59-05-032 Proceeding

385 Proceedings of the Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn Congress The Possibility of Asian Beekeeping as Economic Sustainable Business It is possible to raise Asian beekeeping as a sustainable economic business for anyone who is interested. However, there are considerations to take whether the keepers would like to do it traditional or modern ways. To do it traditionally, it may be easier but may not yield as much product. To do it modern way, it is likely to yield more honey and bring in more return of investment but it will also cost more to implement. A Look at the Traditional Asian Beekeeping The Distribution From the mountains of the Himalayas to the southern part of Indonesia or Papau New Guinea, and even onto Australia, Asian honeybees may be found. Apis cerana is known to be distributed throughout Asia fromas far north as Japan and China to as far west as Iran and as south as India and Sri Lanka (Ruttner 1988) to the west of the Wallace Line in Indonesia (Flores Island), New Guinea and offshore islands and the Solomon Islands (Anderson 2010; Annand et al. 2010). Their Natural Habitat Naturally, they may build their hives on the walls, hanging from the cliffs or a building structure or a tree. They may reside in the holes of a houses or a log. They can survive in different climates and various temperatures. Asian honeybees, unlike their European honeybees Apis mellifera , loves to be in static habitat. The Foraging Perimeters Apis cerana does not have as wide a forage perimeter as the Apis mellifera . They range at about 2 kilometers away from their colonies (Somerville 2011: p. 2). Therefore, their product is more of local proximity than the European bees. Coupling with their physical sizes, Apis cerana will yield less honey than Apis mellifera , a thing of which many may consider an inferiority yet it can be a good trade off for local beekeeping in smaller areas with specific plants and flowers. The Advantages of Asian Honeybees over European Honeybees There are a few advantages in Asian beekeeping over European beekeeping in Thailand. 1. The resistance to diseases. 2. Since Apis cerana is local bee species to Asia, it naturally has resistance to the diseases and mites. Unlike Apis mellifera , which have to adjust to the new environment and climate when imported into the region. 3. The less climatic adaptation need, living from cool regions in the higher latitudes and altitudes to the dry, semi-desert environments as well as tropical climates 12°C to - 36°C (C. Hepburn & Radloff, 2011).