Buzz from Pune: Bee colonies in Himachal find a saviour

Like Chand,there are over 700 beekeepers in Himachal,mainly in the district of Kangra,whose livelihood has been destroyed by varroasis the disease caused by varroa mite.

The varroa mite that feeds on the white blood haemolymph of honeybees is said to have come from neighbouring Nepal in 2006 and caused widespread destruction of honeybee colonies in Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar as well. The mite is also spreading to West Bengal and Haryana.

Now,there is a buzz of good news for the beekeepers from Pune. The Central Bee Research and Training Institute of India CBRTI here has come up with a biological method to deal with varroasis. As part of this method,the parasitic mites can be separated from the bees using tobacco smoke. This smoke can irritate the mites making them fall on specialised screened boards kept below the hives.

Armed with these boards,CBRTI will be making demonstrations before beekeepers in Jamp;K and Himachal in April and May.

Says assistant development officer,CBRTI,A G Soman,The loss of bee colonies due to the mite has been tremendous in the northern belt. What was worse was that the beekeepers were unaware of the cause for a long time and could not do much about the loss.

We are laying emphasis on biological methods for preventing the mite attack to ensure that the quality of honey remains pure, says Soman.

Under chemical method,about 0.5 ml of medicines like Amitraz is mixed in a sugar solution of 100 ml and sprayed at the comb. This kills the mite but the bees are safe.

The CBRTI also launched training programmes,and with the help of state bee keeping extension centres,generated awareness about varroasis. A special training module during April and May is also on

the cards.

We are also identifying districts that may not have been affected by this mite so that the beekeepers can take precautionary measures, Soman added.