Conservation of Giant Honey Bee (Apis dorsata F.) for Honey and Beeswax Production and Sustainable Pollination Services

Abstract

During the past quarter-century, the natural populations of giant honey bees (Apis dorsata) have declined markedly. The loss of nesting sources is one of the many reasons for its decline. This has threatened the pollination services of several agricultural and wild plants in areas of its natural habitat. To sustain pollination services in the natural habitat of this honey bee, conservation efforts are crucial. For this purpose, 1 m-long, 15 cm-wide, and 0.5 m-deep wooden nesting planks were designed and prepared. The latter were hung on the eaves/projections of university buildings to attract the migratory swarms of this honey bee. The occupancy of these planks confirmed that the bees accepted them as nesting sites. The experimental trial was conducted with four treatments, each replicated four times over a period of 10 years. This honey bee accepted, occupied, and nested on only those wooden planks that were treated with molten beeswax or contained traces of beeswax and were tightly fixed to the surface of the eaves/building projections. The occupation and re-occupation indices revealed that this honey bee had strong site preferences. Spraying water on live colonies was the most effective method for safely handling this honey bee, while smoking was slightly less effective. Frequently disturbed colonies showed less aggressiveness than the undisturbed colonies. This study aids in the domestication, handling, and conservation of this honey bee in its natural habitat, where the continuous removal of nesting sources threatens the sustainability of pollination services.