Victor Fursov's Contributions to Apimondia 43

Thanks  to Victor Fursov for his contributions to Apimondia 43. In facebook.com, type in  YouTube: Entomologist in Ukraine

William Blomsted Reports on Apimondia 43

I was not the only reporter at Apimondia 43.  To get another perspective, take a look at  William Blomstedt's view of the event in Ukraine.  I welcome anyone else to help establish a catalog of activities, many of which I missed.  See more about the press situation in another post.

Regional Beekeeping Event in Barishivka

Today, I was invited to a meeting near a town named Barishivka, north of Kiev. It commemorated the 10th anniversary of this regional beekeeping event.  About 250 beekeepers met in the woods at a "camp" to display their wares, talk about beekeeping, and socialize.  The event also included presentations by dignitaries, including local politicians and visitors.  One Russian woman beekeeper managing around 250 colonies provided a slide show of her operation.  Extremely good looking, she got some "cat calls" from the audience, mostly older men, asking the whereabouts of her husband.

There were presentations of thanks and recognition for beekeepers in nearby countries including Kazakhstan  and Uzbekistan.  It seems this organization  (camp) awarded some scholarships to beekeepers in those countries to attend a beekeeping workshop in Israel.  Few foreigners were present; only myself and a researcher from France, one of the many scientists employed by the French National Research Institute (INRA) , Jean Francois Odoux, who presented posters at Apimondia on topics including Romanian plants important to bee health and the importance of pollen diversity in large-scale plantings of sunflowers and rape in France.  The result are similar to what we know concerning lack of nutritional resources in the corn belt of the midwestern U.S.

The displays included all kinds of beekeeping paraphernalia and was attended by one of the large Polish manufacturers of beekeeping equipment, Lyson, also having a large presence at the Apimondia Congress.  Many of these beekeepers were not in attendance at Apimondia for various reasons, including political conflict with the organizers and the fact that the registration fee was considered too expensive.

My host, Alexander Komissar (right below), is a leading beekeeping scientist, beekeeper and prolific writer.  I am on the left with the broad brimmed hat.  A  French colleague attending the Congress is in the center.

Many of Alexander's books were on display at the camp.  He is one of the pioneers of this event and has a terrific website about Ukrainian beekeeping.  I met him in St. Peterburg Russia in 2005 when we both provided presentations to the IUSSI,  the first meeting of the European section to meet in Russia after collapse of the Soviet Union. Also present was the current head of the prokopvych institute we visited the day before at beekeeping museum of the Ukrainian National University.

Clearly evident at the camp was the presence of mead-like beverages of uniformly great quality.  Also present were both traditional equipment (foundation, beekeeping tool, etc) and several different kinds of hives (enclosures), mostly wood, however, styrofoam of some kind was also apparent. 

It was very cold at the camp.  During the Apimondia congress the weather was unseasonably cold; many places had yet to turn their heating systems on; this usually occurs around 15 October.

Visiting a beekeeping museum in Ukraine

Off today to the Beekeeping Museum of the Ukrainian National University of Life and Environmental Sciences.

In 1945, the Department of Beekeeping V.A. Nestervodsky, named after that prominent scientist was formed at the National University  of Life and Environmental  Sciences of Ukraine.  Dr. Nestervodsky spent many years creating a teaching apiary, beginning in 1922, followed by Vasily Antonovich who turned it into a research program, which was inaugurated in 1961.  In 1988, the beekeeping department museum was created under the leadership of Professor V.P. Polishchuk, who welcomed our small group to the grounds of the museum and department.

 Efforts of the program to help beekeepers include training and teaching in most aspects of the trade.  The main technological accomplishments of the program include using instrumental insemination to produce an unique honey bee (Khmelnystsky) and molecular characterization of the races of bees currently found in Ukraine.  The Department has close ties with the RDAU Moscow Agricultural Academy "K.A. Timiriazieva," and the Slovak Agricultural University in Nitra.

Although there was no indication of the Department having hard times, at least one report in 2006 provided information that it might be under fire.  That was seven years ago so perhaps things have turned around.  Dr. Polishchuk did attend the event in Barischevka reported elsewhere in this blog.  He clearly was warmly welcomed by the crowd.

The museum featured displays of equipment and honey.  Notable was the development of bee hives shown here.  Left to right we see a log hive (gum), followed by a tall Prokopvych hive segueing into more modern boxes on the left.

The Prokopvych hive is seen here in some detail.  The frames look almost like Hoffman.  Note the wooden queen excluder separating top from the bottom box.

 Instead of Langstroth being considered the father  of  the movable-frame hive like in the U.S., in  the Ukraine, Petro Prokopovych is credited with developing a movable-frame model as early as 1814.  He died in 1850 about the time that Langstroth began patenting his hive, which was based on the "bee space" still in use (official published date:1852)

It seems that movable frames, employing the bee space, were already in use in Europe by several folks before Langstroth.  Was he really the one who came up with the movable frame or did he just popularize it by developing a patent for a hive using this technology based on the bee  space?   Many scientific developments appeared on the scene together by different people who had minimal contact with each other, but usually only one gets much press. The bottom line is that the Langstroth hive in the U.S. standardized equipment, allowing much more extensive beekeeping to take place, not only in the U.S., but around the world.

Press Organizations at Apimondia

List of Press Organizations at Apimondia 43:

Thoughts on Apimondia.

Press conference today with a small attendance.  Yuriy Ryphyak, who marketed the event heavily during Apimondia in Australia, gave a rundown on how long it took to get Apimondia 43 off the ground.  It started with the Congress in Ireland in 2005; the bid was accepted in Australia in 2007.  One of the issues was to provide at the Ukrainian Congress some standards for the world beekeeping awards. in Ukraine 25 countries participated this year, so this is considered a success that will be built on in the future.  The Congress itself is well organized and there is a lot of energy in the exhibit area.  In the press room many organizations are found listed above, however, the attendance did not reflect this number.  Tomorrow there will be another on the scientific aspects of the conference.

Two areas heavily promoted here are a social innovation areas (crafts) and world awards: best mead, honey, beeswax and beekeeping display.  The exhibit area is also extremely well organized.  The problem with this Congress is the organization of the registration process, which has overshadowed the whole event. Another issue is the funding; when the event was marketed it appeared that a lot of governmental resources were behind the effort, principally because the president at the time was in fact a beekeeper.  Unfortunately, he was voted out of office shortly after the bid was accepted.  Those resources were then redirected elsewhere it seems.  This appears to be a chronic problem in Ukraine affecting all kinds of activity; little continuity and shifts in priorities act against long-range planning.

See a large number of photos found on the web site from each day of the Congress.

Visit to a village apiary- banking honey bee genetic material

We visit an apiary in a nearby village (Domantove village - Oleksii Vasyliovych Rybalka).  Our first look at a few of the local hives.  First thing that comes to mind is the apparent weight of these colonies.  Some are double long hives with 20 large Dadant size frames.  This is the winter location for the colonies; they are moved several times during the honey making season.  The colonies are extremely gentle; they are also weak in population as winter approaches.  They tolerate being opened without a smoker and being surrounded by a gaggle of tourists; smaller populations are helpful this way. They are uniform in color; not too dark.  The look bigger than most, but this is hard to measure.  Their behavior reminds me of A. mellifera caucasica that I saw once on the Ile d'Yeu off the coast of France in the apiaries of Patrick Vienne   No defensive behavior in spite of a gaggle of tourists invading  the apiary.   The beekeeper host says they are Carpathian bees; local Ukrainian honey bees; he raises his own queens, probably just letting them supersede as needed.

 Note the large  double hive in the foreground of the next picture.  These are some heavy colonies no doubt and deserve to be equipped with heavy duty handles. 
  

Ukrainian  beekeepers are also into various kinds of trailers to more easily move colonies.  Usually they have are in this configuration with two rows of colonies separated by a sort of walk way in between for access.

Note the spacious interior work space for the beekeeper.  Some also have elaborate ways of unloading each bank of colonies on a special trolley-like affair so the trailer can be offloaded if necessary and moved to another location.

Here's another much  more high tech version of a bee trailer sold in the country:

A paper at Apimondia reveals several types of Carpathian honey bees exist it seems and they are in reality, Apis mellifera Carnica var. ukrainica carpatica.  Four specific variations have been created after 20 years of intensive breeding at the National Sciences Center "P.I. Prokopovyh Beekeeping Institute": they are: Vuchkivsky, Hoverla, Rakhivsky and Synevir.  These are in a "bank" called Carpathian Honey Bees of Zakarpattia."  The use of "Beemorph & Beemetry" software is in use.  At least one company is marketing what are called "steppe bees,"  and has been named a "breeding farm." 

The history of a company named "PCHELOAGROSERVIS," which was on display at the congress, included not only producing equipment, but raising honey bees.   Its history dates back to the war years.

"In 1943, immediately after the liberation of Dnipropetrovsk from the Nazi troops, was organized by the regional office of Pchelotehsnabsbyt. " Order number 1 on November 6, 1943 recorded the official date of birth. Although the basis for the firm was formerly the regional economy pcheloupravleniya, which was partially destroyed and removed the invaders. For the season 1944 workshop for manufacturing artificial honeycombs has been fully restored. And in April 1945, was organized by the Regional Sinelnikovskoye apiary in the area, which was later pchelopitomnikom.

"From 1975 to 1978 a new base of the regional office of beekeeping was built. Prior to this workshop and warehouses were located in rented premises of the Upper Red Market and the housing department of the Kirov. Since February 1978 the office moved to its premises at Ul.Sovhoznaya, 78. Functioning on the territory of three workshops: workshop production of artificial honeycombs, pressing wax production plant medicinal paste.

"Yet for 10 years, is expanding its regional office functions. 23 May 1988. opens regional pchelopitomnik. Between 1988 and 1996, efforts were made to revive the Ukrainian steppe species of bees. The result of this painstaking and successful work was the assignment pchelopitomniku status of breeding farm for the breeding of bees Ukrainian steppe species (Ministry of Agriculture number 123 from 23.04.1996g.). Since then, the breeding plant breeding thoroughbred implemented bees, bee packages and fetal queen bees."

Bee races and their biology are getting more and more attention as researchers and beekeepers are examining the local bees in most countries using DNA analysis.  Thus, there were papers at this Apimondia, not only on the honey bees of Carpathia, but also Greece, Turkey, France, Spain, Italy (Sicily), Benin (Africa), Jordan, Russia, and China (Xinjiang).  In general the idea is the categorize the local races before they become "contaminated" by other bees, as moving of colonies and honey bees around the world is happening at almost warp speed.  A world bank of honey bee genetic material  is needed, rather like seed banks for plants.

One thing catches our attention in the apiary we are visiting.  The newly completed "bee therapy house"  below is an innovation the beekeeper says comes from Crimea, probably via Poland.  The  idea is that the colonies located at the foot of the house (the green, yellow and blue hive fronts pictured below) provide an environment that is healthful to humans.  The humans spend about two hours in the house, in essence communing with the insects, although the colonies are screened so individual bees cannot enter the house proper, but use external entrances in the colored hive fronts  to come and go.  It is so new the beekeeper doesn't know how much to charge for the service, allowing patrons to set their own price at the moment.

 

Here's  another version of a therapy house on display at the Congress; again note  bee entrances under the window for hives  inside, which have benches built over them to sit/sleep on.

Every bee yard features a table of honey and mead that is offered to visitors.  Too much cannot be said about the quality of both products.  Note  the quite yellow,  crystallized honey;  sunflower is the source.  The mead is dry with a crisp flavor that is quite pleasing.

Pereiaslav-Khmelnytski to Kaniv (Tarasova Hill)

Pereiaslav-Khmelnytski:
A visit to the Museum of Folk  Architecture and Household traditions, including  a beekeeping museum, was on the agenda this morning.  This museum shows the  evolution of house construction in Ukraine from around 600 bc to the1900's. Part of this is a contemporary beekeeping museum recently donated to the museum by a son whose  father had been a beekeeper his whole life.

 This map provides a layout of the place.  It's several hectares and includes many building types and other items of interest.  Note that most of it is in Cyrillic script. One starts at the entrance middle left hand side (arrow) and proceed around the property counter clockwise.

Here's the oldest dwelling on the property, not far from the entrance.  Nothingmore than a cover of reeds, but providing some shelter.  Dated about 700 BC?

Here's a later dwelling.  From here wood began to be employed and some places had extensive stockade walls for protection. Several renditions of early Cossack churches are on display.  This is probably the most spectacular, built around 1880 I believe. 

Both outside and inside views are shown here.  In the Eastern Orthodox religion, male (right hand side) and female (left hand side) personages (icons) are segregated.  This also has no seating arrangements; standing room only apparently.

Cold and windy this day, but we didn't know what awaited us at the next stop.  Three hundred and thirty (330) steps up to Tarasova Hill, where the Ukrainian poet and social activist, Taras Shevchenko, is buried.  A raft of youngsters on holiday from school were placing flowers at the foot of the  monument.

There's a great view of the Dnieper River from this hill. Upriver and downriver are seen here.  The flatness of the great Dnieper delta that has traditionally been the breadbasket of this region is seen extending to the horizon.

 Taras Shevchenko is clearly one of Ukraine's best loved sons.  Beginning life as a serf, he became educated through his owner and became a poet writing a book  that a whole museum is dedicated to, painting iconic works of art and converting himself into an activist who spent many of his days imprisoned, dying early in life (47 years old).  His grave is a must see for Ukrainians and tourists.
alike.