delegates’ Participation costs, the Apimondia Standing Commission for Beekeeping for Rural Development and Bees for Development’s participation in the Congress:

E H Thorne (Beehives) Ltd (UK) The Commonwealth Foundation (UK) Vita (Europe) Ltd Wye Valley Apiaries (UK)

Bee Health Ltd (UK) CARTF (The Caribbean) CTA (The Netherlands) DANIDA (Denmark)

We also thank the large numbers of individuals who assisted in so many ways before, during and after this major event. Nothing could have succeeded without support from the South African Organizing Committee.

Technology and Economy Institute (IITTEA) in

Bucharest, Romania. Every two years Apimondia convenes the International Beekeeping Congress.

The venue for 2003 is Ljubljana, Slovenia and

A Bees for Development publication

in

2005 the Apimondia Congress will take place

in Dublin, Ireland.

Look Ahead in B&D will provide

you with contact details for all these events.

Beekeeping & Development 61

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APIS DORSATA

IN

by Vincent Mulder', Valentinus Heri? and Trevor Wickham?

‘Committee of Science & Technology for Vietnam, Wageningen, Netherlands *LSM Riak Bumi, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia *Rainforest Solutions Project, Canada

|

In B&D59 the

authors explained the process of honey and wax collection in the Danau Sentarum National Park in Kalimantan, Indonesia. In this article the marketing possibilities are discussed.

In late 1994, the Danau Sentarum National Park (DSNP) Conservation Project began a series of

community-based income generating activities.

These were ‘entry-points’ to gain local interest in other management and conservation initiatives of the Project.

The rationale was that by facilitating improved community incomes for products made or harvested on a sustainable basis, the Project would establish greater incentive for communities to improve the management of the Park’s resources. Through skills training, assistance in product development, and improved marketing for previously unused or under-utilised natural resources, the DSNP Project helped increase the value of these resources and products to benefit both the natural resources and the communities of DSNP

This work initially began with a plan to bottle locally collected DSNP honey and market it directly to consumers in Pontianak. As honey was generally sold through a variety of traders before reaching the market, honey harvesters received a meagre portion of its end-sale value. By selling direct to Pontianak, the Project hoped to increase significantly the value of the honey for the producers. Based on the same principles, the Project also embarked upon similar activities involving the design, production and marketing of beeswax candles.

Because of the remote location and conservation status of the Park, honey collected there is organic and free of additives. This combined with the honey’s unique natural flavours, traditional harvesting techniques, and its association as a non-timber forest product supporting local community development, make this product highly marketable. In the 18-month period from March 1995 to October 1996, the DSNP Project marketed over 2,000 kg in Pontianak, Jakarta, Riau and Singapore. Demonstrating the broad marketability of this product, an additional 1,000kg

was also shipped to the UK

in

1997.

Due to the similarity between the tikung collection system practised by the honey hunters in the flooded forests of DSNP and the rafter honey board system in southern Vietnam, the DSNP Project was approached by Vincent Mulder to facilitate an exchange between DSNP honey collectors and the people who collect honey in the seasonally flooded Melaleuca forests of the U Minh Forest in the Minh Hai Province of southern Vietnam.

The first part of the exchange took place in January 1996. The visit identified numerous similarities between the two traditional systems, but also highlighted techniques that could improve bee and colony management, honey harvesting, and wax processing in DSNP Addressing some of these issues would help ensure the long-term sustainability of the bee

colonies, increase the quantity and quality of the yields, and thereby advance the goals of conservation by improving the financial viability of the honey and beeswax enterprises.

These and other issues were discussed with honey harvesters from eight villages during Vincent

Mulder’s visit. However, because honey collection techniques have been practised in the same way for generations, most individuals remained sceptical about the advantages of Mulder’s advice.

To overcome this, it was suggested that honey collectors from DSNP

should make a field visit to the U Minh Forest where they could see real examples of the recommended changes in management and harvesting practices for themselves.

This would be an excellent way to promote improvement to the tikung system in DSNP.

Honey conectors

}

Three people from DSNP participated in the study tour, including two honey collectors from DSNP and one Project staff member experienced in bees. A representative of the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry also joined. The group was led by the Natural Resources Advisor of the Danau Sentarum Conservation Project.

During the Vietnamese Study Tour, the DSNP delegates attended a two-day seminar and field trip where they exchanged their experiences with their Vietnamese counterparts concerning honey board placement, honeycomb management, harvesting, quality control and production and marketing of honey and beeswax. The delegates

also attended the 3rd Asian Apicultural Association Conference in Hanoi.

Improving DSNP’s Tikung system In general, the DSNP participants gained a greater understanding about the value of bees and bee products and the various types of beekeeping and management systems throughout Asia. They became more aware of the significant interest in, and importance of, their honey harvesting system. In particular, they were exposed to ideas, techniques and concepts that have the potential to produce larger quantities of improved quality honey and beeswax. This has potential to generate additional income for their communities, whilst supporting and reinforcing principles of sustainable development.

The following are some of the techniques that the DSNP Project field staff initiated with the honey harvesters of Danau Sentarum. Following the completion of the Indonesia/UK Tropical Forest Management Programme’s support to the Conservation Project, a Pontianak-based NGO Yayasan Dian Tama — with financial assistance from the British Embassy in Jakarta and Global Concern (Singapore), continued to develop and implement many of the activities of the Conservation Products Trading Enterprise.

A Bees for Development publication

Beekeeping & Development 61

wf SHDAL DARAL MADU0

Fs

|

|

Following the Vietnamese Study Tour, Project staff undertook basic training workshops and discussions with honey harvesters on how to improve their harvesting and processing techniques. Some of these techniques (fe 1 and 3) involved harvesting demonstrations in the field, while other techniques (/e 6 and 7) were best taught through the design and distribution of a simple poster showing a step-by-step approach to each technique. For other techniques (ie 2, 4 and 5) basic prototypes were constructed and shared among honey harvesters to help demonstrate their advantages.

Conclusions Our research shows that DSNP is one of a very

few remaining communities in south-east Asia who still collect wild forest Apis dorsata honey using a traditional honey board system. As the tikung system has proved to be a viable honey collection system which provides supplementary income for communities with minimal cost or external inputs, it would be unfortunate to lose this local knowledge system which is compatible with the ecological conditions of DSNP. or to disrupt the natural bee colonies by introducing a frame hive beekeeping system, or other bee species (for example Apis mellifera or Apis cerana).

It is the many unique attributes of this indigenous honey hunting system that makes the honey a valuable and different product in the market place. Therefore future technical assistance in DSNP honey harvesting should focus only on improving the system that exists (see table) and not in significantly altering or importing other

beekeeping systems or bee species.

TECHNIQUES FOR IMPROVED TIKUNG BEEKEEPING CURRENT PRACTICE

IN

DSNP (TIKUNG)

PROBLEMS WITH PRACTICE

1. Honeycombs are collected at night when bees are

«

most docile

2. Bees are distracted from combs with smoke from

}

*

smouldering torches with buming embers.

«

3. Honeycombs are harvested

*

only once per season.

SUGGESTED IMPROVEMENT

Bees need daylight to navigate. Night harvest results in bees losing orientation, falling in the water and dying Remaining bees scatter and do not build new combs or produce more honey

If daytime harvesting is combined with ‘selective cutting’ (See 3) it allows bees to navigate and retum to the comb to continue

*

*

High bee mortality as a result of bees being bumed Potential forest fire hazard

*

Potential quality of honey harvest is under-utilised Full financial value of wax

*

*

Lower bee mortality Reduced risk of forest fire

Selected cutting of only the honey portion of the comb (leaving the brood intact) would permit 2-3 harvests per season.

*

Quantity of honey harvest increases Income to community increases Incentive to protect forest increases

Only the honey part of the comb is removed Possibly remove the brood to prevent swarming

*

Hand-held ‘smokers’ can be used to ward off bees with

*

* *

Bees do not re-settle Loss of potential future honey harvests

no direct exposure to

*

*

*

*

*

Some protective gear could be used from simple headnets to gloves

*

Combs should be cut into small pieces, placed on clean cloth and allowed to

*

resulting in cloudy honey with less market appeal «

Unhygienic

drain over night

*

*

Potential quantity of wax harvest is under-utilised Additional financial value to collector is lost

*

Results in rapid harvesting and increased damage to combs Greater likelihood of bee

*

*

mortality

*

Pollen is mixed with honey

*

*

*

Asystem of melting the wax in boiling water, cloth

strained and processing with a stick-wax-press can yield up to 47% more wax

Tikung A wooden board or plank undemeath

which a colony of the giant honeybee Ap/s dorsata builds its nest. The nest of Apis dorsata consists

honey, pollen and brood.

buming embers.

5. Honeycombs are harvested without the harvesters wearing protective clothing.

7. Beeswax is often contaminated, discarded, or incompletely harvested.

Increased sustainability of bee colonies

EXPLANATION

of one single, large comb, within which are stored

*

6. Honey is generally extracted from the combs by squeezing entire combs by hand.

Lower bee mortality during harvest

producing honey.

and honey is lost

4. During honey harvest the complete comb is removed.

ADVANTAGE

*

*

Allows bees to continue to build their nest on the same site Combs can be harvested

several times in the same season Additional benefits as above

More time and care can be taken during harvest Reduced damage to comb and bees May ensure fewer hives remain unharvested

Quality of honey increases Incomes to communities increases Incentive to protect forest increases Quality and quantity of wax increases Incomes to community increase Incentive to protect forest increases

A Bees for Development publication

Beekeeping & Development 61

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Gunnar Barnes, Dickson, USA This article shares some designs

PIS CERANA in low-cost hive making, tested in Bangladesh. The

clay block hives are easy to make

once the set of moulds are made. The hives are durable, especially when reinforced with 2 kg of Portland cement.

The trials suggested that the hives were acceptable to the bees. The hives are heavy and unsuitable for migratory

beekeeping. However families with few hives usually do not practise this type of beekeeping.

MOULD ASSEMBLY Components A, B, C and D are the main mould parts *

Component A

is the Insert for making the

brood and honey chamber. It is made from

either an iron sheet or wood or a

combination of these.

260 mm (10%”) long by 216 mm (8%”) wide by 267 mm (10%”) deep. these are inserts used to

Component B make inspection channel

‘’, which can also

be used when cleaning the hive floor.

Component C forms the Insert to make the bee entrance ‘u’.

Component D is the Outer Form Dimensions:

356 mm (14”) long by 356 mm (14”) wide by 305 mm (12”) deep.

This Form can be made in 1, 2 or 4 parts from wood or an iron sheet. Extraction is

done by dismantling the component or

sliding it off.

approximately 12.5 mm by 25.4 mm by 102 mm (%4" x 1” x 4”).

P frame

of wood or bamboo; making upper part of honey chamber with internal dimensions: Length 257 mm (10%”)

260 mm (10%”) honey frame top-bars. Depth 38 mm (1%”) to give room for air vents and grooves for top-bars.

'v’ queen gate made from bamboo or wood, with 3.8 mm (%o") slot for the worker bees to pass through. Overall size is

O roof slab (mud, bamboo mat, cement, card board, newspaper, etc). *

‘w’ bamboo pegs in holes made through orifices ‘m’.

Frame P can be handled as a unit containing honey frames Y, and during work in the

MAKING THE MONO BLOCK HIVE *

‘e’ 152 mm (6”) nails for alignment of Insert C through holes ‘h’, ‘7 and ‘n’. alignment holes for rods

//’.

aw ‘g’ opening for passage of rods /

‘h-i-n’ alignment for holes for nails ‘e’.

Make all holes oversize for easy passage of rods.

brood chamber can be rested on the two

strength and moisture resistance: 1-2 kg cement per hive (including the roof slab)

bamboo pegs ‘w’.

Q The mono block clay hive giving room for brood and honeycombs, queen gate ‘v’ and

works well.

Reinforcement is easy with thin slivers of 10 g wires, with bamboo, or by working

2 plugs ‘s’.

Y honey frame (7 pieces) with top-bar

some fibres into the mix. Use water

254 mm (10%”) by 29 mm (1%”) by 6mm

sparingly to ensure hard, solid packing of the mix, and to prevent sagging when the moulds are retrieved immediately following

(%4") made of wood or bamboo; and a

bamboo loop made by hot-bending a prepared bamboo strip 457 mm (18”) long.

The depth of the frame is 102 mm (4”).

the packing. Add moisture where it is needed to obtain solid corners and smooth

brood frame (8 pieces) with top-bar as for honey frame, but only 22 mm (%") wide to allow the bees to enter the honey chamber. Each frame will occupy a space

surfaces. The mould can be charged from either end.

Using a curved trowel make a straight and smooth cleaning channel. The trowel can be made by curving a strip of 14-gauge sheet

27 mm (1%o") wide. The frame depth is approximately 150mm (6”).

iron or bamboo.

Z

bamboo strip 457 mm (18”) long to make loops for the frames. The upper ends of the

loops should be

Find or make a mixture of sand and clay that

will dry and harden without cracking.

A stabilizer may be mixed in to give extra

X

‘e’ to ‘n’ give details for the mould

Make the comb frames from bamboo or wood or a combination of these.

26 mm (1”) wide to

2 pieces, for alignment of Inserts B (through

determine the proper spacing of the brood frames. Keep 8 mm (%o") bee space around

Prepare bamboo strips for loops, and mark out 20 mm (%o”) on each side of the

T-T-"g:),

the frame.

intended corners. Thin this area to 1-2 mm

7

rods 13 mm

(%4")

by 406 mm (16"),

‘k’ holes at two corners, for mould assembly with 10 mm (%”) by 20 mm (%”) bolts.

'P

alignment holes, 14 mm (%6”) in diameter.

‘m’ these are two holes used to hold the bamboo pegs ‘w’. Make the holes approximately 14 mm (%e”) in diameter and place them 254 mm (10”) apart (centre to centre). ‘nr’

@

*

*

to accept

Dimensions:

‘f

O, P Q X, and Y are the five major components of the clay block hive

alignment holes for Component C.

(4e”), heat over a flame and bend, then cool

‘r’ to ‘w’: Details of the hive

‘r

off in water.

screened air vents.

The brood chamber will hold 8 frames

(26 mm (1%0”) wide top-bar) and the honey chamber 7 frames (29-30 mm (1%c”) wide

‘s’ plug for channel ‘t’ made from bamboo, wood or mud.

top-bar), which approximates the natural nest size for Apis cerana.

cleaning and inspection channel which also serve as handgrips.

‘Pf

‘u’ bee entrance tapering from 38 mm (1%”) to 108 mm (4%”) at the front.

A Bees for Development publication

«

The hive can be sited on a verandah wall, on bamboo poles or on a rammed mud foundation built using Component D.

Beekeeping & Development 61

gi

10

260mm

216mm

10 267mm

14"

356mm

SSS

14" 356mm

12 305mm Ww

~~,

FP,

ENN

Pr

———

A Bee for Development publication

@

Beekeeping & Development 61

aims of Raishari Beekeepers’ Associatic n is to raise awareness to save ees One of

the

ETHIOPIA—

Mehari Yoseph sent in this photograph of at least in a tree near Arbaclinch,

Honey centre opens in Salt yond

30 local hives hanging

A centre for beekeeping excellenc has opened in Saitpond, 120 km west of Accra, the capital of Ghana. A ceremony to inaugurate the centre was -

from pesti cides. Farmers apply large quant ities of pesticic les and they are unaware of the

south-west Ethiopia.

hazards tt ese cause to beneficial insects a nd

held on

1

June 2001.

pollinatior Every year the number of bees killed by 5 esticides is a very discouraging acet of apicultt re in Bangladesh. Our Associati

The Guest of Honour was Mrs Eliz] abeth Croffie, Headmistress of nearby Mfantsim in Girls

travels to agricultural fairs and displays material o beekeeping and tne propiems

Secondary School who donated th e land on which the centre is built as a cont ribution to the

.

f

|

with pesti: ides.

-

Asoke Sen

wo

development of beekeeping

in

Gh na.

Many members of the Ghana Bee ceepers’ Association provided displays at t € ceremony.

Mrs Janet Aidoo whose family ow the centre is the Manager. There is a 200-colo! ly core

OMetiag Yoseph gh

1

Stamp recently produced by the Bangladesh postal department depicting

Apis cerana.

BANGLADESH

CAMEROON Ngaoundal Region

in the north of

Cameroon is blessed with a savanna vegetation useful for beekeeping. Honey is harvested from

September to January every year and 200 litres of sweet honey sell for 100,000 CFA

(US$140). Honey trading has improved income for beekeepers and honey traders who are also farmers. Customers travel from different areas of Cameroon to buy Ngaoundal honey.

Beekeepers are facing some problems, for example lack of training on how to harvest

TANZANIA The Hanang beekeeping project 1999

started in

in Hanang District in East Tanzania.

The project operates

in

of honey and other bee products.

16 villages with 36

The centre produces beekeeping e quipment for sale and offers a consultancy s 2rvice to organisations and individuals: for veginner

beekeeping groups comprising 817 members.

The major objective is to involve people in beekeeping to increase employment for young

beekeepers this is a free service.

ple and women in particular, and hence ease household incomes under good

ronmental management. The project plays a

T

or role in increasing awareness of the value of

Sa

ral vegetation and the need for its conservation

oney production.

project arranges training courses in honey

essing, colony management, storage of good lity honey and beeswax, and how to make and bee equipment. Average production is 7 kg of

\

and 4 kg of beeswax per hive per year. e marketing centres have been established

ley

oney and beeswax trading. project receives funds from the National

honey without harming the bees, and the use of hives, which are not always clean.

me Generating Programme and from its

Mr Andrew Abbo, a beekeeper of Ngaoundal says: “)Ve want to sell our honey abroad but we have no means for this project. It ts not

lop its work.

good to keep honey in the house for too long: we have to go to the custorners”

production unit and the centre ha trained and equipped six beekeepers in the su ‘rounding area to act as ‘out-growers’ and augme it the supply

bers. More income would help the project

rect Manager,

Hanang Beckeeping Project

Sha Revion

PERU

Andre Ledoux Wamtba, Douala

“mazonian Honeybees Study Centre

HOTPEC Workshop

is an NGO studying indigenous bees and African

Rev Zadock Tanne sent in this photograph of the HOTPEC beekeeping workshop held earlier this year. Festus Usongo (left) is

honeybees in the Amazon forest. The centre organises seminars and workshops, in addition

demonstrating beekeeping practices with the assistance of his colleagues. HOTPEC received

to undertaking projects on behalf of local and

information support for the Workshop from Bees for Development.

apiculture as a means of protecting the Amazon

international institutes interested in tropical forest, its diverse environment, and those plant

species in danger of extinction.

Professor Dalin Encomenderos, Farapoto

@

A Bees for Development publication

Beekeeping & Development 61

KENYA The Vihiga Bee Project: the lost and found culture in Africa The Western Apiculture and Sericulture Self Help Group (WASSH Group) is committed to attaining positive socio-economic impact on rural small holders through apiculture and sericulture projects.

Ssasira Primary School Bee Project The project at the school has registered some significant achievements since it started. We are assisted with management by the technical staff in the District and this has ensured stability in the bee farm.

We harvest 100 kg honey every year that is sold locally. Girls at the school particularly benefit from

At the Vihiga Cultural Festival held in December 2000 WASSH presented a local hive showing that the Maragoli people are traditional

the Project: part of the money from the sale of honey is used to buy books, pens and pencils for the girls whose parents cannot afford to provide them.

beekeepers who keep bees in this type of hive, which they carve from the Mutembe tree.

This tree is culturally meaningful and influenced many other traditional practices. The Mutembe

Theft of hives and honey was a problem until the school recruited a watchman to ensure the hives are not stolen.

tree can tolerate fire and is termite resistant and

has many other uses including: *

Starting fires (but not as

*

Carving instruments, in addition to hives, mortars, musical instruments, agricultural implements and traditional stools for village elders;

a

firewood);

*

Medicinal purposes: to cure mumps, prevent sexually transmitted diseases, and other problems;

*

Settling disputes, instilling social justice, social order and social discipline;

*

This tree binds people together as a peaceful, cohesive, unified and law-abiding society.

Other names for the Mutembe tree are: *

BOTANIC

*

BUNYORE ENGLISH KIPSIGIS KISWAHILI

* *

LUO

*

POKOT

products. Also the school lacks funds to provide protective clothing. The future plan is to expand the bee farm with more hives and search for a better market for a fairer price for the honey harvested.

At this point call upon all people of goodwill to come to our rescue and avail us with necessary assistance |

so that our vision may come true.

Musaazi Ronald, Headinaster, Ssasira Primary

Hoe

Schoul, Nakasongola, Uganda

Tema-Jo Beekeeping Association In

August 2001 Tema-Jo Beekeeping Association, membership of 64,

north of Uganda near Gulu, had 31 women and 33 men.

in the

a

Erythrina abyssinica Omurembe Flame tree

Natural vegetation is includes Acacia sp, A/bizia sp and Combretum sp. Most farmers plant bananas, beans, Cassia, Citrus, Eucalyptus and sunflowers which are also good forage for the bees.

Kogorwet Mwamba Ngoma Orembe Kokorwo

Tema-Jo Association uses local hives made from logs, bark and clay pots. Using these hives, care for the bees can be difficult at harvest time, and other disadvantages

This tree needs to be protected and conserved as it is rare and is disappearing fast with the abandonment of Maragoli culture and traditions.

In the Maragoli culture women cannot handle this traditional hive, whereas they can handle frame hives. The frame hive has been adopted by the project as a tool for poverty alleviation in Vihiga.

In

Despite the achievements the project faces a few problems that hinder progress: local honey prices are low, so the best income is not obtained for the

Sabatia Division of Vihiga District we prepared

a training session that began in 2001.

The Division is home to over 1000 members of the

project who are in the process of revitalising our lost traditional and cultural apicultural values into modern life, and as a result are alleviating poverty.

A qualified apiculturalist trained at ICIPE manages the project. Despite the fact that we are slightly handicapped as far as training tools and materials are concerned, we are determined to start the training as soon as the farmers finish the registration programme.

The Manager, The Vihiga Project, Nairobi

are that colony observation Is not possible; combs are destroyed during harvesting; continuity of the colony

after harvesting ts very difficult as the brood 1s disturbed; and the quality of the honey is reduced if it contains pollen and brood. Finally the hives have to be hung in

trees or raised off the ground which makes them cumbersome for harvesting.

Despite the availability of hives for beekeeping, when the time is right for harvesting rural people will still collect honey from the wild colonies in trees and ant hills.

Labeja James Okuma,

Charman

otf

lema-lo Beekeeping Association

Beekeeping & Development 61

LETTER

to

B&D

KISORO

BEEKEEPING PROJECT, UGANDA We have been receiving Beekeeping & Development for two years under sponsorship and would like to receive it in the future.

We would like to make our subscription payment in ‘Candle Currency’ and our 2 kg of candles accompany this letter. Our candles are made with beeswax from Apis mellifera scutellata and we believe you will find them of the highest quality.

[Ed: Yes indeed, perfect candles. Information on Beeswax barter and candle currency see page 16.]

—

*

Our project started three years ago and we have now attained financial sustainability. We believe that if

the project can be termed a success, this is due to the following:

AAA

Provision of sufficient financial means by the Austrian Government to build up the infrastructure of the project, while at the same time avoiding unnecessary expenditure;

*

A step-by-step approach to building the project;

*

Integrating traditional with advanced beekeeping methods;

*

Providing an advisor and monitoring for two years;

a

Working with reliable and capable personnel;

Encouraging old-fashioned words like work ethic, discipline, idealism, sacrifice and honesty.

The donor’s money has been put to good use and should enable the project to continue running without further assistance. Honey production in year 2000 was 6,560 kg. oe

ae

SUNTRY REPRESEN).

AUSTRALIA

INDONESIA

PHILIPPINES

Mr Linton Briggs The Federal Council of Australian Apiarists Associations, RMB 1030, Glen Rowan, Victoria 3675

Dr M Chandra Widjaja National Beekeeping Center, Perum Perhutani, J] Gatot Subroto Senayan, PO Box 19/KT WB, Jakarta 10270 E-mail pusbanas@indo.net.id

Dr Cleofas R Cervancia Institute of Biological Sciences, College of Arts and Sciences, University of the Philippines Los Banés, College, Laguna E-mail crce@mudspring.uplb.edu.ph

ISRAEL

SAUDI ARABIA Mr Jassim Mohammed Al Mughrubi PO Box 42332, Riyadh 11541, Ministry

BANGLADESH Mr Md Nural Islam Bangladesh Institute of Apiculture: BCA 23/12 Knhilji Rd, Shyamoli, Mohammadpur, Dhaka

1207

Prof Yaacov Lensky The Triwaks Bee Research Center, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Faculty of Agriculture, PO Box 12, Rehovot,

c/o Dr Md Hannam Centre for Natural Resource Studies,

E-mail lensky@agri.huji.ac.il

3/14 Iqbal Road, Block A, Mohammedpur, Dhaka 1207 E-mail bcas@bdonline.com Dr Alamgir Mati Bangladesh Apicultural Association, 30/1 Shantinagar, Dhaka 1217 Fax (+880) 2 835367

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM Dr Kassim Hajidaud Department of Biology, Universiti Brunei Darussalam, Gadong 3186

CHINA Prof Zhang Fu-Xing Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Science, Xiangshan, Beijing

E-mail f.x.zhang@263.net

INDIA Central Bee Research & Training Institute Khadi & Village Industries Commission, 1153 Ganeshkhind Road Pune 411016 Fax

(+91) 21232 6827

Dr Vinod K Mattu Department of Bio- Sciences, Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla 171005

E-mail sting@NaseeJ.com

Bharati, Bangalore 560 056

E-mail chinna_c_reddy@hotmail.com

SRI LANKA Dr R W K Punchihewa

KOREA Prof Kun-Suk Woo Institute of Korea Beekeeping Science, College of Agriculture & Life Science, Seoul National University, Suwon 440-744

|

Dr Chun Yen Lin Taiwan Apicultural and Seri-cultural Experiment Station, 261 Kuannan, Kung-Kuan, Miaoli Fax (+3) 7 221277

MALAYSIA Dr M Hj Muid Plant Protection Department, Universiti Pertanian Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor Fax (+) 60 3 948 3745

NEPAL Mr A N Shukla

THISABI, Bingu Thakshana (Bee Technology) 15 Waidya Road, Dehiwala E-mail punchirw@sit.Ik

TAIWAN (CHINA)

E-mail wooks@snu.ac.kr

THAILAND

|

ICIMOD, GPO Box 3226, Kathmandu E-mail apis@icimod.org.np

Mr Somnuk Boongird Department of Agricultural Technology, Faculty of Science, Ramkhamhaeng University, Ramkhamhaeng Road, Bangkok 10240

TURKEY

NEW ZEALAND Mr Cliff van Eaton Apiculture Scientist, Horticulture Research NZ Ltd, East Street Private Bag 3123, Hamilton.

E-mail cliff@comvita.com

|

Dr Osman Kaftanogtu Department of Animal Science, Cukurova University, Adana 01330 E-mail kaftan@mail.cu.edu.tr

|

VIETNAM

OMAN Mr Keith E Ferguson PO Box

2037, SEEB

III

PAKISTAN Prof C C Reddy Department of Zoology, Bangalore University, Jnaha

of Agriculture & Water, Training Department, Riyadh.

76 100

Dr Nasreen Muzaffar Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, NARC, PO NIH, Islamabad E-mail honeybee@hbri.sdnpk.undp.org

A Bees for Development publication

Mr Dinh Quyet Tam Vietnam Beekeepers Association, Lang ha, Dong da, Hanoi E-mail qtam@netnam.org.vn

Beekeeping & Development 61

BEE STINGS

by Eigil Holm, Gedved, Denmark

When my grancses was nine years old he helped for the first time with my honey harvest. The day before this he had been stung by a wasp and had cried a little.

cut an unripe fruit in two and asked him to rub it gently on the place where he was stung. told him that it would relieve the pain in a few minutes, and as usual it did. |

|

The following day

a bee

stung him during the honey

harvest. He said nothing but ran to the garden, found a fruit and rubbed his

skin. He came back a few

minutes later and told me he was all right. He was not scared because he knew what to do.

It is a well-known fact that a bee sting is not agreeable. Many people are afraid of being stung by a bee and some believe they could die from it. The chance of dying from a bee sting is 1:15,000,000

which means that in a country with 15 million inhabitants someone will die from a bee sting every year. You can compare this with the chance of becoming a Lottery millionaire in Denmark where it is about 300 out of 15 million people per year.

When a wasp stings, people often believe it is a bee.

Many people wave their arms when they see a stinging insect. In this way their chance of being stung increases rapidly. When a wasp approaches my grandson he lets it crawl on him. Eventually he points at its abdomen with his hand and with a sudden jerk of his fingers shoots the abdomen with

the sting away.

ACTING IN DEFENCE In

some hives and was stung

8,000 times. He was

taken to hospital and recovered!

Stings can be useful. Some beekeepers believe that stings are a good treatment for rheumatism and people who are not beekeepers will sometimes pay therapists to provide this treatment.

In

some countries bee venom is harvested. Bees are

caught in a box containing a thin rubber membrane.

A weak electric current makes the bees sting, and the poison is collected below the membrane.

The poison is thinned and used for injections for people who wish to reduce their sensitivity to bee stings.

takes a long time, but people treated in this way become immune to bee stings. It is mainly It

beekeepers that need this treatment when they become hypersensitive to bee stings and want to continue beekeeping, but only a few beekeepers will need this treatment.

IN SUMMARY, honeybees are rarely aggressive.

They sting because they need to defend

ace

RES em

a

cn

hc

A sting means a dead bee, and every death is a reduction in your honey harvest.

fact bees are rarely aggressive. Stinging is a

defensive reaction to protect their colony. Bees prefer not to sting because they will die as a result: the

sting is constructed like a saw, and the teeth of the saw cannot be withdrawn from human skin. The sting with its poison glands, its muscles and nerves

abdomen poison gland’

remain when the bee pulls away. The poison gland continues to pump poison into the wound and scent from the sting apparatus continues calling other bees to sting. The sting must be taken away immediately

with a fingernail. Then blow a little smoke on the skin and thus the smell is masked and other bees are not attracted.

A bee will not sting when it is working on a flower unless you close your hand tightly around it.

However, beekeepers are attacked by bees when

they are opening hives. Some bees are too alert.

They attack people 20 or 40 metres away from the hive and this is certainly not good. The African honeybee in America is renowned for its high defensiveness. As an example, if a piece of leather is placed in front of a hive and a stone is thrown on

the hive to alert the bees, the leather will be

attacked. Afterwards if you count the stings there Can be several hundred.

Hives with highly defensive bees must be placed far away from people. The queen should if possible be replaced with a queen from a peaceful colony.

How many stings can people survive? There are Medical records about a drunken man who attacked

A Bees for Development publication

|

Beekeeping & Development 61

LOOK AHEAD BRAZIL

MALAYSIA

XIV Brazilian Apicultural Congress

Symposium on Stakeholders of the Giant Honeybees

16-20 July 2002, Campo Grande Further details from: www. congressodeapicultura.com.br

GERMANY First German Apitherapy Congress

23-24 March 2002, Passau

3-7 March 2002, Pedu Lake Further details from: Dr Makhdzir Mardan, BEENET ASIA

www.bee.upm.edu.mybee2002

RUSSIA Intermiod 2001 3rd Exhibition and Conference

Further details from: Dr Stefan Stangaciu E-mail drstangaciu@apitherapy.com

on

www.apitherapie.de

11-15 September 2002, Moscow

APIMONDIA Symposium:

Further details from: Exhibition Complex, PO Box 63, 117218 Moscow

Beekeeping without

the use of medical drugs

10-11 October 2002, Celle Further details from: Dr Wolfgang Ritter

Beekeeping_

E-mail expostroy@expostroy.ru

SLOVENIA

E-mail info@bieneninstitut.de

XXXVII APIMONDIA International Apicultural

www. bieneninstitut.de

Congress

INDIA

24-29 August 2003, Ljubljana Further details from:

6th Asian Apicultural Association Conference

24 February

— 1

March

2002, Bangalore

Further details from: Century Foundation Fax (+91) 80 3348 346

E-mail cenfound@sparr.com www.beekeeping.com/aaa

ITALY Villth International Symposium on Hazards of Pesticides to Bees

4-6 September 2002, Bologna Further details from: Dr Claudio Porrini, Fax

+39 (0)51 251052

E-mail cporrini@entom.agrsci.unibo. it

Mr Gorazd Cad, Cultural and Congress Centre Fax

(+386) 1251 7431

www.apimondia2003.com

SOUTH AFRICA World Summit Rio + 10

2002, Johannesburg Further details from: www.earthsummit2002.org www.un.org/rio%2b10/

UNITED KINGDOM British Beekeepers’ Association Convention

27th April 2002, Stoneleigh Further details from: BBKA, NAC, Stoneleigh, Warwickshire CV8 2LZ E-mail bbka@bbka.demon.co.uk

JAMAICA Third Caribbean Beekeeping Congress Scheduled to take place in 2002: the details will be published in B&D when available.

JAPAN

[Visit the Bees for Development / Troy Trust stand]

LEARN AHEAD

XIV International Congress of the International Union for theStudy of Social Insects (IUSSI)

UNITED KINGDOM/TANZANIA

28 July

Beekeeping in Rural Development Training Course

—

3 August 2002, Sapporo

Further details from: Professor Seigo Higashi, Hokkaido University Fax

(+81) 11706 4867

July 2002, Cardiff University and Niiro Wildlife Research Centre

Further details from: Bees for Development

www.coop.hokudai.ac.jp/gakkai/iussi2002/

!f you want notice of your conference,

workshop or meeting to be included here send details to: Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth, NP25 4AB, UK Fax +44 (0)16007 16167 E-mail busy@planbee.org.uk

IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE Advertising in B&D offers excellent value for money: reaching readers in over 100 countries and supporting the valuable work of Bees for Development.

Advertisements: quarter page, two-colour costs 65; a full page 200.

Other sizes available. Please request rates from our address above.

Enclosures: 50

per kilogram for insertion and distribution of flyers.

8

Notice Board items: 0.50 per word with a minimum entry of 5 (prices are subject to VAT in EU countries).

A Bees for Development publication

Beekeeping & Development 61

THE HIMALAYAN KINGDOM OF NEPAL AN ISLAND OF APIS CERANA BEEKEEPIi.

by Faroog Ahmad, Uma Partap, Min Bahadur Gurung and Surendra Raj Joshi, ICIMOD, Kathmandu, Nepal

This is the fourth article bringing news about the work of the Austrian Government-funded beekeeping project at ICIMOD in Kathmandu, Nepal.

ICIMOD and Austroprojekt GmbH of Vienna, Austria jointly manage the project. In B&D 60 we told you about the retreating populations of wild honeybees. Here is news of another disturbing development.

The Apis cerana beekeepers of Nepal are facing new competition from organised business interest groups and development interventionists who are advocating the introduction of Apis mellifera to the isolated gene-pool areas of Apis cerana.

Apis cerana beekeeping has evolved over the centuries in the mountains of Nepal and serves both the honey needs and spiritual purposes of large populations. The combination of misguided efforts by well-meaning development workers who equate beekeeping with help but are poorly informed about the

Apis mellifera introduction is

a

buzzword

among entrepreneurs having access to the world of ‘development’: they make money by selling sub-standard hives and other equipment, weak colonies, and poorly

designed training courses that are often tied to equipment and colony purchase.

Poor beekeepers are the custodians of

biodiversity, but they are the ones paying the costs of this intervention, directly and indirectly.

ICIMOD’s Austrian-supported indigenous honeybee project is addressing this issue strategically with the following initiatives:

importance and advantages of indigenous bee species and opportunistic exploitation by business entrepreneurs, is having a disastrous impact on the indigenous bees and the poor

@ Setting up Apis cerana selection and multiplication processes at grass-roots level

mountain farmers. Expansion of Apis mellifera by interest groups is not only threatening the

® Building the capacities of farmers, beekeepers, and beekeeping organisations

indigenous honeybee populations but is also depriving poor people of their livelihood options. The major problems are: @ Transfer of Apis mellifera diseases and parasites to indigenous bee populations

(and of indigenous parasites to introduced Apis mellifera colonies); ® Competition for food and nesting sites; ® Loss of pollination services with an adverse impact on both crops and indigenous

mountain flora; @ Business entrepreneurs offering costly but

poor management training and inferior equipment, and supplying weak and

so that this indigenous honeybee can beat the challenges of productivity;

the field of Apis cerana management and promotion; in

@ Advocating the ideas of conservation-based

apiculture among policy makers, development workers, and donors through networking;

MORE PROJECT NEWS Organisation and capacity building for honey hunters through Appreciative Participatory Planning and Action.

ICIMOD's beekeeping project is trying to understand and support the honey hunting communities that work with Apis dorsata and

Apis laboriosa. We want to help these extremely poor and excluded people through training and help with networking, but first we need to work with them to discover their

strengths and needs and develop a common vision for the future. For this, we have chosen an Appreciative Participatory Planning and Action (APPA) approach. The main aims are to identify and build on past achievements

@ Sharing knowledge and experiences among

and existing strengths within the honey hunting communities, establish a consensus

farmers, development workers, policy makers, and academics on the value of Apis cerana in managed crop pollination;

on a shared vision of the future, and develop strategies and partnerships to achieve that vision. As a first step, the project arranged a

@ Raising awareness of the potentially

damaging impact of introducing Apis mellifera to highland areas with established Apis cerana populations.

diseased Apis mellifera colonies;

two-day training programme on APPA for the project team members and other ICIMOD staff facilitated by Mr Chandi Chapagai.

The first APPA exercise was carried out with the honey hunters of Taprang and Sikles villages in Kaski District of Nepal, with the

@ Dependence on external resources

help of the local NGO ‘Annapurna Beekeeping

and skills; and

and Environment Promotion’. Nine honey hunters participated and designed their shared

@ Low emphasis on indigenous knowledge

and skills.

vision for the future and strategies to achieve

Farmers who are persuaded to take up beekeeping with Apis mellifera lose money, bees, pollination services, and their confidence

‘4-D’ cycle: Discovery, Dream, Design, and Delivery. We will bring you more news about this in a later edition of B&D. it, using a

beekeeping management. Farmers who do not agree lose their local colonies to diseases and parasites against which the indigenous in

A new video from ICIMOD describing work on pollination is reviewed in Bookshelf on

Apis cerana populations have no defence.

page 15.

A Bees for Development publication

Beekeeping & Development 61

Control of Varroa Mark Goodwin and Cliff van Eaton 2001 120 pages Available from Bees for Development

KS ELF

The beehive metaphor

Ye

CN

Varroa tolerance, integrated pest management,

This neat text has been prepared by two of New Zealand's best bee scientists, and provides all the information that beekeepers need in an attractive and easy to digest style.

Order code

James Fearnley 2000 172 pages Available from Bees for Development Price 11.00 Order code F110 It was while running a whole-food shop selling a variety of natural health products that James Fearnley first became interested in

propolis. Since then, as he says, propolis has emerged from the back shelves of health food shops to become a

major selling, high profile health product worth millions of dollars: the current world price is

century artists and architects were influenced by ideas of bees, their social organisation and nest structure.

Chapter 1 is a nicely written description of the western development of beekeeping, with interesting historical references. Chapter 2 ‘Working beehive, Mystical beehive’ focuses particularly on the artist and architect Guadi.

Chapter 3 discusses other artists: Salvador Dali,

Joseph Beuys (a total bee-obsessive, who once spent three hours with his head covered in honey, explaining to dead hare the meaning of artistic creation), and the bee-related work of modern installation artists. Chapter 4 focuses on bee-inspired architects, especially Rudolf Steiner and Frank Lloyd Wright. In Chapter 5 the author

presents his argument that Le Corbusier was much influenced by the apian metaphor.

An excellent book full of ideas for people interested in bees and their wider influence on humans. Gaudi’s brother wrote one article in his whole lifetime. It was titled ‘Bees’ and, written in 1870, encouraged the promotion of apiculture: “It would be a good idea for our farmers to devote themselves to fostering and

increasing the number of honeycombs; all one has to do is place the hives in among an abundance of flowers and protect them from other creatures, and from the wind which can make them very tired”.

More honey in the kitchen

Joyce White

(if purchased in tonne quantities).

This new book provides a useful guide to all aspects of propolis: what it is and how bees use it, its traditional and modern use by humans, its composition and biological activity, using propolis to treat human and other animal diseases, the types of propolis

MORE. HONEY IN

FS.

THE KITCHEN by

Joyce White

oN

A useful new text.

W410

A follow-on to ‘Honey kitchen’ (described in this text contains over

130 recipes including honey as an ingredient for sweet and savoury food items. There are also recipes for furniture polish and shoe polish using beeswax and propolis.

Recipes for dry and sweet mead (honey wine) are also included.

®

in the

Bookshelf in B&D55),

products available commercially, and how to make your own.

References are given, as well as details of organisations and suppliers.

2001 65 pages Available from Bees for Development Price 10.00 Order code

Price 16.80

Order code CO80

The Spanish author of The Beehive Metaphor shows how some late 19th and early 20th

US$15-20 per kilo

Available from Bees for Development

R100

a

Bee propolis: natural healing from the hive

2000 175 pages

Available from Bees for Development Price 20.20

erg

Fron Gaudt to Le Corbusier

Price 16.20

and examples of methods used in some countries.

J

2000 174 pages

Order code G125

Keeping up to date with all the literature being published on Varroa biology and control can be a major task. Here, combined in one volume are all the facts you need for now: enough Varroa biology, effects of Varroa, population growth, detection and evaluation, chemical control methods and resistance, bio-technical control methods, breeding for

Constructive beekeeping Norman Chapman

Juan Antonio Ramirez

A Bees for Development publication

This is

a unique book describing many of the practical jobs that beekeepers have to do that tend to be omitted or inadequately described in the standard beekeeping texts. The author is an enthusiastic and skilled beekeeper, and this book is full of useful tips. Here are just some of the practical projects described in this book - how to: make cardboard boxes

into honey jar carriers; make a slot scraper; nail frames correctly; make equipment to wire

frames; tidy up used frames; make and use ‘semi foundation’ (wax sheet embossed on one side only); make a foundation press; prepare fuel for

smoker; remove old combs; keep hive records; make a mouse guard; prepare honey for show; make a warming cabinet; a

filter beeswax; made mead. These and many other topics are covered.

A novel text that many beekeepers will appreciate and enjoy.

Parasite-host interactions between the Varroa mite and the honeybee Johan N M Calis farnetie-hos! interacthore between. _

the, Yarra mito and the borey, baw,

2001 144 pages Available from Dr Calis directly: Johan.Calis@Users.ento.wau.nl

There is a great need to control Varroa mite infestations of honeybees without using synthetic acaracides. This publication presents the research of Johan Calis into bio-technical control methods and the

susceptibility of honeybees to Varroa. Topics researched include the invasion behaviour of Varroa mites into broad cells, possibilities to use formic acid to kill mites ‘trapped’ in worker and drone brood, population modelling of Varroa mites and the varying biology of Varroa with different species and races of bees. This publication formed Johan Calis’s PhD thesis at Wageningen University.

Beekeeping & Development 61 MILT

PVECITT

Proceedings of the 3rd AAA Conference on bee research and bee development M Matsuka, D Q Tam, H Enomoto, N T Dap, L Q Trung, T T Dau, N V Niem, N T Hang, P H Chinh (editors) 2001 228 pages Available from Bees for Development Fy

Order code MO1O

AAA is the Asian Apicultural Association and

PROCEEDINGS OF

The Thi

Price 21.70

conference

ON BEE RESEARCH AND

BEEKEEPING DEVELOPMENT

its 3rd bi-annual meeting took place in

Hanoi, Vietnam in 1996.

For various reasons publication of this text was delayed (Proceedings of the 4th Conference held in Nepal were already published by ICIMOD in 2000), nevertheless this volume contains important papers on the biology of Asian bees and their

management.

There are 78 papers, examples include: Apis nuluensis, the newly described mountain bee of Borneo, Apis nigrocincta, a previously unrecognised species from Indonesia, and the discovery of Apis laboriosa in Vietnam.

Also included is

a

comprehensive description of the (dynamic) situation

of apiculture in Vietnam, updated to year 2000, and the many further research and development activities continuing after, and boosted by,

the AAA's excellent 3rd Conference.

Warning signals from the Apple Valleys Uma Partap Playing time 31 minutes VHS Available from Bees for Development Order code VID22 Price 27.80 An enchanting half hour video showing apple production in valleys of the Hindu

Kush Himalaya.

For example, apples have been grown as a commercial cash crop in Himachal Pradesh in northern India since the 1950s. This had led to the economic transformation of many villages: the income has increased

educational and living standards, and today Himachal’s apple growing areas are Prosperous by any standard.

The video shows how farmers in Maoxian county of China have developed a technique for hand pollinating apple trees — a process involving the drying of apple flowers’ anthers on electric blankets!

Beekeepers in this area are reluctant to rent their colonies for pollination because of the heavy pesticide use. In India, farmers seek to improve pollination by picking bouquets of polliniser branches and hanging them

near the trees to be pollinated.

Commercial apple crops are also grown in some districts of Bhutan, China, Nepal and Pakistan. The total crop growing in valleys of the Hindu Kush Himalaya is

The video carries the warning that apple crops are declining: reasons include loss of pollinating insects, insufficient planting

around 2.3 m tonnes, worth US$500 m.

adverse weather conditions.

of pollinser tree varieties, and increasingly

A Bees for Development publication

A totally different view of beekeeping in one of the most beautiful regions on earth.

This half hour video is excellent for teaching about pollination requirements, and will fascinate beekeepers everywhere.

Beekeepers in pure beeswax candles. Candles are of higher value than beeswax so only 2kg of candles are needed to buy one sulbscription, and the lower weight of candles will also give savings in postage costs. *

5 kg beeswa) or 2 kg candles for one year’s (four issues) Subscription.

*

:

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

RULES FOR ARTER E

Beeswax mu: t be reasonably clean and of good quality.

Beeswax mu: t be presented in solid form and not as scraps of wax or pie ces of comb.

Candles mus be of saleable quality.

Beeswax fron any species of Apis will be accepted as long as the name of the:species from which it is collected is stated. e

Inside the par cel state your name and address, the weight and origin of the beeswe X, ana The NUMDEr OT SUDSCrIPTIONS YOu are paying.

On the outside of

t he

parcel state

“BEESWAX RAW (OR CANDLES) FOR BEES FOR DEVELOPMENT”

NB. Any parcel cor itaining comb, very dirty wax or otherwise unusable wax will de destroyed on arrival at Bees for Developm ent and is non-returnable. |

L

My

ye Pay wy

eekeeping EVELOPMENT.

and the weight in kilograms.

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.

af

Beekeeping& Development is published quarterly by Bees for Development, Troy, Monmouth, Telephone +44 (0) 16007 13648 Fax +44 (0) 16007 16167 E-mail busy@planbee.org.uk

NP25 4AB, UK

Web www.planbee.org.uk Printed on environmentally friendly paper.

ISSN 1369 9555

Bees for Development 2001