Extraction of Honey from Rock Bee (Apis dorsata) by Soliga Tribes in BR Hills

Abstract

"A study was taken in BR hills, Mysore district as a part of sustainable forest resource utilization on wild honey extraction from Apis dorsata. We laid 17 transects along areas where normally hives are constructed by rock bees. We took data on the number of hives per transect and extrapolated the honey production and extraction to the entire sanctuary of 540 sq kms. We also took data on all 13 rock cliffs where honey combs were present in the sanctuary and a exhaustive survey of honey comb was undertaken. We also undertook surveys to record the number harvested combs in each of these sites. We find that there is great variation between years i.e.. during 1995 and 1996 These variations are attributed to natural variations occurring which are intrinsic to biology of honey bees and not attributable to the extent of harvest made by the Soligas. Soligas, although harvested over 80 percent of hives in 1995 but in the following year, the production potential was over 22 tons which was more than the production potential of 1995 which was only 13 tons. We also find circumstantial evidence that Soligas are harvesting the hives in a sustainable fashion and not in an unsustainable fashion."