[PDF]Beekeeping: Small Scale Beekeeping

AT



MICROFICHE
REFERENCE
LIBRARY



A project of Volunteers in Asia



Small Scale Beek^ppipg

Peace Corps ATFD Manual No. M-17

by: Curtis Gentry

Published by:
Peace Corps

Information Collection and Exchange
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Washington, DC 20526 USA

Available from:
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APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGIES FOR DEVELOPMENT



Small Scale Beekeeping



Peace Corps



INFORMATION COLLECTION & EXCHANGE
MANUAL M-17



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Peace Corps



SMALL SCALE BEEKEEPING



by

Curtis Gentry

illustrated by
Stacey Leslie



Peace Corps
Information Collection and Exchange
Manual M-17
December 1982



Beekeeping

December 1982



Prepared for the Peace Corps by
Curtis Gentry

under Contract No. 81-043-1028



Available through

Peace Corps Information Collection and Exchange
806 Connecticut Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20525



Acknowledgements



The ideas of many people went into this
manual. The exact source of many of these ideas
is lost as they came from beekeepers in many
places with whom I've worked or whose writings
I've read. Thanks to all these friends and
teachers .

The care and patience of many people also
went into the manual. For all their help in
typing, editing, proofing, laying out, and
commenting, I thank:



Mark Coleman

Jean Cummings

Liz Davidson

Calvina Dupre

Valerie Flynn de Villa

Donna Frelick

Shannon Green

Mary Lou Haag

Sharon Hagen

Marie Kabelitz

Rob Kingsolver

John Oliver

Fay Reilly

Jose Villa

Dr. Lucas Villa



V



Table of Contents



About This Manual iii



Chapter



Acknowledgements



IV



Preface vi 1



1 Bees and Humans i

Bee-killing, Bee-having, Beekeeping;
Why Develop Beekeeping?

2 Project Planning n

Beekeeping as an Integrated Activity;
Beekeeping as an Educational Activity;
Beekeeping as a Cooperative Activity.

3 Bee Basics 19

Types of Bees; Climate and Beekeeping;
Life Cycle of the Honey Bee; The Castes;
Resource Needs of the Colony;
Swarming, Super sedure, and Absconding.

4 The Essence of Beekeeping 45

Management Schemes.

5 The Bee Space and Beehives 59

The Bee Space; Types of Hives.

6 Intermediate Technology Beekeeping 69

Why?; Some Considerations before Starting;

Getting Started - The Hives;

Getting Started - The Apiary;

Getting Started - Equipment;

Getting Started - Bees;

Management Practices.

7 High-tech Beekeeping 131

Inputs and Possibilities;

Problems in Small-scale Development.

8 Hive Products 147

Honey; Beeswax; Pollen; Bee Brood; Others.

9 Diseases, Pests, and Insecticides 161



vi



Appendix



A


Resources and Bibliography


179


B


Hive Plans


189


C


Equipment Plans


197


D


Uses for Beeswax


207


E


Making an Artificial Swarm


211


F


Honey Bee Anatomy


213



vii



Preface



This is a manual for getting started with small-
scale beekeeping development projects. The intention
is to provide an overview of beekeeping and its
possibilities as a tool for development.

No attempt is made to duplicate technical
information given in other readily available resources
on beekeeping. The idea is to provide an orientation
to the realities of small-scale development beekeeping.
Once oriented to these realities, you should be able
to adapt more technical material to the situation in
your community.

There are intermediate levels of beekeeping
technology which can be self-sustaining using only
local resources. Information on this scale of
beekeeping is hard to find. Much of it is presented
in a technical form in beekeeping journals. This
manual offers a guide to these intermediate technology
beekeeping systems and methods.

The reality of most small-farmer situations makes
"high-tech" beekeeping unviable. High-tech beekeeping
is well covered in other readily-available sources.
Therefore, this guide does not cover this scale of
beekeeping in detail. High-tech beekeeping is covered
here to point out its possibilities as an ultimate
development goal. The problems that often arise when
trying to carry on high-tech beekeeping where inputs
are difficult to obtain are also discussed. For more
details, an annotated list of sources is given in
Appendix A.

A bee-human relationship exists throughout the
world, except in the arctic and the extensive desert
regions. In many regions, this relationship is carried
on at a low level of technology and understanding of
bees. This guide provides the information necessary
to assess the local level of the bee-human relationship
and to determine an appropriate beekeeping technology
for your area.



Bees and Humans



Interest in bees started with the hunting and
robbing of wild colonies in hollow cavities in trees
or rocks. Until the refining of sugar cane developed
in the 19th century, honey was the only sweetening
agent widely available. It was prized not only as
food, but for its uses in folk medicine.

People have observed and studied bees with the
object of increasing the production of hive products
and making it easier to gather them. Bees have also
intrigued many people because of their highly social
nature. Analogies have often been proposed between the
sociality of bees and humans.

The accumulated knowledge on bees allows the
modern beekeeper to manage them. The beekeeper can
gather hive products with an ease and efficiency far
greater than the honey hunter or gatherer.

Although humans have learned much about bees and
how to keep them, the bee itself has not changed.
Unlike most of the animals and .plants used in
agriculture, the honey bee of today is the same as it
was thousands of years ago. In short, humans have not
domesticated the honey bee.

The bee is still essentially a wild animal.
People can keep bees and manage them for greater
production, but control over bee genetics and behavior
has not been achieved to the same degree as with
domesticated animals and plants .



2

Bee-killing, Bee-having, Beekeeping:

The scope for development



There are three basic stages in the historical
development of the bee-human relationship. These are
bee-killing, bee-having, and beekeeping. Modern
beekeeping is the most developed stage. The most basic
stage, or bee-killing, is still common in some parts
of the world.



srages in th6 see- hum^n



bee-rrilUnq — > bee-Vy^ing >beetteep\m

fo«S ffiiVeJ) fbees myrfe)\ne$) (bees marqgaj)



Bee~killing is the killing of the bees in a
colony so that the combs containing honey and brood
(larval and pupal stages) can be taken. Left without
honey stores or brood, any surviving bees are doomed.
Eoney hunters usually regret having to kill the colony,
but they know of no other way to obtain honey or wax.

Wild bee colonies are common in many regions of
the world, and the gathering of honey from these
colonies is an occasional activity for many local
farmers. This often occurs when trees containing bee
colonies are felled during the clearing of forest and
bush for planting crops. Honey hunters or gatherers
usually use fire to kill the bees. They are thought
to be responsible for many bush fires in some areas.

The honey obtained is used for household
consumption or marketed locally. It is often of very
low quality as it is mixed with bits of old comb,
brood, and ashes. Even so, there is a ready local
market for honey in most regions. In some areas, honey
is fermented either alone or with palm wine to make an
alcoholic drink. Honey is also used by some groups as
medicine .



3



The brood is sometimes eaten by children and is
considered a treat. The 30 per cent protein content
of the brood is a bonus in their diet. However, since
brood is only available when wild colonies are
gathered, it is not a significant nutritional factor.

The value of the beeswax is often unknown where
bee-killing is practiced; it is usually thrown away or
used for fuel.

Bee-killing, or honey hunting, is a traditional
activity in many regions of Africa and Asia. In most
other regions of the world it is an incidental
activity. It is often not considered worth the effort
as easier ways of getting hive products are used.




A variation on bee-
killing is traditional in
some regions of Africa.
Straw containers or clay
pots are hung in trees to
attract wild colonies.
After the colony has been
in the container for
sufficient time to have
built up honey stores,
the container is lowered,
the bees killed, and the
_hive products taken.
Even though the bees are
attracted to a man-made
container, this is still
bee-killing.



4



Bee-having is an intermediate step between bee-
killing and beekeeping. In bee-having, bees are housed
in hollowed sections of tree trunks, clay pots, gourds,
bark hives, or straw-and-mud containers. Combs aid
fixed to the containers which allows for little
inspection and no manipulation (management) of the
colony. Combs containing honey are removed
periodically, and those containing brood are left. The
wax is recognized as having value and is used locally
or sold.




Q&{ pal" jjves



In bee-having the farmer provides protection to
the bee colony in return for periodic harvests of honey
and wax. The idea is to maintain the colonv for future
harvests instead of destroying it for a one-time
harvest.

Both bee-killing and bee-having are carried on
with very little understanding of the biology of the
bee. It is not uncommon to find bee-having among
farmers who have relatively sophisticated equipment
which allows for management of their colonies. They
remain bee-havers because they lack the training to
make optimum use of their equipment.



i



5



Beekeeping implies the manipulation of a bee
colony; it is predicated on some understanding of the
bee. Management practices can be relatively simple,
low-level technologies or fairly complicated
procedures, using more sophisticated equipment.
Beekeeping can be lucrative at any level of technology,
but the level used should mesh with the local cultural
and economic reality.



a- NA/ide ra n ge of hve equi p ment c^n
be used for beeifeepinq •



iY)ov€sjb\e*{rz)me hive



Relative to most other agricultural pursuits,
"high-tech" beekeeping is a soft technology. The
equipment inputs needed to carry out high-tech
beekeeping can be made on a local level in most places
in the world. The limiting factor is the human one of
lack of knowledge to profitably utilize relatively
expensive equipment.



**********



"Development" should be defined
within cultural and economic realities.
Observing the local bee-human
relationship — whether bee-killing, bee-
having or beekeeping — provides an
understanding of the context within
which any beekeeping development effort
must be directed.

These developmental stages are
often discussed as distinct periods.
However, in reality, like any
development, the development of the bee-
human relationship is a continuum.

A well-directed development effort
should recognize the place on the
continuum where the target program
starts, and thus set realistic goals for
advancing toward "development" .



7



Why Develop Beekeeping?



Beekeeping is an activity that fits well with the
concept of small-scale agricultural development. It
is a labor-intensive undertaking which can be easily
integrated into larger agricultural or forestry
projects. Bees not only aid in the pollination of some
crops used in such projects, but they make use of
otherwise unused resources - nectar and pollen.

As a bee-human relationship already exists in most
regions of the world, the objective of any beekeeping
development effort is to introduce new and more
efficient methods. The bee resource already exists;
the objective is better utilization of this resource.

All the inputs necessary for carrying out a
beekeeping venture can be made locally. Smokers,
protective clothing, veils, and hives can be made by
local tinsmiths, tailors, carpenters, or basketmakers .
Thus, a beekeeping project can create work and income
for these people.

A small beekeeping project can be profitable from
the beginning. After a project is started and
expertise is gained, it is easy for a beekeeper to
increase the number of hives. A dependence on outside
resources or inputs is not necessary to do this. Bees
feed themselves from the existing nectar and pollen
resources of the area by foraging far beyond the small
amount of land on which the hives are located.

Beekeeping is a family undertaking. Although
working with bees is an activity that is easily done
by women, in most cultural settings it is usually
considered a man's task. While men work directly with
the bees, women are often involved in preparing the
honey for market and in the actual marketing.



8



Small farmers usually consider honey a cash crop
instead of a product for home consumption. Honey has
a high cash value relative to its weight and bulk.
Properly stored, it is essentially a non-peri shable
product. It is economical and easy to transport.
These characteristics make honey an attractive crop for
small-scale and often isolated producers.



While in most areas there is a ready local market
for honey, this is not always true for beeswax. In
some areas it may be necessary to create a market for
the wax.

Beeswax is an easily-stored, non-perishable
product. It is used in some areas by local craftsmen
and artisans such as lost wax metal (usually brass)
casters, wax printers and batikers of cloth, tanners
and leather workers, and candle makers. Beeswax can
also easily be used in the making of wood polishes.






9



In areas of the world where the beekeeping
industry is well-developed, there are markets for
pollen and propolis (tree resin gathered by bees for
use in the hive). While these may be potential
products for a beekeeping venture, they are not
feasible for beginning projects. Production of pollen
is relatively difficult, and there are few local
marketing outlets for these products in most areas.

Another product of beekeeping is bees themselves.
Once beekeeping becomes established, a market develops
for bees. Some beekeepers can supply bees to others
who want to start beekeeping.

While there are ready international markets for
bee products such as honey and beeswax, any development
effort should aim first for local markets. A beginning
project does not produce in sufficient quantity to
merit seeking an international market.

Developing a local market for bee products
insulates local producers from fluctuating world
prices, and provides an accessible market for small
producers .








10



Beekeeping is an activity which fits well with
the philosophy of small-scale development. There is
a great potential for developing beekeeping in many
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