Bees for Development Journal Edition 78 - March 2006

ISSUE NO 78, MARCH 2006

CARIBBEAN CONGRESS . MALTA . SUCCEED WITH QUEENS CHALK BROOD

WOOD HIVES . CEMENT HIVES . PLASTIC HIVES

INSIDE INFORMATION

Our aim is to inform and to inspire you: this edition of the Journal brings you news of beekeeping interventions underway throughout the world: this time in the Caribbean, Africa, Asia and Europe. For most of you reading this Journal, beekeeping is a sideline activity, one of several, or many, different ways that you create a livelihood. This 'sideline' nature of beekeeping - is one of its strengths, making it possible for many people to keep bees in addition to their other employment, or other home or farming activities. Beekeeping offers great scope for development. The products, honey and beeswax, are commodities for which there are good markets, and if the quality is good enough and the marketing and supply chain work, beekeepers can create good incomes from the bees' work.

IN THIS ISSUE... © Bees for Develpment

Beesfor Development Journal 78

Bees for Development wants to help people work their way out of poverty by means of beekeeping. We also aim to help maintain biodiversity by encouraging the sustainable utilisation of bee resources. As you read this Journal, you are joined by beekeepers world-wide, who are interested to broaden their horizons and have a wider understanding of the global beekeeping scene.

Here at Bees for Development we are currently compiling evidence of the value of beekeeping in rural development: please contact us if you have a good story to tell of how beekeeping has helped you and your family. We are always pleased to hear from you!

BeesforDevelopment Journal Editor Nicola Bradbear PhD, Co-ordinator Helen Jackson BSc Publisher Bees f or Development Published quarterly with readers in more than 130 countries

At the centre of this cluster of beekeepers in an apiary in Trinidad, Professor David de Jong from the University of São Paulo, Brazil is demonstrating how to find Varroa mites, during the field visits that formed part of the Fourth Caribbean Congress held in Trinidad & Tobago in November 2005 (see pages 3 and 4).

Copyright

CONTENTS

You are welcome to translate and/or reproduce items appearing in BfDJ. Permission is given on the understanding that the Journal and author(s) are acknowledged, our contact details are provided in full, and you send us a copy of the item or the website address where it is used.

Inside information ............................. 2

Subscription

Letters............................................... 4

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Training in Malta ............................... 6

Subscriptions commence on the date we receive them.

Practical beekeeping ......................... 7

Discounts are available for multiple subscriptions of ten or more.

Subscribe through the secure order and payment system at www.beesfordevelopment.org where you have the choice to receive BfDJ by post or to download it in PDF format.

page

Caribbean Congress .......................... 3

Chalk brood in Ethiopia ..................... 8 Practical beekeeping ......................... 9

Alternative methods of payment on page 15.

Look and Learn Ahead ..................... 10

Beesfor Development is here to help you with information and advice. If you are financially unable to pay, contact us to request a sponsored subscription. Readers in developing countries can pay subscriptions by Beeswax Barter Candle Currency see BfDJ 67.

Notice Board ................................... 10 News around the World ................... 11 Bookshelf........................................ 14

BeesforDevelopment Trust Many individuals, beekeeping associations, groups and companies support our work. We are grateful to all our donors. Subscriptions help to ensure that we can continue providing information and support to beekeepers in developing countries. Please encourage your friends and colleagues to help.

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Beesfor Development Journal 78

CARIBBEAN CONGRESS

TRINIDAD & TOBAGO HOST FOURTH CARIBBEAN CONGRESS The Congress was hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources, in collaboration with the beekeeping community of Trinidad & Tobago, and held under the auspices of the Apimondia Standing Commission Beekeeping for Rural Development.

The beekeepers of Trinidad & Tobago produced a warm welcome for visitors participating in the Fourth Caribbean Congress, held in Port of Spain, 14-118 November 2005. The Congress venue was the Crown Plaza Hotel, transformed from its normal décor to an arena full of sparkling honey, decorations, fountains and flowers.

The Congress was opened by the Minister of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources, The Honourable Jarrette Narine, who had played a crucial role in providing Ministry support for the Congress. And it was indeed an excellent Congress, with the right mix of informative lectures, research papers, discussions and field trips. All helped along with Caribbean music, hospitality and flair.

The Caribbean beekeeping sector faces many new constraints, with threats developing at an alarming rate from honeybee diseases and parasites. Jamaica reported the presence, in August 2004, of Small Hive Beetle Aethina tumida - the first record of this predator in the Caribbean (this beetle is indigenous to Africa). When the first of these Congresses took place in Tobago in 1998, Tobago was free of any honeybee disease. Today, Tobago has European foulbrood, EFB - a bacterial disease of bee brood, the parasitic Varroa mite, and further risks the introduction of Africanised bees from Trinidad. This pattern is being repeated throughout the region, with most Caribbean islands now providing homes for Varroa mites.

Trinidad & Tobago National Honey Show awards await presentation to winners

While honeybee diseases are becoming widespread throughout the region, most of the island nations do not have technical resources to assist the beekeeping sector. The main causes of introduction of disease are through imports of bees by uninformed beekeepers, and via the high level of freight traffic in the region.

Caribbean beekeepers face other constraints too: Grenada's and Jamaica's beekeepers are amongst those still trying to recover from Hurricane Ivan in September 2004. However, for most it is man-made problems that are the most chronic: beekeepers from many islands stated that loss of sites for their apiaries has become a major problem as more areas of these tropical islands are taken over by hotels, housing and golf courses.

The Congress also included the Trinidad & Tobago National Honey Show. This event is modelled closely on the UK's National Honey Show, at which T&T beekeepers are regular participants and winners. In addition to classes for honey, The Honey Show also included competitions for beeswax, value added products and wine.

On the final day of the Congress, participants were taken on field trips to distant corners of Trinidad, with an optional subsequent tour to visit beekeepers in Tobago. These field trips were excellently co-ordinated by local beekeepers, and much appreciated by all. Indeed the T&T beekeeping community has many members whose combined skills made this event a great occasion. One person who has done much for the sector, and is well known throughout the region, is Mr Mohamed Hallim, T&T's long serving Inspector of Apiaries, whose retirement was 'celebrated' at the Congress. Mr Hallim has a well-earned reputation for being a tough guardian of bees, and a strict enforcer of T&T's beekeeping legislation.

Marking Mr Hallim's retirement as Inspector of Apiaries Left to right: Mr Ian Fletcher (the new Inspector of Apiaries) Mr Gladstone Solomon - President, Tobago Apiculture Society and ACBO; Mr Mohamed K I Hallim - President, Beekeepers' Association of Trinidad and Tobago, and Treasurer, ACBO; Mr Winfield Murray - President, All Island Bee Farmers' Association of Jamaica, and Vice President, ACBO; Mr Chunilal Roopnarine - President, Association of Professional Beekeepers, and Assistant Secretary, ACBO

An important part of the Congress was approval of the Constitution of the Association of Caribbean Beekeeping Organisations, ACBO. Officers of ACBO were instated, and Mr Gladstone Solomon was elected President. ACBO is also established as a Working Group within Apimondia's Standing Commission Beekeeping for Rural Development.

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Beesfor Development Journal 78

CARIBBEAN CONGRESS / LETTERS

Preparing exhibits for the Honey Show Bees for Development would like to acknowledge the support of Trinidad & Tobago Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resources, for sponsoring Dr Nicola Bradbear's participation in this Congress.

Honey on display

LETTERS Hybrid excellence I am writing from the island of Rodrigues, a tiny spot on the map 560 km northeast of Mauritius. I am hoping to help queen improvement. Now that DNA tests have disclosed the fact that inbreeding can lead to poor brood patterns, it is useful to look into arrangements for ensuring that mating hives are situated where drones are not siblings of the virgins to be mated. It is often assumed that the 'pepper pot' appearance of a slab of brood indicates that the queen has missed a cell here and there while on her endless quest for cells which the nurse bees carefully prepare for her. The reason for these gaps in the brood pattern can be due to sibling matings which have reduced the number of genes available.

The nurse bees, aware that a particular egg will not develop into a satisfactory worker bee, sense this and destroy the egg, but are of course unable to replace it.

Although only 13 x 3 km, Rodrigues' surface area is considerably increased due to its hilly, almost mountainous nature. From the aspect of beekeeping, not only are the bees remarkably docile and inclined to supersede rather than swarm, but they are free of Varroa!

Langstroth frame hives are widely used and the very excellent honey produced has won prizes in international shows.

To maximise the number of matings, while not taking large frames out of honey production, half-sized Langstroth shallow supers (20 to a box) are put five at a time into small boxes with room for a top feeder. Then they are filled with

bees, using a funnel, and a virgin queen is run in, or this can be done on arrival at the new site. To avoid losing bees or even being robbed out, the boxes are taken well away to another part of the island where there is a good chance that drones which are not siblings will compete for the matings. It might be thought that as drones can fly many miles it would be unimportant as to where the mating hives were placed, but after a few km flight a drone is not likely to out fly a local bee in the nuptial challenge.

To import Varroa by getting queens from abroad would be sacrilege, especially as the robust Rodriguan bees have so many very good characteristics.

Ken Stevens, UK FURTHER READING Zooming in on Rodrigues Bees for Development Journal 31: 13 Craft Aid in Rodrigues Bees for Development Journal 58: 6-7

Would you be interested to work with the beekeepers of Rodrigues? See Notice Board, page 10

Important point on feeding pollen I am writing regarding the article on pollen substitutes in BfDJ 77. One way in which the dry powder can be fed to bees in top-bar hives, or frame hives, is to take out an empty comb, lay it flat, pour on a handful of the pollen or substitute and rub it into the cells.

The pollen-laden comb must then be placed in the hive. It is most important that it is placed immediately next to the brood where it is to be used.

Chris Slade, UK 4

Cementing ideas In BfDJ 75 and 76, beekeepers from India and The Gambia described their experiences with the construction and use of cement hives. The debate is not entirely new as some others have documented their experience in earlier editions, for example the Vautier hive in BfDJ 51.

However it will be good to look at this debate from another perspective. Based on my experiences in Nigeria, I hold the opinion that cement hives are not to be recommended, for the following reasons: 1. Excessive heat during hot weather, or in hot areas, and dampness or humidity during cold weather, or in cold areas, would affect the bees negatively.

2. Digging the ground could be extremely hard during the dry season, or in stony/gravely soil types.

3. Erosion or soil wash may result from massive disturbance of the soil when a large number of hives have to be constructed.

4. The heavy weight of cement hives makes their transportation very cumbersome and expensive.

5. It is highly improbable that bees will prefer cement to wood: it is known that some species of wood do have an aroma that attracts bees.

6. Cost-wise, wood hives are much cheaper and more versatile in Nigeria than concrete or cement hives.

Beesfor Development Journal 78

LETTERS

7. Whatever advantage the cement hive may have in conserving the forest is easily cancelled by its potential to destroy the soil. Which comes first, the soil or the forest?

8. Consideration for human health should over-ride economic consideration in terms of cost construction of hives. In an age where organic food is fast becoming the vogue, it sounds rather strange that anyone could be canvassing the use of a substance like cement in honey production. Looking at the issue from an environmental perspective, I will not touch the honey produced from cement hives with the longest spoon in the world!

It seems to me that beekeeping may not be an 'all comers' affair after all. Certainly not all countries have the 'comparative advantage'.

This write-up is a professional exercise to contribute to the body of knowledge. There is no intention whatsoever to imperil the trade, or belittle the contribution of the beekeepers in the countries concerned.

Bola Adepoju, The Bridge Apiaries, Abeokuta, Nigeria

Wax extraction information Ian Friend's letter in BfDJ 77 concerning Tanzania's Beekeeping Past is interesting.

However I would like to ask if it is possible to render beeswax without contact with metals?

Secondly, is F G Smith's book Beekeeping in the Tropics still in print? Thanks for your help.

Makinde Festus, Epe-Makinde Beekeepers, Ondo, Nigeria

Ian Friend replies The method used to avoid contact with metal is described on page 227 of Beekeeping in the Tropics, Smith called it 'The Tanganyika method'. To repeat his first paragraph: "This is a very efficient method of extracting the wax from all kinds of comb, including all brood combs, and it involves the use of only such utensils as are normally found in an African household. Further, the quality of the wax obtained is extremely good as it is not damaged by overheating or reaction with iron or zinc".

All the melting of the wax is done in water in an earthenware cooking pot. It is then strained through a beer strainer (made of woven rush) into another cooking pot and heated up again in more clean water. When it is melted properly it is again strained through coarse cotton cloth into an enamelled bowl.

Although the bowl is metal, the enamel

prevents contact with the wax. Before straining into the bowl the inside surface of the bowl is smeared with soap and water: this is to prevent the wax cake sticking to the bowl.

The soap does no harm at all but you must not use fat or oil. The bowls are covered to keep out dust and left in a corner of the hut to cool slowly. You could use aluminum saucepans or tinned-steel kerosene or petrol tins as tin also does not react with wax. However, most African households use earthenware pots and enamelled bowls. Once you get into using metal utensils you need to be sure of the identity of the metal.

Incidentally, Brylcreem used to buy nearly half of the beeswax crop, not all of it. Beeswax has very many uses and it cannot be synthesised. Also it was not the design of the hives in the bee houses which revolutionised handling of the African bees, the hives were standard American Modified Dadant hives.

There were two main reasons for the success: (i) The concrete bee houses kept the bees relatively cool and safe from pests and grass fires. (ii)The hive entrances were all pressed against the inside wall and the bees exited the hive via a hole in the wall and a pipe which poked through the wall to the outside. The guard bees would always be guarding the end of their pipe entrance, and no bee was able to fly around inside the bee house until you opened the hive.

Any bees which did fly out of the hive into the room were not likely to be guard bees and would instinctively fly to the bright light of any of the windows. The windows were of metal mosquito gauze, not glass, and when bees alight on a vertical surface they always run upwards. At the top of each window was a baffle which allowed these lost and confused workers to fly out of the building. Once they had reoriented themselves they could enter their hive again via the pipe where their guards are on duty.

When working on one of these hives we were never attacked because the guard bees could not realise where we were: they would fly around the outside of the building without finding us. Although an attack involves many of the workers in the hive it has to be led by the guard bees who are young workers of such an age that their poison glands are well

Beekeeping in the Tropics by F G Smith is available on our website store www.beesfordevelopment.org or see page 15 for how to order.

5

developed and their guarding instincts sharpened.

Queens In the UK I have been highlighting a problem I had in getting queen bees mated and laying properly. Since I have detailed the symptoms I have experienced, I received much correspondence from other beekeepers in the UK, who have had unexpected problems similar to the ones I have listed. The cause is unknown and often the writer thought it was something they were doing wrong - one e-mail from an experienced beekeeper told me that all of his 11 colonies have superseded their queens in 2005.

I am also hearing from beekeepers in other countries telling me they have experienced similar problems. It is becoming clear that it may be an international problem, and I am seeking your help in raising awareness of this issue, which is beginning to look very serious.

Log onto www.bbka.org.uk, look for 'News from the BBKA' and view 'Queen Problems Update'.

Roger Patterson, UK

Beesfor Development Journal 78

MALTA

TRAINING IN MALTA ALL PHOTOS © RICHARD BALL

Beekeepers in Malta and Gozo have received assistance from the UK's National Bee Unit. Under funding from the EU and the Maltese Government, Richard Ball, one of the UK's Bee Inspectors, provided a training course in October 2005. Dr David Mifsud heads the Apiculture Section within the Maltese Ministry of Rural Affairs. He described the activities with enthusiasm: "It was an interesting week. Mr Ball gave daily three-hour lectures, for which 40 local beekeepers attended. We were very satisfied with the outcome as this represents one third of the registered beekeepers".

The training course provided lectures on: good management; exotic pests such as Small Hive Beetle Aethina tumida and Tropilaelaps clareae; Integrated Pest Management primarily related to Varroa; and honey packaging covering EU Regulations.

Government apiary at Mdina

'correct' entrance. Normally they would be housed in a stone house, the migbha, with the collar located in a hole in the wall, thus forming a ring of tiny entrance holes to the outside. The large open end is available to the apiarist working inside the migbha. There is a special knife to cut comb from the qolla. There is an extension pot, equivalent to a super, that fits up against the end of the qolla. It is called a zeida, and is shown in the picture taken in the migbha (below).

Dr David Mifsud Head of the Apiculture Section in the Ministry of Rural Affairs visiting an apiary overlooking St Paul's Bay

There were also practical sessions held in the Government's main apiary at Mdina, beneath the mediaeval city walls. Varroa destructor arrived in Malta in 1992 and killed about 80% of honeybee colonies. Dr Mifsud explains that this drastic loss was because local beekeepers were totally unprepared. Prior to the introduction of Varroa, around 250 registered beekeepers managed about 7,000 colonies. Today there are around 2,000 colonies of honeybees, with only six beekeepers having more than 50 colonies. 85% of beekeepers use National frame hives. Clay pot hives known as qolla are illegal but are still used. The picture (below) shows a pot hive in use. At the other end, the pot is closed like a bell end, and has holes of about 1.25 cm in a small collar. This is the

Deaths' head hawk moth is a problem for bees and the qolla entrance holes may be just small enough to prevent the moths from gaining entrance. Many beekeepers said that the bees faired better in the pot hives than in frame hives, maybe because they are cooler in the high summer temperatures of 40°C. This is the period of highest loss. The migbhas serve to protect the colonies from summer heat and winter cold.

Source: Richard Ball, Regional Bee Inspector, UK

Inside the migbha, bee house

Bees nesting in a qolla, a local-style pot hive 6

Beesfor Development Journal 78

PRACTICAL BEEKEEPING

Failing queens and laying workers Pam Gregory, UK Queens The queen is the mother of the honeybee colony laying eggs that develop into female or male (drone) bees. Fertilised eggs become female bees (workers or a new queen).

Unfertilised eggs become drones. The queen can determine whether to lay a fertilised or unfertilised egg and decides this by measuring the size of the cell with her forelegs. She also checks that the cell is clean and suitable for use before turning round and depositing her egg. A queen may lay more than 1,000 eggs every day in the most active part of the season when the strength of the colony is building up.

In addition, the queen produces pheromones that keep the colony working together. These pheromones create a unique hive 'scent' so that all the colony members know where they belong and also who does not belong, so they can repel robbers. The presence of the queen, and her production of both brood and queen

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substance pheromones, control and calm the bees and prevent the worker bees (that are sterile females) from laying eggs.

Under normal circumstances the queen is the only fertile female in the colony, and the colony's continued existence depends on her remaining vigorous and healthy. If the queen is lost or damaged, colonies can become weak or even die out unless a new queen is produced quickly.

quicker than the European races of Apis mellifera. They are also more likely to swarm under conditions where new queens are being raised and so any hive management technique has to be carefully controlled.

Recognising the problem

The queen usually stays inside the hive where it is dark and safe. She only goes out of the hive to mate or if the colony swarms, migrates or absconds. If the queen is lost, the change in pheromones will alert the colony to the fact very quickly. At first they will act nervously.

They will make a louder than usual buzzing sound, which is sometimes known as a 'queenless roar', and they may become more defensive. After 10-24 hours the bees will be certain the queen has been lost and will start making emergency queen cells. As long as eggs are present, the bees will raise a new queen within 15 days.

This situation is easily recognised by looking at the brood combs. The presence of either a drone laying queen or laying workers leads to the production of irregular patches of drone brood laid in worker cells. The combs will have a distinctive, untidy appearance due to scattered groups of cells with characteristically raised, dome-shaped cappings where the bees have tried to accommodate the larger drone larvae in the worker cells. In addition the pattern of egg laying may indicate there is a problem. A queen will lay her egg in the bottom of the cell. Laying workers place eggs on the sides of the cells because, unlike the queen, their bodies are not long enough to reach the bottom. They may also lay more than one egg in each cell.

Old or failing queens

Neglected drone brood

Occasionally, a queen gets very old and runs out of sperm to fertilise her eggs but for some reason the bees fail to replace her. Under these circumstances the queen will lay only unfertilised eggs that become drones. Similarly if the virgin queen was inadequately fertilised on her mating flight, the eggs she lays will not be fertile and only drones will develop. This is called a 'drone laying queen'. No new worker bees are produced and it is impossible for a new queen to develop, consequently the colony will dwindle and eventually die out.

The diminishing number of adult bees available to tend the brood often leads to many of the larvae becoming small and undernourished.

The brood becomes neglected and the larvae die and start to decompose. The decomposing larvae are soft and dark brown in colour and may be confused with infectious brood diseases, for example, American foulbrood.

Sometimes the cappings are partially removed leaving the heads of the drone pupae exposed.

The loss of a queen

Laying workers If the queen has been lost (or removed) a new queen cell will be raised to replace the queen as long as there are fertile eggs in the hive to enable the workers to do so. Occasionally there will be no eggs or brood in a colony. If the colony remains queenless for very long, some of the workers will start laying eggs as a result of the loss of queen substance and brood pheromones that usually inhibit the workers from laying eggs. However, because the workers are not mated, the eggs they lay will be infertile and produce drones.

African and Africanised races of Apis mellifera honeybees tolerate being queenless for a shorter period and produce laying workers 7

Rectifying the problem As long as they are strong enough in adult bees, colonies with drone laying queens can be saved by removing the old queen and either introducing a new queen, or by uniting the colony with another one with a productive queen. By contrast, colonies containing laying workers are very difficult to retrieve with the bees often killing any new queen that is introduced. The usual remedy is to shake out all the bees on to the ground and remove the hive from the apiary. The remaining bees that are useful will find their way into other hives to help to swell the ranks of their workers, while the abandoned combs can be melted down and any wax harvested.

Beesfor Development Journal 78

CHALK BROOD IN ETHIOPIA

Desalegn Begna Rundassa, Holetta Bee Research Centre, Ethiopia Table 1. Comparison between the standard size set for Ascosphaera apis spore cysts and balls, and the microscopic measurement after laboratory culturing

Chalk brood is a disease of honeybee larvae caused by the fungus Ascosphaera apis, which causes the death and mummification of sealed honeybee brood, and with the consequent weakness of the colony. It is widespread amongst honeybees in Europe and North America. In Africa the only report of chalk brood has been from Tunisia (Heath, 1985). The disease is spread by robbing, drifting bees and by the normal practices of beekeeping (Warhurst, 1998).

Ascosphaera apis produces sticky spores, which are commonly present on adult bees and all surfaces within occupied hives. The disease develops only if the brood is physiologically stressed in some way, for example chilling.

Parts measured Spore cysts Spore balls

Standard range 45-119µ 7-18µ

Measurement taken from the culture 40-89µ 7.2-17.8µ

Table 2. Total number of colonies diagnosed, number of colonies found positive, and percentage infestation per inspected site

In Ethiopia, the existence of two adult honeybee diseases Nosema apis and Melpighamoebae mellifica and their distribution was studied and reported (Gezahegn & Amsalu, 1991; Desalegn & Amsalu, 1999). Until now there has been no record on the existence of any honeybee brood diseases in the country.

Site Number

Apiary site

1

Holetta

36

5

13.9

2

Menagedha

54

17

31.5

The survey transects and beekeepers to be surveyed were selected randomly. A survey was carried out around the Holetta area on beekeeper's colonies, and at Gedo demonstration site about 150 km west of Holetta.

3

Gedo

16

5

3.2

4

Suba

42

0

0.0

5

Geresu

18

0

0.0

Following the brood rearing season October 2000 to January 2001, 276 colonies at 13 survey sites were inspected externally and internally for signs of chalk brood disease.

6

Sadamo

14

3

21.4

7

Roge

25

0

0.0

8

Rob Gebeya

24

0

0.0

Colonies showing any symptoms of chalk brood: dead infected larvae left uncapped by nurse bees in the comb cells, and mummies at the hive entrances, on the hive floor and on the ground perpendicular to the hive opening, were examined. From 13 apiary sites, larval mummies were collected from eight apiaries that were found to display positive signs of the disease.

Overall 240 black mummies of honeybee larvae from 48 bee colonies (five per colony) were collected. Each mummy was macerated separately in a sterile mortar with distilled water to prepare suspensions containing Ascosphaera apis from each site. The suspensions were filtered through fine cloth and the fungus was grown in the laboratory, using Potato Dextrose Agar containing antibiotic to avoid any bacterial contamination, on petri dishes. After eight days, microscopic examination of the cultures was made to determine the size of the spore cysts and spore balls (Skou, 1972; Bailey, 1981, Bissett, 1988).

Photographs were taken of the affected brood combs and fungus cultures.

9

Gelgel

5

0

0.0

10

Shola Genet

29

6

20.7

11

Tesfaye

4

4

100.0

12

Chiri

1

1

100.0

13

Mariam

8

7

87.5

276

48

Materials and methods

Total

Number of inspected colonies

Number of infected colonies

% infected colonies per apiary site

Chalk brood disease is most commonly found on the outer fringes of the brood combs and as a result drone brood is more susceptible to the disease. In this survey it was noticed that drone brood rearing was completely discontinued in the colonies seriously affected by chalk brood disease. The dismantling and clearing of the drone larvae and pupae by the bees was observed in the affected colonies. The assumption is that the bees give priority to nursing and warming brood that will grow into worker bees as a replacement stock rather than taking care of drone brood for breeding in these adverse conditions. Gochnauer et al (1975) also documented that when the colony clusters due to cool temperatures, the population of adult bees is insufficient to maintain ideal brood temperatures, particularly on the periphery of the brood. Thus, chalk brood disease is most likely to appear in brood unprotected by the cluster, which usually includes the drones. Since this survey report many complaints about chalk brood have come from different apiaries at the Centre and from farmer beekeepers.

Results Microscopic examination of the culture revealed that the range of the size of the spore cysts and the spore balls falls within the standard size described for Ascosphaera apis by Spiltoir and Olive (1955). From 13 inspected apiaries, eight (66.7%) were found positive to Ascosphaera apis (Table 2).

Out of 276 inspected colonies, 48 (17.4%) were found tainted with chalk brood fungus. The prevalence of the fungus among the infected apiary sites ranged from 0-100%. All colonies infested with chalk brood fungus Ascosphaera apis have revealed the signs of the disease either externally or internally. The disease was particularly rigorous and widely distributed in the apiaries of Tesfaye and Mariam (Table 2), which are owned by private farmer beekeepers and within 5-10 km from Holetta Centre. During the survey it was observed that much of the affected brood was drone brood, during October.

References BAILEY, L. (1981) Honeybee pathology. Academic Press, London, UK. pp: 40-44. 924/73.

BISSETT, J. (1988) Contribution towards a monograph of the genus Ascospaera. Canadian Journal of Botany 66: 2541-2560. 1314/82.

DESALEGN, B.; AMSALU, B. (1999) Distribution of honeybee diseases Nosema apis and Melpighamoebae mellificae in Ethiopia. Holetta Bee Research Centre Annual Report.

GEZAHEGN, T. AMSALU, B. (1991) Identifying and diagnosing honeybee diseases at Holetta Bee Research and Training Centre. Proceedings of the Fourth National Livestock Improvement Conference. pp: 263-265.

GOCHNAUER, T. A.; FURGALA, B. SHIMANUKI, H. (1975) Disease and enemies of the honeybee. In: The Hive and the honeybee. Dadant & Sons, Illinois, USA. HEATH, L.A.F. (1985). Occurrence and distribution of chalk brood disease of honeybees. Bee World 66 (1): 9-15.

SKOU, J.P. (1972) Ascosphaerales. Friesia 10(1): 1-24. 13/74.

SPILTOIR, C.F.; OLIVE, L.S. (1955) A reclassification of the genus pericystis Betts. Mycologia 47: 238-244.

WARHURST, P. (1998) Beekeeping disease: correct diagnosis. Department of Primary Industries, Queensland Government, Australia.

Discussion and conclusion Since the beginning of 2001, the presence of Ascosphaera apis has been confirmed in Ethiopia. However, as the main objective of this study was only to detect the presence of chalk brood in the country for the first time, no attention was given to compare its infestation level among colonies in the same apiary.

Also, no attempt was made to compare colony infestation level at different apiaries.

Diseases of fungal origin are more prevalent in damp and cool conditions and Ascosphaera apis grows best when the brood is chilled. In this case many of the incidences were in October, when the temperature sometimes drops below 0°C. 8

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PRACTICAL BEEKEEPING Paul Latham, author of Beekeeping in Central Africa, and Collins Kasimba from Mzuzu, Malawi, who has 12 years' beekeeping experience, discuss a number of issues.

Paul Latham replied

Collins Kasimba writes: "Beekeeping in Central Africa is a good book, but there are some areas where I would like to offer advice".

I heard from other people that the practice of spraying water on bees keeps them quiet, although I have not used it myself. Regarding the distance from the posts to the hive I have found this can vary and some beekeepers in Malawi allow about 2 m from the post to the hive to prevent honey badgers jumping on the hive.

Protection from rainwater damage is very important. In DR Congo people use pieces of corrugated iron, and as long as they are wide enough to give a good overlap, this protects the sides of the hive from rain.

Wooden top-bar

Plastic box hive

Top-bar made from raphia stem

You can make a hive using locally available materials

News from DR Congo The Salvation Army in DR Congo has a long experience in beekeeping. In the early 1980s, Paul Latham arrived in Bas Congo Province and set up a project in Mbanza Nzundu area where men were trained as beekeepers. In 1999, women began to be interested in beekeeping and now are the best beekeepers in Bas Congo Province. In 2003, The Salvation Army introduced plastic hives because of wood scarcity and its high cost. A local initiative was to re-use plastic boxes, making a hole as the entrance for the bees, putting in top-bars and adding a metal sheet roof. New boxes are now bought to make the hives. The plastic hive costs the equivalent of US$25 which is half the price of wooden hives.

How to deal with pests (page 38). You are right on the distance from the ground to the body of the hive, but we do not know the distance between the poles. We think there should be 1.5 m between a pole and the hive side (that is 4.5 m between the poles).

Major Gracia Matondo, Salvation Army Development Officer in Bas Congo Province, DR Congo © GRACIA MATONDO

How to catch a swarm (page 28 of the book) is not the best way to catch a swarm. What you can do is first spray the bees with water before putting them well down into the catching box. If you do what is indicated on the diagram, then all the bees will fly away after shaking them.

At the end of 2005, we held a Bees and Trees Day in Bandundu. 1,500 bee forage trees were planted and the partnership between tree growers and beekeepers was sealed.

Lastly, hives will need protection from the rain otherwise their lifespan will be very short.

Unloading a delivery of plastic hives Beekeeping in Central Africa (Code L125) and the French edition Apiculture en Bas-Congo (L120) are available from the Bf D web store or see page 15 for how to order.

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LOOK AHEAD ARGENTINA XIV Feria y Jornadas de Apicultura XIV Beekeeping Fair and Meetings 5-7 May 2006, 'Centro de la República' Further details www.apicultura.com.ar APIMONDIA 40th International Apicultural Congress 9-14 September 2007, Melbourne Further details www.apimondia2007.com BOSNIA HERZEGOVINA 1st IFOAM Conference on Organic Wild Production 3-4 May 2006, Banja Luka Further details www.ifoam.org BRAZIL XVI Congresso Brasileiro de Apicultura XVI Brazilian Beekeeping Congress 22-25 May 2006, CBA, Aracaju-Sergipe Further details www.se.sebrae.com.br BULGARIA APIMONDIA Symposium: Selection and queen breeding 1-3 September 2006, Sofia Further details www.apimondia-symposiumbulgaria-2006.com CZECH REPUBLIC EurBee Second European Conference of Apidology with APIMONDIA Standing Commission on Pollination and Bee Flora Session: 10-14 September 2006, Prague Further details www.eurbee.org

LOOK AHEAD / LEARN AHEAD / NOTICE BOARD

FRANCE 7th SICAMM Conference: International association for the protection of the European dark bee 18-22 September 2006, Versailles Further details www.sicamm.org APIMONDIA 41st International Apicultural Congress 21-24 September 2009, Montpellier Further details www.apimondia2009.com GREECE APIMONDIA Forum on Apitherapy Apimedica 2006 12-15 October 2006, Athens Further details www.apimedica2006.gr MALAYSIA 1st International Conference on Medicinal Uses of Honey 26-28 August 2006, Kelantan Further details www.honey2006.kk.usm.my RUSSIA 7th International Beekeeping Exhibition and Conference - Intermiod 2006 27-30 April 2006, Moscow Further details www.expostroy.ru TURKEY VIII European Congress of Entomology 17-22 September 2006, Izmir Further details www.ece2006.org UK British Beekeepers' Association Annual Convention 22 April 2006, Kenilworth Further details www.bbka.co.uk

NOTICE BOARD

USA POSPONED: 9th International Pollination Symposium , Iowa State University New dates 24-28 June 2007, Further details maharris@iastate.edu XV International Congress of the IUSSI 30 July - 4 August 2006, Washington Further details www.iussi.org/IUSSI2006.html

LEARN AHEAD Bees forr Development arranges beekeeping study tours and visits world-wide. Tailormade to suit requirements and to fit any budget. Contact us for details.

BELGIUM Beekeeping for poverty alleviation 1 April - 31 July 2006, Gent Further details www.zoofysiologie.ugent.be IRELAND Irish Beekeepers' Summer Course 24-29 July 2006, Gormanston Further details eosbee@indigo.ie KENYA 2006 Baraka College Short Courses Further details www.sustainableag.org USA Organic Beekeeping Workshop 28-29 April 2006, Chestnut Ridge, NY Further details www.pfeiffercenter.org APITHERAPY INTERNET COURSE Further details www.apitherapy.com/aic.php

participants, a detailed list of inputs with cost estimates and the reporting arrangements. Submit your request to the office of FAO or UNDP in your country. Applications for projects with budgets over US$10,000 must be submitted through a Government Ministry. See www.fao.org

TRUST THANKS TWO RUNNERS Elizabeth Hilton (aged 11) who completed the Junior Great North Run in aid of BfD Trust in September 2005, and Sue Tonelli who will run the Hamburg Marathon on 23 April 2006 to raise funds for the Trust. To sponsor Sue visit www.justgiving.com/suetonelli HELP NEEDED We are looking for a beekeeping volunteer to work in our school, the Karl Peterson Memorial Academy in Cross River State, Nigeria, for a year or two. Please, if you happen to know of organisations that can send us a beekeeper, let us know. Thank you very much.

Contact Ernest Udom via BfD.

Remember to tell BfD the outcome of your application.

IDB Fund IIDB's Multilateral Investment Fund will increase the supply of financial services to micro entrepreneurs and small companies in the agriculture and agro industrial sectors in rural areas of Bolivia. Visit www.iadb.org IFS ASSISTANCE International Foundation for Science (IFS) supports researchers based in low income countries. Next session deadline 30 June 2006 see www.ifs.se BEE CRAFT A full colour monthly magazine for beginners and experts alike covering all aspects of beekeeping in the UK and Ireland. £20 for 12 issues. Credit cards accepted. For free sample copy contact secretary@bee-craft.com BEE BOOKS NEW AND OLD The Weaven, Little Dewchurch, Hereford HR2 6PP, UK, for your new and second-hand books. Telephone +44 (0)1432 840529 or www.honeyshop.co.uk IT PAYS TO ADVERTISE BffD Jourrnal - a great opportunity to contact 1000s of readers in over 100 countries. No PRICE INCREASE IN 2006. Notice Board items £0.50/word. Contact details page 2.

BEES OF RODRIGUES Interested to work with the bees of Rodrigues? If so please contact Ken Stevens via Bees forr Development or kestev@bt.internet.com PHOTO CALL International Apiculture Photography Contest Closing date 30 April 2006.

See www.aulaapicolazuqueca.com FAO PROJECT PROVISION FAO, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, supports beekeeping projects in developing countries. Beekeepers' groups and associations may apply for small project funding of up to US$10,000 from the TeleFood Special Fund. Request documents should include a brief description of the project's objectives, the proposed food production or income-generating activities, the work plan, the number of 10

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NEWS AROUND THE WORLD CHINA China issues national standards for honey China has issued a set of compulsory national standards for honey, which will take effect from 1 March 2006. The compulsory standards stipulate that no starch, sugar, or sugar substitutes may be added to honey. The standards also ban the addition or mixture of foreign substances such as preservatives, and specify the methods and principles to test adulteration in honey. Under the new standards, the naming of honey products is integrated with international standards. If any other nutritious substances are added to honey, 'honey' may not be used in the name of the product.

www.chinadaily.com

GHANA Since 1992, The Bencom Mushroom Enterprise Project at Twimia Nkwanta, near Techiman, has trained more than 500 youths each year in beekeeping, grasscutter rearing, mushroom production, and snail farming. Bernard Bempah, Managing Director of the Company said that the project served as the training centre in the northern sector of the country.

The International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and the Rural Enterprise Project sponsored the training programmes to enable youths to acquire employment skills.

Students from some agricultural institutions in the country undertake practical training at the project site and Mr Bempah appealed to financial institutions and NGOs to offer credit facilities to such students to initiate their own projects.

while local bees were 'fierce and wild' despite being reared in farms. He said it was much easier to collect honey from the 'Australian' bees unlike the local bees, which were more territorial.

Ahmad said he had to wear protective gear or smoke the local bees off if he wanted to collect their honey, but did not have to do so with the 'Australian' ones. He said his farm receives visitors regularly, so it was safer to keep the 'Australian' bees as they would not be agitated by a human presence.

Ahmad buys 20 queen bees at RM100 (€22, US$27) each and the bees are individually placed in special cases during their flight from Australia. "Each box can produce 1.5-2 kg of honey in 40-45 days or even faster depending on the supply of nectar", he said. The bees find their food from the surrounding areas which is filled with banana trees, durian, mango, rambutan, and flowering plants.

Ahmad said the taste of the honey depends on the fruit nectar gathered by the bees, with durian having the top taste followed by coconut. He said the bees fly up to 1.5 km in search of food.

Ahmad processes and bottles his own honey in his backyard with the help of some basic honey extraction equipment. A small bottle of pure honey costs RM15.0 (€3.4, US$4.0) while a big bottle is priced at RM20.0 (€4.5, US$5.4).

Zazali Musa, www.thestar.com

SOLOMON ISLANDS

ghanaweb.com

INDONESIA Cashing in on Australian bees Some might have qualms about interacting with bees but not Ahmad Mustafa who has been living with them for the past 20 years. Ahmad, 58, is the sole bee farmer in Kampung Perpat Timbul village, Johor and his secluded house is located near Tanjung Piai, the southernmost tip of mainland Asia.

Ahmad decided to go into beekeeping after he enrolled on a course aimed to diversify his income as a rubber producer and fisherman.

"Initially, I reared local bees but I switched to 'Australian' bees eight years ago", Ahmad said.

In 1997, Ahmad went to Melbourne to attend a course at an agricultural institute for three months where he found it easier dealing with 'Australian' bees. Ahmad said the exotic species Apis mellifera was 'tame and gentle',

© Kathleen Cooper and Peter Hardie

Rachel and Mary, Life Skills Students at Airahu Rural Training Centre with their popular bee veils. The veils are sold throughout the Islands for US$5 each.

At the Training Centre, beekeeping can be a cross discipline study with the departments of carpentry, agriculture, and life skills (home economics) all getting involved.

11

UGANDA ADB pledges US$9m to boost honey sector The African Development Bank (ADB) has pledged a US$5 million grant and US$4 million loan to help boost Uganda's honey production capacity. ADB Country Operations Officer Benedict Kanu was quoted saying that the bank has expressed interest in honey production in Uganda as one of the ways of fighting poverty.

He was meeting honey producers under their umbrella association, Uganda Honey Beekeepers Association (UHA), who had submitted a proposal to ADB for assistance to boost production. UHA Secretary-General Christopher Karamagi said the Government recently recognised the beekeeping industry but there is still limited funding. "As of now, we get limited domestic and foreign donor funding to help the industry, yet it has huge potential to alleviate rural poverty", said Karamagi. Uganda's honey production is still below subsistence, and domestic consumption is generally limited to use of honey as a natural medicine. Karamagi said due to this low production, UHA buys only good quality honey at 1,500 Ugandan shillings, equivalent to €0.70, US$0.83 per kilogram.

He said there is an insatiable demand for honey and its products in both the domestic and foreign markets. "We have some orders from Norway which need 300 tonnes, Germany 1,000 tonnes and Kenya 40 tonnes, but we are still constrained by limited working capital", said Karamagi. www.chinaview.cn

UGANDA and KENYA East Africa firms to reap from fund One thousand small enterprises in Kenya and Uganda will benefit from the $100m East Africa Small Enterprises Fund. A statement from Shell Foundation said the first phase of the rollout programme would begin in the two countries. Over the next 12 months, the Fund will finance small enterprises in other subSaharan countries as local and international investors get on board. Based on successful pilot programmes in Uganda and South Africa, the Fund is expected to improve the livelihoods of many Africans. Contributors to the Fund are Shell Foundation, Africa-based financial specialist GroFin Capital, Commonwealth Development Corporation, Netherlands Development Corporation and two leading African banks. Launched on 1 July 2005, the Fund is the first initiative by international and local financiers to address lack of finance and business skills for small African businesses. In Uganda, the pilot project benefited Maria Odido, a honey producer, who used the fund for a five-fold increase in output. Under the model,

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UK Marmalade dropped for a taste of honey Sales of honey have soared in the past year while those of marmalade and jam continue to fall, according to new figures. A generation ago honey came in just two varieties: clear and set. But shoppers are now able to choose from dozens of types. Experts said that the new choice was largely responsible for persuading an extra 490,000 households to buy honey in the past year - an increase of 4.5%. Sales of marmalade and jam fell by 7% and 3% in the same period.

The overall market for honey is now worth £361 million and marmalade £354 million.

The company that compiled the figures said that as well as being lured by the new range, shoppers could be turning to honey because they believed it was a healthy alternative to sugar-rich jam and marmalade. Simon Hulbert, of market research analysts TNS, which monitors the buying habits of 15,000 households, said the health benefits of food were becoming more important to shoppers.

"Honey is increasingly a more valuable sector than marmalade. In comparison, marmalade and jam are losing shoppers".

Tim Hall, www.telegraph.co.uk Honey eases a hangover and is the best remedy for pounding heads and heaving stomachs. Dr John Emsley from the Royal Society of Chemistry explained that the happiness comes from alcohol, the hangover comes from acetaldehyde. That is the toxic chemical into which alcohol is converted by the body and it causes a throbbing headache, nausea and maybe even vomiting. The hangover disappears as acetaldehyde is slowly converted to less toxic chemicals that is the science. Only time cures a hangover as the acetaldehyde in the body gradually dissipates. But eating toast and honey could speed up recovery by replenishing sodium, potassium and fructose.

www.dailyrecord.co.uk Honey recall highlights danger of counterfeits The discovery of veterinary medicine residues in a UK brand of honey has again underlined the potential threat posed by counterfeit products. Distributor Morris & Sons removed Natural Choice Brand Pure Clear Honey from supermarket shelves after elements of chloramphenicol and sulphonamide were detected. The Food Standards Agency (FSA)

reported that the honey was adulterated with invert syrup, and was said to have an odd taste. As such, the FSA considers the honey to be a counterfeit product. This underlines a worrying trend. In 2004, the amount of fake food and drinks entering the EU grew by 200%. By comparison the average growth of all faked goods, including cigarettes, cosmetics, clothes, toys, grew by 12%.

Counterfeiting and tampering can undermine consumers' trust in the quality and safety of a branded food product, leading to a loss in market share. And, as in this case, can pose a potential threat to health. Both chloramphenicol and sulphonamide are illegal. Chloramphenicol, which it is thought could cause cancer, can also lead to aplastic anaemia in susceptible people. Exposure to chloramphenicol in food in any quantity is undesirable, but the level of risk will depend on how much is consumed and how frequently. Chloramphenicol has been banned in Europe for use on animals since 1994 and it is illegal for it to be in honey. The presence of sulphonamide in honey is also illegal. About 4.4 million items of foodstuff, drinks and alcoholic items were seized in the EU last year. The total represents 4% of the total of counterfeit items seized.

potential national economic project. Muqbil Naser Al-Bahr, General Manager, explained that the project, in co-operation with the beekeepers and IDAS, had carried out 253 training courses for more than 4,037 beekeepers from all over the country. 4,260 field and office visits were made to 3,800 beneficiaries in light of this training programme and 83 field surveys were conducted for 539 beekeepers.

The honey sector is encouraged to create its own associations and networks. This would be considered a significant step for this industry, include it in the organised sector of the national economy, and would assist the beekeepers in marketing their products and beekeeping tools. A database of the beekeeping industry and relevant information will be created during the project implementation.

www.Yemen Times.com

ZAMBIA

Anthony Fletcher, www.foodnavigator.com/news

USA California's first honey factory has gone solar.

Miller's Honey, located in Colton celebrated the completion of a 120 kW solar photovoltaic system on its facility. The project was designed and installed by Permacity and secured a utility renewable energy rebate of US$50,000. This has reportedly lowered the factory's monthly electrical bill from approximately US$2,500 to US$250.

www.RenewableEnergyAccess.com

YEMEN Honey industry gains higher dimensions The production of Yemeni honey is reported at an annual total of 1,706 tonnes by the Ministry of Agriculture, December 2005. 17% of the quantity produced is exported, generating income of US$ 9 million. The same report indicated that the number of bee colonies exceeded one million. This is considered a significant increase and shows the economic investment potential. A spokesperson said that the Ministry is considering investing in the honey sector, among the five strategic crops to support in the coming development plans.

The Taiz-based honeybee development project, established in 1993 with German funding, is now being considered as a 12

© MOSES MULENGA

the fund manager works with the entrepreneur to fine-tune the business plan before deciding whether to approve finance. The entrepreneur pays market rates for the loan and limits their debt with a profit-sharing scheme.

David Muwanga, New Vision Online

Kasempa Beekeepers Update Thanks to ILO a further 138 top-bar hives were bought and distributed in December 2005 to the 16 groups who were awaiting support in my report in BfDJ 75. The beekeepers used bicycles to transport the hives to their apiary in Kamalamba Area, Kasempa. I urge ILO to continue their support through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security as we still have more farmers interested to venture into beekeeping. I hope Bees forr Development will continue to sponsor me to receive BfDJ and to send training materials for 2006.

Moses Mulenga Honey goes to waste Tonnes of honey worth millions of kwacha are going to waste in Mufumbwe District in North Western Province. Mufumbwe's Kavipupu ward councillor, David Khumbi, said that commercial honey collectors were finding it difficult in securing a market for their honey and that 1,500 20-litre containers of honey

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NEWS AROUND THE WORLD

were in people's homes, as there were no buyers for the product. Many beekeepers were losing money and if no market was found their produce would go to waste. Mr Khumbi said Kabompo Honey Factory had only bought 100 tonnes from the beekeepers leaving many of them stuck with their honey.

He identified some places where honey was in abundance - Kavipupu, Kalengwe, Musonwenji and Mushima - among other areas where honey collectors were in dire need of buyers for their honey.

Zambia News Agency 18 October www.zana.gov.zm/news Honey production in Zambia Zambia's woodlands resonate with two kinds of buzz. First is the hum from the millions of bees gathering nectar from the surrounding dry forests. Second is the buzz of excitement among local villagers who see honey production as a potential source of livelihood.

Zambia's woodlands cover millions of hectares, with a significant portion forming part of the larger miombo woodland covering much of central and eastern Africa. They provide an excellent habitat for bees, which in most seasons deliver a surplus of honey.

The first Zambian written records of hives date back to 1854, when David Livingstone described the log hives used by the Southern Lunda people on the upper Zambezi in NorthWestern Province. According to Guni MicklesKokwe, a natural resource scientist from the Zambia Alliance for People and Environment, "Trade in beeswax started in the late 1890s when Zambians travelled by foot through Angola to the Atlantic coast. A hundred years later and the long-distance trade in honey and beeswax still provide an important source of livelihood for many people in rural Zambia.

Today organically certified, golden honey and beeswax find their way from rural homesteads into lucrative markets throughout the world".

In North Western Province 10,000 beekeepers

RECENT RESEARCH The secret is out - bees can fly!

In 1996, Charlie Ellington at Cambridge University, UK, showed that vortices rolling along the leading edge of many insects' wings are a vital source of lift. Most flying insects beat their wings in large strokes - typically flapping in arcs of 145-165° at a frequency determined by body size - to generate aerodynamic forces sufficient for flight. But this cannot explain how a heavy insect with a short wing beat, such as a bee, generates enough lift to fly.

Aeronautical engineers had previously 'proven' that bees cannot fly. Insect flight expert

own 500,000 hives and produce about 1,000 tonnes of honey and at least 100 tonnes of beeswax per year. Half the honey is exported while 80-100 tonnes are sold on local markets, with the remainder used to brew a local beer called mbote.

Because most honey and beeswax is exported, it has become an important source of foreign exchange for Zambia. Exports - mostly to Europe - remained stable throughout the 1990s, but started increasing rapidly after 2000 as new companies entered the business.

"Honey and beeswax have become an important source of livelihood for thousands of people in Zambia. About one third of the beekeepers' annual cash income comes from honey and beeswax trade", said CIFOR scientist Crispen Marunda.

Marunda and Mickles-Kokwe's research has found the linkages between beekeeping and forest management in Zambia to be quite strong. Because honey and wax are so important to the beekeepers' daily struggle against poverty, they are very aware of the need to prevent forest fires. And the presence of so many bees has increased woodland productivity due to increased rates of pollination among flowering trees, enhanced plant regeneration rates and helped maintain high levels of diversity.

However, the mortality among some tree species has increased due to beekeepers harvesting their fibrous bark to make hives.

While the current level of honey and wax production is improving, Mickles-Kokwe and Marunda believe there is still a lot more that can be done to ensure production reaches its fullest potential. The two scientists believe a number of factors are constraining the industry: Conflict over land access between honey producers and loggers, with the latter seeming to have more rights than the beekeepers; Michael Dickinson, and colleagues at Caltech in Pasadena, California USA, decided to investigate the forces actually at work during honeybee flight.

Exotic forces Dickinson and his colleagues filmed hovering bees at 6,000 frames per second and plotted the unusual pattern of wing beats. The wing sweeps back in a 90° arc, and then flips over as it returns - an incredible 230 times a second. The team made a robot to scale to measure the forces involved.

"It is the more exotic forces created as the wing changes direction that dominate", says Dickinson. Additional vortices are produced by the rotation of the wing. It is like a propeller, 13

Limited resource base due to existing laws that define honey and beeswax as minor forest products and restrict beekeeping to forests outside national forests; Lack of monitoring and regulation of beekeepers by the Forestry Department due to financial and human resource constraints; Absence of accurate industry data in such areas as production levels, output and marketed volume; Inadequate support for organic certification, which is central to achieving premium export prices, a better and healthier product and better forest management; Unco-ordinated industry regulation by different government agencies who oversee various aspects of honey production, for example beekeeping as a commercial activity, bees as live animals, honey as a food item.

"The most pressing need at the moment is to reform the beekeeping policy. If the right measures are implemented, honey production could increase from 1,000 to 15,000 tonnes a year", Marunda said. Hopefully such reforms will not be far off. In response to a request by Zambia's Forestry Department, CIFOR is helping Zambia develop a beekeeping policy.

In 2004, the Swedish International Development Agency (SIDA) funded CIFOR to review Zambia's beekeeping industry and run workshops to identify constraints among key beekeeping stakeholders. The report and the workshops have both provided recommendations that will form a base for further policy discussion. They have also contributed significantly to a policy draft now being prepared by the Forestry Department with assistance from CIFOR.

CIFOR News Online 39 where the blade is rotating too. Also, the wing flaps back into its own wake, which leads to higher forces than flapping in still air. Lastly, there is another peculiar force known as 'added-mass force' which peaks at the end of each stroke and is related to acceleration as direction of the wings changes. The work may help engineers design rotating propellers or more stable and manoeuvrable aircraft. "But it proves that bees can fly", adds Dickinson.

Journal reference: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (DOI: 10.1073_pnas.0506590102)

The original report by Helen Phillips can be seen at www.NewScientist.com

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AVAILABLE FROM Bf D NOW AT WWW.BEESFORDEVELOPMENT.ORG

BOOK SHELF THE HIBERNATION DIET Mike McInnes and Stuart McInnes, with Maggie Standfield 2006 150 pages soft cover £8.50 (€12.75) Code M020 This book aims to help people adopt a healthy diet and lose weight if necessary. The authors include a pharmacist and a sports nutritionist. The diet they propose is based on the concepts of liver fuelling and fat burning throughout sleep. They advocate the taking of a spoonful of honey before bed, to optimise fat loss. This is based on understanding of the biology of tissue recovery, which is fat burning. Arising from this the authors developed a strategy for optimising fat burning during sleep by fuelling the liver prior to sleep. Honey, which contains fructose, is ideal for this purpose. The theory is that if the liver is fuelled prior to bed, recovery hormones are released to do repair, regeneration and construction of new tissue. These hormones are exclusively fat burning hormones. For this to occur, blood glucose must be stable, and the liver must be well fuelled: a spoonful or two of honey is the ideal way to do this.

ROBBING THE BEES Holley Bishop 2006 324 pages hard cover £15.00 (€22.50) Code B355 The subtitle of this book is: 'A biography of honey, the sweet liquid that seduced the world'. Holley Bishop is a beekeeper, and a journalist. In this book, she provides an insight into why beekeepers find their craft so endlessly fascinating and interesting. She describes the folklore and history of beekeeping: a newcomer to the field will find this an informative and pleasant way to learn more about the culture surrounding bees and their honey. Well written and readable, this is an enjoyable book, and especially encouraging for anybody thinking of keeping bees for the first time.

THE NEW NATURALIST BUMBLEBEES Ted Benton 2006 592 pages hard cover £47.50 (€71.25) Code B325 soft cover £26 (€39) Code B330 An important new text on bumblebees, providing a detailed, up-to-date account of their behaviour and ecology. Although the text is focussed on bumblebees of the UK, there is information that is new and useful for all who are working in this field. For example, Chapter 1 contains interesting information about the extent of bumblebee species richness worldwide.

Like honeybees, bumblebees play a crucial role in the pollination of flowers and vegetables. The farming industry relies heavily on these efficient pollinators to pollinate beans, tomatoes and many fruit crops such as apple, pear and plum. However, bumblebee populations have recently suffered alarming decline, with three of the UK species already extinct and another nine (of the remaining 25) on the endangered species list. A further decline in numbers could have a serious economic impact on the farming industry, while the impact upon biodiversity is unknown. In light of this, bumblebees have been a source of much interest, and detailed research and field studies over the past decade have brought them into the public eye, raising awareness of their plight.

The author, Ted Benton is an expert in this field, and in this text, he combines 15 years of his own field studies with the latest research findings, to provide a detailed and comprehensive account of the lives of the UK species. The book is full of excellent colour photographs and line drawings showing the sexes and castes of all species, and detailed photographs of bumblebee habitats. In addition to chapters on life cycles, psychology, 'usurper bumblebees', and predators, Chapter 6 discusses foraging behaviour, while Chapter 7 discusses floral arrangement. Chapter 8 provides a key to enable identification. Chapter 10 discusses agricultural change, conservation status and habitat requirements and explains the patterns of bumblebee decline. This significant new text will assist greatly in helping these species to be better understood and appreciated, and we hope, conserved.

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AVAILABLE FROM Bf D NOW AT WWW.BEESFORDEVELOPMENT.ORG

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BEEKEEPING IN THE TROPICS Leen van't Leven, Willem-Jan Boot, Marieke Mutsaers, Piet Segeren and Hayo Velthuis 2006 86 pages A5 soft cover £11.70 (€16.80) Code L155 This is a new edition (the sixth) in this Agrodok-series No 32 (first published in 1988), with a fresh Chapter on seasonal management. The book provides a brief and practical introduction to what is involved in tropical beekeeping and the different approaches that are possible.

BEE PRODUCTS Marieke Mutsaers, Henk van Blitterswijk, Leen van't Leven, Jap Kerkvliet and Jan van de Waerdt 2006 94 pages A5 soft cover £11.70 (€16.80) Code M705 A new booklet (Agrodok-series No 42) that introduces the various products and services provided by bees and how the beekeeper can capitalise on them. After the introduction, chapters include pollination, honey, pollen, bee bread, royal jelly, brood, beeswax, propolis, bees, bee venom, quality and regulation, and marketing. There are also two appendices, glossary and further information.

LIVESTOCK AND WEALTH CREATION

Improving the husbandry of animals kept by resource poor people in developing countries edited by E Owen, A Kitalyi, N Jayasuriya and T Smith 2005 601 pages soft cover £42 (€63) Code O165 This book is written towards the achievement of one of the main Millennium development goals: poverty reduction. The text is the result of collaboration between 105 contributors from 26 countries, and aims to provide information relevant to the needs of people who have few resources.

Part One (Chapters 1-13) sets the agenda on key issues and principles in livestock development and poverty alleviation, describing the cross cutting issues that need to be understood before embarking on initiatives to develop outputs from any given species. These Chapters explain why poor people keep livestock, poverty assessment methods, knowledge dissemination, products and marketing, and improvement strategies. Part Two (Chapters 14 to 26) considers species individually, with emphasis on how to improve productivity. Bees are an important source of livelihood for the rural poor and apiculture is covered in Chapter 14, written by Nicola Bradbear. Chapter 27 provides a conclusion to the book: improving the survival and production of livestock kept by the resource poor is vital for livelihood security and transformation from poverty to relative prosperity. Appropriate information and an enabling environment are the key elements essential for this process.

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APIMONDIA represents the interests of beekeepers worldwide, and organises a major international Congress every second year. One benefit of your Association belonging to APIMONDIA is that members of your Association become eligible for reduced Registration Fees for APIMONDIA Congresses.

Membership form and further details from: APIMONDIA Secretary General Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, 101 00186 Rome, ITALY E-mail apimondia@mclink.it www.apimondia.org Details of forthcoming Apimondia Symposia and Congresses are on Look Ahead page 10

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