Text by Stacy Adhiambo, Kenyan Intern 

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Welcome to the captivating and enlightening world of bees! In this blog post, we are about to embark on an exciting journey into the realm of advanced beekeeping techniques. Join me as I share my unforgettable experience during my internship at the Save the Elephants, Elephants, and Bees project. During this internship, I had the privilege of delving into the magical world of tiny yet extraordinary pollinators.

In the semi-arid region of Sagalla, as the rain brought a glimmer of hope, the bees seized the opportunity to explore and search for nectar and pollen. In the beekeeper’s calendar of this arid area, this period meant the bees could at least sustain themselves by foraging hence a chance to grow the number of colonies.

The buzz grew louder as new swarms arrived, occupying hives on the Beehive Fence farms and catcher boxes hung on massive baobab trees. The good news kept reaching the Research Centre, as farmers were thrilled and seeking advice on how to care for these swarms. This prompted our resident bee expert, Loise, to offer advanced beekeeping skills to assist the farmers.

Our story takes an exciting turn with the arrival of Loise. Get ready to immerse yourself in her wealth of bee knowledge as we embark on a three-day training program on queen rearing, a vital process in maintaining strong bee colonies.

The training program commences with a thorough beehive inspection, where we encounter an unexpected challenge—the presence of large hive beetles. This sparks a battle against these unwanted guests. Through this experience, I learn about the challenges faced by beekeepers and the crucial importance of maintaining robust colonies to effectively combat pests.

As we continue the battle against pests from hive to hive, we also keep a keen eye out for a strong colony—one that can resist pests and steadily gather food, such as pollen and nectar to be used as the breeder colony or mother colony in our queen rearing process, the main theme for the training.

Now, let’s delve into the craftsmanship involved in creating cell cups, the crucial vessels for the queen-rearing process. These cell cups are made using melted beeswax extracted from empty honeycombs. With the cell cups prepared and attached to a frame using wax, we proceed to the delicate transfer of potential queens into their artificial homes a process called grafting.

After placing the larvae into our artificial cell cups on the frames, we introduce the frames to a queen-less colony, which Loise refers to as the “cell builder colony.” The colony from which the larvae were obtained is known as the breeder colony or mother colony. We introduce two frames with around 70 cell cups to allow all the learners to practice grafting. After 24 hours, we check for acceptance, where the worker bees nurture the grafted larvae into queens.

After patiently waiting for acceptance, we finally witness the joyous moment when the bees accept the grafted larvae as potential queens. Let’s celebrate this achievement together as we capture the acceptance of two queen cells—a culmination of our efforts and dedication to the well-being of the bees.

As our training concludes, we are prepared to nurture the developing queens in new colonies. Witness the formation of a nuclei colony, where bees from different colonies are brought together by the beekeepers to form a single, thriving colony. We ensure the worker bees are safeguarded in these new nuclear colonies and provide them with the necessary resources such as food to nurture and care for the budding queens.

In conclusion, our journey through advanced beekeeping techniques has come to an end, but the enchanting world of bees continues to captivate us. From foraging to queen rearing, we have explored the intricacies of beekeeping. Now armed with new knowledge, we can truly appreciate the organization and wisdom of these incredible creatures. Let’s work together towards the conservation of bees and appreciate their invaluable contributions to our ecosystems.

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Save the Elephants