The Social Forestry Business Group (KUPS) is a Village Forest Management Institution (LPHD) business group that carries out community-based businesses in and around the forest. One of them is KUPS Madu Buntoi and KUPS Madu Kalawa which was accompanied by KPSHK on the Integrated Management of Peat Forest Ecosystems (PTEHG) in Kahayan Hilir District.
Honey is a natural liquid with a sweet taste made by honey bees from insect excretions or flower juice or other parts of plants (Gebremarian 2014).
“Kelulut honey has a queen bee with a large body and yellow wings,” said Syaifuddin as the training facilitator for Kelulut honey cultivation (19/01).
Kelulut bees consist of two groups, namely reproductive (male bees and queen bees) and non-reproductive (worker bees). These groups differ physically and behaviorally. One queen, hundreds of male bees, and thousands of worker bees live in one bee colony. The queen is the largest and most attractive of all the bees. Worker bees do all the work, both inside and outside the hive; The queen only produces eggs and the male bee mates with the queen. All tasks are distributed regularly based on the age level of worker bee members (Syafrizal et al. 2012).
Stups or bee houses are made to make it easier to harvest bee products and make bees feel safe and comfortable in the beehive. The material used is a board that is odorless, free of chemicals, has good strength, durability and thickness.
“The size is 25 x 30 cm or there is also 34 x 40 cm for a height of 8 – 9 cm,” said Syaifuddin
Syaifuddin added that petai and jengkol boards should not be used because they emit a smell that makes bees uncomfortable. According to Dewantari (2019), the design of the Trigona spp bee stup is made using fine-fiber forest wood such as albisia or forest pandan wood with the standard sizes used being 40 x 20 x 15 cm and 30 x 15 x 10 cm in the shape of a box so it is called a box system stup.
During the process of cultivating Trigona spp bees, stup maintenance activities must be carried out regularly at least 4 times a month, paying attention to the funnel the bees enter to see if the funnel is still wet then the honey production is still good and productive. Inversely, if the funnel is dry, then the honey is starting to become unproductive or the colony is weakening. Cleaning the stup and its surroundings from dirt to prevent intruding bees from coming, spraying insect poison to protect Trigona spp honey bees from other insects such as ants, spiders and others.
Ideally, placement of stup is close to a food source so that production is greater or can utilize natural food but the productivity will be less. According to Syaifudin, colony maintenance can be done by avoiding direct contact with hands. Then stored in the shade, and the cover must be replaced at least once a year.
Planting bee food is also categorized based on the land, if the land is open then it is necessary to plant santos flowers and bridal tears flowers. However, if the land is covered or has a lot of shade, then plant calliandra flowers or sunflowers. The shape of the box size (stup) determines how much honey is obtained, if the size of the box (stup) is not suitable or large it will result in little honey, because the large size has a cavity that is not tight so ants can enter (Lukman, Hardiansyah, Siahaan 2020).
Good honey placement is critical to the success of honey beekeepers. Kelulut honey has no expiry date so it can last for years, but if you add other mixtures it will become impure and reduce the consumption period.
Kelulut honey has an important role in maintaining biodiversity and the environment. Kelulut honey cultivation has a biodiversity-based economic potential because it can help conserve this species, support ecosystem sustainability, and improve the community’s economy.
Author: Alma Tiara
Editor: Tjong
Source:
Honey Cultivation Training Activities
Add a Comment