Apiculture: Case Study 3, Khasi Hills
Apiculture: Case Study 3, Khasi Hills
| Main Info | ML/KH/AGRI/003: Apiculture, Khasi Hills |
| Name of the Technique | Traditional Apiculture/ Beekeeping |
| Source Publisher | Primary Survey, East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya |
| Source Year | 2023 |
| History Of The Technique | The Traditional Knowledge Holder has almost forty years of experiences as a bee keeper. Bees’ colonies are initially collected from the wild and are rear in cave cavities using wooden hollow log. Bee keeping has been practiced since old aged times by an ancient people in this region. It is a part of region’s tradition, as it contributes not only for self-consumption but also as a source of livelihood and healthcare to mankind. |
| Manufacturing technique | (Methods require for production): Bee’s colonies are collected from the wild. Every honey bee colony, it is comprising of a single queen (syiem ngap or kiaw) Apis cerena, a few hundred drones which are male insect (Ngam tem) and a several thousand workers which is sterile female (Ngap raitung). For collection of the bee’s colonies, initially, a small cavity (krem ngap) is created in the forested area under projecting rocks which are sheltered from rain, wind and water- logging. Once the cavity is dug out, the forepart is tightly covered with one large and several smaller pieces of stone, fitting snugly to protect from attack of wild animals leaving only a small gap at the back of the cavity for entry of bees. These activities were carried out during the month of February and June. Thereafter, a thick wooden log is made and left under the cavity. The bee’s swarms started arriving in late June or early July and inhabited in the cavity. The bees enter and occupied at the bottom of the hollow cavity, which was collected soon after their establishment. The bees are then settled down and started building up their colony. |
| Method of Preparation | Protection of queen- The TK holder noticed unusual feature in the bees, movement of queen along with a part of bee’s colony from maternal nest to a new site. To overcome this feature, he removed the hind wing and fore wing of the queen by cutting and is then kept inside the cavity. However, regular monitoring of the cavity is needed. Feed- No artificial feeding is given. The bees searched food naturally by feeding on the wild plants and flowers in and around the forest area. Processing of Honey: -For processing, harvested honey is cooked for 30 minutes and filtered in order to separate the wax from honey which is then followed by storing in a cleaned steel container and bottling if he gets order from the customer. He sells at a price Rs 800/- per litre. |
| Material Composition | Wooden Log, Long Bamboo Stick, Bucket, Pot |
| How to implement | Harvesting of honey: Honey is harvested using a short and a long stick made out of bamboos, by inserting a long bamboo stick inside the hive, the honey comb was cut using a short stick. The honey is seperated from starch and larva by blowing. The honey was collected in a bucket or a pot. Harvesting is done twice a year during May -June (Um- nagp lyuir) and November- December (UmNgap tlang) and yielded 20 liters (on an average) from two bee hives in two harvested seasons. |
| New R & D leads | Disease Management The Traditional Knowledge Holder (TKH) noticed the common diseases (Pang Khlam) and report losses of ten bee hives. He informed no control measures can be taken since the root cause of the diseases is unknown. However, regular monit |
| Theme | Traditional Animal Husbandry |
| Sub Theme | Beekeeping |
| Source Publisher | Primary Survey, East Khasi Hills, Meghalaya |
| Source Year | 2023 |