IMPORTANCE OF WILD HONEY BEES IN COMMERCIAL BEE KEEPING

Dr. B.K. SONTAKKE

PROFESSOR Department of Entomology,College of Agriculture,

TYPES OF HONEYBEES

 DOMESTICATED BEES

Apis Cerana indica (INDIAN HIVE BEE) Apis Melifera (ITALIAN HIVE BEE) WILD BEES ApisDorsata, A. laboriosa (ROCK BEE) Apis Florea ( LITTLE BEE) Trigona spp ( STINGLESS BEE)

INDIAN HIVE BEE

APIS MELLIFERA- ITALIAN BEE

STATISTICS OF HONEY BEE

COLONIES AND BEE PRODUCTS
WORLD SCENARIO

Bee colonies (A. mellifera) Honey production Bee wax

50 millions
14 lakh mt 43500 mt

There are 15 countries in the world which accounts for 90% of world honey production.

 CHINA SCENARIO

Bee colonies A. mellifera A. c. indica Honey production Bee wax Pollen Royal jelly

70 lakh 30 lakh 2.5 lakh mt 13000 mt 1000 mt 800 mt

INDIAN AND ODISHA SCENARIO

INDIA

Bee colonies A.c. indica, A. mellifera Wild bee colonies Honey production (both domesticated and wild) ODISHA Bee colonies A.c. indica A.mellifera Honey production Wild bee colonies Wild bee honey production

1.6 million 1.4 million mt 65000 mt

65000 6000 300 mt 1 to 1.5 lakh approx. 700 mt

APIS DORSATA- ROCK BEE

Characteristic of rock bee

There are two species A. dorsata and A. laboriosa. Found in hilly and forest area

Largest bee among all honey bee species

Nesting sites are tall trees, buildings, rocks and under

bridges. Bee population in single comb is 40 to 50 thousand bees Grow in open space as single comb Combs size goes upto one mt square (max. 6X3 feet) One nest contain min 20 kg of honey and 2kg of wax

Benefits of rock bee

Maximum honey production (about 2/3 rd of

the honey production in the country is from rock bees) Maximum wax production from left out colonies. Utilization of left out pollen for domesticated bees. Excellent pollination service with high flight range Helping in sustaining plant biodiversity.

APIS FLOREA- LITTLE BEE

Characteristics of A.florea
Being smallest among honey bees it called as

little bee. Found all over the plain area Construct single vertical comb particularly small trees and bushes. Next harvest may yield maximum upto half kg.

Benefits of A. florea
Honey is of high medicinal value as bees

foraging on small bushes and medicinal plants.

Gives pollination service in near by area. Help in maintaining biodiversty.

TRIGONA BEES- STINGLESS BEE

Characteristics of Trigona spp.

Smallest stingless bee. Breeds in wall and tree crevices No regular comb formation Prepares dark place to breed Foraging on small medicinal plants like tulsi

etc.

Benefits of Trigona spp.

Can be reared in small boxes. Colony division is possible Honey is of high medicinal value and

costliest. Gives pollination service near by areas

Harvesting of honey from wild colonies (A. dorsata)

Follow recent method to harvest honey from A. dorsata as

Chattishgarh, Jharkand and Maharashtra Reach to the colonies with the help of ladders or any convenient means Use of specially designed dress to reach the colony Spray water over the comb Remove the cover of the bees from the upper portion Cut half of the portion containing honey Send the honey ladden combs to the ground through buckets Extraction and purification by scientific methods .

Woyke,et.al.(2005) have demonstrated that it is possible to work with giant rock bee at day time without any protection

Amrit Rao Ghatge, Centre of Science for Villages (Pune)

APIS DORSATA HUNTING

Conservation of wild bees

Protect bees from fire and other harmful

practices of hunting. Develop consciousness about benefits of bees and services to mankind Follow modern practices of honey extraction without much harm to bees. Formation of bee keeper association for conservation and safety of wild bees Interference of govt. agencies specially forest dept. for conservation of wild bees

Busy bee
A bee has five eyes, three simple ones on top of its head, two compound ones with thousands of lenses and it has five thousands nostrils, nose enough to smell an apple tree three kilometers away. Busy as a bee is no overstatement. It literally works itself to death, all for the single teaspoon of honey spread upon your breakfast toast, the entire quota of its few short weeks of life. A half kilo jar of honey on your table represents eighty thousands kilometers as the bee flies or a girdling of our earth twice around. All its dipping into flowers is not a joyous game but an instinctual obedience to an ordinance of nature that command, While the earth remains, seed time and harvest shall not cease. There are now about one lakh species of pants that can never properly form seeds without the bees.

Eva Crane

IF THE BEE DISAPPEARED OFF THE FACE OF THE GLOBE THEN MAN WOULD HAVE ONLY FOUR YEARS OF LIFE LEFT. ALBERT EINSTEIN

THANK YOU