Increasing Bee Forage for a Sustainable Bee Industry in Kenya

Abstract

Planting bee forage can profitably contribute to the sustainability of the beekeeping industry in Kenya. A variety of crops and vegetables are known to be suitable forage, since they are visited by most bee pollinators. In a pollination program at the National Beekeeping Institute, Lenana, various crops were selected to boost the bee forage range, after it was noticed that the prevailing honeybee colonies were dwindling drastically due to drought and other visible causes. The kales, sunflower and strawberry, were planted for the purpose. It was observed that the kales attracted most pollinators, ranging from insects to birds. The predominant insect species was Apis mellifera scutellata. Butterflies, stingless bees, birds, bats, wasps, hoppers, thrips and sugar ants were observed. Sunflower and strawberry, too, attracted butterflies besides bees, birds and other pollinators, but the latter had more flower visitors than the former. There was a 54% increase in the number of domesticated honey bee colonies from five to eleven. The pollinator activity, which had ceased to revived as was physically observed from the “buzz of the bee, to the hoot of the woodpecker”, signifying revamped activity. The honeybee turned out to be a more effective pollinator species adapted to the task.