Honeybee Colony Management Practices and Identification of Honeybee Floras in Eastern Amhara, Ethiopia

Abstract

The art and science of managing and breeding honeybee colonies in the artificial hive for the sake of the economy are known as beekeeping or apiculture. It contributes to the increment of food and cash crop products through pollination services and protects and stabilizes fragile environments. The sector depends on floras to survive and produce honeybee products. Those plants were categorized as either nectar or pollen or both depending on their content. Assess the honeybee colony management practice and identification of honeybee flora intended to document the indigenous knowledge for the establishment of the best management decisions. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the honeybee colony management practices and identify the honeybee floras in eastern Amhara, Ethiopia. This study was conducted in the selected district of eastern Amhara based on the relative suitability and potential for beekeeping. A questionary survey was conducted for 122 beekeepers. Additionally, key informant interviews and honey pollen analysis were performed to support the questionary survey. The result of this study showed the beekeeper farmers had trouble with seasonal feed shortages for their honeybee colonies besides absconding and swarming were also prominent in the area. Furthermore, this study revealed that about 104 bee flora species were identified, which include shrubs, trees, herbs, and crops with the major proportion of shrubs. Most honeybee floras were perennial plants. Additionally, the seasonal bee forage fluctuation could be categorized into dearth, moderate, and honey flow season. The dearth period occurred from January-March and July-August. The moderate period was from April-June, and the honey flow period was from September-November. Therefore, seasonal management of the colonies should be adjusted with the dearth periods. Further study must be done about the frequency and density of the honeybee plants.