Student plans to milk bees
Date: Fri 09-Jul-1993
Paper Page 23
Paper Page: Weekend Nation
Byline: Anthony Blackman
DAVE CLEMENT is aiming to reap maximum sweets out of the bee-keeping business.
At 24, the Highland, St. Thomas, youth is the youngest known apiculturist
(commercial bee-keeper) in Barbados. And if his dreams become a reality, very
soon Barbadians could be enjoying the top quality honey produced by our local
bees.
Clement, an agriculture student at the Samuel Jackman Prescod Polytechnic
(SJPP), developed a keen interest in apiculture while studying the subject in
his first term.
Two months ago he decided to put what he learned into practice.
Three hives
"I had a spot at home so I got some deal board (soft board) and copied the
dimensions from the brood boxes at school and built the brood boxes (where the
hives are kept)," he explained.
The enterprising young man then entered a gully near his home and collected
three hives that swarmed there.
To protect himself from the thousands of angry bees, Clement wore a special
nylon overall and plastic hat with a netted veil which allows air to pass
through.
Amazingly, he prefers not to use gloves when handling his bees, and especially
when removing a hive.
"When I wear gloves I cannot handle the operation easily. Without gloves
I'm
able to feel the comb (honeycomb) better, especially if the hive is located in
a rock."
He further explained that after he removes a hive he places it carefully in a
plastic bucket and takes it home. There he extracts the honeycomb and places
it within the brood box.
The hive is left to replenish itself. This is necessary since some of the bees
are lost during transportation of the hive.
Clement said that vines such as the passion fruit vine are good to have around
when keeping bees since the bees feed on the flowers they produce.
One aspect of bee-keeping, which has perhaps kept it largely untapped, is the
danger involved in handling bees. However, Clement insists that the job is not
as hazardous as many believe.
"I do not find it that dangerous," he said, "If one works by
oneself you need
to have an assistant, especially if you are going to be using both hands. You
need someone to apply smoke to quiet the bees while you work."
Clement stressed that it was important to remain calm when working with bees.
"They will only attack you if you act aggressively when dealing with
them," he
said.
"If a bee comes near you, make sure you do not try to fan it away as that
will
only anger it and cause it to sting you or someone around you," Clement
cautioned.
"The more you visit a hive the calmer the bees become," he added.
Three hives currently make up Clement's small apiary, but if his plans work
out he could have as much as 25 hives by the end of the year.
"I definitely want to go into it on a commercial scale," he said.
Clement noted that the imported honey found on many supermarket shelves could
in no way compare with the locally produced brand which was "pure honey of
a
very high standard".