This document provides an introduction and overview of beekeeping and bee diseases in Ethiopia. It discusses key terms related to apiculture and beekeeping. Ethiopia has over 10 million bee colonies and potential to produce 500,000 tons of honey and 50,000 tons of beeswax annually. Beekeeping faces challenges like diseases, lack of skills and equipment, and climate change, but also opportunities from indigenous knowledge, demand for products, and government support. Beekeeping is important for nutrition, income, jobs, and crop pollination, which increases yields. There are three main types of beekeeping: traditional using natural materials, transitional using basic manufactured hives, and improved using standardized box hives.

1. Chapter One
Apiculture and Bees Diseases
Course
By
Dr. Abebe Gemechu (PhD)

2. Introduction
• Ethiopia is home for most diverse flora and fauna in Africa
• Ethiopia has a wide range of altitudes favoring the
existence of different types of natural vegetation (dense
forests, bushes, herbs, weeds and undergrowth).
• About 7,000 plants species that have been identified to exist
in the country, out of which more 400 are identified as
nectar and pollen sources
• Ethiopia has the largest bees population in Africa with over
10 million bee colonies, of which up to 7.5 million are
estimated to be hived while 2.5 million lives in the forest
and crevices

3. Introduction …
• Beekeeping practices is an oldest agricultural activity in
Ethiopia.
• Ethiopia stands ninth in the world and first in the Africa in
honey production.
• Similarly, it stands third in the world and first in Africa in
beeswax production.
• Country has the potential of producing up to 500,000 tons of
honey and 50,000 tons of beeswax per annum

4. 1.1. Terminologies
• Apiculture is the scientific method of rearing
honeybees.
• Beekeeping is an art of keeping bee colonies for man’s
economic benefit.
• Melipona culture: Keeping stingless bees
• Honeybees: are social insects that live together in
groups, cooperate in caring for young and foraging
tasks
• Races:- indicate honeybees under the same species
and the same behavior

5. Termino...
• Pollination: is a transfer of pollen grains from male
parts of the flower to the stigma of the same plants
or different plant of the same species
• A colony: is a group of honeybees living together
and working in-group according to their division of
labour.
• Caste: is a member of a colony
• Queen is a fully fertile female specialized for
producing eggs

6. Termino...
 Worker bees are reproductively underdeveloped females
that do all the work of the colony
 Drones are male honeybees, which are bigger than the
workers but not as big as the queen
 Nurse Bees / House bees/ are those worker bees who
spent most of their time by performing activities inside
the hive
 Forager bees/Field bees/ are those worker honeybees,
which perform their activities outside the hive

7. Termino...
• Foraging is the final task performed by workers before their death
• Pheromones are mixture of chemicals used for communication
among member of a species
• Queen rearing: is a process of producing virgin queen in a colony
of honey bee.
• Breeding bees is about the process of deliberate selection of
certain characteristics. For example, beekeepers commonly try to
breed bees which are very productive or very gentle.

8. Termino...
• Honey is a substance produced by bees and
some other social insects from nectar or honey
dew that they collect from living plants which
they transform by evaporating water and by the
action of enzymes they themselves secret.
• Nectar is the main energy source for flight and
preparing honey.
• Pollen grains are small, male reproduction units
(gametophytes) formed in the anthers of the
higher flowering plants

9. Termino...
• Beeswax: is a true wax secreted by four pairs of wax
glands on the ventral side of the abdomen of the
worker honey bees that are between ages of 12 to 18
days
• Propolis: is a sticky, gummy resinous material
gathered by bees from trees and other vegetation
either from bud or from bark
• Bee Venom (Apitoxin): is a clear Odorless liquid
produced in the worker bees’ gland called venom
gland and stored in the venom sac.

10. Termino...
• Royal jelly: is secreted by the hypopharyngeal glands
of young worker honeybee to feed larvae and the
adult queen bee
• Bee brood: is the collective name used by
beekeepers for the eggs, larvae, and pupae in honey
bee colony.
 Adult honeybee diseases are those affecting adult
honeybees
 Brood honeybee diseases are those affecting the
immature stages of honeybees are called

11. 1.2. Beekeeping in Ethiopia
 The economy of the country depends on agriculture which
accounts 43% of the GDP. Of this,
 livestock sector contributions accounts for about15% of the GDP
 Beekeeping in Ethiopia is one of the agricultural activities
practiced side by side with many other farming practices and it
accounts 1.3% of agricultural GDP
 The main objective of beekeeping of our country is to produce
honey and beeswax for use

12. Beekeeping in Ethiopia……………
 History books: beekeeping has started in the country between
3,500 - 3,000 BC
 Ethiopian practices beekeeping as an integral part of other
agricultural activities
 Currently more than 2 million households practices beekeeping
as their major livelihood
 But beekeeping sector is mainly dominated by small-scale
farmers
 In rural area both men and women carry out beekeeping in
home gardens and even in houses

13. Beekeeping in Ethiopia...............
Ethiopia has a huge potential for beekeeping (has large apicultural resources)
because of the following reasons:-
1. Presence of varieties of honeybee flora supporting foraging bees
 More than 6500 melliferrous plant species of which more 1500 identified as bee
forage
2. Presence of high numbers of bee population
 over 10 million bee colonies, estimated to produce annual honey 500,000 tones
and bees wax 50,000 tones
3. Presence of ample fresh water
4. Suitable weather and geographical features
5. Presence of large number of native farmers with indigenous knowledge of
beekeeping for many centuries

14. Beekeeping in Ethiopia continued….
 There is no a single ethnic group or tribe in Ethiopia
who doesn't practice beekeeping
 Honey Hunting is common in few remote west and
southwest parts of the country
 There is Forest Beekeeping System that is still
being practiced in the forest covered areas
 Backyard beekeeping is the most common type of
beekeeping in the country including urban areas
 Beekeeping is mostly practiced in traditional way, in
small scale

15. 1.3.1. Constraints of beekeeping in Ethiopia
Recently seen
diseases
• American foulbrood
• European foulbrood
• Wax-moth
• Varoa-mites
Agricultural related
problems
• Lack of affordable beekeeping
equipment
• Climate change causing drought
(Shortage of bee forage)
• Agro-chemical intoxication
• Lack of necessary beekeeping
skills
• Reduction of honeybee colony
due agro-ecology disturbance
• Market problem
• Absence of policy in apiculture
Already existing
problems
Pest and predators
Absconding/migration
Frequent swarming
Diminishing forests
1.3. Constraints and opportunities of beekeeping in
Ethiopia

16. • Availability Bee colony and race
• Availability of adequate apiculture flora and water resource
• Existence of strong bee colonies
• Demand for the bee products and honeybee/ Marketing access
• Presence of indigenous knowledge, skills and interest to improved
technologies
• Socio economic value of Honey
• Government and NGO efforts towards sector development
• Extension service access
• Credit access
• Establishment of Ethiopian beekeeping Association
1.3.2. Opportunities of beekeeping in Ethiopia

17. 1.4. Importance of Beekeeping
Why people keep honeybee colonies?
Generally, people keep honeybee colonies for:-
A) Production of beehive products
B) Enhancement of yield (pollination Service)

18. Importance of Beekeeping…………..
Moreover, people are also keep honeybee colonies for the
following advantages (many reasons):-
1.4.1. General importance of beekeeping
1.4.1.1. Nutritional and health value
1.4.1.2. Income generating activity
1.4.1.3. Create Job Opportunities
1.4.1.4. Pollination service

19. Income generating activity………….
1.2.1.2. Income generating activity

21. Pollination service………..
Pollination by honeybees is advantageous at least for the following reasons:
1. Most effective and cheapest method of increasing agricultural yield and can
pollinate numerous types of plants
2. It improves the genetic makeup of the plant species
3. It enables to get uniform seed and resistant to pest
4. It helps for early maturity and harvest
This helps the plant from natural disaster Eg. Frost
5. It improves the quality of the crops such as oil content, fruit juices and seed
viability
Advantages of honeybee pollination
In Ethiopia, pollination increase the yield of Nug (Bracia spp) by 34% and
onions by 84%

22. Pollination service………..
Honeybees are the most efficient pollinators as compared to other
insects
The main reasons for the efficiency of bees are as follows:
1) Honeybees are general foragers
2) Honeybees Have Constancy (Fidelity)
On a single trip, honey bees forage from a single source of nectar or
pollen (flower) called constancy or fidelity
3) Honeybees are Large in population size
4) Move to any area (Transportation)
5) Pollinate in all areas and seasons
6) Less affected in modern mechanized agriculture
Advantages of honeybee pollination…………

23. Pollination service………..
In many cultures honeybee products are valued in:-
festivities and ceremonies
Beekeepers are generally respected for their craft (expertise skills)
Images of bees are used as symbols of hard work and industry
Honey is also a highly regarded product and widely used in:-
traditional medications and widely used for different cultural, religious and
ritual ceremonies
1.4.1.5. Social Values

24.  Beekeeping does not compute resources
 Beekeeping does not disturb ecology
(Conservation of natural resources)
 Beekeeping helps to utilize resource
 Most of bee products are not easily perishable
1.4.2. Relative Importance

25. Levels or Types of beekeeping
• Beehives are hollow containers that can be closed and made to
house bees
• There are essentially three choices of beehive for beekeepers in
developing countries
2.2. Beekeeping

26. Types of beekeeping
 There are three types of
beekeeping, namely
 Traditional
 Transitional (
intermediate) and
 Improved or box hive
26

27. Traditional (fixed comb hive) beekeeping
done using fixed comb hives which are containers made
from locally available materials like bamboo, mud pots,
logs, barks of trees, and from climbers
The types of traditional hives, their shapes and working
materials vary from place to place
 It is very similar to a wild bee's nest
bark hives, basket hive and log hive are examples of
traditional beehives

28. 1 Fixed comb hives

29. A. Traditional forest beekeeping
 In the forest, hanging
beehives on very long trees
is common in Russia,
Germany and England
 In Ethiopia around the
forest-covered areas of the
country where the
population of honeybees
is abundant west, south
and southwest parts of the
country
Bee village
29
Types of Traditional Beekeeping

30. Traditional forest beekeeping
Traditional beekeeping practice is dividing in to two types or
levels
an intermediate stage between honey hunting and backyard
beekeeping
practiced by placing hives in the forest on very long trees
Forest beekeeping is very common in developing
countries and also in Ethiopia especially around the forest-
covered areas

33. Advantages of forest
beekeeping
• No harm on the domestic animals and
humans
 Bees can get abundant forage plants
in their vicinity
There is less probability for colonies
to be affected by agrochemicals
 Organic honey can be obtained from
forest beekeeping
33

34. Forest traditional bk ctd…
Dis Advantages of forest beekeeping
 no attendance/care is made for the bees
destruction of the bee colonies partially or totally.
 danger to the beekeeper in climbing high tree
 danger to the forest
 colonies play insignificant role in pollinating
agricultural crops
 Absconding rate is high in forest beekeeping
34

35. B. Traditional back yard beekeeping
 Keep bees in home yard:
 under separate shelter
 by hanging on sides of house wall
 or some times even inside their house
Very common and widely practiced in central, eastern and
northern parts of Ethiopia

36. B. Traditional back yard beekeeping

37. General Advantages of Traditional beekeeping
 The construction of hive is very simple
 It does not require modern beekeeping equipments to
run the keeping
 It does not require skilled manpower to run the bee
keeping and prepare the hives
 Cheaper to acquire or make
 Give us plenty of beeswax
 Supply a lot of propolis
37
 hives can be used to trap swarm colonies

38.  Only for men not accessible for women to climb
up trees
 The beekeepers cannot put brood and other
combs back into the hive during harvesting
 Honey and brood are sometimes mixed up
 Inconvenient to inspect for disease and pest
infestation and for internal feeding
Disadvantages of traditional hives

39. Disadvantages Traditional
beekeeping
 It is difficult to get pure honey
(Low quality & quantity yield
in honey )
 Very small in size hence leads
to incontrollable swarming
 No possibilities of supering
 No partition ship between
brood chamber and honey
chamber

40. Traditional beekeeping ctd…
 There is no standard
dimension
 Length & diameter ( either
too long or too short; too
wide or too narrow
 Sometimes, bees construct
irregular combs which
makes very difficult to
harvest honey

41.  Transitional (intermediate) beekeeping is one of the improved
methods of keeping bee using top bar hives
 Type of hives used in transitional beekeeping are:
Kenyan top bar hive (KTBH)
 Tanzania top bar hive (TTBH)
 Mud hive (MH)
 Bees build their comb from top bars
 Each hive carries specially designed 27- 30 pieces of timber"
Top Bars"
 The bars are 3.2cm wide and 48.3cm long
2. Transitional (intermediate) beekeeping

44. Advantage of intermediate beekeeping
 Cheaper and simpler system; made from locally
available materials
 Easy to inspect / manipulate the bees (Opened
easily and quickly)
 Quality honey produced
 The bees are guided into building parallel combs by
following the line of the top bars
 The top bars are easily removable and this enables
the beekeeper to work fast
 The top bars are easy to construct than frames
 Possible to harvest both honey and Beeswax
 Do not require accessories like the modern hive

45. Transitional (intermediate)

46. Disadvantages of Transitional beekeeping
 It is relatively more expensive than traditional
one
 Combs are easily breakable, this makes it
difficult to transport colonies
 The honey harvested from top bar hive is less in
quantity and quality
 Combs are not centrifugable

47.  Langstroth discovered bee space in 1851
 bee space is optimum distance between two surfaces in bee
hive essential for normal movement and functioning of
bees
 The modern hive has been designed on the bases of
principle of bee space in which frames can be easily moved
 This principle was a big discovery for modern beekeeping
3. Modern beekeeping (Improved or
Box hive or Frame hive)

50. Improved or Box hive or Frame hive….
• The bees construct comb in frames which contain
an embossed sheet of beeswax foundation.
• The foundation serves as a "pattern" to ensure
straight, centered combs in the frames.
• Such intricate construction demands relatively
good quality wood and expertise in carpentry.

52. Improved (Box hive) Bee keeping
 In this type of bee
keeping different types
of frame hives are being
used
 Some of these frame
hives being used in our
country are Zander and
Langstroth hives
Zander hive

53. Improved Zander hive (Box hive) Bee keeping
Zander hive

54. Langstroth hive / Dadant hives
A modern hive consists of:
A brood chamber
An inner cover
An outer cover
12 frames per super
A honey super
A queen excluder
12 frames per chamber
A bottom board

55. Advantages of box hive beekeeping
 High yield of honey
 Europe= 50-60kg/hive/year
 Africa= 15-40kg/hive/year
Ethiopia= 15-20kg/hive/year
 It produces the highest amount and quality of
honey (Brood and honey are never mixed as in log
hives )
 There is no bee-killing during harvesting
 It is environment friendly

56. Advantages of box hive …
 Box hives allow all range of managements to
maximize the productivity of colonies
 Like regular inspection,
 Volume adding and reducing
 Swarm controlling
It is possible to migrate bees for
For better forage for honeybees
For pollination of certain fruits and cultivated crops
It is possible to reuse comb foundation sheet, that reduce work
for the bees in making combs

57. modern beekeeping managed under
farmers practiced

59. Centerifuguable honeycomb

60. Disadvantages of box hive beekeeping
 The bk equipments are relatively expensive (It is expensive
to acquire wax foundation and frames very expensive )
 It requires skilled manpower to run the activity
 It requires expertise in order to make (It requires
specifications)
 It produces little propolis
 Doesn’t usually give us wax as combs are usually reused
 It needs different accessories
 Honey extraction from combs requires machines like the
centrifugal in extractor

61. The End of Chapter one!

62. Quiz(5%)
Answer the following questions
1) List types of beekeeping in Ethiopia and write advantage and
disadvantage for each types of beekeeping?

63. Gr. Activity Group representative
1 Seasonal management of honeybee colony
2 Honey harvesting and extracting process
3 Importance of artificial queen rearing and splitting
methods of queen rearing
4 Sources of beeswax and its processing method
5 Honeybees communication /how they communicate?
Group Assignment
Submission date: