Lattice fence and hedge barriers around an apiary increase honey bee flight height and decrease stings to people nearby

Urban beekeeping is becoming more popular in the UK. One of the challenges faced by urban beekeepers is finding a suitable apiary location. Honey bees are often perceived as a nuisance, mainly due to their stinging behaviour. Here, we experimentally test the assumption that barriers around an apiary such as walls or fences, force the bees to fly above human height, thereby reducing collisions with people and, consequently, stinging. The experiment was conducted in two apiaries using two common types of barrier: a lattice fence (trellis) and hedge. Barriers were 2 m high, which is taller than > 99% of humans and is also the maximum height allowed by UK planning regulations for garden fences or walls. We found that barriers were effective at both raising the mean honey bee flight height and reducing stinging. However, the effects were only seen when the barrier had been in place for a few days, not immediately after the barrier was put in place. Although this raises interesting questions regarding honey bee navigation and memory, it is not a problem for beekeepers, as any barrier placed around an apiary will be permanent. The effect of the barriers on raising bee flight height to a mean of c. 2.2-2.5 m was somewhat weak and inconsistent, probably because the bees flew high, mean of c. 1.6-2.0 m, even in the absence of a barrier. As barriers can also reduce wind exposure, improve security and are inexpensive, we recommend their use around urban apiaries in places such as private gardens or allotments, where nuisance to humans is likely to be a problem

THE DEVELOPMENT PROBLEMS OF BIOLOGICAL BEEKEEPING

Beekeeping is an integral part of the European agricultural production. More than 620 000 beekeepers work in the beekeeping branch of the European Union. Beekeeping is recognised to be an activity, which has an essential significance in the sustainable development of the rural areas, in the job-creation, the conservation of the ecosystem’s biological diversity, and in the maintenance of ecological balance. The basic principle of biological beekeeping is the production of as natural produce as possible. The study uses the analytical method to explore the current situation in the biological beekeeping sector. The analytical and comparative method helped to identify the problematic issues concerning the implementation of the beekeeping process and support measures. To study different views on the problems of biological beekeeping, the following methods for interpretation of legal norms were used: grammatical, systemic, teleological, and historical. The inductive and deductive scientific research methods were used to draw conclusions regarding current normative regulations and to recommend possible solutions

General organic beekeeping data and market trends

The presentation "General organic beekeeping data and market trends" was part of the workshop "Organic beekeeping and market trends" at the BioFach Congress 2011. The aim of this workshop was to inform and discuss the current situation of production and market trends of organic beekeeping products

Assessing the role of the research in the transition to organic farming by using the Actor Network Theory: lessons from two case studies in France and Bulgaria

This paper explores the potential of Actor Network Theory (ANT) in understanding how the process of interaction and translation between human and non-human actors contribute to the development, adoption and diffusion of science-based innovations linked to the transition to organic farming. The study relies on two case studies, the French Camargue case covering a range of technical and social innovations, and the case from Bulgaria focusing on the development of a technical and product innovation, i.e. a veterinary product for organic beekeeping. The paper shows the limitations of classical approaches in studying innovations since they underestimate the role of heterogeneous actors, their status, and how they interact with each other. We argue that focusing on actors’ interactions helps to better understand the so-called “uncertainties” and “turning points” in the innovation development, as well as to interpret them as natural elements. Moreover we argue that challenges to tackle should be problematized to increase the success of research programs. We also stress the importance of opinion leaders during the implementation and diffusion phase of the innovation

Non-Credit Services of Group-Based Financial Institutions: Implications for Smallholder Women’s Honey Income in Arid and Semi Arid Lands of Kenya

This paper analyses the effect of non-credit services of joint liability credit institutions on smallholder women beekeepers’ honey income. The non-credit services offered to the beekeepers are mainly enterprise development services (training on marketing, business, production and subsector analysis). The study uses cross-sectional data from a survey of women beekeepers participating in group-based credit programmes; the survey was conducted in September 2005 in Makueni district of Kenya. The findings indicate that the number of enterprise development related trainings attended by women beekeepers that are offered by the group-based financial institutions positively and significantly influence honey income. The results confirm that non-credit services contribute positively to the enhancement of honey income. These results imply that extension and strengthening of group-based financial institutions’ non-credit services in the marginal areas will enhance development of smallholder agriculture for improved income generation.Credit, Finance, Honey, Makueni, Agricultural and Food Policy, Agricultural Finance, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Food Security and Poverty, Labor and Human Capital, Marketing, Productivity Analysis, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Development of Beekeeping: An Analysis Using the Technique of Principal Components

Beekeeping is an economic activity of the Brazilian agricultural sector and a powerful tool to achieve sustainable development. However, beekeeping still remains a modest activity compared to other areas, with a lack of technical knowledge and beekeeping practices that need to be standardized. This study represents a proposal for the diagnosis of beekeeping, to facilitate decision-making and to provide a faster development of the beekeeping activity. We investigated the process of adoption of beekeeping practices of 28 beekeepers and the quality of the honey produced by them in the Western region of Paraná, using the technique of Principal Components Analysis after the construction of apicultural indexes. Specifically, the honey produced in the Western region of Paraná be included in the requirements of national and international legislation, but the beekeeping practices adopted still require standardization so that the beekeepers have higher honey production. Also, the transformation of variables into apicultural indexes for later use in the analysis of principal components proved to be efficient to draw a beekeeping profile. Our research proves to be efficient in accurately diagnosing beekeeping bottlenecks, which may enable better decision-making and thus attract new entrepreneurs and increase their relevance to achieve sustainable rural development

Kikuji Yamaguchi Principles of Natural Beekeeping: A Novel Bio-Method of Natural Beekeeping for High Quality Royal Jelly Production

Many serious problems, such as artificial control and overworking of honey bee colonies, deterioration of bee products due to incorrect treatment and inadequate environments, have been postulated in recent beekeeping which should be resolved for sustainable development of modern highly profitable beekeeping in the future. Thus, a novel beekeeping method, Kikuji Yamaguchi Method of Natural Beekeeping (KYAMENABEE), was established for the natural royal jelly (RJ) preparation and the biological and pharmacological properties were examined for evaluation of the authenticity of royal jelly products. RJ samples prepared by KYAMENABEE and ordinal beekeeping were subjected to the quantitative analyses of 10HDA and MRJP1 multimer, identification of functional substance based on the effective growth and development of queen bees, stability of the functional substance, proliferative activity of human and animal cells. The content of 10HDA and MRJP1 multimer in RJ prepared by KYAMENABEE were significantly higher than that prepared by ordinal beekeeping. The biological and pharmacological activities were also superior for RJ prepared by KYAMENABEE than that by ordinal beekeeping. Thus, it might be important to use a novel beekeeping method, KYAMENABEE, in order to produce high quality RJ for sustainable development of biopharmaceutical beekeeping

Socio-Economic Analysis of Market Oriented Beekeeping in Atsbi Wemberta District of Eastern Zone, Tigray Region

This study was initiated to assess the process of beekeeping development and diffusion of improved beekeeping management and evaluate the impact of improved beekeeping on household income, per capita income, changes in capacity development and social issues such as educational expenditure, health improvement, and human capita. The study was based on a representative sample of 200 farm households (99 modern beekeepers and 101 traditional beekeepers) selected using random sampling. To analyze the process of beekeeping development and diffusion of improved beekeeping management and to evaluate the impact of improved beekeeping on household descriptive statistics and matching estimation methods were used respectively. Estimated result of the Heckman regression model indicates there is no selection bias. The descriptive analysis explain due to a number of beekeeping development interventions (i.e. supply of beekeeping materials, training) most modern beekeepers had progressive improvement on the utilization methods and honey handling techniques (i.e. skill improvement) together with their accessories, have been distributed to farmers. The propensity score matching result also indicates that the mean income of modern beekeepers is significantly higher than that of traditional beekeepers. The estimated results for the matching methods showed that the average income gain due to improved beekeeping ranges from 2679 to 2888 Birr per household per annum. The overall average total educational expenditures gain due to improved beekeeping ranged between 79.75 and 90.74 Birr and was significant at 1% level based on the kernel, nearest neighbor, stratified and radius, matching methods. The overall average human capital gain due to improved beekeeping ranged between 82.35 and 98.45 Birr and was significant at 5% level based on the kernel, stratified, radius and nearest neighbor, matching methods. Average per capita income gain due to improved beekeeping ranged between 428.4 and 493.5 Birr and was significant at 1% level based on the stratified, radius, kernel and nearest neighbor matching methods. The results certainly imply that the modern beekeepers had better living status than the traditional beekeepers in the woreda. It is suggested to focus on modern beekeeping development technologies and provision of relevant training as well as technical assistances need to up grade for the improvements in beekeeping production

Beekeeping adoption : A case study of three smallholder farming communities in Baringo County, Kenya

Peer reviewedPublisher PD