Beekeeping in the TropicsBeekeeping in the TropicsDr. Peter RosenkranzUniversity of HohenheimApicultural State [email protected]/bienenkunde
Content
1. What are Bees?2. Social Evolution in “Bees”: From Solitary to Eusociality3. Economic value of bees 4. Pollination/ use of “non-Apis” bees5. Honey bee species of economic importance 6. Specific traits of tropical honey bees7. Honey hunting8. Requirements for advanced Beekeeping Techniques9. Specific problems of tropical beekeeping
• The Cape bee problem in South Africa• Plant protection• Honey bee diseases
10. Economic aspects• Honey quality• Marketing• Rural development
Systematic of Bees
Class InsectaOrder Hymenoptera AculeataFamily Apidae
Stingless bees (Melipona spec.)Bumble bees (Bombus spec.)Honey bees (Apis spec.)
Worldwide about 25.000 Bee speciesIn Germany about 600 Bee species (most of them solitary)In Brazil about 3.000 Bee species! Tropics: higher biodiversity
Biologie der Honigbienen
Pecularities of Bees
• Use of Pollen and nectar for nutrition• Visiting plants during foraging• Social communities
Biologie der Honigbienen
Darwin’s enigma
“... I will confine myself to one special difficultywhich at first appeared to me insuperable, and actually fatal to the whole theory (of evolution). I allude to the neuters or sterile females in insectcommunities”
C. Darwin, 1859
How can sterile females be explainedwithin the framework of an evolutionarytheory based on survival of the fittest?
In other words:
Social Community and Evolution
Darwin’s enigma
C. Darwin, 1859
“This difficulty (of sterile workers), thoughappearing insuperable, is lessened, or, as I believe, disappears, when it is remembered that selectionmay be applied to the family, as well as to theindividual, and may thus gain the desired end”
„Social Evolution“
SolitaryEusocial
CommunalSemisocial
Eusocial Bees
• Overlap of generations• Division of labor• Occurrence of castes (reproductive and worker castes)
Scaptotrigona spec. in Brazil
Stingless bees in Africa, South Americaand Australia
Eusocial Bees
Honey bees in Africa and Asia
Apis mellifera in Ethiopia
Social organization of a Honeybee colony
Males: Drones derived from unfertilized eggs. Only task: mating with the queen.
Female castes: Queen and workersfertilized eggs, genetically identical
Original and today's distribution of eusocial bees
Honey bees
Honey bees& Stingless bees
Stingless bees
Stingless bees
Economic value of bees
Products provided by Bees• Honey• Wax• Pollen• Propolis• Royal Jelly• Bee venom• Pollination
Economic value of bees
Products provided by Bees• Honey• Wax• Pollen• Propolis• Royal Jelly• Bee venom• Pollination
Economic value of bees
Products provided by Bees• Honey ! Honey bees, stingless bees• Wax ! Honey bees • Pollen ! Honey bees • Propolis ! Honey bees • Royal Jelly ! Honey bees • Bee venom ! Honey bees • Pollination ! Honey bees, stingless bees, solitary bees
Pollination
All Bees use pollen as the exclusive source of protein
! All Bees are Pollinators!
Pollination
Bees are the most effective pollinators among the insects. They perform about 50% of insect pollination.The economic value for the US is calculated with 40 - 50 Billion US$ (Morse 2001)!
antherstigma
Pollination
• Great challenge for most intensive agricultural systems• Use of many bee species (including solitary bees and
bumble bees)• Preservation of Nature
Agricultural BiodiversityInternational Initiative for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators http://www.biodiv.org/programmes/areas/agro/pollinators.asp
Pollination
Private pollination service:Pollination of greenhouses
Problem: Pollination of legumes in North India! “Agricultural Revolution” without pollination doesn't work!
Pollination with Bumble bees
Tomatoes and other crops in glass houses
Pollination with solitary bees
Alfalfa leaf cutting bee (Megachile rotundata)
Pollination
Pollination Project at Jordan (Strawberry)
Pollination
Knowledge required!Pollination of Passion fruits by Carpenter Bees
Beekeeping with stingless bees
Genus Melipona and Trigona
Advantages• Harmonious relationship between man and indigenous bees• Including in Indian culture, for instance the Maya at Yucatan or the
Yanomani at Amazonia• Provision of pollen and honey for private use• High prices• Medical use?Disadvantages• Relatively low honey yields (1 – max. 10 kg/colony/year)• Handling difficult, difficult for professional use• Lack of knowledge on domestication and techniques of “Meliponiculture“
Honey Bee beekeeping(Apis spec.)
Production of Honey and Bees Wax
Honey bee species of the world(Honey bee = Apis)
Apis mellifera *(Europe, Africa, Asia Minor)Apis cerana * (Asia)Apis koschevnikovi (Asia)Apis nicrocincta (Asia)Apis dorsata *(Asia)Apis laboriosa * (Asia)Apis florea (Asia)Apis andreniformis (Asia)* economic importance
hive bees
free buildingsingle combs
Asia: Apis dorsata, Apis cerana, Apis melliferaAfrica: Apis mellifera: „African bee“, the „Cape honey bee“South America: Apis mellifera: „Africanized Honeybees (AHB)“
Tropical beekeeping
Specific traits oftropical honey bees
Specific traits of tropical honey bees
1. High reproductive rates 2. Swarming and absconding3. Defensive behavior4. No winter cluster (population dynamic)
High reproductive rate:Example of Africanized Honeybees
Spread of Africanized honeybees in South America
Swarming and absconding
Africanized honeybees in Brazil: By the use of swarm boxes the beekeeper can reach an equilibrium of loss and gain of swarms. Swarm boxes are also used to prevent establishing of swarms within cities.
Swarming and absconding
Africanized honeybees in Brazil: Extreme swarming and absconding tendency
Swarming and absconding
An Apis cerana colony in Thailand absconded from a log hive because of disturbance by experiments
Defensive behavior
Defensive behavior
African bees and Africanized honeybees (Brazil):• Lower threshold for defense behavior (a result of honey hunting in the
tropics by man?)• Long-lasting attacks (even several hours after disturbing the colony!)• Attacks over a range of several hundreds meters around the hive• Disturbed bees follow the beekeeper up to 2 km
Defensive behavior
Africanized honeybees in Brazil: Intensive use of smoke, long-lasting defensive behavior of the bees of a disturbed colony
Defensive behavior
Africanized honeybees in Brazil: Single colonies to prevent mutual disturbance and the use of “poor” food sources
Specific foraging strategy of African bees
Foraging at night (Apis melliera adansoni in Togo)
Population dynamic
0
10000
20000
30000
40000
10. M
ärz 2.
Apr
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. Apr
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. Mai
5. Ju
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. Jun
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. Juli
6. A
ug28
. Aug
ust
20. S
ept
10. O
kt
No. of bees/ broodcells
BeesBrood cells
Schwäbische Alb 2001
Worker bees
Brood cells
Seasonal course of colony development in temperate climates
Population dynamic
05000
10000150002000025000300003500040000
29.10
.1997
21.11
.1997
11.12
.1997
30.12
.1997
21.01
.1998
19.02
.1998
15.03
.1998
17.04
.1998
11.05
.1998
05.06
.1998
05.07
.1998
11.08
.1998
11.09
.1998
num
ber o
f adu
lt be
es/ b
rood
ce worker brood
drone brood
bees
Seasonal course of colony development in tropical climates (Uruguay)
Winter cluster
Honey hunting
Honey hunting
Apis dorsata (giant honey bee) in India
Honey hunting
Natural nesting site of a honeybee colony(Togo, West Africa) ! Honey hunting
Honey hunting
Uganda: log hives
Honey hunting
Traditional hivesEthiopia: Baskets as a bee hive and a “Honey bee tree”
Requirements for more advanced Tropical Beekeeping
1. Suitable Bee hives2. Protected area for the apiary 3. Protection clothes: Gloves, Boots, masks, Smoker4. Devices for honey extraction and processing5. Possibilities for honey storage6. Knowledge
Types of bee hives
Uganda: Top bar hive (moveable frames)
Traditional hives: Hanging or installing on a stand?
Advantages 1. It is easier to place the hive on the stand and remove it.2. It is easy to move both hive and stand to another spot.3. The beehive does not swing about even if the beekeeper is
working.4. Honey collection and brood-nest control can easily be carried out.
Disadvantages1. Grazing animals can knock the hive over.2. The legs of the stand can easily be used by lizards to reach the hive
unless they are protected by lizard guards.3. It is more expensive and tedious to make a reliable stand than to
buy a metallic wire for hanging a hive.4. Easy movement facilitates easy stealing.
Types of bee hives
South Africa: Top bar hive
Honey production with theeastern honey bee Apis cerana
Apis cerana in India and extraction of a small honey harvest
Modern Hives
Moveable and stable frames
Modern Hives
Research project in Ethiopia: The use of modern Polyurethane Standard hives.
Modern Hives
Research project in Ethiopia: In the field a protection against ants and lizards are required.
Honey harvesting
• Tropical bees “don´t like” honey harvest • Isolated apiary recommended• To much smoke influences honey quality• Harvesting at night• - bees are disorientated (less stings)• - additional lamp is required• Problems with robbering of bees from
other colonies
Honey harvesting
Honey extraction from top bars:Pressing of honey combs or use of special netshttp://www.beesfordevelopment.org
South AfricaA.m. scutellata
“European method”
Honey harvestingMethod for small scale beekeeping
1. The beekeeper brings with him to the site an empty hive and a container with a lid for carrying the harvested honey.2. He smokes the hive heavily from the outside to force the "security guards" and any other bees of the colony who are waiting outside the hive to return to it. It is important to continue smoking until the bees have lost all their aggressivity.3. The hive is then carried away from the site, in the direction opposite to the flight runway, and placed on a platform (or on the ground) at least 50 meters from the nearest hive in the apiary. The empty hive is left at the hive site to serve as a temporary home for any returning foragers or for any bees that escape from the moved hive.4. Working as quickly as possible in order to avoid robber bees, which can otherwise cause trouble, the beekeeper carries out his harvesting or control operations in the normal manner.5. When the work is completed, the hive is closed and carried back to its original position, and the empty hive is removed. Any bees in it, or members of the colony waiting outside, will then rejoin the hive.
Many specific techniques and “tricks” are available
! long term experience and learning from generation to
generation is required
Specific problemsof tropical Beekeeping
The Cape bee problem
• The Cape honey bee (Apis mellifera capensis) is able to perform thelytokous parthenogenesis
• Capensis workers invade as pseudo queens neighboring colonies, especially when introduced to the territory of Apismellifera scutellata and vice versa
• Meanwhile, a clone of parasitic Capensis bees create huge problems for beekeeping in South Africa
The Cape bee problem
Cape bee intruder (Apis mellifera capensis) is fed by a worker of Apis mellifera scutellata (photos: F. Ratnieks)
Cape bee (Apis mellifera capensis) removing an egg from a host colony of Apis mellifera scutellata
Plant protection
Risk of residues and poisoning of foraging bees
Honeybee diseases
Varroosis (Varroa destructor):Parasitic mite, sucks hemolymph from adult bees and brood stages, vector for secondary infections (Viruses).Most tropical bees are tolerant toward Varroosis!
Honeybee diseases
American Foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae larvae):Bacteria, destroys brood cells shortly after cell capping, in Europe considered as epidemic, not present in central Africa and Brazil, distributed via spores dead larvae and honey (spores are very resistant)
Honeybee diseases
Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) in South AfricaIn Africa a minor problemMeanwhile also in USA and Australia ! destroys weak colonies and storage combs
Chemical treatment of bee diseases
Varroa control with pyrethroids in Uruguay
Foulbrood control by antibioticfood supply in Thailand
Honey: Quality control
Residue analysis:• Pesticides from plant protection• Acaricides (treatment against Varroosis)• Antibiotics (treatment against foulbrood)!! “Zero tolerance” for residue of Antibiotics in honey in the EU!
Economic aspects
World Honey market
World Honey production in 1.000 tons
1991 1995 1999 200 2001
Africa 109 138 141 144 145
Asia 334 365 435 457 465
China 236 252 256
South America 87 105 133 141 131
Central America 222 183 201 208 205
North America 222 183 201 208 205
Europe 180 319 293 286 288
Germany ~ 25
Source: www.beekeeping.com
World Honey prices per kg (2003)
In bulk: ~1.00 US$ (China) - ~2.00 US$ (America)Retail: 1.50 - 4.00 US$ (Germany: 3,00 - 8,00 US$)
Honey
Local honey marketin Ethiopia
Value for human nutrition:•Source for carbohydrates • Traditional harvesting and “extraction”:
contains pollen, brood, beeswax and honey! Protein, minerals, vitamins (and some alcohol)
Honey market
Local honey market in Thailand
Problem:Quality standard required for access to the regional and global honey market
Honey market
Professional honey marketing in Ethiopia
Honey: Quality control
Pollen analysis: Sort and origin ! DeclarationEuropean (German) “Honigverordnung”
Honey: Quality control
Chemical/ physical analysis:• Sediment• Taste• Water content (< 20%!)• Enzymes (Invertase, Diastase)• pH, electric conductivity, amino acids
Honey market
• Honey has an excellent position on the local market and, depending on the quality, on the regional or global market
• Organic production offers additional possibilities: • Tropical bees are more resistant to diseases, therefore,
chemical treatments are not necessary and residue free honey (and beeswax!) can more easily been produced as in temperate climates,
• The production and marketing of honey offers an additional income, therefore, beekeeping contribute to rural development
Problems:• Access to regional and global market• Knowledge about beekeeping (beekeeping tradition is very
important!)• Investment for the start of beekeeping• Honey quality• Storage of honey
Additional bee products
Pollen trap Beeswax factory in Thailand(Increasing market for organic beeswax in Europe!)
Cooperation is essential!
• Courses for beginners and extension work• Construction of hives• Making of protection clothes• Providing of extraction devices • Bee products:
- Private use/ Local market- Regional market ! quality control
Cooperation project at Uganda as an example
SummaryEconomics of tropical Beekeeping
and rural developmentChances• Honey is a high price product in all countries• Enormous resources in tropical countries are available• Honey can be stored over long periods• Beekeeping does not require own land• Beekeeper and Bee products are highly respected• Alternative bee products ! Medical use• Beekeeping offers additional income (Rural development,
gender aspects)Problems• Knowledge and tradition of stakeholder• Start investment (bee hives, protection clothes, honey harvest)• Extension needed• Quality control of Honey Bee Products• Access to the market
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