Covid-19 helps bees make a comeback
Wild honey output improves; lack of activity during lockdown helps
Although Covid-19 is spreading terror among human beings it is providing some advantages to the environment and wildlife. Since the lockdown, there has been a substantial increase in the population of honey bees in Andhra Pradesh.
This is a significant change as for the past several years, the bee population had come down, and as a result of which there was a drastic fall in wild honey (natural) production. Several private honey suppliers are selling artificial honey by feeding sugar solutions to the colonies and collecting honey. There is a huge demand for wild honey in Andhra Pradesh and also abroad.
Mobile towers and large scale disturbances in forest areas have impacted bee populations. However, since the lockdown, its population has increased substantially and the social insects have been erecting colonies at several places.
There are two seasons for wild honey (April-July, and November-January). Due to the severe radiation impact, bees have lost their memory and are not returning to the colonies. They are hitting trees and dying, as a result.
However, with complete
● A LARGE number of honey bee colonies have come up in Chintapalle, Paderu, Srisailam, Tirupati and other forest areas.
Girijan Cooperative Corporation expecting good wild honey production in the coming season.
AS AGAINST the demand for 3,500 quintals, production in Andhra Pradesh has been less than 2,000 quintals. GCC is procuring wild honey from Gujarat and Jharkhand.
silence from the human disturbances, the bees from other forest areas, including Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and other areas are migrating to Andhra Pradesh forests.
Collecting wild honey is one of the prime revenue sources of tribals, whose produce is procured by the Girijan Cooperative
Corporation (GCC). However, the tribals are lamenting that they are failing to witness honey colonies even in dense forest areas. As the income is low compared to normal seasons, tribals are reluctant to collect honey.
“There is a huge market potential, which translates to 3,500 quintals every year. However, we are hardly procuring 1,500 quintals from Andhra Pradesh forest areas, including Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram, and Chittoor and Kurnool districts. In order to bring a balance between demand and supply, we are procuring wild honey from Gujarat and Jharkhand to the tune of 1,000 to 1,200 quintals,” General Manager (incharge), AP Girijan Cooperative Corporation (GCC) Justus Yustus told Deccan Chronicle.
Due to heavy rains, wild honey production from AP forest areas has been less than encouraging. However, there is hope of good production in the next season, Yustus said.
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