Bees and beehives : A viable solution?

Elephants not only keep away from bees, but they even avoid the sound of bees

One maybe amazed to find out that a gigantic animal such as an elephant fears a tiny bee. Although a bee’s sting cannot penetrate through the thick hide of an elephant, a swarm of bees could sting the most sensitive areas of an elephant such as the trunk, mouth and eyes.as such, the threat of bees has been identified by conservationists as a mutually beneficial solution. Hence, researchers and advocates have persuaded farmers in many countries to capitalise on the elephants’ fear of bees and use it as a potential fence to protect crops from this animal. As a result, beehive fences have been identified as another natural elephant deterrent creating a socio-economic boost to poverty stricken rural communities through pollination services and harvesting on ‘elephant-friendly honey.’ as most elephant – train accidents take place in rural Sri Lanka, it could be an effective method to mitigate this issue on the long-run.

Several countries such as India and many African countries have been working on this idea and there have been positive results. For this purpose both old and new beehives could be used.

It has been observed that elephants avoid both trees with full hives as well as empty hives. It is also a more cost effective method of tackling the issue rather than installing electric fences. In addition to that, beekeeping is an environmentally friendly industry.

Elephants not only keep away from bees, but they even avoid the sound of bees.this was proven during a pilot project carried out in Rangiya Division, India using an electronic buzzer with the sound of honeybees at a railway track to keep away elephants straying on to the tracks. Once installed, the number of elephant-train accidents has drastically reduced. Sri Lanka could very well consider this option as beekeeping is not a new industry. In fact bee honey is used for medicinal and culinary purposes while the beehive itself is a delicacy.as such, by initiating this project, many farmers in rural areas could be empowered to invest in a sustainable source of income.