Bees for Deve/opmenf Journal 69 ZOOM IN TO NICARAGUA

Mexico

ZOOM IN TONICARAGUAG///es Pert, France

Sting less bees

The local bee '/icofe' Melipona beecheii and Trigono sp were kept long before thearrival of the Spanish conquerors in the 1 6th century. Insects are very much a part ofthe country's tradition. For example, to prevent bad luck from entering a house, a nestof 'sa/fecon' Trigona sp is placed over the front door. The bee symbolises sunlight.

NICARAGUAPopulation: 5.2 million

Honey produced by '//cote' bees washighly respected as a medicinal product.It was harvested from swarms in theforest and from local style hives. Today,^^ke other countries such as Brazil and.^-nezuela, this bee is used very little inNicaragua, but new interest is neededbecause of all the advantages it offers.

Two types of honey are offered for sale byhawkers in the streets of Managua. Onehoney is from Africanised honeybees andthe other from '//cote' bees. The secondtype Is more expensive, because of itsrarity and renown for great medicinalvirtues. It is used to cure conjunctivitis byputting a few drops of honey directly intothe eye. In some regions of the country,mothers rub a cloth impregnated withhoney on their baby's tongue to get rid ofparasites in the mouth. In other regions,new mothers 'purify their blood' just aftergiving birth, by drinking large amounts ofherbal tea made from '//nocuago' barkand sweetened generously with '/'/cote1

honey.

Beautiful ladies follow the tradition ofusing a beauty mask made of '//cote'honey mixed with powdered milk.Another interesting use is to get a young

horse to willingly take the bit by smearingit with honey.

Africanised honeybeesEuropean honeybees were introduced intothe Pacific coastal region in the 14thcentury by German settlers who wantedto increase coffee production byimproving pollination. In the 1960s thenational agricultural programme

The biggest country in CentralAmerica, Nicaragua is a land of lakes,forests and volcanoes. Its famous lakescover an area of 9240 km2 and makeup Central America's largest reserve offresh water. Lakes Nicaragua andManagua cover 10% of the country'ssurface. There are 58 volcanoes, ofwhich six are still active.

A series of economic crises, the civilwar during the 1980s and 1990s, aswell as a variety of natural disastersincluding Hurricane Mitch in October1998 have reduced Nicaragua to thesecond poorest country on thecontinent after Haiti. In 2002 incomeper capita was under US$550. 25% ofthe child population is suffering fromchronic malnutrition, and in someregions like Matagalpa this figure risesto 50%.

(left) Melipona beecheii brood and thequeen in the centre

developed beekeeping and in 1980 theCanadian government collaborated indevelopment with the NGO CARE.

In 1984, the arrival of the first swarms ofAfricanised honeybees radically changedbeekeeping methods and work habits.Beekeepers had to adapt to this new bee,which was much more defensive than theEuropean bee.

An Africanised honeybee queer

Bees for Deve/opmenf Journal 69 ZOOM IN TO NICARAGUA

Fresco in the Masaya Museum depicting Nicaragua's different agricultural activities

Traditionally, hives were kept close tohouses or in the garden. However, withAfricanised bees, hives had to be movedto a safe distance and the size ofsmokers doubled. Strangely enough,after the initial adaptation period, even ifthe number of beekeepers has fallenslightly, the number of hives has on theother hand increased. The mostsurprising result has been the notableincrease in honey production per colony:from 10 kg to 30 kg per year. In thecentral region of Boaco, and to the northof Chinandega, production reaches75 kg with well-managed colonies.

As long as beekeepers protect themselveswell and are equipped with adequatesmokers, beekeeping remains viable. IfAfricanised bees have shortcomingsincluding defensiveness and desertion,they also have many good qualities.

The bees are slightly smaller thanEuropean races of Apis mellifera butadapt well to hives with frames. Thedistance between the axis of the framesneeds to be 31.8 mm instead of 34.9mm for European bees. Worker cellsmeasure 4.8 mm whereas the diameterof European worker cells is 5.3 mm. Thesize of queen and drone cells is the same

Lucia harvesting honey fromMelipona beecheii

for Africanised bees as European bees.

Beekeepers may have to feed up to 5 kgof sugar per colony to counter one of thecharacteristics of Africanised bees -absconding when stores run low. It has tobe noted that most beekeepers make themistake of not leaving enough honeywhen they harvest, blaming Varroa forwinter losses when in fact the beesabsconded.

Costs

Empty hive: USS8-10

Hive with two brood boxesready to produce: US$80

1 kg of sugar: US$0.3

1 kg of wax (block): US$2.8

1 sheet of foundation: US$1

Fifty honeybee colonies can providesufficient income to support a family.

ZOOM IN TO NICARAGUA Bees for Deve/opmenf Journal 69

Peso Neto: 500 grs. MlpJ Pur/7 17 NflftirSllRegistro Sanrtario: 8262 xrZ*-t>l- JL Hill I/ I VCi-l't*/ Cf-fr

Consumir antes de:

31 de agosto de 2005

Asociacion de Apicultoresde Boaco (APIBO), J.R.A.

Centra de Acopio yComercializacion de

Miel de Abeja

B San Nicolas, costadoEste del Colegio Divina

Misericordia. Boaco,Nicaragua.Telefax: (505) 0-842-1606.E-mail: apibo@tmx.com.ni

Codigo de Certificacion OrganicaN- T-5181

CONSORZIO PER IL CQNTROLLODEL PRODOTT1 BIOLOGICI CCPB.ITALIA

Segiin R. E. Lottirop la composiciotde la tniel pura y natural es lasiguiente:

Analisis Qutmic.o %

Levadura

Glucosa

Sacarosa

Dextrina

Proteina

Nrirogeno

Actdos (ackto lomico)

Humedat)

Materiates no dosfeaoos

41.00

34.00

1.90

1.80

030

O.W

0.10

18.00

2.86

Tolales 100.00

7"431008"400012"

An organic honey label designed for the Italian market

blemseft is the most serious concern faced

by beekeepers. This problem continues togrow, making beekeeping difficultespecially during the production season.Theft usually takes place at night whenthe hive is knocked over and the framesfull of honey are taken, or the whole hiveis stolen. Beekeepers must keep watch inan organised manner to protect theirhives.

Africanised bees are strongly resistant tobrood diseases and beekeepers needonly to control Varroa. Currently itappears to be adequately controlled withthe use of thymol crystals: twoapplications a year of 200g per colony.The melted crystals are simply put in ametal lid on the bottom board of the hiveduring June and again in September.

£|.rganic honey

-icaragua has very few areas ofextensive crops requiring insecticidespraying and the farming communitydoes not have enough money to buyherbicides. As a result, beekeepersprepared to respect a few rules of apiarymanagement can easily produce organichoney.

Except for Varroa treatments there are noother real constraints for organicbeekeeping - everyone extracts theirhoney, recycles their own wax and makestheir foundation at the production co-operative in Baguas, Albisuris. It goeswithout saying that the interior of hivesmade from wood from the 'pochofe'Bombax ellipticum tree should not bepainted. Producers interested in theexport market cannot feed with sugar.

The collection centre in Boaco, APIBO, issituated in the middle of the country andallows beekeepers to market organichoney at a price of US$2 per kilo. Most

Is exported to Italy and Germany. Eachproducer has to provide a minimum of300 kg (44 gallon drum) to ensuretraceability of the product - the producercan be identified if there is a problem.

As well as providing a guaranteedmarket, the collection centre allows its 53members to purchase thymol and otherequipment and offers technical advice.During 2002, APIBO exported sixcontainers each containing 70 drums oforganic honey, and sold 15 tonnes of'ordinary' honey on the local market.

Even If '/icofes1 produce small amounts ofhoney (5 kg/colony) the honey sells forthree times the price of honeybee honey,especially during Holy Week. The honeyis highly scented with a higher moisturecontent of 34%, compared with the 1 8%of Africanised honeybee honey. Stinglessbees also offer the advantage of being

quite happy in a simple wooden boxwithout frames, and do not require anyanti-Varroa treatment. What is more,children can learn how to handle insectsand sell the few kilos of honey at a goodprice.

Worthwhile investment

Beekeeping is indisputably a highlylucrative alternative for numerous small-scale farmers in Nicaragua. Theenvironment is suitable for producing thequality and even organic honey that islacking on the world market. Investmentin beekeeping remains greatly inferior toall other areas of agricultural production.With regard to the defensive nature ofAfricanised honeybees, the solution ofselective breeding for gentleness ispreferable to importing European bees.

Further reading

AGUILARJ (2003} La Prensa 31/01.

ESPINA PEREZ,D; ORDETX,G S (1984)Apicultura Tropical. Editorial Tecnologiade Costa Rica.

RODRIGUEZ,C (1993) V/c/a Ap/'co/a 59.

WOOD,C (2000) Guide U/ysseNicaragua.

Dimas Perez is a beekeeper. "1 domigratory beekeeping in the'campanilla' once a year. I do not havetransport so I hire a small truck with adriver to take me 40 km, near Boaco.It costs me USS37 per trip, but in twomonths I harvest up to 40 kg of honeyper colony. The land where I put myhives is watched over by the ownerand costs me US$34".

Training with ES44 in Baguas: Vicente with his queen-rearing frame