Hello Paul ang the List,
Glad to see that there is some interest about our native bees here in
the Philippines. I mentioned a few undesirable characteristics of
A.cerana in a previous post. Basically, the Philippine strain tends to
abscond at the drop of a hat, even with what a beekeeper may consider
ideal conditions.
I started keeping bees in 1982 using A. cerana. They're not as
productive as A.mellifera. They're also more sensitive to offensive
odors and smoke. What would be a light smoking of mellifera would
already cause the cerana to run on the combs and pour out of the hive. A
lot of research needs to be done with Philippine cerana strains, which
seem to be different for different islands.
A. dorsata, the giant honeybee, is an altogether different story. Since
they build a single large comb under a high branch, they cannot be
managed as with mellifera or cerana. The worker is as big as a mellifera
queen, with a sting gland to match. They are very ornery, with a
critical distance of about 20 meters for a low hive. They'll chase you
half a kilometer if you get into this distance. A tethered water buffalo
must either break its rope or die of stings, which has been known to
occur, although we also have thumb-sized hornets that nest in the
ground. I myself doff my hat to our brave honey-hunters who seek to
steal honey from the dorsata. A single comb can hold as much as forty
kilos of honey.
The honey produced by these native species is higher in moisture, about
18-20%, probably because they tolerate such levels.
Regards,
 
Dave General
Cagayan de Oro City
Philippines
8.29N 124.39E
 
 
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