FILENAME:  MARAPIS.92
 
            Florida Extension Beekeeping Newsletter
    Apis--Apicultural Information and Issues (ISSN 0889-3764)
               Volume 10, Number 3, February 1992
 
                        ASSIGNMENT EGYPT
 
     Perhaps the first thing one reads when studying the history of
apiculture is that a very early seat of beekeeping was ancient
Egypt.  In fact, the honey bee was named after the god Apis which
in that era took the shape of a bull.  So it was with great
expectation that I accepted an assignment offered by Volunteers in
Overseas Cooperative Assistance to provide some consultation to
Egyptian beekeepers.
 
     As a consequence, I am writing this issue of APIS from my
hotel room in Alexandria, Egypt on the traditional day of rest
here, the Islamic sabbath, Friday.   Through the miracle of
electronic mail, I hope to send it early next week to the
Entomology/Nematology Department in Gainesville for printing and
mailing.  If all goes well, it should be in your mailbox just
before I return from my visit to Egypt.
 
     The Egyptians are well aware of their contributions to
beekeeping.  The Nile river is considered the mother of Egypt.  The
country is composed of a narrow valley which widens into a large
delta before emptying in the Mediterranean Sea.  These are fragile,
fertile intrusions into the inhospitable sands of one of the
largest deserts in the world.   Egypt also considers itself the
mother of beekeeping.  The honey bee was kept during the time of
the pharaohs, at least 5,000 years ago.  Honey was considered a
delicacy by the nobles and kings, and beeswax was used in the
embalming process for which the era is so famous.  Migratory
beekeeping began during this period as hives (in mud pots) were put
on boats or rafts which sailed up and down the Nile following the
honey flows, much as beekeepers in the U.S. do with 18-wheelers
today.
 
     According to information provided me, the modern beekeeping
era in Egypt began in the 1880s, when the first moveable-frame
hives appeared.  In 1912, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA)
established an apiary near Cairo with modern equipment, trained
extension agents and provided hives and bees free of charge to the
population.  Several European races of bees (principally Italian
and Carniolan) were imported to improve the characteristics of the
native honey bee (Apis mellifera lamarckii) which has a reputation
for defensiveness.  By 1923, two beekeeping associations were
formed and a journal called "The Bee Kingdom" was published.  In
the 1960s, importation of queens was prohibited to prevent
introduction of bee disease.  To date, Egypt does not have American
foulbrood.
 
     As modern beekeeping increased, so there was a decline in
traditional fixed comb beekeeping.  From the 1940s to the 1980s,
honey and wax production dropped in mud hives from 2100 and 246
tons respectively to 1200 and 129 tons.  In the same period, modern
hive production increased from 4500 to 6400 tons of honey and 18 to
26 tons of wax.  The number of fixed comb hives was 511,000 in
1952, dropping to 180,000 in 1989.  During that time managed
colonies went from 1600 to 1,200,000!  That year also marked the
official introduction of the Varroa bee mite, responsible for a
significant reduction in managed colonies since that time.
 
     In order to understand Egypt's beekeeping problems, one must
first know about its characteristics.  It is the most populous
country in the Arab world and takes second place on the African in
that category.  Although larger than Texas and New Mexico combined,
99 percent of Egypt's 45 million persons are crowded in the Nile
valley and the delta.  These regions are some of most densely
populated in the world, averaging 3,600 per square mile.
Urbanization has taken some pressure off agricultural land, but
caused other problems, especially urban blight and unemployment.
Some sixteen million souls (an exact count in impossible) are found
in the capital, Cairo, and Alexandria, the principle port, has
almost three million.  The press of humanity in this country is at
once apparent to even the most casual visitor.  More disturbing
than constant jostling to a visitor, however, may be the knowledge
that Egypt continues to grow at a 2.6 percent growth rate (doubling
in 27 years) and 65 percent of its population is under 20 years of
age.
 
     Egypt's population is supported by agriculture on some 6
million acres of arable land, the legacy of thousands of years of
flooding by the Nile.  Sometimes disastrous floods came to an end
with construction of the Aswan dam in upper Egypt, near the
Sudanese border.  In addition, the reservoir created (Lake Nasser)
allows water to be fed to the valley and delta agricultural lands
during drought.  However, this also means that replenishing of the
soil by the river has been reduced to nil.
 
     Egypt has long been known for its high quality long-fibered
cotton, which continues to be the number one agricultural product.
Rice, onions, beans, citrus, wheat, corn, barely and sugar are
runners also major crops, as are various forms of livestock,
including cattle, sheep, goats, horses, donkeys and two local
staples, water buffalo and camels.   Noticeably missing are numbers
of pigs.  Islamic law prohibits eating pork.
 
     There is great commerce in agriculture and the local markets
are filled with all manner of meats, fish, seeds, fruits and
vegetables.  Land reform in the 1950s has returned much of Egypt's
land to small-scale owners which means many now own their own land
and agriculture is in the hands of many adept entrepreneurs.
However, these small-sized holdings often sacrifice efficiency
although labor is cheap.  The Gross National Product (GNP) is only
$33,583, ten times less than Brazil's, although far greater than
that of many other African countries.
 
     That brings us to beekeeping which produces good cash crops
with strong demand locally at fairly high prices by Egyptian
standards.  Honey sells for US $1.30/lb and royal jelly for US
$200.00/lb.  This means that keeping bees can be very attractive;
as a consequence, there are a lot of beekeepers.  One glance at the
intensive agriculture in Egypt reveals that there isn't much that
bees can forage on.  In contrast to North America, there are no
wild nectar producing plants of any consequence.  The two major bee
plants on the Nile delta, where most of the agriculture takes
place, are clover (berseem) and cotton.  Citrus is a third plant of
some importance.
 
     Like the human population, there is a greater Egyptian bee
population than the land can handle.  Apiaries of 100 to 200
colonies are common, many only a few miles apart.  The Egyptian
beekeeper is also managing marginal colonies.  Labor is cheap and
not as important an issue as it is in the U.S., but no amount of
labor can make up for the intense competition among a large number
of weak colonies.  On top of this pesticides routinely devastate
the foraging population.
 
     Arrival of Varroa in 1989 dealt a great blow to Egyptian
beekeepers.  Like so many other areas in the world, beekeepers here
were unable to react quickly enough to prevent large colony loss.
Now information is beginning to trickle down that technologies are
available to control Varroa populations.  Apistan (R) was first
discouraged by extension agents here, but is now becoming more
acceptable.  It was at first thought that the product was
radioactive and a carcinogen.  Some persons also recommended
natural products such as herbs or ground up eucalyptus leaves in
smokers or organic (both formic and lactic) acid fumigation.  None
of these is either as effective or benign to bees and humans as is
fluvalinate formulated in Apistan (R) plastic strips.  The product
is now becoming a routine control measure.
 
     Apistan (R) is very expensive in Egypt; at times twice to
three times what it costs in the U.S.  As a consequence there is
much experimentation with various other chemicals and Apistan (R)
strips are often seen cut into pieces to treat colonies.
Unfortunately, this probably will hasten resistance by Varroa.  It
was also erroneously thought that Varroa could be eradicated using
chemicals.  Similar to all other parts of the world where the mite
has been introduced, however, there is little doubt that Egyptian
beekeepers are going to have to live with this mite as a permanent
part of their beekeeping.  Ironically, at least in the short term,
reduction of colony numbers by Varroa increases the potential
honey-producing capacity of the hives that remain.
 
     Unfortunately, the strong interest in finding a control for
Varroa (the topic has taken precedence in most seminars or village
meetings I have attended) detracts from beekeepers putting energy
into solving other fundamental problems of Egyptian beekeeping.
They can be easily listed and are not really much different than
those found in the rest of the world:
 
1.  There are too many colonies for the available vegetation to
support.  A recommendation made by most familiar with Egyptian
beekeeping is to reduce the number of colonies in apiaries to no
more than 50 colonies.  Average yield has continually fallen from
35 pounds per colony in 1973 to 9 pounds in 1988.  Concurrent with
increase in colony numbers has been a reduction in nectar plants
(weeds like vetch and wild mustard) on marginal lands.  Many think
the general erosion of environmental quality (land and water
pollution are great stresses on the system here) also contributes
to a reduction in nectar secreting potential by all plants.
 
2.  Beekeepers are preoccupied with managing numbers of colonies.
Many hives are weak in population, producing less than 10 lbs per
year.  It is usually recommended that beekeepers begin managing
fewer stronger colonies which are more efficient in honey yield per
bee.  In addition, populations appear to be marginal for successful
wintering.  Although queens seem to be "honeybound" (honey has been
put in the brood nest reducing the number of cells for brood
rearing), it is not clear that populations do not winter well.
Carniolan bees can adjust egg laying very quickly to environmental
conditions.
 
3.  Requeening methods need to be reexamined.  Egyptian beekeepers
do not systematically requeen.  Almost all queens are reared under
the "emergency" impulse; colonies are simply given a frame of brood
to rear replacement queens.  Adhering to this practice rather than
purchasing queens from qualified producers, who rear them under the
"swarming impulse," usually results substandard queens.
 
4.  Beekeepers should orient towards managing colonies by adding
supers to provide stimulus for colonies to increase both brood and
honey production.  The current Egyptian beekeeping practice is to
manage colonies comb by comb.  This involves removing honey-filled
combs from the brood nest and replacing them with empties.  It is
known that frequent disruption of brood nest activities causes
stress and reduces overall honey yields.  Judicious use of queen
excluders (they are expensive and no one uses them) must also
become a part of this management system.  Extracting honey from the
brood nest is usually not good beekeeping practice.  This may be a
practice left over from fixed comb traditional apiculture.
 
5.  Combs are often in marginal condition.  Beekeeping in Egypt
suffers from the presence of excessive drone comb and broken or
damaged frames.  The proper construction and wiring of frames along
with a replacement policy of 15 percent of combs annually would
materially contribute to colony efficiency.  Many persons here
manufacture their own woodenware which can contribute to comb edges
being chewed away, reducing brood rearing space.  An advantage of
modern Egyptian beekeeping is that the country has standardized to
Langstroth dimensions.
 
6.  Feeders are too small to deliver sufficient volume of syrup.
Most feeders are of the half-frame Boardman type.  They should be
replaced by larger containers which will increase labor efficiency
and decrease disturbance of colonies.
 
     There are some additional factors affecting Egyptian
beekeeping beyond the basics of strong populations, young and
vigorous queens and proper nutrition.  Perhaps most problematic is
pesticide use, especially in cotton, which is also a major nectar
plant.  It is difficult for beekeepers to protect colonies from
widespread application.  This must be a regional effort
characterized by close communication between beekeeper and
applicator.
 
     The Agricultural Extension Service can often help bridge this
communication gap.  Egypt has a large extension service with a
cadre of trained extension apiculturists.  Unfortunately, although
the personnel are available, there are few resources at the
disposal of agents.  Of particular significance is lack of
transportation.  Extension employees in Egypt willing to go out in
the field often have to pay these costs out of their own pocket.
In most of my travels around Egypt, we provided transport to
various agents.
 
     Another problem with the Extension Service is that it is not
formally linked to researchers at universities.  As an example, the
faculty of the extremely large University of Alexandria (in excess
of 100,000 students!) has good information on toxicology,
entomology and other disciplines, but the extension service is not
presently an integral part of this network.  Thus, there is often
a breakdown in communication between those developing knowledge and
those responsible for distributing it.  This is also true to
varying degrees in many other countries, including the U.S.
Extension-research links, therefore, must constantly be reforged in
creative ways.
 
     Beekeeping in Egypt is in need of a great deal of research.
Of particular importance is the possibility of planting nectar-
producing crops in marginal lands or breeding vegetables and/or
fruits that will secrete more nectar.  Another fruitful area is
genetic research into mite resistance; it would be interesting to
explore the possibility that the original Egyptian bee, Apis
mellifera lamarckii, is more able to resist depredations of Varroa
as some think.
 
     One must be careful when giving counsel in agricultural
pursuits to be sure a full picture of any situation is gained.
Because there are many marginal beekeepers in Egypt, it cannot be
assumed that people do not exist who know what they are doing, or
that some of the practices are without rationale.  I have, in fact,
met some excellent beekeepers, given the limited resources
available in this country.  One, a retired teacher (history and
geography), got his training by reading Dadant's "First Lessons in
Beekeeping."   This classic beginning book continues to used by
many in the U.S. who are just beginning the craft.  Another larger-
scale beekeeper also impressed me with his knowledge of queen
rearing practices.
 
     Many universities exist in Egypt.  Often, however, they turn
out academically oriented students, some of whom have as one U.S.
veterinarian I met here said, "never fed a pill to a cow."  The
many graduates coming out of universities at one time were
guaranteed governmental positions during Egypt's era of socialist
experimentation.  It has now been recognized that such a policy is
impractical and instead new, reclaimed land is being given to this
young, educated population.  Developmental and agricultural
agencies are looking at beekeeping as one of the enterprises that
will make the new lands policy more profitable.  This new
generation of beekeepers would be an eminently teachable audience
in modern beekeeping technology.
 
     There are exceptions to the idea that university graduates
have little practical knowledge.  Perhaps the most successful
beekeeper I met was managing 1500 colonies while employing a crew
of 4 and producing package queens and bees for shipment to Saudi
Arabia.  This appeared to be a very lucrative business in spite of
the fact that almost half the purchase price of a 3 lb package (US
$60.00) was eaten up in air freight.  This beekeeper appeared to be
using most of the methods employed by commercial package and queen
producers in the U.S.  He was trained in the mid 1960s by the Chair
of the Entomology Department at Alexandria University, Dr.
Abdel-Latif El-Deib, who received his apicultural education at the
Universities of California and Illinois.
 
     And although the Egyptian extension efforts have their
problems, excellent beekeeping information is available, but one
has to look for it.  I have encountered a beautiful pamphlet
(published in 1992) on Varroa mites, complete with color pictures
of mites and how to tell them from bee lice, which are also present
here.  In addition, in 1991, Extension published a 71-page booklet,
authored by the Head of the Bee Research Institute in Cairo, Dr.
Mahmoud Mazeid, called "Raising Bees."  It contains color pictures
of modern beekeeping and honey processing equipment, in addition to
descriptions of the life cycles of both tracheal and Varroa mites.
 
     Of special interest to me in the above publication was an
account of traditional hives (mud pots about 9 inches in diameter
and 5 feet long, stacked together like logs) used in Egyptian
beekeeping.  The description of Apis mellifera lamarckii in the
book is a small, yellow bee, resistant to diseases, but only
yielding some 10 lbs of honey per year.  Some modern hives in Egypt
don't produce that much honey today!  There is also described
limited experimentation to raise the traditional bee in moveable-
frame equipment.
 
     Cooperatives provide support to beekeepers here in a number of
ways; some have formed bee associations, but there are no published
bee journals to my knowledge.  I have also been told there is a
lack of governmental credit.  This is a significant problem.  As
one beekeeper said to me when I suggested that younger people might
enter beekeeping, "What can one do without access to credit?"  I
certainly intend to stress this as a need in my final report.
 
     I still have a couple of weeks left to ride around the Nile
delta in search of information that will allow Egyptian beekeepers
to improve their apicultural practices.  I'm sure to learn a lot
more about this fascinating country in the days to come, but in my
short time here do not expect I will know it all.  Nevertheless, I
took on this assignment in the fervent hope that what I learn here
will not only help Egyptians, but also provide Floridians more
comprehensive knowledge concerning apiculture as practiced in
today's "global village."
 
                    1992 BEEKEEPERS INSTITUTE
 
     Now is the time to begin thinking about the annual Beekeepers
Institute to be held at 4-H Camp Ocala.  This year's event is
scheduled for August 21 through 23.  As always, I plan to include
up-to-date information on the large changes occurring in the
beekeeping craft.  Of special concern continues to be the march of
the African honey bee out of south Texas.  Stay tuned to APIS for
details on the Institute as the time draws near.
 
Sincerely,
 
 
 
Malcolm T. Sanford
Entomology-Nematology, Bldg 970
University of Florida
Gainesville, FL 32611-06200
Phone (904) 392-1801, Ext. 143
FAX: 904-392-0190
BITNET Address: MTS@IFASGNV
INTERNET Address: [log in to unmask]