Beescape for Meliponines: Conservation of Indo-Malayan Stingless Bees

BEESCAPE

FOR MELIPONINES

CONSERVATION OF INDO-MALAYAN STINGLESS BEES

ABU HASSAN JALIL

IBRAHIM SHUIB M.B., B.S. (MALAYA)

Copyright © 2014 Abu Hassan Jalil. All rights reserved.

Library of Congress Control Number: 2014944666

ISBN

978-1-4828-2361-5 (sc)

978-1-4828-2362-2 (e)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Toll Free 800 101 2657 (Singapore)

Toll Free 1 800 81 7340 (Malaysia)

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

07/03/2014

CONTENTS

Acknowledgements

Endorsement

Preface

Chapter 1: Introduction

Stingless Bees

Distribution And Biology

Other Bees

Literature Cited

Chapter 2: Stingless Bee needs and requirements

Essentials

Wax

Cerumen

Uses Of Resin

Geopropolis

The Architecture Of The Nests.

The Clay

The Excrement Of Vertebrates

The Seeds

Nest Architecture, Nest Entrance And Building Materials And Its Constituents.

Main Nest Structure Requirements

Stingless Bee Forage

Nesting Habits, Breeding Habits & Eusociality Behavior & Characteristics.

Honeydews, Lichen And Oils

The Nectar

The Sap

The Honeydew

The Floral Oils

Bee Hive Air

Undesirable Forage Sources

Dangerous Honeys

Ericaceas Dangerous Or Suspicious Plants

Literature Cited

Chapter 3: Bee Plants And Bee Flowers

Selective Floral Foraging

Selective Resin Foraging

Selective Plants Associated Organisms

Worldwide Plants Visited By Bees – No. Of Genus With No. Of Species In Brackets

Common Names Of Plants In Landscape Industry

Plants Visited By Bees Photos

Chapter 4: Pests & Predators

Pests

Hive Beetles

Protect And Control

Phorid Flies

Remedial Steps

Ants

Other Predators

Lizards

Frogs And Toads

Spiders

Birds

Sun Bears

Rodents, Squirrels & Honey Badgers

Enemies

Insectivorous Plants

Protection And Control

Photos:

Chapter 5: Pollination

Stingless Bees

Pollination

Abiotic Pollination

Biotic Pollination

Mechanics Of Pollination

Bees, Plants & Pollination

Pollinators And Agriculture

Issues In Pollination Services

Trees Bees Use

Meliponines (Stingless Bees) And Crop Production

Table Of Regional Crops And Their Bee Pollinators

Literature Cited

Chapter 6: Stingless Bees In The Orchard

Orchards Using Stingless Bees For Pollination

Pollinator Diversity In Agricultural Ecosystems

List Of Fruit Tree And Associated Stingless Bee Species In Malaysia

Example Of Studies Done On Fruit Crop Production By Stingless Bee Pollination:

Growing Conditions

Pollinators Of The Cashew Tree

Conclusion

Literature Cited

Chapter 7: Stingless Bees In The Public Park

Forest Parks

Beekeeping In Protected Areas

Indigenous Knowledge And Equipment

Literature Cited:

Chapter 8: Stingless Bees In The Garden

Garden Corners For Insect Hostels

Meliponarium

How to build a Meliponarium

Feeding In The Meliponarium

Supplementary Feeding

Harmless Swarms (Bees As Pets)

Chapter 9: Stingless Bees In Landscape Planning

Variations

Concepts

Formal Bee-Scape

Semi Formal Bee-Scape

Vernacular Bee-scape

Vintage Bee-Scape

Modern Bee-Scape

Chapter 10: Landscape Of A Meliponary (Stingless Bees Farm)

Meliponines In A Meliponary

Meliponary Landscape Management

Human - Bee - Plant Interactions

Landscaping A Meliponary

Selected Palm Genera

Hive Density Planning

Chapter 11: Stingless Bees In Various Regions

Stingless Beekeeping And Bee Plants In Thailand

Introduction

Stingless Bee Culture

Differentiation Of Stingless Bee Nests

Utilization Of Stingless Bees

Using As Insect Pollinator

Stingless Bee Plants

Conclusion

Acknowledements

References

Establishing A Bee Friendly Garden Using Native Plants In Australia

Exotic Plants

Distribution Of Native Stingless Bees In South America.

Introduction:

New World Species Distribution

Tradition In Central America

Meliponiculture Ignored

Introduced Honeybees

Domestication Of Melipona

Domestication Of Trigona

Meliponiculture Project In Costa Rica

Stingless Bees In Costa Rica

Excerpts From Preliminary Study Meliponiculture In Peru (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Meliponini) Claus Rasmussen And Peter S. Castle. 2003

Managed Species In Peru

Stingless Bees In Angola

Stingless Bees In Guyana

Ahnand Rajkumar

Chapter 12: Sustainable Future Of Stingless Bees

Mitigating Circumstances

Bees And Ecology

Internal Hive Structure

Ideal Conditions

Sustainable Beekeeping

Pesticides

Protecting Bees

Protecting Bees From Pesticides 

Protecting Bees From Other Environmental Dangers

Bees And Forests

Climate Change And Bees

Recommendations

Chapter 13: Prehistoric Stingless Bees

Fossil Stingless Bees

Amber From Around The World

Reference Textbooks

Literature Cited:

Appendix A - Worldwide Bee Plants

Appendix B - Annual Calendar of Flowering Plants

Appendix C - Glossary Of Terms

Color Terms

Appendix D

Indo-Malayan And Australasian Meliponine List And Synonymy As Per Www.discoverlife .Org

Indo-Malayan & Australasian Species

Distribution List Of Indo-Malayan Stingless Bees

[Key To Workers Of Indo-Malayan Stingless Bees – V. 1.1, Deborah Roan Smith,2012]

Bibliography

CONSERVATION OF STINGLESS

BEES THROUGH BEE-SCAPE

Acknowledgements

This book was inspired after the 11th Asian Apicultural Association Conference in Terengganu, Malaysia, 2012 with many thanks to the following people:

Dato’ Prof Dr. Makhdir Mardan, Vice President of AAA and Chairman of the organizing committee of the 11th AAA conference who enlightened me with his conference closing address on the endangerment of the sustainable future of bees.

Prof. Dr. Cleofas R.Cervancia, Vice president of AAA and President APIMONDIA Regional Commission for Asia, who taught me on the importance of pollination and the wonders of flower anthesis.

Prof. Dr. Debra Smith, from University of Kansas, USA, who educated me on the diversity of the Indo-Malayan Stingless Bees during the AAA pre-conference workshops.

Dato Hj. Ismail Ngah, former Director General of the National Landscape Department of Malaysia, who inspired me by showing Malaysia to the world as the only country that, has its own National Landscape Policy.

Dr. Sagathevan Kuppusamy, Head of Science and Engineering Resources, Sunway University, who inspired me with his exploits in taxidermy on some of the fauna (more appropriately National Treasures) of Malaysia.

Special thanks to:

Dr. Hans Bänziger, from Chiang Mai University of Thailand, and Dr. Roy J. Beckemeyer, Editor of Journal of the Kansas Entomological Society for granting me permission for the use of Dr. H.B.’s pictures of remarkable Nest entrances

Dr. Claus Rasmussen, from Aarhus University in Denmark, who contributed the Study on Meliponiculture in Peru.

Prof. Dr. Anchalee Sawathum, from Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi, Thailand for literary contributions on Indo-Malayan Stingless Bees in Thailand

Robert Lutrell, of ANBEES group, Australia for literary contributions on Australian Native Stingless bees in Australia

Maria Rosa Bernasconi, of Universidad de la Vida Diaria of Argentina for literary contributions on South American Stingless Bees.

Conservation of Stingless Bees through Bee-scape

ENDORSEMENT

The efforts by the authors of this book Conservation of Stingless Bees Through Bee-scape, Mr. Abu Hassan Jalil and Dr Ibrahim Shuib must be commendable as there are not many practitioners of meliponiculture with vast and exhaustive experience in this field within the context of commercial exploitation of the little known stingless bees which have vast business potential as well as environmental diversity and sustenance of the green technology.

From their observation, they have managed to pen down the intricacies and the behavourial nature of these well-mannered creatures such that their lives will not be endangered and simultaneously provide an extensive insight into the development of a more regimented and knowledgeable meliponiculturist. These findings as well as the National Landscape Policies on the beautification of the environment, the etymology of beescape takes root.

It is hoped that this publication would generate more interest nationally and globally and generate a more regimented and knowledgeable practising meliponiculturists as well as future meliponiculturists . In endorsing this endeavour, the Koperasi Meliponi Kuala Lumpur Berhad, a recently formed cooperative body in Malaysia, wish every success to the authors and also to each and every individual and organisation having a common interest of mutual benefit.

MARDZUKI ABDULLAH, FCIS

Chairman

Koperasi Meliponi Kuala Lumpur Berhad

01 MAY 2014

Preface

Much has been studied on the pesticide effects on bees, but little has been studied on the impact of the Bird’s nest industry on the survival of the Indo-Malayan Stingless Bees in South East Asia. How the rapid growth in Major Agricultural land developments are also rapidly decreasing the wild colonies of Stingless Bees. With population explosions comes great development advancements and needs in bigger schools, hospitals and airports. Vast areas are cleared for such requirements.

For every 100 acres, there is an average of 30 bee colonies (personal encounters) that need to be contended with. Major developments involving vast virgin areas for clearing need to look into saving wild bee colonies prior to clearing. These log hives especially can be removed and placed in forest reserves or new Apiaries and Meliponaries established.

This book proposes proper landscaping practices to safeguard, acclimatise and conserve these bees, especially the endemic stingless bee species. We cannot tell predators and insectivorous birds or mammals not to devour the bees but we can tell the bees in unspoken communication by way of planting. As an example, consider the fact that birds usually capture bees above the canopy of trees, we can tell our stingless bees not go where the birds frequent. We do this by planting downward blooming flowers like Syzygiums, low flowering shrubs and beneficial ground covers like Portulacas and Zephyrantes.

We devise all sorts of traps and deterrents at their nests and hives to prevent and reduce predatory activity. From birds nets to Phorid fly traps at the Hive stations but their foraging of apical flowers is much to be desired in terms of bird’s predation. It may not be so difficult in the case of Palms and coconut trees. Palm tree flowers are favourites of Stingless Bees and are always under the protection of the Palm canopy. The height of these Palm blooms is a great deterrent to frogs and toads. Cleverly designed barriers (attached to the Palm trunks) can obstruct climbing frogs and lizards or chameleons from ambushing the foraging bees.

A well designed floral landscape can also help the bees conserve their flight range energy requirements. Thus, concentrating the bees’ efforts on regulating hive temperatures, nest building and brood health. Avoiding predating birds and freeing themselves from spider webs are a stressful day in the life of a Stingless Bee. Reducing this stress for them, allows them to pool their efforts into building stronger colonies. Assuming that the bee colonies as a single super organism will require all the help it can get to muster survival in the three dimensional zone of varied and endless predators and dangers.

The sudden surge of beekeepers motivated by the lure of medicinal stingless bee honey has seen a trend of uncontrolled exploitation of jungle resources and cutting down of Meliponine nest host trees. It is not only a plunder but also a disturbance to a natural habitat and a reduction to pollinators of jungle flowers. This potential imbalance has caused wild life like Sun bears to encroach into Meliponaries and eventually human habitat. In the first quarter of 2014 alone, there were four reports of Bear attacks on Meliponaries and an Apiary plus one report on a human in East of Peninsula Malaysia. Whereas, the last known reported case of such a similar attack was about 5 years ago.

Beekeepers are now being encouraged to capture Stingless bee colonies by the Eduction method. This method is where a bait box is used and the host trees need not be felled and subsequently the natural ecology remains intact. Many efforts are made to educate village and indigenous beekeepers through Government research institutions, beekeeping associations and cooperatives. Yet, due to the overwhelming number of enthusiasts and intending beekeepers, these learning programs seem insufficient. Efforts are now in the planning stage for introduction of Meliponiculture into secondary (high) school curriculums.

It is hoped that the message in this book will reach the appropriate masses to realise the value of these treasures of the tropical forests.

CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Scape of the bee is the basal segment of the bee’s antennae whereas ‘Bee-scape’ is a word coined to denote the process of planning a landscape for the sustainability of bees with a beautification scheme using plants and flowers that bees have an affinity for.(otherwise known as bee plants and bee flowers in the Apiculture and Meliponiculture community)

Majority of stingless bees have an affinity for generally white or yellow flowers. They tend to prefer inflorescence – blooming, blossoming flowers. They do forage on tubular flower and fully utilize their secret arsenal namely their mandibles. With the mandibles they pinch their way to the nectar by nibbling through the sepals and base of the corolla. Doing this they slurp the sepal sap together with nectar, making their honey produced a little different from honeybees. This book touches on Stingless bees (Worldwide) in general as compared to other bees (solitary bees, social bees, halicitid bees, etc.) and the Indo-Malayan stingless bee (known as ‘kelulut’ in the Malay Language; ‘lukut’ in Philippines, ‘klanceng’ in Java, Indonesia; ‘emmu’ in Sulawesi, Indonesia; ‘Damar bee’ in India) group or genera found in Malaysia. Also delved into are different types of flowers and resinous plants (indigenous as well as exotic) in Malaysia that Indo-Malayan stingless bees frequently forage.

Stingless bees

The tribe Meliponini contains several genera of stingless bees, the stingless bees are  social bees with their natural distribution is throughout tropical and subtropical areas of the world, and there are around 500 species.  They live in colonies ranging from a few hundred individuals to many thousands.  Their caste system, division of labour between workers and some of the physical structures of the adult bee such as corbicula (pollen baskets) are similar to the Apis genus of honey bee. 

They are biologically different from honey bees in a few significant ways.  The feeding of stingless bee larvae is very different from the way that honey bee larvae are fed.  In stingless all the food the larva will need for its development is placed in the cell in one operation by a nurse bee.  One of the workers will then lay an egg (known as a trophic egg) into the cell, to be consumed by the queen, before laying her own egg into the cell.  This then is sealed by workers for the larva to mature and pupate.  The queen will receive most of her nutrition same as worker larva nutrition, only in larger amounts.

Stingless bee brood cells are arranged in clustered groups or layered combs, which may be in a progression of a spiral.  Their nests can be found in hollowed cavities in tree trunks or tree branches.  Some species nest underground and may take over from a termite’s nest.  The nest is frequently divided into two parts - the brood chamber where the larvae are reared and, in some species, a special area for storing honey and pollen.  The nest is made of a waxy substance called cerumen, collected from resinous trees, and covered in a tougher wax known as batumen.

Extended colonies are prepared by workers from an existing colony starting up a nest in a new cavity.  Eventually a young queen from the old colony goes to the new site with a few males and gradually the colony builds up to become independent of the parent colony.  Female caste is different from the honey bee (which arises because of food quality).  Michener 2000, describes three different systems of queen determination.

1. A small number of queens are reared at the margins of the comb and the quantity of food supplied appears to be the controlling factor in queen development.

2. The second system uses clusters of specially shaped, well separated and well fed cells.

3. The third system uses no special cells but the small sized females produced mature into queens after hatching.

Mating occurs outside of the hive with the virgins entering into male mating swarms.  The life span of the male stingless bee ends after mating.

Distribution and biology

The distribution of stingless bees in the Indo-Malay/Australasian region stretches from India to the Solomon Islands and from China (Yunnan, Hainan, Taiwan: Wu 2000) to Australia (New South Wales). Schwarz (1937) suggested that the greater abundance of stingless bees in Thailand and Malaysia, including all of Borneo, is due to the abundance of resin-secreting trees (Dipterocarpaceae) and humid tropical climate, although most likely an array of factors are responsible for this concentration of species.(Rasmussen