RWANDAN NATIVE BEES
Raising local bees presents numerous advantages. First, these bees are in harmony with the environmental conditions of their region, the attractive aromatic molecules, and the endemic flora, allowing them to better resist diseases and parasites. Moreover, they have a superior ability to pollinate local wild or cultivated plants, which is essential for maintaining biodiversity as well as supporting food production.
By raising native bee subspecies, ROBEEC Ltd is committed to preserving local biodiversity and protecting these increasingly endangered subspecies. The company also focuses on conserving the genetic diversity of bees, which is essential for ensuring their long-term survival.
By preserving native bee subspecies, ROBEEC Ltd contributes to the protection of Rwanda's local culture and societal identity. Beekeeping is a significant tradition in many African cultures, particularly in this land of a thousand hills, and using native bees allows us to honor this history by sustaining respectful beekeeping practices while also creating local jobs.
In summary, the use of native bee subspecies is essential for preserving biodiversity, maintaining food production, and protecting local traditions and cultures. ROBEEC Ltd has chosen to work with these bees as part of its mission: to love, protect, and promote sustainable beekeeping in Rwanda.
Our bees come from native colonies that have inhabited Rwanda and adapted to the biotope for millions of years.
They are smaller (± 1/3 less) than bees of European subspecies.
THE TWO TYPES OF BEES
During our visits to apiaries and in the wild, on foraging flowers, we observed two kinds of Rwandan bees: yellow and black, which cohabit very well together.
Our next scientific study will investigate the different types of subspecies present in our colonies.
THE GENTLENESS OF BEES
The African mellifera bee is often confused with
the so-called Africanized or killer bee, which is a hybrid created by man in the laboratory. The killer bee, introduced to Brazil in the 1950s and now spreading across part of North America, is the result of a cross between an African species (Apis mellifera scutellata) and an Italian species (A. m. ligustica).
The African mellifera bee, scutellata, adansonii, monticola or other, when raised in its natural biotope and also, thanks to various techniques during hive visits conducted calmly and gently, can be as gentle as a European subspecies bee (mellifera mellifera).
For example: at harvest time, we use bee chasers to avoid stressing the bees by brushing them. All bees at Robeec Ltd are respected and gently cared for in our custom-built hives.
SWARMING
The swarm can be seen as the seedling of a plant. The swarm, part of a colony that takes flight with the queen mother, seeks out a new location to re-establish itself and perpetuate the species. The swarm is like the baby of a colony.
In Rwanda, the swarming period occurs twice a year, just after the rainy season.
We use traditional Rwandan basket hives, placed high up in the trees, to collect wild swarms or those that have flown away from our hives. We also sometimes collect them from the wild.
The swarms collected will be transferred to Robeec hives a few weeks after they have settled in the traditional hives. These new colonies will find a home in one of our 21 apiaries.
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