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

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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 in Malaysia 58 8 Bee reserves in Tanzania 60 9 Beekeeping in the mangrove of Bijagos Islands, Guinea Bissau 67 10 How to make Zambian honey beer 126 11 Honey: Indigenous communities begin to produce honey in Mato Grosso 134 12 North West Bee Products Zambia 135 13 China attacks Europe over honey ban 138 14 Developing markets for tribal organic products – experience from the Blue Mountains, Nilgiris, India 140 15 Honey flowing in Uganda: glimpses of the informal markets 142 Bees and their role in forest livelihoods vii FOREWORD The role of bees in sustaining forests and forest dependent livelihoods remains poorly known and appreciated. Bees are a fantastic world resource: they are essential for sustaining our environment because they pollinate flowering plants. Bees sustain our agriculture by pollinating crops and thereby increasing yields of seeds and fruits. The product that most people first associate with bees is honey, although beekeeping generates much more than just honey: the maintenance of biodiversity and pollination of crops are perhaps the most valuable services provided by bees. Honey is just one of several different products that can be harvested: others are beeswax, pollen and propolis, royal jelly and venom, and the use of bees in apitherapy, which is medicine using bee products. Bees and beekeeping contribute to peoples’ livelihoods in almost every country on earth. Honey and the other products obtained from bees have long been known by every society. The diversity in bee species, their uses and in beekeeping practices varies greatly between regions. In many parts of the world, significant volumes of honey are today still obtained by plundering wild colonies of bees, while elsewhere beekeeping is practised by highly skilled people. Honey hunting of wild bee colonies still remains an important part of the livelihoods of forest dependent peoples in many developing countries. Today, apiculture plays a valuable part in rural livelihoods worldwide, and this book aims to provide an insight into the many ways in which bees and beekeeping contribute to these livelihoods, and how to strengthen this contribution. While the rationale for the sustainable use of tree resources is widely appreciated, by contrast the sustainable use of bee resources is poorly promoted and appreciated. Rural people in every developing country are keeping bees or harvesting from them in one way or another. This book aims to help ensure that these people gain the most from these activities. FAO wishes to thank Dr Nicola Bradbear, the author of this work, and is pleased to publish and disseminate this technical document to promote more sustainable beekeeping practices which will better sustain forest dependent livelihoods in the developing world. I hope that this publication will also contribute to many more small-scale efforts to encourage beekeeping interventions throughout the world, helping people to strengthen livelihoods and ensuring maintenance of forest habitats and biodiversity. Jan Heino Officer-in-Charge Forest Products & Industries Division [...]... play a minor role as pollinators in the rain forest compared to their role in temperate forests, monsoon forests and savannah woodland In tropical rain forests, many trees are pollinated by birds, bats and insects other than bees Animal pollination is of greatest importance, because there is no wind between the trees and because the distance between trees of the same species may often be great In that... Asian hive bee, and it is sometimes incorrectly named Apis indica Apis cerana is indigenous to Asia between Afghanistan and Japan, and occur from Russia and China in the north to southern Indonesia Apis cerana has been introduced recently to Papua New Guinea Apis cerana builds a nest consisting of a series of parallel combs, similar in style to Apis mellifera, and builds its nest within a cavity As... benefits to be gained from bees These benefits include the pollination of plants, harvests of honey and beeswax, as well as a number of other useful products 1 Bees and their role in forest livelihoods Today, apiculture plays a valuable part in rural livelihoods worldwide, and this book aims to provide an insight into the many ways in which bees and beekeeping contribute to these livelihoods, and how to. .. provide the means for beekeepers to advance their craft, ensure protection of their bees, processing for honey and wax, access to markets, and marketing support Access to a network at a wider level, as provided by Bees for Development, assists beekeepers to make contact with national and international networks, to find out about sources of training, markets, research findings, and raises their awareness of. .. diversity with the species Apis dorsata, these two are once again regarded as separate species Apis laboriosa Apis laboriosa are the largest of the honeybees They are found in the Himalayas (Nepal, Bhutan, and China) at higher altitudes than Apis dorsata Apis laboriosa nests are similar to those of Apis dorsata, but Apis laboriosa colonies are usually found together in clusters, with sometimes up to 100 combs... other pollinators like bats and birds play a greater role in plant pollination In farmed areas, bees are needed for the pollination of many cultivated crops (see Chapter 7), and for maintaining biodiversity in ‘islands’ of non-cultivated areas The main role of bees in the different ecosystems is their pollination work Other animal species are connected with bees: either because they eat the brood or... and beeswax are far more tangible, but their value must be far less than the wealth created as a result of optimal pollination of plants 3 Bees and their role in forest livelihoods BOX 2 Ten excellent reasons for beekeeping 1 Pollination Bees pollinate flowering plants and thereby maintain the ecosystem Bees pollinate cultivated crops 2 Honey People everywhere know and like honey, a valuable food and. .. 8 Apis mellifera Apis cerana has been introduced to Papua New Guinea Apis mellifera Bees and their role in forest livelihoods AFRICA Apis mellifera honeybees are indigenous to Africa There are many different races of African bees; see Ruttner (1998) for more information In South Africa bees are of the race Apis mellifera capensis, a race of bee with unique biology and behaviour (see below) Tropical... nesting hive bees Stingless bees are also present throughout tropical and southern sub-tropical Asia European Apis mellifera have been introduced to most of Asia as shown in Table 4, and this exotic species may now be the predominant honeybee species present in China, Japan and Thailand, and other countries of Asia 9 Bees and their role in forest livelihoods TABLE 4 Numbers of Apis mellifera colonies in. .. importation of the beeswax foundation used in frame hives: this is impossible for beekeepers without financial assets THE SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS APPROACH The Sustainable Livelihoods Approach allows appreciation of how these capital assets fit into the Sustainable Livelihoods Framework The Framework assists with consideration of the various factors that constrain or enhance the livelihood of a beekeeper and his . within seven main families, and one of these is the family Apidae. Apidae has three subfamilies: Xylocopinae, Nomadinae and Apinae. The subfamily Apinae has nineteen tribes including Apini. to Asia between Afghanistan and Japan, and occur from Russia and China in the north to southern Indonesia. Apis cerana has been introduced recently to Papua New Guinea. Apis cerana builds a. most of Asia as shown in Table 4, and this exotic species may now be the predominant honeybee species present in China, Japan and Thailand, and other countries of Asia. Bees and their role in