[PDF]Beekeeping: Tropical and Sub-tropical Apiculture

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Tropical and Sub-tropical Apiculturp
By:FAO Agricultural Services: Bulletin 68



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Tropical

and sub-tropical

apiculture





> • V ' t , I » -



Tropical

and sub-tropica
apiculture



Food and Agricultural Industries Service
FAO Agricultural Industries Division



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FOOD
AND

AGRICULTURE
ORGANIZATION
OF THE
UNITED NATIONS
Rome, 198C



The designations employed and the presentation
of material in this publication do not imply the
e Agression of any opinion whatsoever on the
Firt of the Food and Agriculture Organization
ol the United Nations concerning the legal
itestus of any country, territory, city or area or
of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation
of its frontiers or boundaries.



M-21

ISBN 92-5-102444-6



All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced,
stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means,
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permission of the copyright owner. Applications for such permission,
with a statement of the purpose and extent of the reproduction, should
be addressed to the Director. Publications Division, Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations, Via delle Terme di Caracalla, 00100
Rome, Italy.



© FAO 1986



PREFACE



In recent years, governments of many developing countries

have been giving greater attention to the production of honey, beeswax

and other bee products. Indeed, apiculture offers many advantages
such as —



(a) providing valuable food, especially to rural populations;

(b) providing remunerative employment;

(c) earning much-needed foreign exchange;

(d) requiring no large investment;

(e) contributing to pollination and thus to crop production;

(f) requiring practically no space on the farm.

One of the main obstacles to the development of apiculture in
developing countries in the tropics and sub-tropics has been the shor-
tage of up-to-date literature designed specifically for those regions.
The present volume is particularly designed to help to fill this gap,
and also to provide a general introduction to apiculture for agri-
cultural planners.



Suggestions from readers on how to improve subsequent edi-
tions would be appreciated. They should be addressed to:

Chief

Food and Agricultural Industries Service
Agricultural Services Division

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
Via delle Terme di Caracalla
00100 Rome
Italy



M.S.O. Nicholas
Director
Agricultural Services Division



FOREWORD



Apiculture is a valuable tool for helping to meet the urgent
needs of the rural population of developing countries: more food,
higher income, and greater opportunities for gainful employment. The
publication of this comprehensive monograph on "Apiculture and honey
production in the developing countries of the tropics and sub-tropics"
by FAO is hence timely. This is the first book of its kind, and Dr.
Eva Crane and the other authors deserve our gratitude for this labour
of love The book in its geographical coverage is relevant to about
half the world's land area. Obviously, therefore, it cannot deal with
every region and set of conditions in great detail. Nevertheless, the
volume of data end information condensed in this concise book is
impressive. Adequate background and operational information has been
provided about all aspects of apiculture; hence policy makers and
general agricultural experts will find the book an invaluable source
of information and an aid in decision-making.

The book brings out the enormous untapped potential for the
development of a dynamic apiculture industry in the developing
countries Already, the three largest exporters of honey in the world
are China, Mexico and Argentina. Another point which clearly emerges
from the various chapters is the great value of considering the
tropical 'sub-tropical region in an integrated manner. Most countries
in these regions are blessed with abundant sunshine, and a rich flora
which blooms all the year round. An integrated consideration of the
problems and potential of the apiculture industry in the tropics and
sub-tropics will therefore help in identifying the constraints respon-
sible for the gap between potential and actual honey production. At
the same time, it will help to monitor and regulate the movement of
be&f and associated pathogens from temperate into tropical areas,
where beekeeping is especially vulnerable to setbacks caused by new
diseases. We urgently need a mechanism for disease monitoring, and
for organizing an early warning system with reference to the spread of
new pests and pathogens. Information on marketing opportunities will
also be necessary for countries that are substantially increasing
their apicultural production.

Much of this book has been written by scientists who are
authorities in their respective fields. The book, therefore, serves
as an encyclopaedia of information relating to the various aspects of



Cvi)



apiculture. A special appendix. on information resources for

beekeepers, shows how the reader can enlarge his knowledge further,
and the final chapters suggest how a technology transfer programme can
be initiated.

In spite of all global resolutions on food security, several
hundred million children, women, and men are going to bed hungry every
day, particularly in countries of the "south". Since prospects for a
global food security system appear to be small at the present moment,
it will be prudent for developing countries characterized by poverty
and under-nutrition to build their own national food security systems.
In this task, apiculture can play a useful role. At very little
expenditure, honeybees will not only provide food and income, but will
also enhance the productivity of horticultural and other field crops,
by their pollinating activities. The International Bee Research Asso-
ciation, contracted by FAC to prepare the book, hopes that its publi-
cation will generate awareness and thereby catalyse action towards a
more effective exploitation of natural resources in developing
countries, through apiculture. By publishing the book FAO has ren-
dered great service to rural development, a cause to which it is
deeply committed through the action plan developed at the World Con-
ference on Agrarian Reform and Rural Development.



M.S. Swaminathan
Director General

International Rice Research Institute
and

Independent Chairman, FAO Council



ABOUT THIS BOOK



In 1980, FAO, aware of the importance of apiculture in the tropical and
sub-tropical areas of the developing world and of the growing interest in it
there and elsewhere, requested the International Bee Research Association (IBRA)
to prepare a book on the subject for early publication. As originally con-
ceived, the monograph was to review the current position of beekeeping in the
various developing regions, continue with a general introduction to bee manage-
ment and the management of hive products, summarize the position with regard to
plant resources for bees in the tropics and sub-tropics, go into some detail on
the resources available for beekeepers in the developing countries, and conclude
with an important section setting out proposed measures - both technical and
political/organizationai - for developing apiculcure and increasing its produc-
tivity in the regions concerned.

IBRA assembled an impressive roster of international authorities on
beekeeping as contributors, and the manuscript was ready for the press by the
end of 1981. Authors of chapters or major parts of chapters were as follows:
C.E. Bowman (UK), B. Clauss (FRG) , Dr. E. Crane (UK), Prof. W. Drescher (FRG) ,
Prof. J.B. Free (UK) ; Dr. D.A. Griffiths (UK), Huang W.-C. (PRC), Dr. I. Kiga-
tiira (Kenya), D.A. Knox (USA), Prof. N. Koeniger (FRG), Capt. P. Latham (UK),
Ma D.-F.M. (PRC), M. Nixon (UK), Dr. R.P. Phadke (India), Dr. A. Popa (France),
Dr. H. Shimanuki (USA), Prof. G.F. Townsend (Canada), Mrs P. Walker (UK), G.M.
Walton (NZ), and H. Wiese (Brazil). Dr. Eva Crane, then Director of IBRA,
planned the book and was its Chief Editor, and Dr. M.S. Swaminathan (India) gave
advice and support both as Independent Chairman of the FAO Council and as Presi-
dent of IBRA.

Unfortunately, financial constraints made it impossible for FAO to
publish the book without delay, and toward the end of 1983 IBRA kindly undertook
to update the manuscript as far as was practicable, time being then too short to
consult all the authors. In the meantime, FAO reexamined the scope of the book
in light of preliminary comments, and this review, together with the wealth of
the new material available, made a complete reorganization and rewriting of the
book inevitable. FAO therefore requested its former Chief Editor, D. Jon
Grossman, to assume this task, drawing to the greatest extent possible on the
valuable contribution of IBRA but also taking into account the documented
experience of FAO itself in apicultural development in all the tropical and sub-
tropical regions.

Originally a composite work, with the considerable advantage of varied
viewpoints of highly skilled, long-time workers in apiculture, the study as now
presented has a more limited scope: to provide a general introduction to
beekeeping confined to the aspects strictly necessary for an understanding of
the problems of apiculture which are specifically applicable to the developing
countries of the tropics and sub-tropics. Many technical matters of con-
siderable importance are hardly touched on, and some are not even mentioned, but
these are dealt with in good beekeeping manuals written in and for the developed
countries; on the other hand, emphasis is laid on certain points which, while
of little concern to beekeepers in temperate zones, create acute problems in the
tropics .



Cviii)



This book is therefore not a complete manual of tropical apiculture.
Since beekeeping methods, as will be seen, must vary widely according to the
ecological conditions of each area, and since the tropics and sub-tropics con-
tain an enormous range of such conditions, such a manual would have to assume
encyclopedic dimensions. The beginning tropical beekeeper will however find in
it much of the background material he needs for a thorough understanding of his
art, the more experienced worker with bees may find solutions to some of his
problems which have been solved elsewhere, and agricultural planners will find
some indications of means by which apiculture can become an element in
integrated rural development.

The contribution of I BRA to this book cannot be over-estimated; in par-
ticular, the help of Dr. Eva Crane and Mrs. Penelope Walker in answering tech-
nical queries was invaluable. It must be emphasized, however, that final deci-
sions on the format and contents of the book were those of FAO alone, and accor-
dingly that the views reflected in it do not necesse i ly reflect those of IBRA
or of individual contributors, except where they are specifically cited.



The Editor



FAO AGW^LTURAL SERVICE »VUETtN&

Fo. m planning in the early stages of development, 1968 (E" Rap, 19C2 - F* S')
Planning for action in agricultural development, 1969 {E* F* S*)
" jakul procpfcslng, 1989 {E*}
MttJ f«om composite flour, 1970 (E" F" S")

fruits and vegetables, 1970 (E* F* S*>
jiut processing, 1970 (E* F*)

tha production of protein food from cottonseed ifour, 1971 {£' F* S")
assJng, (New edition <1S77J available m E, F and S in the FAO Plant Production and Proi&ctfJ

Series)

World list of 'fiS^.echnoiogy institutions, 1971 (E/F/S")




10. Technology for

11. Technology for

12. Guide far instructor
Sup. r, — Elements"
Sup. 2. — Elements

13. Fruit juice processing,

14. Environmental aspects

15. Sericulture manuak Vol

Vol
Vol

16. Use of aircraft 'n agrtcul

17. Airtight grain storage, 1

18. Hice testing — methods
is. Ckrfd storage — design ai
9/2. Design and operation of
20. Processing of rural rubl
21 Rev. 1. — Agricultural res*
21 Rev. 2. — Agricultural resld

22. Rice milling equipment

23. Rice drying (E )

24. Work! list of textile research



!C*ion of protein foods from groundnut 1**7i {£* F* S
uction of protein foods from soybean, i57i (£ F* '
organizing and conducting agricultural ertgii
agricultural machinery, Vol. 1, 1977 (E" S }
gricuftursl machinery, Vol. 2. 1977{E* S*)
72
naturai resource management «- agrfcui
Mulberry cutttV8£0n» 197S F)
Sfikworm rearing. 1973 {&* F')
Silk reeling, 1072 ,
{e* r s')

d equipment, 1973 (£*)
' operation, 1673 (E F S*}
i stores in developing countries, 1934'
,1973 (E*)
: world directory of institutions, 1978
world directory qf Institutions, 1882
ition and 1 makitenanca, 1974 (E') -



coursesi 1971 (6* F* £*)



and soils, 1972 {E' F"



S in the FAO Agricultural Series)



Jutes, 1974 i£im')



25. utilization of molasses, 1975 (!

28. Te* orocesalng, 1974 (E")

27. Soma aspects of earth-moving m

28. Mechanisation of irrigated crop pi

29. Norhmulberry silks, 1978 (E*)

30. Machinery servicing organizations, 19

31. Rice husk conversion to energy, 1978 (I

32. Animal blood — processing and utilization?

33. Agricultural residue*: compendium of techn
as Rev. 1. — AgrteultuiaJ residues; compendium ol

34. Parm management data coltectfott and analysis

35. Bibliography of agricultural residues, 1979 (E/F/S

36. China: rural processing tocnnology, 1970 (E'J

37. Illustrated glossary of rice-processing machines, 1

38. Pesticide application equipment and techi
$9. Small-scale c-ne sugar processing jM^SSBFiirtlizatio'
40, Ort-farm maize drying and storaejriSPme humid tropics, 1



es as used In agriculture, 197
" n, 1977 (E*)



2 (E* S*>
s, 1982 (E/F/S*)
!ogl«s, 'J982j
(E* F* S*



?F/S'



Farm management research
China: sericulture, 1980 (E*)
Food loss prevention in pe
Replacement parts of agrt
Agricultural mechflnizatioi
Energy cropping versus fi
Agricultural rasidues. bib
Plastic greenhouses for
China; grain storage sti
China: post-harvest grain
The private marketing m
Aeration of grain in subt _
Processing and storage iij
Bionass energy profiles,
Handling, grading and di
Rice parboiling, 1984 (E*
Market information se
Marketing improvement i
Traditional post-harves* ti
The retting of jute, 1984
Produeer-ga& technology
Standardized designs to
Farm maisageroent gtoi



Tall farmer development, '



(E* K S')



able crops, 1980 (E* F* S*>
urai machinery, 1981 {£*)
development' guidelines for sirat
production, 1961 (E' F* S")
pity 1975-81 and quantitative
climates, 1982 (E*)
res, 1SS2 (E")
cbnctogy, 1982 (E')

eneur and rural development, fHjyE")
cai climates, 1982 (E*)

igre^s by rural families, 1083 (E'lSgB'}

of wool, im w; n

1983 (E )

e developing world, 1984 (E*)
nology of perishable tropical staples, 1984 (E')

rural application?, 1085 (E*) v
aln stores In ho» dry •iiimates, ^985 F")
ry, 1985 (EfftS")



ff^uiation. TM1 (E* F'j
198^ f J ■ W)



Manual on estab^&hmjpj operation and management of cereal banks, 1935 (E*)
Farm management inpt to rural finance systems development, (E" S")
Construction of crtopSnd storage of maize, 1985 (£*)
Hides and akin&pprovemeni in developing countries, 1988 (E")
Tropical and^iPtfopical apiculture, 1988 (E')



Availability: Julv



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ivi-21

ISBN 92-5-102444-8



TABLE OF CONTENTS



PREFACE (iii)

FOREWORD (v)
ABOUT THIS BOOK (vii)

TABLE OF CONTENTS (ix)

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION 1

CHAPTER 2 - THE BEE 20

A. Bee Biology in the Tropics and Sub-Tropics 20

1. The Inhabitants of the Hive 20

2. The Queen 21

3. The Workers 21

4. The Drones 22

5. The Dearth Period 23

6. The Major Honey Flow 25

7. Behaviour Characteristics 25

B. Honeybee Species, Races and Strains 30

C. Bee Forage 48

D. The Value and Use of Bees in Pollination 62

CHAPTER 3 - BEE DISEASES, PESTS AND OTHER ENEMIES 69
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