Relocating swarms for pollination: How feral bees can be integrated into sustainable farming strategies

2010 Annual Report for FW10-040

Project Type: Farmer/Rancher
Funds awarded in 2010: $29,975.00
Projected End Date: 12/31/2011
Region: Western
State: Hawaii
Principal Investigator:
Jennifer Bach
Honeybee Education Program

Relocating swarms for pollination: How feral bees can be integrated into sustainable farming strategies

Summary

Relocating Swarms for Pollination: How Feral Bees Can Be Integrated Into Sustainable Farming Practices has begun and, and we are right on track with our objectives and timeline. The project is currently involved with selected farmers setting up hives and swarm traps. Since the arrival of the Small Hive Beetle there have been challenges with our farmers and newly established swarms. Increased pest control measures are being implemented.

Objectives/Performance Targets

Objective 1:

Develop protocols and techniques to be used by farmers to hive feral honeybee swarms that will be used for their farm pollination needs. This project will work directly with selected farms teaching producers to capture, translocate and manage their viable hives for their farms pollination. Each farm will provide feedback and complete surveys that will be developed into an educational resource to be used by other farmers of similar crops and region.

6/2010 – 6/1/2011: Swarm traps placed and monitored (swarm season runs from March – November, depending on area)

7/2010 – 6/2011: Captured feral colonies placed in manageable hives and to moved to farm sites

7/2010 – 6/2011: Hive management and teaching beekeeping principles to farmers on site, monthly surveys by farmers and beekeepers to asses manual/educational material

Technical Advisor visits: Three visits throughout duration of program 6/1/10 – 6/3/10, 11/1/10 – 11/3/10, 5/15/11 – 5/17/11 (dates may change)

Objective 2:

Design, collaborate and construct inexpensive, sustainable hives from local materials and reusable products that are manageable for modern beekeeping practices.

6/10 – 12/10: Hiring of construction labor to design and construct inexpensive locally made hives

12/10 – 2/11: Develop plans for inexpensive hives into handouts and post on the Internet

3/11 – 4/11: Workshop that will present information and plans for inexpensive hives to farmer and the beekeeping communities

Objective 3:

Provide GPS location points of swarms to UH Honeybee Research Team as well as provide a sample of bees upon request for honeybee pest virus interaction study. (6/2009 – 6/2010)

Objective 4:

Disseminate information on the relocation of feral swarms into established pollination hives with handout and booklets, workshops and Internet information. (3/2011 – 6/2011)

Accomplishments/Milestones

Selected farmers have begun working with the project. So far three out of four farmers have caught swarms and relocated them into two styles of hives; langstroth hives and top-bar hives.

We are working with a number of top-bar hive designs to distinguish what is best for Hawaiis’ unique environment.

Our educational webpage has been created. Information gathered from our project’s findings will be posted.

Workshop participants continue to register for the upcoming beginning beekeeping workshops.

Most of our participating farmers/producers have caught or gathered at least one pollination hive, if not more. One our farmers/producers, Roy Vanderhoff, has declined participation with our project. We have replaced him with an organic farmer, Sue who has a total of two colonies in a Langstroth hives. Mahana Beck has a total of four colonies in Langstroth hives. Sue has a total of three hives, two in Langstroth and one in a Top-Bar hive. Mary Prevetz has not yet caught or gathered a hive yet due to receiving equipment after swarm season.

Most equipment has been ordered as of August 2010. Swarm traps and lures were set up in June 2010. Swarm traps and lures have proven to be a excellent resource for catching feral colonies. Strategic placement and sufficient nectar flow is a key factor in swarm capture. Currently, beekeepers Alison Yahna and Jennifer Bach are working with farmers on management and creating an Integrated Pest Management strategies for their own farm.

Our website was created in August 2010 and can be found at www.honeybeesforfarmers.com. This website explains our Western SARE-funded project, honeybee removal tutorial, Affordable Top-Bar Hive Plans and planting beneficial plants for honeybees. We are planning to add Hawai’i Integrated Pest Management Strategies page soon. This website is a resource for all beekeepers and farmers in the nation.

Impacts and Contributions/Outcomes

Our outreach endeavors include attending a number events as guest speakers to introduce our project and educate farmers on honeybee pollination. Jennifer Bach attended the Honeybee Pollination Conference on November 5, 2010 at the University of Hawai’i, Manoa. The primary reason of visit was to meet with Scott Nikaido, our technical advisor and other Island bee keepers who have created in-expensive hives from recycled materials.

We have experienced extreme difficulties in our project due to the arrival of a new honeybee pest on Hawai’i Island. The Small Hive Beetle(SHB) was found on Hawai’i Island in April 2010. The SHB has spread quickly over the the Island, infesting most domestic hives in a matter of months. We have lost an estimate of over 42 hives due to the SHB and Varroa mites. Many of these hives were newly established colonies from swarms or removals. This has affected our methods and project. We are now focusing on SHB management. New methods and materials are needed to to ensure hive success. New methods of swarm transfer and colony relocation are being tested. Results will be distributed on our web site as well in our workshops. We believe this information is crucial in the management of honeybee pollination.

Workshop dates are scheduled for January in South Kona and February in the Hamakua District. e have over 60 participants that are interested in our Bee Keeping for Farmers Workshops. These classes will include in-class informational presentation as well as hands-on training with beekeeping a swarm transfer.

We are looking forward to this coming spring. We hope to take full advantage of our project during the peak of swarm season. Success of feral swarms that have been established into managed pollination colonies will be documented and further workshops, web updates and booklets will be released to farmers and public nearing the end of our project.

Collaborators:

Alison Yahna

beeoracle@hotmail.com
Beekeeper
PO Box 679
Naalehu, HI 96772
Office Phone: 8089298117
Website: www.wildbeesandhoney.com