MSc

With the objective of studying the management of stingless bees,
Trigona iridipennis Smith in the homesteads of Kerala, studies were
conducted at the College of Agriculture, Vellayani during 2000-2001.
Different management practices were tried. Division of the• bee
colony could be successfully carried out by transferring equal amount of
brood cells, pollen and honey pots along with queen to the different hives
VIZ., wooden, bamboo and earthen pot with different capacities. Bamboo
hive with capacity 1500cc was found to be more suitable for hiving
T. iridipennis since the brood development, pollen storage, population
buildup and honey storage were superior in this type of hive.
Observations on handling of bees indicated that wooden hives were easy
to handle compared to bamboo and earthen pot. Brood development and
pollen storage were shown maximum during the month of February, while
maximum honey storage was noticed during the month of April. Bee
strength increased as the colony got established well. Presence of queen
cells and drones were noticed from November to March during which
population build up existed. The bee strength was also found to be
.
maximum in bamboo hive which had maximum brood, pollen and honey
storage.
Investigation on the reuse of emptied honey pots by the bees
indicated that the bees reused it for reconstruction of worn off honey pot
parts beneath and nearby. Investigations on the foraging activity of
T. iridipennis showed two peak periods of activity one at 1200h and the
other at 1500h and with maximum activity during July.




It was observed in the present study that 76 plants were visited by
the stingless bees for nectar or pollen or both. Of this twenty plants
provided both nectar and pollen. Thirty five plants provided nectar only
and 20 plants provided pollen only.
The Trigona honeys collected from different tracts around Kerala
varied widely in colour from light yellow to dark amber colour with all
intermediate shades. The percentage of moisture varied from 18.96 to
20.48 in different districts of the state and pH ranged from 3.76-4.4. In all
the honey samples the acidity ranged from 0.17-0.29 while the ash content
varied from 0.17-0.19 per cent. The specific gravity also ranged from
1.3507-1.3775. The observations of reducing sugar indicated that it
ranged from 77.12-69.85 per cent. The refractive index value also
indicated variation from 1.4855 to 1.4891. The values on glucose and
fructose per cent varied from 35.92-33.53 and 38.16-39.74 respectively.
The glucose fructose ratio observed indicated variation from l.17 -1. 05.
The sucrose per cent also seen varied from 1.23-l.81 and the values on
specific heat varied slightly from 60.50-60.9.
A dipteran fly Hermetia illucens L., a mite, Amblyscius sp. and Megachile
disjuncta was newly identified as pest of T. iridipennis. Solenopsis
geminata was also observed to attack weak colonies. No disease
incidence was noticed.