Beekeeping in Seychelles: Part 2. Vanilla Pollination and Colony Removal.

Norman.

Linton and I have arranged to meet farm manager and beekeeper Norman Dogley at the Admin offices of L’Union Estates Park, La Digue, late morning and we cycle a couple of miles from our hotel to the rendezvous point near the café. It’s another hot and humid day but bearable on bikes with a sea breeze blowing through. We cool off while waiting in the air- conditioned admin office for Norman to arrive on his sturdy tricycle. After introductions, we cycle off together to see a small colony of honey bees, Apis mellifera unicolor, that was collected as a swarm and is being cared for by new beekeeper Paul who is an agricultural student from Kenya. Paul has done an apiculture course back home and is now getting some practical beekeeping experience and support from his mentor Norman.

Norman explains that he doesn’t keep bees on La Digue but runs a small apiary at home on Mahe where he returns to regularly on the fast catamaran ferry to check on his 8 colonies. Pesticides are still being used on the farm here and Norman is not happy about this. He has been in post as Director of L’Union Estate Farms for about 18 months and is changing things and introducing integrated pest management and reducing harmful chemicals. There is a boat building business locally that uses varnish which the bees collect and Norman says that’s harmful as well.

Readers of Part 1 will recall that Norman is a very experienced beekeeper having kept bees for 26 years since he was 12. He ran a commercial apiary on Mahe with 200 colonies and he has taught in in a school so he has had a varied career and is well placed to teach beekeeping. I ask about that and he tells me that he has mentored 150 beekeepers so far, and supported them through a Certified Beginner Beekeeper Course.

The Department of Agriculture recognises the importance of honey bees for pollination and is encouraging apiculture through education and training though Norman would like them to do more for beekeepers. He tells me that equipment is hard to get hold of and is very expensive. “Cheap” smokers from China cost 2,500 Seychelles rupees (£146) and they don’t last very long. Norman would like beekeepers to have access to affordable equipment and his dream is to set himself up as a supplier one day.

Norman explains that courses for small groups of between 5-10 beekeepers are run in different regions such as the Islands of Mahe, Praslin, and La Digue by the Department of Agriculture and he is involved with teaching some of these courses. He is currently studying for a beekeeping exam himself and part of the assessment will involve making a bee suit from scratch and building a bee hive from timber. He will be assessed at the hive on his handling skills, and by an examination paper. For Norman, beekeeping is a process in which he never stops learning.

Honey bee pollinating coconut flowers.

In 2020, Venezuelan scientist Arturo Lonighni, (PhD student from Exeter University UK) came out to Seychelles to determine if the reproductive success of some native plants varies with the presence of honey bees and he found that their effect on plants is higher in Seychelles than on a continent with a cooler climate. So, honey bees are important on Seychelles for pollination and for honey production. Forage is available all year round here and the queen doesn’t stop laying so there are no brood breaks apart from during swarm season which tends to be in March and April but they might also swarm again later.

Norman keeps a forage diary to help him better understand  what is going on in his apiary and we talk about plants as I am fascinated to know which of them provides nectar for the honey produced here. There is a good market for honey which costs 2,000 Seychelles Rupees/litre (£64.25). Currently (2023), there are 7 beekeepers on La Digue. Langstroth hives are commonly used on Seychelles. Norman can sell a colony of honey bees for £290-350 and a nucleus for £250 but he tends to sell more cheaply to beginners to help them find their footing in beekeeping.

Vanilla pods. Photo by Linton Chilcott.

On the way to the first apiary, we stop by the vanilla plantation which was once very large and one of the main incomes for the estate which exported vanilla all over the world. I ask if honey bees pollinate this crop. I’m astounded when Norman tells us that vanilla has to be pollinated by hand because I know very little about vanilla at this point. I’ve bought it by the pod in the supermarket at home for flavouring food but have never given it much thought before now. But hand- pollination, why is this?

Vanilla orchid flower and pods. Photo Wikkicommons.

Well, for starters, vanilla is not a tree as I’d presumed, but an orchid that winds its way up trees and grows supported by them. There are 50 species of vanilla orchid but only 3 that are important as sources of vanilla. Vanilla planifolia or Madagascar vanilla is grown here. The orchid is monoecious meaning that the male and female parts of the flower grow on the same plant but the female part of the orchid (stigma) is covered by tough tissue that shields it from the male part (stamen containing pollen-producing anthers). So, it is impossible for this plant to self-pollinate because the pollen cannot reach the covered stigma. There is only one species of bee that can push up through the tough flap and carry pollen from the anthers to the stigma, and this is the stingless bee from Mexico called Melipona.

Vanilla originated in Mexico where it co-evolved with the Melipona bee and it was discovered back in 1519 by Spanish conquistador and explorer Hernán Cortéz who presumably took some cuttings home with him. However, to his (and many others) disappointment the orchids were never pollinated and no vanilla was produced.  This remained a mystery for another 300 years till another explorer to Mexico studied the orchid carefully in 1836 and discovered how the little bee accessed the reproductive parts of this flower. From then on it was possible for vanilla to be hand -pollinated and the orchid was taken to Tahiti, Hawaii, Indonesia, Madagascar, and Papua New Guinea.

You need to know a bit about the life cycle of the vanilla orchid and have some dexterity to pollinate it efficiently. This amazing plant only flowers for a few hours on one day of the year so there is a very narrow window for successful pollination, and you need to be aware and ready. You must tear open this magnificent flower with a toothpick to access the stamen and stigma and you then need to lift the flap (rostellum) covering the stigma. Then you gently squeeze the stamen and stigma together till they make contact so that the pollen lands on the stigma. You can learn more from this short presentation;https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=melipona+defies+evolution&qpvt=melipona+defies+evolution&FORM=VDRE

You can understand why vanilla is so expensive now that you know about the hard work involved in producing a crop, and a single pod sells here for 150 Seychelles rupees (£9.45). It is all bought up quickly on La Digue and Norman tells us that it is highly sought after and at risk of theft from the trees.

Paul’s Apiary

We reach Paul’s apiary. Paul is working with the cattle but joins us later on our bee removal adventure. Norman tells me the history of the swarm on the right and I watch the entrance. It is very quiet with not much activity. I should explain that it is very hot around noon and not the time for hive inspections so we watch and talk. I have not brought a bee suit out of respect for biosecurity. There are no varroa or small hive beetle here yet, and they do not have foulbrood problems on the islands. In fact, there are no viruses on Syechelles, Mauritius, or Rogridues. Although my bee suit is as clean as a whistle it is sitting at home in the bee shed.

You will notice that the hive stand legs are standing in drums containing used engine oil to deter black ants which are a nuisance to the bees as they like to get inside the hive to eat honey, and sometimes they force the colony to abscond. The tin roof protects against tropical rain and all weathers. We have experienced only one day of rain on our holiday this time, but 20 years ago when we visited La Digue our cycle to visit the giant tortoises was in torrential unforgettable rain. You can also see the prolific Antigonon leptopus vines and pink flowers above the hives.

I wonder why there is a queen excluder over the entrance on the right and I ask if the queen is mated. She is. Norman explains that the excluder is there to keep out the death’s- head moth because it is a pest of honey bees here and feeds on nectar and honey. This African moth, Acherontia Atropos is the largest moth in the British Isles too and has an amazingly large wingspan of 5” (13 cm). it is a powerful flier and can come off ships far from land and fly to new places. It is nocturnal and flies late at night making a loud chirrup if it is disturbed. This sound is caused by inhaling and expelling air which vibrates the epipharynx (the area above the throat) like an accordion. The epipharynx evolved originally to suck up honey but later evolved further to produce sound. The lesser wax moth, Grisella achroia is also a pest. There are no small hive beetles here. Varroa destructor reached Madagascar in 2010 so beekeepers need to be vigilant.

Death’s head hawkmoth caught in action stealing nectar. Photo by Norman Dogley.

The problem for a honey bee colony is that this big moth can mimic the hive odour and go about its dastardly business without being apprehended by guard bees. Besides, its thick waxy cuticle protects it against stings.

This little lizard isn’t crying over spilt milk.
Not as benign as you might think!

Norman tells us that this little brown lizard likes to get inside a bee hive and eat larvae.

Photo by Linton Chilcott.

I notice lots of bees on a prolific pink flowered plant called Antigonon leptopus (thank you Jan Chapman for identifying this for me) from the Polygonaceae family known informally as the knotweed family. Buckwheat is also a family member but so are invasive species such as Japanese knotweed and Russian vine. I see this pretty pink flower all over La Digue and Mahe and so I suspect that it may be a non-native invasive species. It clings like a vine to other vegetation but the bees love it as they do most non-native plants; think Himalayan balsam in the UK. Norman assures me that it is a good source of nectar.

Hot bees fanning at the slit entrance.

Next, we cycle over to a coconut plantation and I hope that none lands on my head. It’s mighty hot and we take a swig of water. It seems like a long time since breakfast. Norman has a surprise for us. He calls Paul over to join us and we say hello. After introductions and a bit of chit chat, Norman shows us a red plastic container nestled against the trunk of a fallen coconut tree. There is a narrow slit in it and we see a line of hot honey bees fanning furiously at the entrance. The swarm has been there for 3-4 months Paul tells me, and I ask what they plan to do with it. Norman decides to remove it now and this is exciting. It is to be relocated to a hive for Paul to manage and he will collect the hive later. Meanwhile, a couple of veils appear from Norman’s tricycle basket but he doesn’t use his throughout the removal. It sits perched on the back of his head just in case he needs it. There is no smoker and I notice that Norman has just pulled a handful of lemon grass, which grows everywhere, and he ties it in a knot. This is not to calm the bees instead of smoke but to help with orientation of the colony to the new hive.

Note queen catcher at the ready.
The small colony is nesting on the right. Photo by Linton Chilcott.

They decide to open the slit in the plastic container using a small saw. It’s hard work and Paul wears gloves to help grip the saw better in the humid heat and gradually there is a hole large enough for Norman to reach in and remove the comb by hand without hive tools. The bees tolerate all this and nobody gets stung. I stand back all the same and seek some shade under the overhanging roof of a nearby building.

Looking for the queen.
The queen is safe in a cage till the colony is hived. These bees are lighter and more stripey than others here.
Paul takes the queen to a shady place for photograph.
The caged queen is back in the drum which is slightly shaded now. Paul will transfer to hive when we leave.

Norman carefully removes small pieces of comb one at a time from this tiny colony, and on the third piece he finds the queen and secures her in the queen catcher. This is a busy week for Norman and he is generous with his time which Linton and I very much appreciate. We need to move on to the next apiary, which is another short cycle ride away, so Paul is instructed on how to transfer the combs to frames and the new hive. The hot sun will quickly desiccate the eggs and larvae so he needs to move quickly. I’m amazed that these little bees are so tolerant of the upheaval. I’ve read that they are not particularly defensive and discuss this with Norman who tells me that they can be at certain times of the season such as harvest time.

Next week I will tell you about the visit to the other apiary and about the forage plants on La Digue.


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Thank you, Ann 🐝

2 thoughts on “Beekeeping in Seychelles: Part 2. Vanilla Pollination and Colony Removal.”

  1. How interesting the last 2 articles have been on the Seychelles, so well researched .i won’t mind paying a bit more for vanilla pods now.
    It must have been lovely to see at first hand beekeeping in such a sunny hot exotic place ,so different from our scittish climate.

    1. Hello Mary and thank you for commenting positively on the blog. You are right about the research for I would never have discovered these things for myself if I hadn’t prepared the blog. I always wondered why vanilla pods were packaged like cigars, singly and in metal tubes (and as expensive).

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