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 No. of bees/ 40000broodcells 30000 Population dynamic 20000 Bees Brood cells 10000 Brood cells 0 Schwäbische Alb 2001 Seasonal course 10. März of colony development in temperate climates 2. April 26. April 17. Mai Worker bees 5. Juni 26. Juni 19. Juli e 6. Aug 28. August 20. Sept 40000 Population dynamic 35000 10. Okt 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 number of adult bees/ brood c 0 Seasonal course of colony developm 29.10.1997 21.11.1997 11.12.1997 worker brood 30.12.1997 drone brood 21.01.1998 bees 19.02.1998 15.03.1998 17.04.1998 11.05.1998 ent in tropical 0climates5.06.1 (Uruguay)998 05.07.1998 11.08.1998 11.09.1998 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.