Hello. I am an American that has been traveling around southeast Asia for the past year but I have been making Cambodia my home base. Particularly the Kampot/Sihanoukille area. I've been very interested in beekeeping the past few years but now that I have some land available to me, I'd like to seriously start up a project. I'm looking at making some top bar hives and I'm looking at working with apis cerana.
I have plenty of blueprints that I've acquired the online to build the hives but there are still things I'm looking to acquire which can be a little tough living in Cambodia. One of them is trying to get the bees but I've been doing a little research on catching a swarm with bait traps.
If anyone has had any experience with keeping bees in Cambodia or southeast Asia in general, please let me know.
Thanks!
Welcome! Maybe look for honey and trace the origin. Lots of concerning things about honey out of Asia, mainly the lead harvest equipment. Good luck.
You have a lot of Apis ceranae there. They require smaller hives and less intervention. Too much messing with them and they will abscond.
I suspect Apis ceranae will also respond to lemon grass oil like our bees do. Is it available? If it is not available in the oil form, you can probably find lemon grass at the local farmers market.
Jim
Maybe Wyatt Mangum could shed some light on your questions? I know he did some work in Asia, but I can't remember where exactly.
There's this... http://www.americanbeejournal.com/site/epage/132584_828.htm
June and July 2014