PAgainst the background of the malaria outbreak, the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands is advising all beekeepers to take special precautions in the management of their beehives during this period of mosquito control.

The chemical being used to eradicate the anopheles mosquito is hazardous to the honey bees at all stages, including eggs, larvae, pre pupae and adults. Every effort must be made, therefore, to prevent the drift/fog into the beehives to prevent destruction of the bee colonies. The drift may also contaminate stored honey and bee pollen within the beehive making them unhealthy for both bees and human consumption.

Protecting the beehives

In protecting the beehives, it is important to adhere to the following.

Listen carefully to announcements from the Ministry of Health regarding when and where spraying will be conducted.

Contact neighbouring beekeepers and inform them of the procedures.

Since spraying is usually carried out at dusk, it is important to allow all foraging bees into the hives, prior to preparing them against spray drift.

Remove hive covers and place an empty hive body unto each beehive then replace the covers. This will provide additional space for ventilation.

Close all hive entrances by blocking them with rolled damped newspaper or damped cloth to absorb spray drift. The damp entrance blocks will also help to reduce the buildup of hive temperature.

Bees should be allowed to remain within the hives between five to 10 hours after spraying/fogging has been carried out.

After diffusion of spray or fog:

Remove entrance blocks and spray four to five mists of clean water from a spray bottle into each beehive.

Two to four hours after removal of entrance blocks, check for the removal of dead bees from the hives. This can be observed by paying attention to outgoing bees which carry dead bees or larvae and release them on the ground close to the hive entrance. If a large quantity of dead bees and bee larvae are observed, reduce the entrance to prevent robbing.

Other precautions

Additional precautions can be taken prior to spraying if found to be practical.

Covering beehives with black plastic sheeting only for a few hours. This will reduce the chemical impact. However, it will cause a buildup of heat if exposed to the sun.

If plastic is not available, wet cloth can be used to cover beehives for a few hours.

Beehives can be relocated; however, it may not be practical in some cases because of the financial cost.

Precaution: Beehives which have their entrances blocked and hives covered for extended time may not survive since air flow is restricted.

All unregistered beekeepers are asked to notify the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Bodles Research Station, on the exact location of their apiaries and the number of colonies in their possession. This will assist the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands to provide accurate information to the Ministry of Health.

- Prepared by

Apiculture Unit

Research & Development Division

Ministry of Agriculture & Lands