NON-WOOD FOREST PRODUCTS 19 Bees and their role in forest livelihoods A guide to the services provided by bees and the sustainable harvesting, processing and marketing of their products by .ICOLA"RADBEAR FOOD AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION OF THE UNITED NATIONS Rome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¥'"0 CONTENTS 1 INTRODUCTION 1 What is apiculture? 1 Areas for apiculture 2 Resources needed 2 Beekeeping and forestry 3 Assets created by apiculture 3 2 BEE SPECIES DESCRIPTION 5 Bee species 5 Bee taxonomy 5 Honeybees 6 Bee species used for apiculture 8 Differences between tropical and temperate zone races of honeybees 8 Problems with the introduction of exotic bee species and races 11 The conservation of indigenous honeybee species and races 12 3 THE IMPORTANCE OF BEES IN NATURE 13 Bees as part of ecosystems 13 What is pollination? 13 The pollination work of bees 13 Specialized pollination 15 Bees are good for trees and trees are good for bees 15 Bees and biodiversity 16 4 THE IMPORTANCE OF APICULTURE FOR RURAL LIVELIHOODS 17 Creating a livelihood from beekeeping 17 The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach 19 Livelihood strategies involving bees 21 Apiculture’s role in poverty alleviation 21 Beekeeping projects 22 5 HONEY HUNTING AND BEEKEEPING 29 Honey hunting of honeybees 29 Should honey hunting be encouraged? 30 The products of honey hunting 31 Providing support to honey hunters 31 Bee-maintaining 31 Beekeeping 32 The selection of equipment 32 Choice of hive type 33 Other equipment 38 Beekeeping: making a start 38 Management of honeybee colonies 39 Harvesting honey and beeswax from fixed comb and movable comb hives 42 6 MELIPONICULTURE OF STINGLESS BEES 51 Meliponinae 51 Keeping stingless bees 52 7 THE IMPACT OF BEEKEEPING ON MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION OF FORESTS 55 The impact of honey hunters and beekeepers on forests 55 Bees add to the value of trees and forests 58 Biodiversity and wildlife 60 Floral calendars 61 Melliferous tree species 61 Beekeeping in mangroves 66 8 THE VALUE OF BEES FOR CROP POLLINATION 69 Bee pollination gives better quality and quantity of harvest 70 Where to place hives for pollination 71 Why honeybees often are the most important crop pollinators 71 How to see if a crop is adequately pollinated 72 Use of other bees for pollination 73 Pesticides 75 How to see if bees are poisoned by pesticides 77 How to protect your bees against pesticides 77 Alternatives to pesticides 78 Cooperation between farmers and beekeepers 79 Main types of pesticides 79 9 DEFINITION AND USES OF HONEY 81 What honey is 81 Foraging by bees 81 The uses of honey 82 Characteristics of honey 82 Honey categories concerning origin 84 Honey categories concerning processing 84 Honey categories concerning intended use (trade categories) 85 Constituents of honey 85 Other factors concerning honey 86 Post-harvest handling 87 Processing honeycombs from fixed comb hives or movable comb (top-bar) hives 87 Processing honeycombs from frame hives 88 10 PRODUCTION AND TRADE OF BEESWAX 103 What beeswax is 103 Beeswax production 103 Comb 104 Bee space 104 Beekeeping for beeswax production 104 Beeswax quality 105 Beeswax composition and properties 105 Uses of beeswax 105 International trade 106 Do not waste beeswax 107 Adulteration of beeswax 108 Beeswax rendering 108 General rules when working with beeswax 109 Traditional method of extracting wax from combs 109 Solar wax extractor 109 Harvesting wax from very old, black combs 110 Metal foil method 110 Extraction with boiling water and a wax press 110 Steam extraction 110 Refining beeswax 111 Slum gum 111 Marketing beeswax 111 Making beeswax foundation 111 11 OTHER PRODUCTS FROM BEES 113 Pollen 113 Propolis 114 Royal jelly 117 Minor products 118 12 APITHERAPY 119 Honey as medicine 119 Naturally occurring antibiotic in honey 120 Honey to reduce allergic responses 120 Beeswax 120 Pollen 121 Propolis 121 Royal jelly 121 Bee venom therapy 121 13 VALUE-ADDED PRODUCTS 123 Value-addition 123 Add profit by increasing product diversity 123 Create employment for other sectors 124 A way to use excess produce 124 Costs of developing value-added business 124 Marketing value-added products 124 Use of honey in value-added products 125 Use of beeswax in value-added products 128 Use of propolis in value-added products 129 14 HONEY MARKETING AND INTERNATIONAL HONEY TRADE 131 Local marketing of honey 131 Marketing constraints 132 Constraints for the industry as a whole 133 Organising honey hunters and beekeepers into groups for marketing 133 Organising honey collection centres 133 Multiplier effects 134 Credit requirements of individuals and groups 135 Honey trade requirements 136 Fair trade honey 142 World honey trade 142 Export marketing of honey 144 Payment methods and delivery terms 145 15 CONSTRAINTS TO DEVELOPMENT 147 The nature of constraints facing beekeepers in developing countries 147 Biological constraints 147 Bacterial diseases 149 Pests of bees and bee nests 151 Technical constraints 152 Trade constraints 152 Institutional constraints 153 16 SOURCES OF MORE INFORMATION 155 References 165 Glossary of apiculture terms 173 APPENDICES 181 A. Codex alimentarius information on honey 183 B. EU regulations for organic honey 189 C. Organic honey standards for European Union 191 TABLES 1 Resources needed for apiculture 2 2 Species of honeybees: type of nest 6 3 Species of honeybees: indigenous distribution 8 4 Numbers of Apis mellifera colonies in Asia 10 5 Types of apicultural activity and the bees that are exploited 29 6 Beeswax and honey exports from Tanzania 59 7 Nectar-producing tree species 61 8 Nectar-producing species in lowland rainforest 62 9 Nectar-producing species in highland forests 62 10 Nectar-producing species in wooded grassland (savannah) 63 11 Nectar-producing species in arid and semi-arid land 63 12 Nectar-producing species in coastal plains 64 13 Nectar-producing species in mangrove 64 14 Nectar-producing species for agricultural land, roadside plantings and urban areas 65 15 Nectar-producing species for commercial plantation 66 16 Examples of cultivated plants that need honeybee pollination 73 17 Main types of pesticides 79 18 Energy value of honey 82 19 Major constituents of honey 85 20 World production and trade in beeswax 107 21 Production and trade in pollen 114 22 Production and trade in propolis 117 23 Production and trade in royal jelly 117 24 World production and trade in bee venom 118 25 Honey standards of the Codex Alimentarius and the EU Honey Directive 136 26 Recorded world production and trade in honey 143 27 Honeybee pests, predators and diseases 147 28 Honey criteria and legislation 153 PLATES 89 FIGURES 1 DFID’s Sustainable Livelihoods Framework (DFID, 2000 version) 20 2 The marketing chain 144 BOXES 1 Services rendered by bees 1 2 Ten excellent reasons for beekeeping 4 3 Apis mellifera capensis 9 4 Save indigenous bees in Europe 11 5 The five types of capital assets 18 6 The African honey guide 30 7 The three main types of hive 33 8 Use of the name ‘traditional’ for hives 34 9 Bee stings - Medical aspects of beekeeping by Riches (2001) 41 10 Definitions of honey according to the Codex Alimentarius and the EU 81 11 Where does propolis come from? 115 12 Tips for honey marketing 132 13 Residue-free honey 137 14 Standard of contract in the trade of honey 145 15 General methods and terms of payment 146 16 Viral diseases 151 CASES STUDIES 1 Beekeeping and AIDS 22 2 Traditional honey and wax collection from Apis dorsata in West Kalimantan, Indonesia 42 3 Rafter beekeeping in Melaleuca forests in Vietnam 48 4 Honey from Europe’s chestnut Castanea sativa forests 55 5 Hope in the Congo 56 6 Situation in Benin 56 7 Bee trees