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Conrad Bérubé |
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American
Bee Journal
June 2003
Conrad Bérubé
890 Eberts St.
Nanaimo BC V9S 1P6
(250)754-1155
email: uc779(at)freenet.victoria.bc.ca
http://www3.telus.net/Conrad
Part 2
During my Farmer-to-Farmer exchange visit to Ghana I visited all of the client
villages with which Opportunities Industrialization Center of Tamale (OICT)
worked. Although the women’s cooperative
groups participating in the beekeeping project had received some training, the
clients exhibited a minimal level of beekeeping skills and management practices.
Most hives were opened usually only to harvest them.
In light of this, I determined that the focus of training activities
should be to convey simple techniques that would make the clients better "bee-havers"
as a stepping-stone to becoming good beekeepers. Field visits were made to all 23 communities
and, in all, 150 women and 27 men received on-site training in appropriate apiary
siting, proper apiary arrangement, and hive conditioning. (Although the focus of the project limited credit
to women, the men-folk were also quite interested in bees and often tagged along
to observe and participate in apiary activities.)
| At a number of apiaries, hives were too close together or not suitably arranged for the local defensive strain of bee and rearrangements were suggested and carried out during field visits. |  |
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In some locations co-op members had protected hives from attack by ants and termites by using the sticky, oily residue left over from "shea nut butter" processing-a good tactic and one that was promoted at other sites. Note the clay vessel nearby to provide water to the bees. |
| After hives were cleaned of any non-bee tenants they were "baited" with lemon grass and/or beeswax which attract scout bees looking for a new home for swarms. |  |
During our field visits Ali and I made recommendations to reduce the hazards
associated with beekeeping and to improve operations in general. We explained
that bathing before entering the apiary and smoking one's skin and protective
clothing can assist in masking odors that may incite bees to sting. In addition,
Ali reminded me of a technique I had heard of decades earlier: scouring one's
skin and protective clothing with crushed leaves of the cassava serves as a
repellant to angry bees. We also went over with the women the proper way of
wearing the veils and coveralls that had been provided to them and emphasized
the importance of having protective equipment on hand when any work at all,
such as reconditioning empty hives, weeding or refilling bee-waterers, was to
be done in the apiary. This was a lesson that I was relieved I heeded myself:
on one occasion I was so preoccupied in filming hive cleaning operations that
I forgot the warning that the womenfolk had given me about some wild nests of
bees in a large baobab tree behind me. While filming, I approached within about
a dozen feet of the nest. In response to the women's gesturing and excited giggling
and scurrying I turned to see the surface of the nest begin to stir and boil
as the bees took flight and began bombarding me. I followed the advice that
we had been disseminating and hunched over, covering my eyes with my narrowly
parted fingers and walked at a moderate pace into the brushy area surrounding
the apiary and then into a corn field where I donned my bee-jacket. Although
I took a number of stings, my video camera seemed to suffer the brunt of attack-
I could see at least a dozen stings protruding from the black rubber eyepiece.
After I was adequately sheathed in my protective garb, I had to put the camera
into a bag to reduce the plume of alarm pheromone that the bees were following.
On the bright side, having been such a beacon of alarm pheromone myself most
of the angry bees had been harrying me and the womenfolk had been able to make
their own escapes unscathed. Although I find demonstration a more effective
teaching tool than merely lecturing that was a showpiece that I tried to use
as little as possible in other sessions.
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Apiaries were often sited near locations where wild hives occurred. Numerous wild hives indicated that there was ample forage in the area and provided a "seed source" for swarms that could occupy bait hives. However, one had to be wary to remember the whereabouts of wild nests when working in an apiary. Wild nests in buildings at the new OICT training center provided opportunity to train beekeepers on the removal of nuisance hives and wild nest transferring techniques. |
Heat-stressed and close-crowded colonies are irritable colonies; proper placement
of hives can assist in reducing stinging risks. Most apiaries had been established in areas
with sufficient shade (a lesson that could be learned by many beekeepers in
the southern U.S. and the New World tropics).
We emphasized that apiaries should be established in the same types of
places that the women would want to be if they had to stand in the same spot
all day: somewhere shady and close to a water source. My visit coincided with the “cool” portion of
the year—although daytime temperatures rarely fell below 90 degrees Fahrenheit
(32 degrees Celsius)—so this was a concept that the women easily grasped. When required, haphazardly arranged apiaries
were reorganized to minimize risks of mass disturbances. Hives were repositioned to increase distance
between hives to at least 1.5 meters and were arranged, if possible, into a
circle with entrances facing outwards in order to create a relatively safe zone
within the circle. This configuration
reduces the potential for the drift of alarm pheromone and other cues from one
hive to another that can set off a domino effect of infuriated colonies.
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| Apiaries should be established where hives will receive shade during the hottest portions of the day and where bees will have access to water and nectar and pollen bearing plants. Hives should be arranged so that entrances all face outwards (or all inwards) so to create a safe zone, out of bees' flight paths and the sensory periphery of bees, allowing easier apiary maintenance and hive manipulation. Apiaries should also be placed at least 200 meters from habitations, animal harborages and thoroughfares | |
The insulated, protected space available to bees in the form of empty hives is attractive to various pests, predominantly ants. In one hive we found ants, 2 lizards, a dormouse and a scorpion. Dormice, lizards, spiders, and scorpions can capture and eat scout bees on reconnaissance for appropriate nest sites. An exploring scout bee can be eaten by one of these natural enemies of bees. In such a case there will be no way for the whereabouts to be transmitted to the swarm searching for what would otherwise be an attractive nest site.
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Ants,
wasps, spiders, scorpions, lizards, and rodents may occupy hives and prevent
bees from taking up residence. During the swarm season regular visits
should be made to apiaries to ensure that hives unoccupied by bees are
free of pests. wood-destroying termites can cause damage to the structure
of hives or hive stands. African hive beetles can consume honey and foul
combs. Toads can consume great numbers of bees but often go unnoticed
since they are nocturnal in habit. Client women were instructed in measures
to reduce impacts from all these pests.
Although ants
were the most common problem, dormice were the most interesting to me-since I had never seen them before. Dormice are rodents but are not, in fact,
mice and are instead, members of a distinct genus. In appearance they
resemble a cross between squirrels and mice and their behavior is likewise
intermediate between the two. They feed on seeds, fruits and insects-
making them a threat to scout bees. |
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Although dormice are rodents they are not, in fact, mice but are instead, members
of a distinct genus. In appearance they resemble a cross between squirrels and
mice and their behavior is likewise intermediate between the two. They feed
on seeds, fruits and insects- making them a threat to scout bees.
Lizards will also seek shelter in empty hives
and of course will eat bees.
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| African hive beetles were common intruders in occupied bees' nests. In the photo above a beetle can be seen scurrying near a queen-both were invariably quite camera-shy. | |
African hive beetles were common intruders in occupied bees’ nests.
I usually noted beetles down in the tight corners of hives where the
floor met walls and, in an especially large bees’ nest that was located in the
roof of one of the buildings at the training center, I found an enormous number
of beetles nestled in between a couple of wooden slats.
I had not read about these beetles being so thigmotactic or
“tending towards contact” and this observation gives me an idea on how
to make more efficient the control of this beetle, which has recently been inadvertently
introduced into the southern U.S. It
seems to be that two slats of wood about an inch across could be used to construct
a trap for the beetles. One face of each
slat could be painted with label rates of a solution of an insecticide authorized
for use to control the beetles (such as coumaphos in some states of the U.S.).
Then spacers, such as pennies, could be placed on one of the treated faces and
the other treated face placed on top and the “penny sandwich” thus formed secured
with rubber bands or thin wire. This “beetle motel” could then be placed in
the bottom of a hive. Bees would be little
exposed to the insecticide while beetles seeking shelter in the beetle motel
would acquire a lethal dose of the poison. (If anyone tries this and finds it successful
please let me know—the level of beetle infestation in KTBH’s, as opposed to
wild nests, was not high enough to be especially noteworthy—except as being
new to me— or warranting of control.)
Where ants were a problem (virtually all apiaries) and large trees abundant it was suggested that hives be hung from branches and/or that vegetation beneath hives be trimmed to prevent ants from using the vegetation as bridges into hives. Whether on stands or hung, it was suggested that the legs of the hive-stand or ropes be treated with grease, shea-nut butter residue or sheep's wool which will also discourage ants.
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| "Stretcher" handles can easily be added to the Kenya Top-Bar Hive. Such handles can be facilitate carrying fully loaded hives and provide a handy resting spot for combs removed from the hive during inspections. The handles also allow the KTBH to be hung from posts or tree-limbs to reduce damage caused by ants and bush fires and prevent knock-down by wind and domestic animals. Photos show cooperative members and PCF's hanging hives during a training exercise, line drawings are part of instructional newsprint materials developed for the training. | |
The women who attended our on-site demonstrations were encouraged to revise
all of their empty hives to ensure organisms other than bees had not occupied
them and to recondition such boxes with lemon grass and beeswax.
(Lemon grass, Cymbopogon citratus, contains citral, which is the
most attractive component of the Nasanov pheromone that bees use to mark their
nest entrances and beeswax further enhances the attraction— i.e. makes a hive
smell like home.) In addition to the cut stalks of lemon grass
used for rubbing down the hives, rootstock was also provided to participants
for planting around their farms or compounds for future use. .
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Lemon grass, cymbopogon citratus, contains citral, which is the most attractive component of the nasanov pheromone that bees use to mark their nest entrances and beeswax further enhances the attraction- i.e. Makes a hive smell like home. In addition to the cut stalks of lemon grass used for rubbing down the hives, rootstock was also provided to participants for planting around their farms or compounds for future use. |
Because of the scarcity of medical care and drugs, during our visits
we also mentioned that lemon grass could be used in a tea to calm upset stomachs. In addition, I emphasized the legitimate use
of honey as a wound dressing. Because
it is a supersaturated sugar solution, honey is bacteriostatic and will impede
the growth of microorganisms that can cause infection. A wound should be washed with soap and clean
water then covered with a light salve of honey and covered with a clean dressing;
this procedure should be repeated daily until the wound is closed. Diarrhea caused by various maladies takes the
lives of thousands of children in the tropics each year. A tablespoon of honey with a half teaspoon each
of salt and baking soda in a liter of potable (and preferably boiled) water
makes a drink that will help in rehydrating someone who is losing liquids from
bouts of vomiting and/or diarrhea. (The
drink should be given in sips every five minutes until at least a cup of the
solution is consumed after ever bout of vomiting or diarrhea—and the normal
routine of breast feeding or eating should be continued). Two level teaspoons of sugar can be substituted
for the honey—but the inclusion of honey gave us the opportunity to discuss
the important issue of rehydration therapy.
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| Beekeepers will often be called upon to remove wild nests from inconvenient locations such as the eaves of houses-or in this case one of the buildings at the training center. Such an exercise provided good training opportunities to novice beekeepers as well as providing raw material for sessions devoted to honey and wax processing. |
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Heavy colony manipulations, such as the removal of a wild nest from the eaves of one of the buildings at the training center are best done at night when bees do not fly to any great degree and thus the risk of stings is greatly reduced. Encouraged by their success in the harvest participants performed an impromptu victory dance. Sanatu Mahamah, Fishata Issah, and Wumbei Napari sing and clap as part of the accapela chorus |
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Beeswax can be even more valuable on a weight-to-weight basis than is honey-if it properly processed. The images above show how beeswax can be purified by placing combs into a tight-weave cotton sack that is then placed in near-boiling water. when the wax inside the sack has been sufficiently heated the sack can be squeezed and twisted in the pot so that the wax is expressed. The molten wax floats to the surface of the water where it can be ladled off and allowed to solidify. |
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Honey produced by improved harvesting and processing techniques (shown to the left in the leftmost image above) can greatly improve the quality of honey as compared to honey produced by traditional honey tapping (shown to the right in the leftmost image above). Harvesting only ripe honey from combs that do not contain brood or pollen ensures that the final product is attractive and has good flavor and self-preserving properties. |
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| The working up of value-added products increases the opportunity for generating income at the village level. Cold-cream or pomade, like that being concocted by community beekeeping trainers raabi karimu and memenatu mohamed, above, can be marketed locally or at the town and city level or used at home to protect the clients skin from the drying effects of hot winds or working in soil. | ||
The current level of bee-skills exhibited by OICT clients characterizes them
as bee-havers; they have acquired hives that allow them to harvest colonies
with a fair amount of ease but conduct no significant amount of management.
During harvesting the brood nest remains relatively intact and the colony
can be preserved from one season to the next.
In contrast to traditional nest robbing that destroys the colony, the
means of production, bee-havers can eat their honey and hive it too.
Nonetheless, bee-having can be conducted more efficiently than was observed
during site visits. Clients should regularly
inspect their empty hives to ensure that pests have not usurped the KTBH's.
After cleaning, hives should be "baited" (rubbed with beeswax
and lemon grass) to simulate nest odors and attract bees.
In this way the number of occupied colonies can be maximized. Honey, pollen or other foods perceived as attractive
to bees should not be used in empty hives as ants, in such a case, are much
more likely to find and occupy hives before bees do and bees will not move into
a hive already occupied by ants. These
techniques were discussed with the clients during site visits and/or during
training. In fact, participants from
several communities reported that the reconditioning of hives during site visits
had resulted in a significant increase in hive occupation.
In several locations bees took up residence in reconditioned hives on
the same day or the day after our visit—which prompted several participants
to ask me if I was a wizard. I’m not quite sure how Ali translated my response
delivered in a self-mocking, Mr. Know-it-all voice: “No, Memanatu, it’s not
magic, it’s just good science.”
Harvesting must be conducted in a manner that allows for maintenance of colonies
once they have been obtained. Novice bee-havers (and even beekeepers) often
remove too much honey from hives and do not leave the colony sufficient stores
to support them through periods of minimal nectar availability. To better provide for the bees’ needs during
dearth periods it was suggested that comb only be harvested from one end of
the hives (to establish a standard it was suggested that this always be the
right side, as one is facing the entrance of the hive).
With regards to transferring technical skills, one of the major stumbling blocks in the progression along the road to beekeeping is overcoming one's fear of bees (while maintaining a healthy respect for them). I believe that the greatest gain made during the training program was that it provided opportunities that allowed the clients to gain confidence in their ability to deal with the risks inherent in working with defensive strains of bees while being able to complete the tasks that will make them better bee-havers. As their confidence and experience increase they will be able to proceed along the course to actual beekeeping— if they so choose. However, the goals for the program in which I was working revolve around creating income and not necessarily around creating beekeepers. Given the burden of labor that already falls on village women it is a perfectly acceptable outcome to create good bee-havers as opposed to beekeepers.
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Some problems noted during field visits: wind or domestic animals can topple hives from their stands-hanging the hives on ropes can prevent this and assist in controlling damage from ants or brush fires. |
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VIllagers sometimes tried to draw bees to a hive by leaving honey or cassava flour, as shown above, at the entrances of bait hives-this will attract ants much sooner than bees and the ants will prevent the bees from occupying the hive. I was confused as to why cassava flour was used for the purpose and was told that the fresh tuber can be rubbed inside the hive to attract bees-- but I was unable to verify this. |
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Animals are sometimes tethered to keep them from wandering into crops-however, tying them too closely to an occupied hive, as has been down with the goat shown above, can be a death sentence for the animal if bees become aroused and the animal cannot escape their stings. |
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Some solutions developed by villagers for local beekeeping problems: Grass matting was sometimes used to provide additional shade where ample shade from trees was unavailable. |
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In some locations co-op members had protected hives from attack by ants and termites by using the sticky, oily residue left over from "shea nut butter" processing, here shown poured beneath a KTBH stand-a good tactic and one that was promoted at other sites. |
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A clay receptacle that is used to water poutrly (larger domestic animals cannot reach the water through the apertures) was further modified to provide water to bees, small stones were placed in the vessel with the water to prevent poultry from drinking it all and to provide landing sites for bees. |
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On a more general note regarding improved
efficiency for development work, it would be useful to encourage greater cooperation
between developmental organizations working in beekeeping or with related projects
in the client communities. As an example
of this, Peace Corps volunteers working in the area were invited to attend the
OICT training sessions; 3 Peace Corps representatives participated in one session—
in which their assistance was appreciated‑ and one of them stayed to attend
the remainder of the training. A Peace
Corps volunteer working in the same community as that in which a women's cooperative
had established an apiary could assist the project in a number of ways— a volunteer
working in an Environment Education program could promote beekeeping as a component
of agroforestry, an Integrated Sciences program volunteer could educate students
about the role of pollination in agricultural production (and hence the need
to exercise measures to protect bees from pesticides, a Practical Arts teacher
could elaborate on techniques using beeswax for batik ("tie-and-dye")
dyeing or for lost-wax metal casting. In
any case, such activities would assist in promoting beekeeping projects and
to educate the community about the value of beekeeping and bees— firming up
public relations and possibly opening up local markets for bee products.
Similar rationale could be made for other development agencies and for
other programs.
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Transferring
and manipulating comb is an important skill for beekeepers using top-bar
hives so they are able to prevent and repair breakage of brood combs during
harvests and other hive manipulations. Because the exercise was performed
on transferred comb, staff and local Peace Corps volunteers rose rosely,
suzy corbin and amanda gordon, could assist in the session without the
need for protective clothing.
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| A good honey flow is dependent upon an abundance of nectar-bearing plants, good weather that favors nectar production and bee-flights, and a large population of foragers that peaks concurrently with the peak nectar flow- brought about through good hive management. |  |
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| Trainees participate in hiving a swarm at the training center-an exercise that built their confidence about working with bees. | ||
The essence of true beekeeping is management of the brood nest in concert with
anticipated changes in resource availability. In this way the beekeeper can modify the colony's
population to peak to coincide with periods of greatest nectar flow or to shrink
down to a level that is more easily supported by diminishing floral resources.
This level of management is well beyond the level of skill currently
held by the women in the cooperatives. Like
reading, the skills necessary for this kind of management cannot be conveyed
in a mere matter of days— although, like the alphabet, the basic framework can
be laid relatively quickly. Further development
is a matter of individual practice. To
simulate hive conditions during various times of the year we used actual size
photocopies of brood-, honey- and pollen-filled comb that were taped to top
bars and practiced the appropriate hive manipulations for the various phases
of the nectar cycle.
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Integration of OICT's beekeeping project with other development work, such as that of Peace Corps, could have synergistic results. Beekeeping fits well into integrated development programs as it is compatible with agroforestry, can create spin-off micro-enterprises such as batik dyeing or lost-wax metal casting and provides useful lessons in school agricultural or environmental science programs. |
Overall, I’d have to say that I thought the field visits and training went surprisingly
well, thanks to the assistance I received from OICT staff (especially Mohammed
Ali [the beekeeper not the boxer]) and those PCF’s (Sumani Osman,
Abukari Ziblim, Yakubu Alhassan and Hudu Haruna) and PCV’s (Rose Rosely,
Suzy Corbin and Amanda Gordon) who assisted in conducting training sessions. During the short course a number of different
educational tools were utilized. Instructive
videos, including some taken during field visits were often used to illustrate
conditions not available at the training center. Flip-charts, posters and photos were similarly
employed to supplement lectures or to stimulate group discussions and problem-solving.
Of course the keystone of the training was lots of hands-on activities
such as harvesting wild nests, hanging hives, reconditioning hives, installing
a swarm, processing comb and bottling honey.
But one training tool that we had some fun with, and I believe was effective,
was role-playing to illustrate some of the more abstract concepts.
In one of these sessions participants each took on the part of a colony
member or natural enemy in a game/role play intended to get trainees to understand
the challenges bees face in locating a suitable nest site. To paraphrase Mohammed Ali (the boxer not the
beekeeper) trainees learned to “float like a butterfly and think like a bee”.
Two teams of trainees assumed the roles of swarm bees (with one queen
a number of hive bees and a smaller number of scout bees).
While the hive bees danced about and serenaded their queen, scout bees
attempted to find an appropriate “hive” amongst the rooms of the training center
dormitories. Scout bees who entered hives occupied by trainees
posing as ants, lizards or other natural enemies were detained. Eventually a scout from one of the swarms discovered
an appropriately empty hive and lead the team to its new home. This helped drive home the concepts intrinsic
in swarm nest-site searches and underlined the importance of maintaining bait
hives free of occupants other than bees. Another
role play was designed to portray how a good honey flow is dependent upon an
abundance of nectar-bearing plants, good weather that favors nectar production
and bee-flights, and a large population of foragers that peaks concurrently
with the peak nectar flow— brought about through good hive management.
Assuming the roles of foraging bees highlighted for the trainees the
interactions of environmental conditions with the hive population and how management
techniques could be used to ensure that hive population peaked with the nectar
flow instead of before or after the flow.
It occurred to me that to some degree my participation as facilitator during
the training was somewhat of a role-play. Having acted to guide and motivate beekeeping
activities amongst the members an amusing and somewhat disturbing metaphor occurred
to me. For the month that I served to
guide and motivate the members of the cooperative, the collective, I was the
queen.
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| To paraphrase Mohammed Ali (the boxer not the beekeeper) trainees learned to "float like a butterfly and think like a bee". Two teams of trainees assumed the roles of swarm bees (with one queen a number of hive bees and a smaller number of scout bees). while the hive bees danced about and serenaded their queens, scout bees attempted to find an appropriate "hive" amongst the rooms of the training center dormitories. Scout bees who entered hives occupied by trainees posing as ants, lizards or other natural enemies were detained. Eventually a scout from one of the swarms discovered an appropriately empty hive and led the team to its new home. This helped drive home the concepts intrinsic in swarm nest-site searches and underlined the importance of maintaining bait hives free of occupants other than bees. | ||
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| The local strain of bee in Ghana, apis mellifera adonsonii, is more defensive than races of bees commonly used in europe and north america but is well-adapted to the tropical conditions in which it has evolved. From left to right, a young queen pulled from a swarm, worker bees tending a comb of bee-bread, and guard bees at the entrance to a KTBH (note how the entrance is composed of individual holes as opposed to a long slit to assist bees in protecting their hives from the intruders. | ||
For more information on the farmer-to-farmer program write to
Farmserve Africa Program
OIC International 240 West Tulpehocken Street
Philadelphia, PA 19144
For more information on the Peace Corps visit the following website:
or write to:
Peace Corps
806 Connecticut Avenue N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20526
Or call (toll-free): 800-484-8580 or look up the local recruiting office under the government listings in your telephone directory.
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