More locals catching the buzz

Barbadians in recent times have been showing a great interest in beekeeping.

President of the Barbados Apiculture Association (BAA), David Small told The Barbados Advocate that the number of individuals registering in the field has “moved from 20 to about 30, 35 in a short space of time and everyday people call me and I put them through to go to the [Barbados Agricultural Society] BAS to register”.

He attributed this growing interest to an increase in awareness among Barbadians about the importance of bees to the ecosystem and to their livelihood, as well as to educational workshops conducted by BAA with members of the Barbados 4-H Foundation. He also pointed to the present resurgence of the number of bees found in the wild as another factor.

“In 2003, 2004, the beekeeping industry was devastated by a little fellow called the Varroa mite. The mite to a bee is like a tick to a dog… Since that incident happened, a survey was carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2012 whereby we see there was a resurgence and in 2017 now, you can see that there are a lot more bees in the wild and a lot of people in Barbados are becoming more aware and we had an influx of people registering with the BAS wanting to become interested in beekeeping,” he explained.

Small revealed that, the fifth annual ‘Caribbean Bee College’ will be held later this year to give locals and Caribbean nationals a greater understanding about beekeeping. It will be the first time it will take place in Barbados, however, it was previously held in Grenada and St. Croix.

Through this event, to be staged by the University of Florida, Honey Bee Research and Extension Laboratory, beekeepers and budding beekeepers will learn about basic and advanced beekeeping methods, harmful pest and diseases that affect bees, and practical bee management techniques among other things.