IF YOU think beekeepers come from another planet, you might be right. Their head-to-foot full coverage outfits make them look like sinister figures in a plot to annihilate the insect population except that nothing is farther from the truth.
Beekeepers are humans with the alien idea of multiplying the much-maligned busybodies called bees. This partnership between man and insect is crucial to the existence of ordinary mortals.
If we have to bless our children with a bright, healthy future, we have to bless our bees even more for without bees, we die. It is a grim picture brought on by over-development, over-sanitized environments, destruction of natural forests, lack of flowering plants, the use of pesticides, and the dreaded climate change.
Human beings think that the earth’s resources are inexhaustible, resulting in withdrawing too much from the planet and not giving back enough. Did you know that our honeybee population around the world is dying off at alarming rates? With this fact, it pays to be discerning about the source of your “genuine” honey.
If there are fewer bees, how can there be lots of honey? And be wary of honey sold so cheaply, so, always buy from reputable beekeepers. I would also like to draw attention to genuine honey gathered from the wilds. The honey may be genuine, but the methods for harvesting might not be sustainable.
Honey gatherers tend to overharvest, thus, leaving the poor bees (usually the pukyutan, or Apis dorsata) with no food of their own because the humans stole theirs. (This evokes school days of bullies grabbing lunch boxes).
Sometimes, the bullies, este, the harvesters destroy the whole hive indiscriminately, thus, forcing the bees to go helter-skelter looking for shelter. At this point, may the gods of Nature cause a swarm of bees, wasps, and hornets to invade all facial cavities of these bullies. The piece de resistance will be going south and stinging them where the sun doesn’t shine.
Unfortunately, we have bees that don’t sting. W-e-e-e-ll, they do but imperceptibly so. On the other hand, having native stingless honeybees can be a boon to nature lovers and gardeners for, then, there will be friendlier relations between man and bees.
Here’s the buzz: The Tetragonula biroi, or the stingless native bee that we call lukot or kiwot or kiyot make beekeeping less threatening. “Stingless” is a misnomer because these bees have stingers only they do not use them. The kiyot may be found in hollow tree trunks, in bamboo, even empty ant and termite nests.
At home, a colony had converted my mother’s antique clay water jar (banga) into their hive and that is how I learned that the “flies” that I saw hovering here and there are actually honeybees.
The banga lid was an out-of-order cheap plastic clock that had the right size for a lid and it was months after when I discovered that the lid was stuck and a short waxy protrusion had developed where the lid and the jar lip meet. I saw the “flies” entering and exiting the tunnel and when I inadvertently got the lid unstuck, a sticky liquid started oozing out. It was yellow with a slight green tinge and had a tart taste. I had my first taste of kiyot honey!
The kiyots are not only cute but are important pollinators of mango, pili, rambutan and lanzones trees. Stingless bee honey is more nutritious than ordinary honey and has anti-inflammatory, anti-cancer, and anti-viral properties. Its anti-bacterial activities seem more powerful than the manuka honey. The stingless species produce less honey which makes its honey more expensive than the regular one.
Bees have to travel a distance similar to three trips around the world to come up with 450 grams of honey. They cover a five-kilometer radius each day to visit about 2,000,000 flowers for nectar and pollen. Try not to eradicate wildflowers just so the garden will look manicured. Bees need flowers, so, please plant more and hold the harmful pesticides. Remember, too, that deforestation causes harm to honeybees, so, plant trees. And plant the native kind.
Many thanks to Dr. Anabel Villanueva for organizing Beekeeping: Management and Potentials of Native Honeybees. This is in cooperation with the NTFP (Non-Timber Forest Products) and restaurateur Aboy Evaristo who is also an expert beekeeper.
Remember: Bee kind. Bee nice. Bee loving. Or you’ll bee sorry.