SMALL SCALE BEEKEEPING: Other intermediate technology hives are used

Printed material from Small Scale Beekeeping (by Curtis Gentry. 1982. Peace Corps office of Information Collection and Exchange, Washington, DC. Illustrated by Stacey Leslie) may be freely reproduced, without changes, for non-commercial purposes (education and development). The html version is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in electronic form without the consent of the copyright holder (but as long as you're not selling it permission to duplicate will be granted upon request-- contact me at the email address in the banner above)

The Johnson hive which is used in Uganda is an "improved" fixed-comb hive. It provides for a separation of honey combs from brood combs by using a piece of five-mesh (five holes per 2.54 cm) hardware cloth (called coffee wire in East Africa). The workers can pass through the wire while the queen cannot, thus the comb constructed on the side of the hive opposite the queen contains only honey. Removeable sides on the hive make the harvesting of honey comb easy. This is a bee-having system since there is no possibility of managing the brood nest.

Most other intermediate technology hives are either variations of the KTBH theme or are hybrids between a moveable-comb and a moveable-frame hive. one such hive is used in East Africa. Top bars are used in the lower box, and the queen is confined there since passages to the upper box are only on the outer sides. The outer combs in the lower box are used for honey storage by the bees, and the queen will not pass the honey barrier. The bees use the upper box for honey storage. Either top bars or frames are used in the upper box.

The East African hive is also a system for beehaving, though it could be managed and thus used for beekeeping. It does not allow for easy management of the brood nest, however. its design is a bit more complicated than the KTBH as it uses two boxes.

Since the KTBH is simpler and more easily managed, it is probably best for most beekeeping development efforts. Management, however minimal, is a goal in any development effort. The KTBH offers a good balance between simple design and management possibility.

The arrangement of the apiary is important to help meet the needs of the bees and to help make the beekeeper's work easier.

In most areas of the tropics it is necessary to put the hives on stands to protect the bees from ants and toads. The stands should be at least 45 cm above the ground. The legs can be placed in cans that contain used motor oil, or bands of grease can be placed around them to keep ants from the hives. Check periodically to see that the oil is not washed out of the cans by rainwater or that the grease is not covered with dust. Fresh ashes spread around the legs also keep ants away, but they must be replaced continually.

Since the KTBH consists of a single box, it can also be hung from a tree or from poles. This protects it from ants and toads and from brush fires as well. Hanging the hive also meshes with bee-killing and beehaving practices in Africa, in which traditional hives are hung from trees.

Keeping weeds cut in the apiary also reduces the ant problem. Tall weeds can provide bridges to the hives for the ants., A clean apiary also makes it easier to work around the hives. Protruding rocks and roots can cause the beekeeper to stumble or fall while working the hives.

If there is no source of water for the bees within one kilometer, a container of water with floating sticks or protruding stones can be placed in the apiary. The sticks and stones are there to prevent the bees from drowning. The waterer should have a cover to prevent feces of flying bees from falling into the water. This helps to control nosema, a protozoan disease of bees which can be transmitted by contaminated water.

Hive arrangement within the apiary is also an important consideration. Avoid placing the hives close together in long, straight rows. Such placement results in a lot of drifting or confusion of bees between colonies. Drifting can contribute to disease transmission.

To prevent drifting, the direction of the hive entrances can be varied, and lines of hives can be broken up with landmarks such as trees or shrubs. Hives should be at least 45 cm apart, and slightly tilted toward the entrance to aid the colony in removing residue that falls to the bottom. This also allows rainwater to run out.

The placement of hives should allow the beekeeper to approach the colony and work it from behind. This is less disturbing to the colony since it does not interfere with the flight path of the foragers. It also allows the beekeeper a chance to smoke the colony before the guard bees at the entrance are alerted.

Besides the hive, there are several pieces of equipment that are indispensable for beekeeping. If a person is to work successfully with bees there should be some protection from bee stings.

Protective clothing worn by the beekeeper prevents most stings. A smoker when properly used allows for some control over the bees, thus minimizing stings. A hive tool allows the beekeeper to pry top bars or frames apart gently. minimizing disturbance to the bees. All of these things can be made by local tailors and tinsmiths.

A veil is the minimum piece of protective clothing. There may be times when an experienced beekeeper may not use a veil, but for the beginner it is a necessary confidence-booster.

Veils can be made of metal or plastic screen, of nylon mesh, or of mosquito netting. They are usually made to fit over a wide brim hat which serves to hold them away from the face and neck. Elastic, rubber bands, or strips cut from an old tire tube can be used to hold them onto the hat.

The mesh material of the veil should preferably be dark. This limits reflection, which makes for better visibility when working in bright sunlight.

The lower part of the veil should have a long draw string that can be crossed in front, go around the back, and be tied in front. This helps to ensure that it is bee-tight around the collar. Angry bees have an uncanny ability to find any hole in a bee veil.

Gloves are often not needed if the bees are not highly defensive and they are kept under control. Working with gloves can be cumbersome, though they should be kept handy in case of need. As with veils, gloves are good confidence boosters for beginners.

Gloves can be made of leather or of heavy, light-colored cloth. Gauntlets that reach the elbow and have elastic to hold them tight give protection to the wrists.

Clothing should be loose-fitting and of lightcolored, smooth-textured material. Bees are less attracted to light colors. They tend to get tangled in fuzzy material, which often causes them to sting.

A collar on the shirt helps in getting the lower part of the veil bee-tight. Pant legs can be stuffed into the socks or tied down with string or elastic leg straps. Overalls (often called bee suits by beekeepers) can also be used.

The smoker is used to produce smoke which causes the bees to consume honey, reducing their tendency to fly and sting. Smoke also directs bees away from areas of the hive being worked.

The smoker consists of a firebox with a grate to hold the smoldering material, a nozzle to direct the smoke, and a bellows. The firebox should hold enough fuel so that it does not have to be refilled frequently when working with the bees.

The ideal smoker fuel remains lit, burns slowly, and produces cool, white smoke. Depending on what is readily available to them, most beekeepers have a favorite fuel. Good smoker fuels are coconut husks, dried corn cobs, dried cow dung, old burlap sacks, rolls of cardboard, wood shavings, rotted wood, dried leaves, or pine needles. If these materials are slightly damp, they burn slower, with cooler, whiter smoke.

Pieces of wood and charcoal give off too much heat. Sawdust creates embers which are blown out of the smoker into the hive. The embers can burn the bees and contaminate the honey. Synthetic materials and petroleum products should not be used as they produce a dark, irritating smoke.

Local tinsmiths can make the metal parts of the smoker. Pieces of tire tube, leather, or vinyl can be used to cover the bellows; bed springs or bent, springy metal can be used for the spring in the bellows.

Locally-made smokers often need a little experimentation and redesigning to get the right amount of air properly directed into the firebox. If too much air gets in when the bellows are not used, the fuel burns too quickly. If too little air gets in, the smoker goes out easily. A few nail holes in the bottom can increase ventilation if necessary. A comfortable amount of spring in the bellows is also important. If it is too stiff, your hand quickly tires when working with it.

The extra effort of getting a good smoker made will prove well worthwhile when working with the bees. Having to stop constantly and relight the smoker is frustrating and not having smoke when it is needed can result in many unnecessary stings.

The smoker is the beekeeper's constant companion. A well-made smoker should last for several years if it is taken care of. Do not allow the fire to burn out in a smoker. Emptying it when you are finished working will prevent damage to the firebox from excessive heat. (Be careful not to start brush fires with the embers from the smoker.) Also, do not leave the smoker exposed to the weather.

Water can be used along with smoke to help control highly-defensive bees or those that run excessively on the combs. A spray bottle works best, though a squirt bottle or a container with holes in it can be used. The object is just to wet the bees, not to drown them.

Use the water in the same way you use smoke. Wet the bees at the entrance before opening the hive, and wet the bees on the combs as they are exposed. The water cools and weighs down the bees, which prevents them from flying or running out of the hive.

The hive tool is also the beekeeper's constant companion. It is a piece of flat metal used for prying the parts of the hive apart and for scraping away the excess propolis and wax. Some hive tools have a bent end for scraping and a hole that can be used to remove nails.

A local blacksmith can make a hive tool from a bar of hardened steel. Hive tools can also be made from old cutlasses or machetes.

Sources of bees will vary depending on the region. In areas where bee-having or beekeeping is practiced, the most practical way to obtain bees is to buy an established colony. if the colony is in a fixed-comb hive, it can be transferred into a top-bar or frame hive.

Where "high-tech" beekeeping is carried out, bees can be bought in packages or in nuclei (nucs). A package is a screen-wire box which contains workers and a caged queen. The bees are sold by weight. A nuc is a small colony. It contains adult bees as well as frames or bars containing comb with brood and stores.

The references on high-tech beekeeping deal fully with obtaining bees in packages and nucs and installing them in the hive. If such sources of bees exist locally, information should also be available from the sellers on how to deal with the bees. In many regions, however, these sources of bees do not exist.

The source of bees should be as local as possible and readily accessible to the farmer who wants to keep bees. importing bees is not recommended. Not only is there the risk of introducing new diseases, pests, or undesirable bee strains into an area, but also the beekeepers involved can become dependent on that source.

The idea that bees can be obtained only by importing them becomes established, and the new beekeepers are reluctant to divide their own-colonies. By encouraging reliance on community resources, you can help ensure that the project will be self-supporting.

Swarms are a practical way of starting an apiary in those areas where they are prevalent. This includes those areas where there are African races of the western hive bee: sub-Saharan Africa, and soon most of the low elevation (2000 m or less) regions in the mainland American tropics. Swarms are also a practical source of colonies of the eastern hive bee in the tropical regions of its range.

(In regions of the tropics where only European races of the western hive bee are present, catching swarms is not practical. These bees, which are adapted to temperate climates, do not swarm much in the tropics.)

Using bait hives to catch swarms is a part of traditional bee-killing and bee-having in regions of Africa. A swarm is seeking a suitable cavity in which to make a nest. If empty hives are put out in suitable locations during the swarming season, there is a good chance that the hive will become inhabited.

Ideal locations for bait hives are areas which would also be ideal apiary sites--airy, semi-shady spots away from high winds. The hives should be protected from ants and checked periodically for nests of other animals.

A few small pieces of new empty comb taken from an established colony and stuck in the hive increases its attractiveness. New comb is less likely to be damaged by wax moth because it is less attractive to the female moth as an egg-laying site. Rubbing certain aromatic plants on the inside of bait hives to make them more attractive is common. Lemon grass, which contains chemicals similar to the marking pheromone of honey bees, is used in many regions.

Swarms can also be easily hived if they are found still clustered on a branch or other object.

Wild, or feral, colonies are another source of bees. In regions where swarming is prevalent, such colonies are usually common. Talk with local villagers or farmers about your interest in finding feral colonies. They probably know about a number of such colonies. If you are willing to pay or share the honey in return for information, you may be amazed to discover how many feral colonies there are in the area.

Be aware that in some areas it is taboo to harvest honey or bother bee colonies in certain types of trees or in certain locations in the village. These colonies may be regarded as sacred or thought to be guarding some shrine or special spot. Ask about local customs concerning bees and respect them.


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