DIVERSITY IN TRADITIONAL TECHNIQUES FOR ENTICING APIS DORSATA COLONIES IN INDONESIA Soesilawati Hadisoesilo Forest and Nature Conservation Research and Development Jl. Gunung Batu 5, Bogor, Indonesia Telp. 62-251-315-222, Fax. 62-251-325-111 [email protected] or [email protected] It is known that Indonesia has the most diverse honey bee species in the world. Apis dorsata or the giant honey bee is one of the seven indigenous honey bees of Indonesia. Although A. dorsata is the main honey producer in Indonesia, especially outside the island of Java, every attempt to manage this bee like the cavity-nesting honey bees always fails. However, in some parts of Indonesia, honey collectors have been practicing traditional techniques to entice A. dorsata colonies to artificial nesting sites. On the island of Belitung this technique is called “Sunggau”, in Lake Sentarum, West Kalimantan it is named “Tikung”, and in an area close to Poso Lake, Central Sulawesi, it is called “Tingku”. The principles of these three techniques are similar. The differences among them are the condition and the topography of the place where they are built, and the way they are erected. Sunggau are built in dry places with flat topography, Tikung are built in wetland areas, and Tingku are built in hilly areas. Sunggau are erected with the support of one or two poles or branches of a tree which act as poles, whereas Tikung are erected with the support of two branches of a tree. Tingku, on the other hand, are erected without any support but are inserted into slopes. This paper gives brief descriptions on these three traditional techniques. INTRODUCTION Apis dorsata or the giant honey bee is one of Indonesia’s native honey bee. There are two subspecies of A. dorsata in Indonesia namely A. dorsata dorsata which is found all over Indonesia except Sulawesi, and A.d. binghami which is found only in Sulawesi and its surrounding islands (Fig.1, Sakagami et al.1980). Fig. 1. Distribu tion of Apis dorsata (Sakagami, 1980) Although A. dorsata is the main producer of honey in Indonesia, especially outside the island of Java, every attempt to manage this bee as with the cavity-nesting honey bees A. cerana, nigrocincta, koschevnikovi, nuluensis, and mellifera always fails. In some part of Indonesia, however, namely in the islands of Bangka and Belitung, the Sentarum Lake West Kalimantan, and in the area close to Poso Lake Central Sulawesi, traditional techniques have been being practiced for decades to “manage” A. dorsata colonies to make honey harvest easier. These techniques are called Sunggau, Tikung, and Tingku on the islands of Bangka Belitung, at Lake Sentarum, and at Poso respectively (Fig.2). Sunggau, Tikung, or Tingku can be defined as a man-made micro habitat or a man made nest structure for A. dorsata. The principles of these techniques are similar. The differences among them are the condition and topography where they are built and the way they are erected. This paper give brief descriptions of these three traditional techniques. SUNGGAU Sunggau has been being practiced in the islands of Bangka and Belitung for decades, but know one knows exactly when it was invented. According to one of honey gatherers (Sahli, 1998, pers. comm.) this technique has been practiced for at least three generations. A sunggau is made of an non-debark trunk with diameter of 10-15 cm and length varied between two and three meters. There is no preference of wood or tree in making a sunggau; it seems A. dorsata is not very selective in choosing the type of wood for nesting site. Kayu medang (Litsea sp.), betor (Callophyllum pulcherricum), and samak (Eugenia garcinaefolia) are some wood used for making sunggau (Sahli, 1998, pers. comm.). Fig. 2. Map of Indonesia and the areas where Sunggau, Tikung, and Tingku have been being practiced This trunk is attached to two branchy poles which have different heights (ground sunggau) or to branches of a living tree in a slight slope position (climbing sunggau) so that the slope of a sunggau to the horizontal is approximately 15-30E. The height of the poles depends on the height of vegetation where a sunggau is built. The height of longer poles (front poles) and the shorter poles (back poles) are about 2-3m and 1-2m respectively. The attachment of a sunggau is upside down i.e. the lower trunk must be attached to the longer pole (Fig. 3). A sunggau is built in a secondary lowland forest either in a swampy or a dry area. It is not difficult to erect a sunggau; in general it must be placed in a shady cool place although sunlight is needed from all direction. In front of the front part/upper part of a sunggau must face to the open sky; it must be free from trees, twigs, or leaves that can disturb the departing and arriving bees. The back part, on the other hand, has to be darker than the other sides. The orientation of a sunggau is not a critical factor affecting the occupation of a sunggau and honey gatherers usually reposition unoccupied. The important thing is that a colony is free from disturbance especially birds. The occupation rate of sunggau is very low, it is only 10-20% depending on the season (Purwanto, 1999). Harvesting honey is done by two persons during day time using a traditional smoker to drive off the bees. After the bees left the nest, they cut the brood and pollen comb, leaving the honey comb which is cut afterward. The brood and the pollen comb are thrown away. All this process can be done within 3-5 minutes; in a fine day they can harvest 1-3 sunggau, depending on the distances between sunggau. Within 10 minutes the bees come back to the empty sunggau, and in most cases they abandon the sunggau eventually. Fig. 3. Diagram of a sunggau. TIKUNG Tikung is another technique for enticing A. dorsata colonies that has been being practiced for more than a century in the upper Kapuas lake region, West Kalimantan. Tikung was first described by van Lijnden and Groll in 1851 (Crane et al., 1993). They reported that when the swarming season of A. dorsata arrives, people hung a ‘tekkong’ (tikung) in their trees. In 1933, de Mol (cited by Crane et al., 1993) reported that 500 families practiced tikung beekeeping, he also gave a full description on tikung beekeeping. The skill of making tikung is past from one generation to another generation, no formal training is attended by honey gatherers. A tikung is used to be made by splitting a pole with a drainage channel was made in the flat upper part side (Crane et al., 1993), but now it is made of a carved hardwood plank which has a convex shape in one side and a concave shape on the other side. It is made of odorless, strong and durable ‘tembesu’ (Fagraea fragrans) wood which lasts over 20 years (Crane et al., 1993; A. Erman 1997, pers comm.). The length of the planks varied between 0.8 and 2.5 m., with width of 25-40 cm., and thickness of 3-4 cm. At each end of the plank a triangular or rectangular hole is made to which a wooden pin is inserted to attach the plank to a branch (Fig.4, pers. obs., 1997; Crane et al., 1993; Mulder et al., 2000). The plank is attached to tree branches at least 1.5m above the highest water level in the rainy season in a slight slope position, 30E to the horizontal. The upper part is oriented toward the open sky, the concave side faces downward so that the upper convex side can facilitate rainwater runoff (pers. obs., 1997; Mulder et al. 2000). Some trees preferred to attach tikung planks are: ‘kamsia’ (Mesua hexapetala), ‘masung’ (Syzygium claviflora) and ‘empai/’timbang tawang’ (Crudia teysmania) (Mulder et al., 2000). When the last flowers from ‘kayu tahun’ (Carallia bracteata) are in bloom, it is a sign that honey is ready to be harvest (Mulder et al., 2000). Honey harvest is done on moonless night using a wooden knife to cut the comb (A. Erman 1997, pers. comm., Mulder et al., 2000). As in harvesting sunggau, honey comb is cut after brood comb is cut (Mulder et al., 2000). Fig. 4. Diagram of a tikung TINGKU The traditional technique of making tingku was originated at the village of Kelei, a small village close to the Poso Lake Central Sulawesi in the 1930s and has since spread to the five neighboring villages. As in the other techniques, skills in building and erecting tingku are transferred from parents, friends; no formal training is attended by honey gatherers. A tingku is made of a roughly plane wood plank or a tree trunk. The length of the planks varied between 2.0 and 3.5m. With width of 10-25cm. or 10-20 cm. in diameter for a tree trunk. Wood between 3 and 10 cm. in thickness according to the honey gatherers is strong enough to support the nest of A.d. binghami. Because a tingku is permanently built, honey gatherers prefer to make tingku from strong wood such as ‘kayu kondongio’ (Dysoxylum densiflorum), ‘kayu kolahi’ (Fagraea fragrans) or ‘kayu ampuni’ (Cycas sp.) which last for 10-20 years. The branch of Pterocarpus indicus is also preferred to make tingku because it will sprout, grow and become a living tingku. Unlike tikung, choice of wood for tingku plank is not affected by the smell of the wood but by the strength of the wood.