Beekeeping in the Tropics
Dr. Peter Rosenkranz University of Hohenheim Apicultural State Institute [email protected] www.uni-hohenheim.de/bienenkunde SS 2010
Content
1. What are Bees? 2. Social Evolution in “Bees”: From Solitary to Eusociality 3. Economic value of bees 4. Honey bee species of economic importance 5. General aspects of Pollination 6. Honey hunting 7. Specific traits of tropical honey bees 8. Requirements for advanced Beekeeping Techniques 9. Case study in North Eastern Brazil 10. Specific problems: • Plant protection • Honey bee diseases 11. Summary
1 Systematic of Bees
Class Insecta Order Hymenoptera Aculeata Family Apidae Stingless bees (Melipona spec.) Bumble bees (Bombus spec.) Honey bees (Apis spec.)
Worldwide about 25.000 Bee species In Germany about 600 Bee species (most of them solitary) In Brazil about 3.000 Bee species Æ Tropics: higher biodiversity
“What are bees”? Pecularities of Bees
• Use of Pollen and nectar for nutrition • Visiting plants during foraging • Social communities
2 Social Community and Evolution Darwin’s enigma
“... I will confine myself to one special difficulty which at first appeared to me insuperable, and actually fatal to the whole theory (of evolution). I allude to the neuters or sterile females in insect communities” In other words: How can sterile females be explained within the framework of an evolutionary theory based on survival of the fittest?
C. Darwin, 1859
Darwin’s enigma “This difficulty (of sterile workers), though appearing insuperable, is lessened, or, as I believe, disappears, when it is remembered that selection may be applied to the family, as well as to the individual, and may thus gain the desired end”
C. Darwin, 1859
3 „Social Evolution“
Solitary Eusocial
Communal Semisocial
Eusocial Bees
• Overlap of generations • Division of labor • Occurrence of castes (reproductive and worker castes)
4 Eusocial Bees
Stingless bees in Africa, Honey bees in Africa and Asia South America and Australia
Scaptotrigona spec. in Brazil Apis mellifera in Ethiopia
Dwarf Honey Bee
Apis dorsata in Asia (Giant Hone Bee) Apis florea in Asia
Original and today's distribution of Honey Bees (Apis) and Stingless Bees
Honey bees
Honey bees & Stingless bees
Stingless bees Stingless bees
5 Honey bee species of the world (Honey bee = Apis)
Apis mellifera *(Europe, Africa, Asia Minor) hive bees Apis cerana * (Asia) Apis koschevnikovi (Asia) Apis nicrocincta (Asia) Apis dorsata *(Asia) free building Apis laboriosa * (Asia) single combs Apis florea (Asia) Apis andreniformis (Asia) * economic importance
Social organization of a Honeybee colony
Female castes: • Queen: reproduction • Workers: all working tasks within in the colony Both derived from fertilized eggs, no genetic Males: difference between workers and queens “Drones” deriving from unfertilized eggs. The only “task” is mating with the queen.
6 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
7 Economic value of bees
Products provided by Bees •Honey Æ Honey bees, stingless bees •Wax Æ Honey bees • Pollen Æ Honey bees • Propolis Æ Honey bees • Royal Jelly Æ Honey bees • Bee venom Æ Honey bees • Pollination Æ Honey bees, stingless bees, solitary bees
General Importance of Bees
8 Pollination
•Wind, Water
Pollination
Birds Bats
Mammals
9 Pollination Insects All Bees use pollen as the exclusive source of protein
Æ All Bees are Pollinators!
Pollination by Bees
1 • /3 of the agricultural production worldwide depends on pollination • Economic value (estimated): - Worldwide: ~ 70 Billion € (honeybees) - USA: ~ 40 Billion € (bees in general, Morse 2001) • Bees are the most effective pollinators among the insects. They perform about 50% of insect pollination.
Agricultural Biodiversity International Initiative for the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Pollinators http://www.biodiv.org/programmes/areas/agro/pollinators.asp
10 Pollination
Pollination Project at Jordan (Strawberry)
Pollination: Global Ecology
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Library/LandCover/land_cover_3.html
11 Global Ecology Cycle of Biomass
CO2 Photosynthesis
Global Ecology Primary Production (Biomass)
~ 100.000.000.000 t/ year Æ tropical rainforest ~ 60.000.000.000 t/year Æ Cultivated area ~ 10.000.000.000 t/year
12 Global Ecology
Pollination! CO2 Photosynthesis
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“
13 Honey Bee beekeeping (Apis spec.) Production of Honey and Bees Wax Honey hunting
Honey hunting
Apis dorsata (giant honey bee) in India
14 Honey hunting
Natural nesting site of a honeybee colony (Togo, West Africa) Æ Honey hunting
Honey hunting
Uganda: log hives
15 Honey hunting
Traditional hives Ethiopia: Baskets as a bee hive and a “Honey bee tree”
Tropical beekeeping
Asia: Apis dorsata, Apis cerana, Apis mellifera Africa: Apis mellifera: „African bee“, the „Cape honey bee“ South America: Apis mellifera: „Africanized Honeybees (AHB)“
16 The eastern honey bee Apis cerana
Apis cerana, the eastern Honey Bee Typical defense behaviour against giant hornets Small colonies, “nervous” bees (Vespa manduca): balling and killing the hornet by heat
Small scale Honey production with the eastern honey bee Apis cerana
Apis cerana in India and extraction of a small honey harvest
17 Advanced Beekeeping with the Western Honeybee Apis mellifera in Europe
Case study of a German Professional Beekeeper
Organization, Management Technique! Example: Use of Rape
Photos: Wolfgang Stöckmann
18 Tropical Beekeeping (Apis mellifera) Specific traits of tropical honey bees
Specific traits of tropical honey bees
1. High reproductive rates 2. Swarming and absconding 3. Defensive behavior 4. No winter cluster (population dynamic)
19 High reproductive rate: Example of Africanized Honeybees (= tropical Honeybee)
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.
20 Swarming and absconding
Africanized honeybees in Brazil: Extreme swarming and absconding tendency
Defensive behavior
Beekeeping at Apicultural Institute of Hohenheim …..
21 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
Intensive use of smoke, long-lasting defensive behavior of the bees of a disturbed colony (example of a professional beekeeper in Brazil)
22 Defensive behavior
Keep colonies isolated and as single unit: Prevention of mutual disturbance and the use of “poor” food sources
Specific foraging strategy of African bees
Use of “poor” food sources (Africanized Honey Bees in Brazil)
Foraging at night (Apis melliera adansoni in Togo)
23 Population dynamic
No. of bees/ Schwäbische Alb 2001 broodcells 40000 Bees Brood cells Brood cells 30000 Worker bees 20000
10000
0 i il ril ni li p ust g . Apr . A . Aug u 6 0. Sept 2 2 17. Mai 5. Ju 26. Jun 19. Ju 6 10. Okt 10. März 8. A 2 2 Seasonal course of colony development in temperate climates
Population dynamic
e worker brood drone brood 40000 35000 bees 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0
7 7 7 7 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 9 number of adult bees/ brood c bees/ adult brood of number .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 .1 0 1 2 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 .1 .1 .1 .1 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0 9 1 1 0 1 9 5 7 1 5 5 1 1 2 2 1 3 2 1 1 1 1 0 0 1 1
Seasonal course of colony development in tropical climates (Uruguay)
24 Winter cluster
Requirements for a more advanced Tropical Beekeeping
1. Suitable Bee hives 2. Protected area for the apiary 3. Protection clothes: Gloves, Boots, masks, Smoker 4. Devices for honey extraction and processing 5. Possibilities for honey storage 6. Knowledge
25 Types of bee hives
South Africa: Top bar hive
Types of bee hives
Uganda: Top bar hive (moveable frames)
26 Traditional hives: Hanging or installing on a stand?
Advantages of installing on a stand 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.
Disadvantages of installing on a stand 1. 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.
Modern Hives
Moveable and stable frames
27 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.
28 Case study: Beekeeping in the North East of Brazil Prof. Lionel S. Gonçalves, Katia Gramacho
Beekeeping in the tropics: Example from North East Brazil
29 Extreme Swarming tendency
Apiary during the dry season
30 Availability of water
Beekeeping “practice”
É FUNDAMENTAL A CONSERVAÇÃO DO MATERIAL APÍCOLA
31 Lack of material for beekeeping
Expensive equipment for protection
32 No sophisticated management
Problem of defensive behavior
33 Problem of defensive behavior
Need of working together
34 Colonies established as single units
Colonies established as single units
35 Shadow very important
Hard research work in the tropics
36 Hard research work in the tropics
Prof. Lionel S. Gonçalves (Ribeirão Preto) and Katia Gramacho (Salvador) working in Mossoró
Advantages of Africanized Honey Bees
• AFB collect more pollen than European Bees (Pollination) • Resistance to most bee diseases (Æ production of organic honey) • Up to 100 kg per year and colony possible • Problem: Honey quality, marketing • Certification of Honey quality in US and EU!
37 Problems for Beekeeping
Honeybee diseases
Varroosis (Varroa destructor): • Parasitic mite, sucks hemolymph from adult bees and brood stages • Vector for secondary infections (Bee viruses) • In temperate climate, infested coloneis die within 2-3 years without treatment • Æ Most important threat to beekeeping worldwide • Most tropical bees are tolerant toward Varroosis!
38 Honeybee diseases
American Foulbrood (Paenibacillus larvae larvae): • Bacteria, destroys brood cells shortly after cell capping • in Europe considered as epidemic (Pest status!) • Not present in Central Africa and Brazil • Distributed via spores from dead larvae and honey (spores are very resistant, can survive cooking!)
Honeybee diseases
Small hive beetle (Aethina tumida) in South Africa • Native to Southern Africa • In Africa a minor problem • Meanwhile also in USA and Australia Æ destroys weak colonies and storage combs
39 Plant protection
Risk of residues and poisoning of foraging bees
Summary Tropical Beekeeping and rural development Chances • Beekeeper and Bee products are highly respected • Honey is a high price product in all countries • Alternative bee products Æ Medical use • Enormous resources in tropical countries are available • Honey can be stored over long periods • Beekeeping does not require own land • Beekeeping offers additional income (Rural development, gender aspects) Problems • Knowledge and tradition of stakeholder • Start investment (bee hives, protection clothes, honey harvest) • An extension within the country is needed • Quality control of Honey Bee Products within the country • Access to (international) markets
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