journal of renewable natural resources bhutan - Ministry of Agriculture

cooler places for bees to live in summer in low-altitude areas andcovering hives with jute sacks in winter in mid-altitude areas isreported to curtail migration of bees to some extent. Presence of sixcolonies of bees in five different households visited which reportedlyhave not migrated for many years support the opinions.Bees tend to abscond many a times. Besides human factors such asunskilled handling, disturbance to colonies results in absconding.Farmers attributed following reasons for absconding/migration ofbees:Heat stress due to lack of ventilation to keep cool in summerFood shortage due to complete harvesting before monsoon (June-July)Attack by predators such as cockroach, ant, bird, bear and hornetFrequent harvesting, unskilled handling and disturbance to hivesOver crowding of hivesNon removal of old colonies and dirt periodicallyDevelopment of new queen, division of colonies and in-fightingPredators and enemies of beesFarmers reported that ants, cockroaches, birds, bears and hornets are amajor threat to bees. Similar enemies of bees including Pine Marten,lice, and fleas have been reported from foothills of Nepal (Shukla,2000). But it is reported that Apis melipona miniature local bees haveinherent capacity to safeguard themselves forming a group and caneven kill enemies as big as hornet. High value of latter's products andcapacity to defend themselves from predators is positive attributes thatcould be capitalized.Other miscellaneous constraintsN. B. TamangFarmers still follow traditional crude beekeeping methodsTraditional hives have no provision for periodic inspection for pestand diseasesBeekeepers lack skills on modern beekeeping techniques (hivemaking, bee management, hygienic method of harvesting etc.)34