Walia Special Edition on the Bale Mountains (2011) - Zoologische ...

at high points on the trees to prevent badgers climbing. Although the theft of honey or hives by
another beekeeper is very rare and carries with it serious implications for standing in the community,
one beekeeper stated that it is not uncommon to keep some hives in ‘hidden’ trees for security.
An active hive was observed in a dead tree and informants explained that trees are not
chosen for their flowers as bees are considered to fly over considerable distances to collect nectar
and pollen. Informants inferred bees forage for flower rewards up to 20 km to because hives begin
to produce honey even when the trees and other plants in their surrounding neighbourhood remain
flowerless and the nearest floral resources are 20 km away.
Table 1. Notes for several tree species identified as important by the beekeepers interviewed.
HExO (Hagenia abyssinica, Rosaceae) was considered by all four beekeepers the preferred
wood for hive-making, as it is durable and the scent is attractive to bees. This is in line with
the suggestion that it is chosen for its flowers and provision of warmth. Wood from this
species was the carried furthest from where it grew for the purpose of producing hives; hexo
hives were found considerably lower than the tree itself.
SATTO (Erica arborea, Ericaceae family) is found from 2600m upwards and ‘is considered
to be both durable and attractive to bees as hives although not many hives are made from it
due to its narrow trunk’. It does not usually exceed 10 metres in height (Fichtl & Adi 1994).
The Harenna Forest is known for its ‘Erica forests’, this provides an incentive for tourism
and scientific research in the area. The flowers of SATTO are abundant and produce large
quantities of pink pollen and nectar.
DANISA (Dombeya torrida, Sterculiaceae family) was not found below 2200 m but was
abundant immediately above this point. None of the beekeepers had produced hives from its
wood but, where found, they almost always housed a hive, its straight, narrow trunk and neat
canopy being particularly suitable.
MAKKANISA (Croton macrostachys, Euphorbiaceae family) was found below 2500 m
although they were less abundant in dense forest. It is transported considerable distances
for beehives. Only one of the beekeepers did not have active beehives made from this wood
although he hung a number of hives in its branches.
ABARA (Allophyllus abyssinica, Sapindaceae family), was found widely throughout the field
area although often in isolation from others of the same type. All four beekeepers owned hives
made from its wood and two kept hives in their bows.
WALENA (Erithrina brucei, Fabaceae family), was found predominantly below 2300 m .
Apart from one participant, whose hives were at the highest altitudes, the beekeepers all used
WALENA for producing hives. Of one participant’s 68 hives, 28 were produced from the
wood of WALENA although none of the trees were found within his immediate forest area.
Its long flowering season (from November to February) is beneficial for bees and the crushed
seeds can be mixed with water and given as feed for the bees (Fichtl & Adi 1994).
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