Paso Pacifico Protects Nicaraguan Native Bees

by Rusty Burlew

lthough farmers in Central a degree in veterinary medicine and practices can help the America have been keeping science. bees, the farmers, and the forest eco- Abees for hundreds of years, His studies at the university systems. native populations of stingless honey grounded him in the basics of general Bees in Boxes: One of the inno- bees are on the wane. Deforestation, science, animal biology, and apicul- vative practices Calero suggests ever-increasing pesticide use, and ture. Then, in 2012, Calero attended is the transfer of hives from logs over-harvesting of wild colonies have the Second Global Organic Apicul- and branches to specially-designed all played a role in reducing colony ture Conference in San Cristobal de wooden boxes. Since deforestation is numbers. las Casas, México. While there, he at- always a concern in Central America, Local farmers fear losing the rich tended a hands-on workshop in meli- the wood for hive boxes is carefully heritage of meliponiculture—the poniculture. Armed with new knowl- sourced. The first hive boxes that keeping of stingless honey bees— edge, he returned home to , Paso Pacifico distributed were made because it is an integral part of their where he spearheaded Paso Pacifico’s of laurel (Cordia alliodora), a fairly culture. With so much at stake, many pilot program. farmers are eager to restore the health and vitality of a once-thriving tradi- Meeting with the Farmers tion. But where to begin? One of the challenges faced by the Recently, Paso Pacifico, a biodiver- Paso Pacifico Bee Project is convinc- sity conservation organization based ing farmers to try new methods. To in Ventura, California, began work- encourage change, Calero regularly ing with Nicaraguan farmers to help meets with farmers in the region to them save the stingless honey bees. discuss the ecological significance of Leading the way for this complex their work and to provide training project is Marcos Calero, the Bee Proj- on innovative ways to manage their ect Coordinator. hives. While some of the farmers are skep- Humble Beginnings tical when first approached by Cale- Calero, who has been with Paso ro, they quickly realize that both sides Pacifico for over six years, is a bee share a common desire to protect and biodiversity expert in Nicaragua’s conserve the remaining populations Paso del Istmo biological corridor. He of stingless bees. No doubt Calero’s grew up in a rural area not far from roots in the region, along with his un- the border with Costa Rica where derstanding of local issues and prob- he and his family lived in a small lems, goes a long way toward bridg- Marcos Calero harvests honey from a home with no running water. The ing the gap between the old ways and traditional log hive of beecheii local mayor noticed the bright and the new. Eventually, the farmers see that has been modified with a portal to inquisitive boy and offered to help that working together can produce allow access to the brood comb and the finance his studies at Universidad substantial change. honey pots at the center of the hive. He Internacional Antonio de Valdivieso, is using a syringe to harvest honey hy- an agricultural school in Rivas, the Innovations in Meliponiculture gienically, without spilling honey into the regional capital. There, Calero earned Calero believes that changes in nest cavity. October 2018 1113

ABJ_October_2018.indb 1113 9/7/2018 9:19:40 AM Tetragonisca angustula, another stingless bee species promoted by Paso Pacifico, are tiny bees that produce small amounts of honey. But the honey is in high demand for its Francisco Cerda is one of the oldest medicinal properties, especially for eye ailments such as conjunctivitis. stingless beekeepers in the Paso Pacifico program. He holds the honey super from common species in the region that dition, colonies in boxes are easier to a box hive supplied by Paso Pacifico. The the IUCN lists as a species of Least monitor for health and growth, which honey in the bowl is freshly harvested. Concern. Other hive boxes have been gives the beekeeper better control built with wood from fallen trees. over his bees. With good manage- honey that is less acidic and clearer Colony Divisions: Ironically, the ment, beekeepers should be able to in color. Once the honey is harvested, concern over deforestation has less to harvest more honey while destroying Paso Pacifico connects the farmers do with the material of the hive, and fewer trees. with stores in Rivas and Managua, more to do with the methods of hon- Vinegar for parasites: Like other where they can find a fair price for ey harvest and bee acquisition. In the honey bees, stingless bees have their their product. past, when a beekeeper wanted more share of parasites. One of the main colonies, he just found one in the for- causes of colony failure in Nicara- Other Native Bees of Nicaragua est and cut down the entire tree to get gua is invasion by phorid flies, espe- In 2015, Calero attended the Me- it, even if the hive occupied only a cially Pseudohypocera kerteszi, which soamerican Native Bee Congress in small section or branch. parasitizes Melipona beecheii. Calero San Cristobal de las Casas where he The switch to wooden boxes makes prescribes the use of simple vinegar presented on Paso Pacifico’s stingless it possible to easily divide colonies traps to both detect and control the beekeeping program. There he learned and increase the number of hives small flies. about native bee species inventories without removing more native trees A Sanitary Harvest: Another tech- being carried out across the region and branches from the forest. In ad- nique Calero incorporates into his and about the gap in knowledge about program is the use of a syringe to ex- tract honey from hives. The tradition- al method of honey harvest involves removing one of the wooden stoppers from the hollow log hive, tilting the hive, piercing the honey pots with a pointy stick, and letting the honey drip down along the bottom of the hollow log and into a container. Pol- len pots are often pierced along with the honey pots, which changes the flavor of the honey. And occasionally the harvester also pierces the brood comb, killing larval bees. As honey drips through the bottom of the hive, it sometimes collects dirt, wax, dead bees, and bee feces—requiring that the honey be strained. The syringe method of extraction produces a much cleaner honey. The syringe allows honey to be taken Melipona beecheii normally nests inside Melipona beecheii workers tending honey from the hive without mixing it with tree cavities, making it sensitive to de- pots that have been opened for harvest. wax, , or clay, and results in a forestation.

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ABJ_October_2018.indb 1114 9/7/2018 9:19:43 AM Nicaragua’s native bee fauna. He also took a multi-day bee and identification course with taxonomists from universities in Mexico. Since then, Calero has presented native bee research to experts in Chi- apas, Mexico and Antigua, Guate- mala, including findings from over 1,400 specimen records of 100 types of native bees documented during his travels. His presentations also focus on the interdependence these native bees have with the region’s flowering plants and crops. In Nicaragua, native bees help pol- linate a long list of crops including squash, coconut, coffee, avocado, guava, chayote, annatto, tomatoes, and passionfruit. For example, Melipona beecheii, the stingless bee known by common names such as jicote manso, xunan kab, and royal lady bee, pollinates the achiote tree. The seeds of the achiote are used to produce annatto, a red- The honey pots of Melipona beecheii surround the central brood comb. dish paste used to flavor rice and meats. Stingless bees in the genus Tri- scape, they are not the dominant ties. They learn about pollination, gona pollinate the flowers of chayote, species. Most are probably wild Af- conservation, and other aspects of re- or vegetable pear. Bombus mexicanus, ricanized stock rather than bees from sponsible beekeeping. Junior Rangers a bumble bee that can tolerate the managed hives. Studies by research- then share what they learn with fam- heat of the lowlands, pollinates both ers in the neotropics suggest that in- ily and friends, helping to spread the coffee and guava. And local carpenter troduced honey bees have not been word about environmental conserva- bees in the genus Xylocopa pollinate detrimental to native bees.1 However, tion in their communities. passion fruit. some keepers of stingless bees share “The kids showed interest in every- “When I first got involved with anecdotes of Africanized honey bees thing I explained, but they especially Paso Pacifico’s native bee program, I displacing Melipona bees from their lit up when they got to look at bee was already familiar with the impor- nest cavities in trees. specimens with magnifying glasses,” tant roles that bees play in the envi- ronment, but I had no idea how many Spreading the Word different types of bees we had in the Because native bees are vitally region,” said Calero. “I consider my- important to the health and welfare self a leader in the Paso del Istmo, and of the region, native bee awareness this is something that I’ve achieved is now being incorporated into a through the knowledge I’ve attained number of Paso Pacifico’s initiatives, with Paso Pacifico.” including their Junior Ranger pro- gram and their Million Trees by 2020 Reasons for Native Bee Decline campaign. While deforestation and homogeni- The Junior Rangers: The Junior zation of the landscape are most likely Ranger program was launched in the dominant factors threatening na- 2012 and attracts approximately 100 tive bees, a few species are dwindling children between the ages of eight and due to poor harvesting practices. thirteen each year. This popular after- Many of the stingless bee species, par- school and weekend program com- ticularly Melipona beechii, are harvest- bines classroom instruction, experien- ed—either for honey or for the bees tial field trips, and community service themselves—in a way that causes the projects to teach principles of biology, colony to die. This so-called sloppy ecology, and environmental citizen- harvesting, leads to collapse of the ship. During their sessions, students colonies due to attacks by parasitic come face to face with sea turtles, en- Male orchid bees collect fragrance com- phorid flies or the disruption of colo- dangered monkeys, and other natural pounds from orchids and other flowers ny thermoregulation. Such indiscrimi- inhabitants of Nicaragua. as part of their courtship behavior, flying nate harvesting is often done by local In 2017, a five-part educational long distances to visit flowers and serving residents looking for quick cash rather module on native stingless bees was as important pollinators between forest than the beekeepers themselves. introduced into the curriculum, giv- fragments. This particular genus of orchid While European honey bees, Apis ing children an opportunity to en- bees, Exaerete, is a brood parasite of oth- mellifera, are ubiquitous in the land- gage in hands-on, interactive activi- er orchid bees.

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ABJ_October_2018.indb 1115 9/7/2018 9:19:45 AM Rusty Burlew has studied agriculture, honey bees, and envi- ronmental science for over 30 years. She is a passionate advocate of native bee conser- vation and founded the Native Bee Con- servancy in Washington State. You can visit her website at https://honeybeesuite.com or email her at [email protected].

Honey harvested with a syringe (left) compared with honey harvested with the tra- ditional “tilt and poke” method. The traditional method yields honey mixed with fer- mented pollen, which is not necessarily undesirable, but gives the honey a more acidic flavor and a reduced shelf life. Calero reported after first working landowners, and partner organiza- with the Junior Rangers. tions, Paso Pacifico restores and pro- A Million Trees: Paso Pacifico’s tects the habitats that form building Million Trees by 2020 campaign is a blocks for wildlife corridors. major fundraising initiative that was Paso Pacifico also lends its exper- launched on Earth Day earlier this tise to help migratory wildlife on the year. The purpose of the campaign Central Coast of California, includ- is to raise $10 million by the end of ing threatened migratory birds and 2020 to plant, manage, and protect 1 whales that overwinter in Mesoamer- million native trees in Nicaragua to ica. Through its high-impact pro- help combat the harmful effects of cli- grams, Paso Pacifico has established mate change. While many reforesta- itself as one of the world’s leading tion projects plant tree species based biodiversity conservation organiza- on price and availability, Paso Paci- tions. To learn more about Paso Paci- fico’s program will plant a diversity fico’s biodiversity conservation proj- of native trees that will also provide ects, visit www.pasopacifico.org. a source of food for villagers and im- prove habitats for wildlife, including Reference: local populations of bees that pollinate Roubik, D. 2009. Native bees prove resil- ient in competition with invasive African flowers found in Nicaraguan forests. honey bees. Smithsonian Insider. Retrieved “Even though we have developed a from https://insider.si.edu/2009/10/native wide variety of conservation projects, -bees-prove-resilient-in-battle-for-food- everything we do is connected and in- with-african-honeybees/. tentional,” said Paso Pacifico Found- er and Executive Director Dr. Sarah Otterstrom. “Our native bee project is a perfect example of that ecosystem at work, as both the bees and the na- tive flora in Nicaraguan forests rely on each other for survival. Our goal is to implement initiatives that will help all inhabitants of Mesoamerica’s Pa- cific Slope thrive, including both hu- man and wildlife communities.”

About Paso Pacifico The mission of Paso Pacifico is to restore and protect the Pacific Slope ecosystems of Mesoamerica. These habitats include the endangered dry tropical forest, mangrove wetlands, and eastern Pacific coral reefs. By working with local communities,

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